Claimed by Three (31 page)

“Sephanie will be fine. You, on the other hand, have a short life expectancy if you keep on your present course.” Kassius forced himself to stand. It took every bit of his self-control not to grab the man.

Dragging the man back to Darmain himself would be so satisfying, but he didn’t want there to be any loopholes. Everything was arranged, but by someone only loosely associated with the PD. There wouldn’t be a connection to them Derek could use to wriggle free from legal repercussions. Yes, there would be suspicions, but nothing that would be proven or harmful to Teague’s career. They’d been following the advice of the police to hopefully draw him somewhere the guards could get him. The actual abduction wouldn’t occur until they were well on their way back home on a commercial flight.

“How are you going to make me? I’ll be here, well out of your reach, and there is nothing that can be done to me.” Derek Malone leaned forward.

“You’ve lost everything, and you’re here, hiding on this little outpost because this is one of the few places that won’t extradite you, but life can always get worse.” Teague rose to his feet and slanted a glance over at Kassius. “Let’s go. He’s been warned.”

Kassius nodded and glared at Malone for a moment longer before leaving the table and walking away. He wanted to beat the man’s smug smile off his face. Or at least see the man’s expression later once he woke and realized he wasn’t on that damn space station any longer. That would be so sweet. However, that wasn’t possible.

On top of that, they had to get back to Darmain and wait. Once Malone was back on the planet, it wouldn’t be long before Sephanie was back in Cassid. When she returned, they’d try to rebuild the relationship.

* * * *

Sephanie walked around her brother as he stood near the empty display case. She’d only returned home late last week. It had been over two months since the attack on Berenger. It felt good to be back at work, but it had been a long day. Every surface gleamed, and the light scent of cleanser hung in the air. After she finished a few more things, she could leave the shop. She would like to lock the bakery and go. Unfortunately she couldn’t leave yet.

Cooper was there. She didn’t doubt he was supposed to delay her or perhaps persuade her to talk to Berenger, Kassius, or Teague. So far it hadn’t been all of them on the holo-comm at once, and that made her suspicious. Good thing too, because they’d tried to be sneaky.

The first time, Kassius had contacted her. He’d talked to her, but he’d avoided discussing why he and Teague hadn’t told her about Berenger’s injury. He’d kept her talking. That made her wary. She’d thought Kassius might be trying to distract her so that Teague or Berenger could get to her. She’d barely gotten out of the house before Berenger had arrived. Once she considered the delaying tactics he’d used, she knew Berenger was there for more than conversation.

He’d seduce her. She wanted all of them so much that she wouldn’t resist too long. In short order, she’d find herself at their home. The only problem with that was her questions would remain unanswered. She wouldn’t be certain of them.

“I’m not going away, Seph. We both know you won’t leave while I’m still in the store. Who knows what I might do in an empty bakery? I might decide to make a new concoction for your menu.” Cooper turned and pressed one of his palms on the case.

Her gaze locked on the prints he was leaving all over her freshly wiped display. She sighed. He was right. She couldn’t leave him in her shop. There was no one else there. If she left him alone, he would start messing things up because he knew it would annoy her. Brothers were such a pain in the ass.

“Hands off. What do you want?” She strode over to him and lifted his hand. With an annoyed huff, she grabbed a cloth and wiped away the print.

“You need to talk with them.” Cooper smiled and moved away from the case.

“Oh, I tried that, but how can I be comfortable when they make me feel hunted? I talk to one of them, but there’s one who pops up close to where I am.” She glared at her brother.

“They were keeping you safe.” Cooper pointed at her. “You know that.”

“If they wish to talk, they can talk, not try to get their way.” She tapped her foot. “It’s time for them to learn I have a mind. I will not be picked up and put somewhere.”

Did they all think she was stupid? She’d been suspicious the first time Kassius had contacted her alone. When she’d found out Berenger was trying to corner her, that made her determined not to let them succeed. It infuriated her when they tried to force the issue that way. She didn’t think they were going to do anything dramatic like kidnap her, but they did have a tendency to try to take over. She simply wanted to start on equal footing.

