Lindsey's Rescue: A World Beyond Book 3 (4 page)

“I’m sure Senate Leader Zadal can name someone else more appropriate for your Triad.”

Because no way would the man deny this beauty. Zadal could be cruel and without mercy but he wasn’t stupid. Never that. Zadal understood as surely as Baruk that no other woman here would have him with his status as
briot
and questionable parentage. Men and women formed Triads befitting their status, placing Zadal in a difficult position.

As a Senate Leader his respectable role required and deserved a wife on his professional level but his personal life included a mother who worked in the sex trade and an unknown father because his mother avoided a Triad marriage.

“I want
you
, Baruk. You made my heart ping.”

Baruk’s head jerked up.

“I promised I’d marry a man who made my heart ping not just anybody.” She waved a hand in Zadal’s direction. “He’s handsome and polite. Maybe on the scary side but nobody’s perfect, except together we could be. He needs a spouse and I think you do too. Both of you need a bride and here I am.”

Baruk laughed, he couldn’t help it. He laughed and laughed, drawing stares their way. He laughed until Zadal shot him an ugly look. When he finally had his hilarity under control, Baruk answered. “Well then, I agree.”

Perhaps he’d end up in
helta
where evil souls reportedly roamed but Baruk refused to walk away from a woman who spoke this passionately about a tradition he’d become quite jaded about. And all her talk of pinging? He had no idea what that was. But what was the worst that could happen?

Having Zadal and the Earthling for a Triad Marriage couldn’t be that bad after all.

Chapter 6

Lindsey rushed through the twisting halls of the administration center a kind soul directed her toward. The soles of her shoes clicked on the tiled black and white checked floor of the massive building as she searched for room 202. The overhead skylights let in the early morning sunshine and busy workers stared as she passed them like a rocket.

Unlike on Earth and most business facilities, Lindsey learned after her mad dash upstairs that 202 didn’t necessarily mean second floor. So back down she tumbled, hands gripping the metal railing while sweat gathered between her breasts and beneath her arms as she pumped her elbows faster. Lindsey skidded to a halt when she reached the two-hundreds after zooming by several rooms with meetings in session. Every few doors, she peeked beyond the wooden entryways only to receive nasty glares as she muttered hasty apologies.

At the end of the hall, Lindsey peered into the last opened door in this section of the building. Above the archway, a discrete sign declared it 202. Her first glance inside caused Lindsey to cringe.

Baruk paced back and forth in front of a man in a black floor length robe with snowy, white hair which frizzed about his face. Zadal leaned against a shoulder-high metal cabinet, ankles crossed. Both men looked properly annoyed. At her entrance, all three turned.

Taking a deep breath, Lindsey smiled and wiggled her fingers in greeting. “Hi. I’m sorry. Getting around the space station is still new for me and no one told me the Andreii building was clear on the other side of Teeve. The transport also had propulsion engine trouble and I had to wait for another—”

“You’re late,” Zadal cut in, caramel eyes glaring. Had she thought them sexy last night, because right now she didn’t.

“I just explained.” She marched across the carpeted floor to stand next to him. Baruk stopped pacing, his dark head tipped to the side. Lindsey faced the man in the robes. “I’m ready.”

“What are you wearing?”

Baruk’s mild question stopped the robed figure from speaking. Lindsey smothered a sigh. Last night she spent most of her time thinking over her decision at the Triad Bridal Meet. Zadal’s rugged features were hard to ignore. His blond hair cut brutally short added to his rough looks and his brawler’s body made her breath catch. Baruk’s appearance by contrast spoke of elegance and refinement. Black hair and blue eyes gave him a cover model’s beauty.

“I think she has a hearing impairment, Honorable Sye,” Baruk said. “We may need to cancel the marriage.”

Lindsey gaped. “No. It’s not that. My translator’s not right.”

“The implant process is flawless,” Zadal countered.

“Well mine wasn’t!” And she was tired of everyone saying it.

The Honorable Sye cleared his throat. “No disrespect Senate Leaders but I have other Triads to perform today. Last night’s event was highly successful.”

Lindsey held her breath as Zadal and Baruk shifted their gazes in her direction. Okay, wearing her only pair of jeans and shirt might not have been her greatest idea for wedding attire but she couldn’t stand to put the yellow dress back on that she’d borrowed from the ships’ spare wardrobe dispenser to wear to the Triad Bridal Meet and these were the only clothes she’d brought with her.

