The Illegitimate Claim (35 page)

was Tory nowhere to be found, Paleah and Sharay seemed to have disappeared as well.

If there was one thing everyone was grateful for, it was that Rog never mentioned Meah

and Ana bringing Sharay to him.

Gilroy and Meah worked side by side for the remainder of the evening hours, and it

was as if they’d performed their duties together always. Darius pointed this out to Tara

at one point, when Andru could overhear, that the four of them appeared to be an

outstanding team. Darius saw the look of pride cross his son’s otherwise worried face.

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But it was more than worry. Andru’s son—the son he’d just discovered he had—

was not in any of the tents, or anywhere in the open field. The inability to pull off the

simple task of locating a child was making Andru crazy.

Everyone looked gray and raggedy as the sun of a new day surfaced, and fires were

extinguished. Andru looked up when Gilroy and Meah approached the group. A young

Gothman boy quickly offered each of them a mug of strong coffee, which they both

accepted without a word.

“Maybe we’re going about this all wrong,” Meah said to no one in particular. “If I

were Rog, and I took Tory, I would know the first place we would look would be the

campsite.”

“So he would take him somewhere else,” Tara followed through on the line of

thinking.

“Yes. And he’s had plenty of time to take him anywhere. I suggest we search

Bryton, Taratown and even the clan site.”

“No Neurian would be able to enter any of our towns or the clan site without being

spotted immediately,” Gilroy argued. “We’ve updated our equipment to match their

technology.”

Meah glared at him, challenging the icy stare he threw at her. “If you haven’t

noticed, there are non-Neurians in this campsite. I’ve seen a handful of River People

during my search alone. Now, we’ve got to find him. He’s terrified and alone, wherever

he is.”

“If he’s got your blood in him he’s probably bit and kicked his captors into bloody

pulps,” Gilroy commented callously.

Meah ignored him, and turned to Tara. “I could organize a search of the clan site,

my lady.”

Tara’s eyes smiled, but her tone was authoritative. “You’re going to get some sleep,

Meah.”

“I can’t do that.” Meah forgot her place. “My son is out there and I’m not going to

stop until I find him.”

“You are going to follow orders.” Tara’s tone didn’t change. “I’ve already sent Ana

home for some sleep. We’ll search the clan site and—trust me—we’ll wake you when

we find Tory. Now go.”

When Meah looked like she’d challenge Tara once again, Andru stepped forward

and reached for her arm. She pulled away from him quickly and shot him a look to kill.

He was too worn out himself to have any patience with this behavior in front of his

family. He grabbed her savagely and almost threw her toward his glider. He didn’t say

a word to anyone but held on to her while he climbed onto his glider, then heaved her

up in front of him. Her bottom made an unladylike slapping sound on the seat of the

glider.

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“I’m in no mood for your mouth right now, woman.” He started the glider and took

off quickly.

Andru pulled her to him as he always had and realized in the next second that her

body was shaking. So, his warrior claim was a woman too? His anger melted and he

moved his free hand off her stomach and brushed the hair away from her face.

Instantly, she lowered her head. He didn’t bother her with words. Andru felt her pain.

He stroked her hair a couple more times then wrapped his arm across her chest and

pulled her into him and let her cry.

Poli had prepared a bed in the same room where Tia slept. When Andru entered the

house with Meah, she scurried one of the servant girls off to prepare a guest room with

a larger bed. Meah stiffened when she heard the housekeeper squawk her orders and

tried to pull free of Andru. He simply wrapped the end of her braid into his fingers and

walked through the house keeping Meah at his side. Her stomach turned into a rock of

nervousness. Was he going to sleep with her after telling her that she would be his

mistress? But didn’t he call her his claim when he grabbed her out of the Neurian

camp? Her brain was too tired to think.

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Chapter Eighteen

“Why are you here, Andru?” Meah asked once they’d been left alone in the tidy

guest room. “Don’t you have a bed in your house?”

“I’m here because you’re here.” Andru let her cutting words slide and sat down on

the edge of the bed to pull of his boots.

“Oh, I see. I’ll do until you can find someone else that you feel is appropriate to be

your claim. Or maybe you’re just waiting for your precious Sharay to be returned to

you.” Meah stood by the bed, but made no effort to prepare for sleep.

Andru kept his head down to hide his smile at her obvious jealousy. He pulled one

boot off then went to work on the other.