“I don’t think that’s what they were trying to do.” Cooper shook his head.

She clenched her teeth to stop herself from yelling at her brother and took a few breaths before she spoke to him. “You can go tell them I’ll talk to them if they’re all there. I’m sure they either sent you to delay me or convince me to give them a chance. I want to rebuild our relationship, but I will have a say in it. If they keep up what they’re doing, then that word will be ‘no.’”

Her brother grimaced. “Merely talk. They’re determined not to lose you.”

She rolled her eyes. “They don’t have me any longer. That’s all because of their actions. If there’s any hope for us, they have to acknowledge I do have a choice.”

“I know you think I don’t understand what you’re feeling. Don’t let stubbornness and principle get in the way of grabbing your happiness. They might get tired of chasing you.” He walked to the door but stopped to look back at her. “You might have to decide if certainty is important to you.”

She sighed. Cooper was right. There might be a cost, but she couldn’t let the fear influence her decision. She loved them. She intended to give them a chance, but it felt as if they wanted to pick up where they’d left off without any type of acknowledgment of what had happened.

It had been a long few weeks. Sephanie almost shouted
I told you so
the moment she learned the identity of the first suspect. When Lillie Malone was picked up after the police followed the money trail, Sephanie thought she’d be home in a matter of days. It hadn’t happened that way. Derek Malone fled the planet. Cooper refused to bring her home until the man was caught.

Depression sapped Sephanie’s spirit. She’d wanted to go home and be normal. She was so tired of hiding and living in someone else’s house. The thought of sleeping in her bed for even a night or two seemed like an impossible dream. Sephanie hadn’t been afraid of Derek Malone, but Cooper didn’t want to take the chance the man could arrange for an attack or another accident while he was on the run.

She’d only gotten the facts secondhand and later than most people. Lillie probably wouldn’t get much prison time. She was talking quite a bit about her father’s dealings, and that would help her case.

Then there was Lillie’s father, Derek Malone. For a while, Sephanie had been afraid it would take years to find and bring the man back from wherever he’d run. She hadn’t wanted to stay away from home that long.

About a week ago, it seemed Derek Malone was traveling through an area with friendly relations with Darmain. He’d tried to board a shuttle, been identified and detained. It hadn’t been long before Malone was sent back to Darmain.

Sephanie wasn’t so trusting as to believe it was that simple. She didn’t think Malone was stupid enough to travel through friendly space with his own identity. Someone had given him help getting there. She suspected that someone friendly with either her brother or Teague had taken Malone from wherever he was hiding and put him somewhere he’d be captured so there wouldn’t be as many questions asked. However he was caught, Sephanie was glad she could finally be back among her family and friends.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Sephanie finished locking the shop after her brother finally left and went home. For the past few days, she hadn’t spent much time at her home. Barely enough time for Kassius, Teague, and Berenger to contact her there, but she’d said she would give them a chance. She’d keep her word to talk to them, but nervousness and anticipation made her jittery. They’d been so persistent about trying to come to her, she didn’t know if they’d try to have someone bring her to them today, perhaps one of their friends.

After she arrived home, she fixed herself a drink and tried to relax. She wondered if they’d contact her tonight or if they’d wait until tomorrow. Keeping her distance from them hadn’t been easy. Her emotions pulled her toward them, but they had to talk first. She wanted to kiss and touch them, but even more, she longed to talk, work, and play with them.

Only the memory of the pain she’d felt when she’d realized they weren’t going to tell her about Berenger kept her from putting aside her pride and going to them. They had to realize she needed to be part of the important decisions.

Her holo-comm chimed. For a long moment, she stared at it. After a slow, deep breath, she transferred the call to the big screen in front of her couch. She had a camera set up there so they’d be able to see her.

Berenger, Kassius, and Teague sat on the couch in their home. They all looked tense. She smiled. It was good to see them, even if they didn’t look all that happy. From the frowns on their faces, she guessed they were probably sulky because they hadn’t gotten their way.

“You could look pleased to see me.” She ran her fingers over the chain of her necklace. She hoped they couldn’t see how anxious she was.

“I’d be happier if you were here with us.” Teague scowled.

