Loving Them

by Rebecca Royce

  “I don’t want to speak for Diana. You’ll have to ask her.”

  From the tightening of his lips and the muscle ticking in his jaw, C.J. didn’t like that answer. “Loyalty is a great quality, Paloma. You two were always thick as thieves.”

  I followed after him down the hallway. He made innocuous conversation, kept it to topics like space traffic and new shuttles that would make the trip to Earth quicker. He asked about my time in the Sisterhood, and I answered as benignly as I could. Nothing really said, nothing really heard.

  Eventually, we arrived at Melissa’s office. The door opened, and all conversation inside ceased until it closed behind us.

  C.J. nodded at me. “Good work.”

  “Was that always the case? Because when I came up here the first time and then again when Diana got back, we were chatting without watching ourselves.”

  Melissa stood from behind her guest. “It’s a protocol we use when we feel we’re under attack. We turn it on and off. It’s very expensive for the station to maintain, and I try not to use up too many credits for my own family’s use. Despite what other council members may or may not think.

  I supposed that made sense. C.J. spoke again. “D told P that she can hear another line hooking into the jail.”

  Pain crossed Melissa’ face before she covered it. “I see. For now, we’re going to just be happy that she is not comatose and she is telling anyone anything.”

  “Actually,” Dane cut in. “I think she’s bonding with Ari, too. He’s really good at this. One way or another, he gets a reaction out of his patients.”

  Well… he was certainly doing that, I supposed.

  A door in the back office opened, and Tommy came out. “Hey, love. Come. We’re watching Quinn.”

  “And you need to be screening the line. We assumed it was visual, but now we think it’s audio.” Wes stood from the chair where he sat next to Melissa and scooted by Tommy into the back room. “Smart thinking. Who checks audio? It’s so… primitive.”

  I followed them into the back room. Tommy waited for me by the entrance and put his arm around me. “What you just did with Quinn, it was perfection. I think you really scared him, a little bit. ‘Don’t call me P.’ That’s rough.”

  “I wanted it to seem real.” I hoped I hadn’t gone too far.

  “It did,” Keith called from one of the computer stations. He was talking into his tablet, giving some kind of instructions to the overall system. He’d acknowledged me and then gone right back to working. His hair fell into his eyes, and I walked over to swipe it out of the way for him. Keith needed a haircut

  He smiled at me. “Thanks, babe.” Keith chewed on his lower lip. “You know what? This was smart thinking on their part. As Wes said, we don’t check audio. It’s like an afterthought. But it’s making my head start to go really interesting places. I think we could use their tech against them. The physics of the whole thing. Bouncing audio. We could tag onto Sandler communications and send our own messages.”

  Wes looked up from his own tablet. “That’s a great idea.”

  “I know.” Keith never had any shortage of ego when it came to his ideas. I hid my smile. I found it really adorable. “But for right now, we’re going to find the people who are listening in on Quinn.”

  Wes swirled around in his chair. “Do you think…?”

  “Got it.” Keith sat back in his chair. “I’ve got them. Fifth floor. That’s the casino. So, Quinn wasn’t wrong about that either.”

  “He’s not often,” Tommy added. “Even if he’s also not always right entirely.”

  Nolan strode over. “Give me room numbers. I’ll get them out, now.”

  “Not going to be necessary.” C.J. pointed at the screen. “They’re coming to Quinn now.”

  I looked down at the screen. There were ten guards between the five men who moved toward the entrance of the jail. They wouldn’t be allowed entrance into the jail, which meant they were going to have to kill everyone who got in their way.

  “The guards?” I stared at Nolan. “How far are we willing to go with other people’s lives to win this war?”

  “Far. But not that far, at least not today.” Nolan shrugged. “Have a little trust, Paloma. Only my best have been working on this one.”

  He wanted me to have a little faith? Was he kidding? “Quinn’s face is destroyed. Only your best?”

  Nolan smirked. “You remind me so much of Melissa when she was your age. Going to take on the world for them? That’s great. Have at it. Quinn’s face was part of the plan, or at least the one we had to concoct faster than I’ve ever made one before. We would beat him up if he really was the person he’s pretending to be.”

  “I—”

  Tommy touched my arm. “You can baby him when he gets out. He’ll love that. I’m sending Clay a message that things are moving forward. He’s working, but he’ll want to be here for this. Look.” He nodded toward the screen. “Nolan’s men are suddenly becoming cowards. They’re running. Where did you get them, Nolan?”