Baruk broke the stare off first. “I’ll continue if Zadal is not opposed.”

Zadal’s lips firmed, gaze never wavering from Lindsey. “I’m not opposed.”

“Excellent,” Honorable Sye pulled forth papers from his desk. “I have the contract drawn based on the stipulations you both submitted.”

“Stipulations?” Lindsey stepped forward, placing herself between her almost husbands. “What stipulations?”

Honorable Sye’s grey eyebrows rose and his lofty tone belittled. “In a Triad marriage the spouse partners include stipulations on how the marriage is to be conducted. The Senate Leaders have done so and approved the agreement. All that’s left is the signatures of the parties involved.”

Lindsey scratched at the burning sensation behind her ear from the stupid, allegedly perfect implant site. “Don’t I get any stipulations to include?”

Old Sye’s mouth dropped open. “Th-that’s highly improper.”

“It’s my marriage too. It would seem more improper to not include me. Shouldn’t I have input as well?” Her question was perfectly reasonable.

Zadal folded his arms over his chest and for the first time she noticed the formal red cape thrown over his shoulder. Tiny gold chains hung from one shoulder to the other. Beneath the cape a matching red robe fell mid-calf with slits on the side, revealing matching boots. Barak wore an identical outfit right down to the chains across his chest. She wondered if it was their version of wedding attire.

“Women are not allowed to add anything to the marriage contract. They must trust their husbands will look out for their best interest.”

At least Baruk answered her. Zadal continued his eerie stare. Lindsey refused to give in easily. This was her life too. “Trust is asking a lot from a one time meeting.”

Baruk hiked a brow. “Most of last night’s participants already had knowledge of one another. This wasn’t their first time meeting, only the chance for everyone to put their best foot forward before making a decision. As a stranger to our world, you did indeed enter at a disadvantage but we can hardly be responsible for that. You’re as much an unknown entity to us as we are to you, yet we have the most to lose. This is our home and you could choose to leave. Leaving would free you from the marriage but the legal vows of commitment would still stand for us.”

Lindsey inhaled sharply. The detailed response put things in perspective from their point of view. She only thought of her concerns and how the marriage would impact her but they took a risk as well. The Triad Bridal Meet she’d attended also proved that not everyone was eager for a wife from another world. She counted herself fortunate to have landed two such handsome men willing to take a chance. Plus Baruk made her heart ping and each side glance from Zadal had her traitorous nipples perking up. Pinging was surely not far behind when he wasn’t frightening her with his dark glares.

But looks weren’t everything. Trust counted for far more. Someone had to make the first move or this marriage was doomed from the start. “Alright. No stipulations from me needed.”

Honorable Sye rushed to hand a pen to Baruk, who leaned over the table to add his name on the necessary lines with a flourish. Zadal stepped up next to him, signing with a quick slash of the pen. He passed the silver-weighted writing implement to her.

Lindsey added her name with care on all three spots pointed out. “Now what?”

***

Zadal closed out several windows on his holo screen with a flick of his finger and leaned back in his chair on an exhale. His head throbbed and the thought of the work awaiting him this evening sent tension creeping up his neck.

“Senate Leader Zadal, you have a visitor. Qual Commes. Shall I inform him you’re busy?”

Zadal dragged his gaze toward his open office doorway. It took everything in him to hold back his snappish bite. When wasn’t he busy? “I can see him, Zumei. Send him in.”

Zumei huffed. “Your schedule is fairly tight today since you missed most of the morning.”

The words ‘because of his Triad marriage’ went unspoken. The tension in Zadal’s neck spread to his shoulders and the pain in his head became a full-blown headache. He hadn’t seen his spouse partner or wife since earlier in the day when they’d signed the Triad marriage confirmation. They’d agreed to give Lindsey the day to return her ID at the space station and log their union with the Singles Program. Then she would come home to them.

“Senate Leader?”

“Send him in.” Zadal rose from his seat and stretched.

Qual entered on a bounce. His lively gait suddenly reminded Zadal of Lindsey. The woman possessed too much energy by far.

“Senate Leader Gatar. Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”

Zadal snorted and rested his hip on the edge of his desk. “What do you want, Qual?”

The older man was worse than Caris when it came to complaining about the Senate and their decisions, except Qual’s case he had the nasty habit of being a rumor monger. He spread gossip true or false as fast as he received it. At least Caris had a smidgeon of integrity.