“Maybe I’d agree to meet with you in public if you hadn’t been trying to ambush me.” She resisted the urge to rub her clammy hands on the couch or her pants. “You three are trying to skip steps when there’s too much we have to clear between us.”

“How can we clear anything between us if we haven’t been together?” Teague leaned forward. His hands clasped together as he watched her.

“I have to know you can listen and be honest with me.” She sighed. “I know why you had my brother take me away, but that doesn’t make what you did right.”

“Don’t blame them for that. I told them we needed to get you away.” Berenger’s shoulders slumped and he exhaled loudly.

“And they are so meek and mild they went along with every demand without question. They have minds.” She glared at him and folded her arms across her chest. It might be easy to blame only one man, but they’d all had a choice in the matter.

“All right, yes, they can think on their own, but I’d already arranged for your brother to come get you.” Berenger grimaced and nodded.

“I don’t know what you think I’m angry about, so I’m going to tell you. You weren’t going to tell me about Berenger being hurt. It made me feel as if I wasn’t part of your life. You didn’t trust me. Do you know how furious that made me? How much it hurt me?” She clenched her hands into fists. Anger rose from thinking about it.

“Are you willing to listen?” Kassius sat forward, and his eyes narrowed.

“I’ve had to live with the frustration, hurt, and anger over what you did for weeks. You didn’t let me say good-bye to him.” She pointed at the screen. “I want to know I’ll be included in all of your life. The bad and the good. The joyful and the painful.”

“We share our lives with you.” Berenger’s eyebrows lowered, and he looked confused.

“Do you? So you told me about the vandalism, and I simply missed being brought to the hospital before you sent me to safety with words of love.” She tried to keep her voice steady when her throat tightened with emotion.

“No, but we didn’t know how the vandalism on our equipment could be connected. We suspected Malone with the harvester, because he wanted Kassius’s land. As for Berenger’s injury, we wanted to make sure you went somewhere safe. We thought breaking up with you and telling you about the danger would be the easiest way to get you there.” Kassius’s eyes were an icy blue as he watched her.

“Look where easy got us. I can’t be sure of you. Until I know you’ll give me the full truth instead of only part of it, there will be no sex.” She stared at them defiantly.

“Do you plan to keep the contact to merely talking, or are you willing to go out with us so we can earn your trust back?” Berenger smiled at her.

“I’ll go out with you, but remember, no sex.” She gave a small nod. She couldn’t walk away without discovering if they could fix their problems. A lump in her throat made it hard to swallow. She hoped they could rebuild this relationship because she missed them so much.

“We’ll respect anytime you decide to call a halt, but we will try to convince you you’re ready. All you have to do is say no.” Berenger lifted one shoulder, and she could immediately see the relaxation in his body.

He probably thought they could easily convince her to forget everything and renew their relationship. If they caught her in the right moment, it might be possible. She ached to be with them, but she had to be strong. If they could work this out, she wanted marriage and everything that went with it.

“Good, then we should have some nice dates before we tumble back into bed.” She knew they might consider that a challenge, but she had to make her position clear.

Kassius laughed. “We might. What time should we pick you up tomorrow?”

“I can’t tomorrow. Julie and Cathy are taking me out to cheer me up.” Sephanie wished she could go out with Kassius, Teague, and Berenger, but she wouldn’t cancel on her friends. Her friends had worried about her, not only because she’d been sad. They’d been cut off from her, as she was prevented from contacting them. “They’ve planned this girls’ night for days.”

They were silent for a moment. Kassius glanced over at Berenger and Teague. They looked back at him. None of them seemed angry or in any way upset, but Berenger did frown. The expression appeared more concerned than angry, but she didn’t know why they would feel anxious.

“I’m sure they’ll cheer you up. Is there any way you can meet for lunch?” Teague asked.

“I wish I could, but I have meetings planned to discuss catering with clients tomorrow, and I doubt I’ll have time to do more than grab something in between them. I’m not trying to put you off. Tomorrow will be busy.” She bit her lip. Maybe they thought she was trying to delay the meeting. It wasn’t the case.