“Or is it that you plan on taking women until one of them produces a son that you

like? How many bastards do you have so far, my lord? Is Tory not good enough for

you? Are his curls not blond enough? Is it because he’s so wild by nature? I can’t believe

you can be so coldhearted not to love that child. He looks just like you.”

Meah would have added that he acted just like him too, but she didn’t have the

chance. Andru flew off the bed and grabbed her by the throat and slammed her body

up against the wall. His other hand raised in a fist like he would hit her straight in the

face. Her eyes shot from his to the raised fist as she clawed at the hand gripping her

neck. Her feet dangled above the floor, and she swung them ridiculously, but extreme

fatigue denied her the ability to truly fight back.

Instead of hitting her he let out a howl of sorts, and threw her onto the bed. She

barely had time to scurry onto all fours when he came at her again and this time

grabbed her wrist.

“I don’t know that he’d ever release the knowledge, but my papa can vouch for the

words I shared with him when I described first seeing Tory…and Tia.” Andru spoke

barely above a whisper, and she could tell by the pulsating vein in his neck, the effort

he was using to control his temper.

It might be in her best interest to hold her tongue. She simply stared at him, while

he held her wrist in a death grip.

“That little boy came out of those woods without a trace of fear in him, and

attacked a man five times larger than himself. He has the same locks as Gilroy and

Ana’s baby girl, which makes sense if you and Gilroy are of the same blood. But then,

when that perfect little girl followed behind him, and stood next to him as if that’s

where she belonged…I saw Ana and myself at that age. No one had to tell me who they

were, or who their parents were. No one.”

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He didn’t release her, but instead pulled her to him then pulled down the comforter

on the bed. She didn’t move a muscle when he pulled off her boots and then yanked off

her leather jacket and threw it on the floor along with her boots.

Andru cradled her in one hand as he slid his long legs under the blanket then slid

down himself until he lay with Meah draped across him. He then adjusted her body so

that she lay next to him. Sliding one arm around her neck, he placed his other hand on

her hip, and pulled her to him.

“Tory will be found. And I will be as happy as you are when he is. Now go to

sleep.”

That was easy for him to say, she groaned inwardly to herself. Her cheek rested

against his broad iron chest, and the smell of sweat, dirt and leather was intoxicating.

Try as she would not to move a muscle, as exhaustion crept over her she found herself

cuddling into him. Right into the spot she’d been in her dreams over the past five

winters—an incredibly secure spot.

Her dreams didn’t make her feel secure, though. Andru didn’t say he loved the

twins, and he certainly made no claim to love her. He acknowledged the twins were his

but said nothing about giving them his name. He wanted her for a mistress. Meah and

her children had drawn too much negative attention since their arrival in Gothman—

and Gothman was Andru’s primary concern.

* * * * *

Andru walked out of the one-room house—more like a shack, he thought to

himself—and squinted against the morning sun. He studied the two Neurian women

standing in front of him. Physically, they looked very much alike, but nurture—not

nature—made them look distinctively different. He could tell by Paleah’s body that she

was quite young, and Sharay appeared to have several more winters. But Sharay held

herself with grace and dignity, expecting Andru’s men to wait on her, and not seeming

to be able to do much for herself. Her skin was unblemished, and there wasn’t a worry

line on her face.

Paleah, on the other hand, had several visible, although small, scars on her arms

and one thin line by her jawbone—a slightly different color than the rest of her caramel-

colored skin. She held herself differently, continuously alert to her surroundings, while

Sharay appeared indifferent…unless she needed something. Andru noticed something

else about the two women. They didn’t look at each other, talk to each other, or in any

way seem to acknowledge the other’s existence. Sibling rivalry ran deep.

“Papa says to take them to the cottage south of Bryton.” Andru stood next to

Gilroy, but didn’t look at him as he spoke. “Any sign of Tory?”

“None.” Gilroy had his comm positioned to his mouth as he watched Gothman and

Runner warriors search the wooded area. “And I take it those women offered no help?”

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“They say they were put here this morning and they haven’t seen Tory since then.”

Andru sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose as he squinted.

He was working on pure adrenaline, and every now and then the exhaustion crept

in. He wasn’t sure how long he slept with Meah wrapped up next to him. She was too

much of a distraction though, her warm body cuddled up to him like that. Especially

after she fell asleep and all he could think about was the gentle rise and fall of her soft