Qual bowed and sat in one of the two leather chairs opposite Zadal’s desk. “First, felicitations on your Triad marriage. Your name appeared on the registry early this morning.”

Zadal kept his hands folded in his lap. The only way for Qual to know of his marriage already was because he’d searched for it. There was no automated notification for the Garulax registry system that tracked all Triad marriages. The question remained who’d reported it for Qual to feel the need to search. Zadal had avoided everyone when he’d left the Triad Bridal Meet and none had dared question if he’d succeeded in his quest.

At Zadal’s silence, Qual squirmed in his seat and cleared his throat. He ran a distracted hand through the hair graying at his temples. “Rumors alleged you joined with an Earth woman.”

Zadal leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and enunciated each word. “Are you questioning the details of my Triad, Qual?”

To do so was in poor taste but this was Qual after all.

A nervous chuckle followed. “The people have a right to know what’s going on in the heads of their leaders. Your decisions could be effected if you made an unwise choice.” Qual winked and pulled a stylus and data pad from his pocket. “A spouse has been known to sway a man with the right motivation.”

Zadal straightened but masked his surprise. It wasn’t what he expected Qual to be chasing. As an unknown, Lindsey shouldn’t warrant much public scrutiny yet. “You want to know if my new wife will hold favor with me enough to change my votes in senate meetings?”

Qual’s brown eyes narrowed and he dropped all attempts at bonhomie. “No. I want to know how someone like you, a man with your birth status, convinced Senate Leader Baruk Laars to agree to be your spouse partner.”

A man like him
. Familiar words with the power to sting. Despite his own questions regarding Baruk’s acquiescence, Zadal pinned the nosy man with a dark glare, his voice leaving no doubt to his feelings. “
That
is none of your business.”

The corner of Qual’s thin lips rose, his gaze darkened with malicious intent. “On the contrary. Two of the most powerful men on the Senate are now joined through marriage. Between you and the Laars family connections, majority voting is susceptible to…,” he upped his sneer, “potential dishonesty let’s say.”

“Let’s not say.” Zadal rose to his feet, knowing his height placed his little antagonist at a disadvantage. He took one threatening step forward.

Qual scrambled to his feet, obvious nerves causing him to trip before righting himself. “It’s a viable question. We deserve answers.”

“The only thing you deserve,” Zadal growled, “is a chance to leave.”

His voice thundered across the room and Qual fled. The door slammed behind him but his absence did nothing to soothe Zadal’s rage. Qual only said what others would think—were thinking. There was no rational explanation for why Baruk Laars of the powerful Laars family agreed to a Triad with Zadal when he could have selected anyone of higher standard and breeding. Someone of equal footing with his financial wealth.

As soon as the outer door closed, Zumei eased back inside. Though his words maintained a minimal semblance of respect, his first assistant couldn’t mask the smug gleam in his eyes. “Is everything alright, Senate Leader?”

“Perfectly fine, Zumei. Where are we on the landfill case?” Zadal resumed his seat and leaned back in the chair.

Zumei hesitated, then approached the chair Qual had abandoned.

“No.” Zadal stopped him before he could sit. “I prefer you stand while we go over my agenda and the landfill reports. It helps me focus.”

Hatred burned like an uncontrollable blaze between them. Working with the prior Senate Leader had accustomed Zumei to undue influence over the elderly man. When the other Senate Leaders discovered Darvis’ fading mind, they removed him from position and opened the seat. A seat Zadal won by a slim margin against his two challengers. He may not have the prized lineage of his peers but his ability to resolve complex matters and negotiate ironclad contracts remained unquestionable. Surprisingly, Baruk cast the winning vote in his favor.

Zumei clenched his hands around the electronic pad in his hand, brows dipped low. His breath came in harsh exhales. Zadal allowed a slow grin to curve his lips. “Do you have a problem with this, Zumei?”

Zumei swallowed and the glares they exchanged intensified. Zadal waited with baited breath. He hated the man. Hated him with a depth of emotion he couldn’t explain. As Senate Leader, Zadal had technically inherited Zumei to work for him until he replaced the man with his own first and a second assistants. The problem stemmed from Zadal’s inability to find two people competent to fill the roles and who would treat him with less disdain than Zumei.

“I have no problem, Senate Leader Zadal.”

“Good.” Zadal waved his hand in the air signaling to start. And thus the day wore on. Zumei going line by line over the items on Zadal’s calendar for the coming month, updates on which proposals were still in limbo and decisions requiring Zadal’s vote.