  “They’re the most loyal, hard-working men and women imaginable. This is killing them inside, but if your plan is to be believed, this is just the beginning, yes? We’re all going to be pretending a lot?”

  Watching the five men enter the jail wearing face masks after the guards had run made my stomach turn. Quinn Sandler was a real “get” for his father. They wouldn’t hurt him. Turning him over to Garrison would be a very big deal for whomever could do it.

  Nolan touched his wrist. “Second group will move in as soon as we have confirmation.”

  “What kind of—”

  Quinn’s voice filled the room. He spoke from the jail. “I wondered how long it would take you assholes to get here. I am not going to be talking to anyone wearing those fucking masks.”

  Assholes? Fucking? Didn’t he want them to be on his side? Wasn’t that the point? “Tommy?”

  “That’s how he’d speak to them if this was real. We’re Sandlers. They’re not. Even for their loyalty, they’d be no more than servants to him. Almost beneath his notice if they’re not useful.”

  I shuddered. Tommy said that with no inflection in his voice. “I can’t imagine you being like that.”

  Clay came through the door and stood next to me. “What do you think the chances are we’ll recognize them?”

  “Slim-to-none.” Tommy rubbed his chin. “And here come their faces.” The five men all slowly removed their masks.

  “Wouldn’t they have shut down the video feed? Wouldn’t that be the first thing one would do when one did something like this?”

  Wes nodded. “Yep. They think they have. Because we were assuming they were tracking the video feed, and not the audio, we set up a secondary feed. They think they shut down the feed.” He sucked in his breath. “That’s Councilman Fredrick.”

  Melissa shook her head. “Ask me if I’m surprised. Do you remember him, Paloma?”

  “He was my father’s best friend.”

  I’d hated him. The way he sneered, the way he condescended to my mother, the way he looked at my breasts. And when I’d gotten into trouble, he’d contacted the Sisterhood for my father. I’d been back on the station, and it hadn’t occurred to me to find out if that scum of the universe still lived here. But then again, I’d not been looking for Rocky Douglass either. Denial, thy name is Paloma…

  There he was, and he’d been behind that bombing that had taken lives. As Melissa had said, why was I not surprised?

  “We were hoping the rumors of your true loyalty were correct. We heard you were still loyal to us. Your father believes you are. He thinks Tommy has kept you away from him against your will.”

  Quinn stretched back, like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Yeah, well that Thomas Sandler, you never do know what he’s going to do. Kidnapped by Tommy. Yes, Dad was right. But then again, he’s Garrison Sandler. He’s always right.”

  I couldn’t watch anymore. If Quinn said the wrong thing and they didn’t beli
eve him, then they were going to kill him. I might have had more confidence if it had been anyone but Fredrick. With him, anything would be possible. “I don’t suppose you could pull him out. Now.”

  Melissa put her hand on my arm. “Almost done.”

  I pulled out my tablet. What had I been doing on here? Oh, that was right. Looking for their uncles. I crossed the room, ignoring everything else that was going on. Every time Quinn spoke, my heart jumped.

  “How long have you been doing this?”

  I plugged my computer into the mainframe of Mars Station. I typed in Sandler and pirates. Then I waited. The computer gave my tablet all the information it had. Whatever I got would have to do. I was out of resources.

  “So you blew it up? Awesome.”

  Clay walked up next to me. “I’ve never seen him so calm at anything.”

  “I can’t talk about it.” Diana’s words were still too close in my head. “I can’t lose you guys. I’ve seen what that kind of grief looks like. She’ll never be okay. I would be worse. That’s how I love the four of you. It was okay when it was hypothetical, but one of those men is truly evil. This could go very badly.”

  Nolan spoke into his wrist. “Go now.”

  Loud booms sounded, and I grabbed Clay’s arm, digging my fingers into him. Either he didn’t mind or he loved me enough that he wasn’t going to complain. “Paloma.” His voice was in my ear. “We just had a win. Take a breath. Quinn will be with us soon. We love you like that, too. Say the word, and we’ll all go together and disappear some place no one will ever find us. Until then, we’re in this up to our ears.”

  “I understand all of that. It doesn’t mean watching while you take risks is any easier.”

  Quinn came through the door. He was beat up, but other than that, he was alive and well. He saw me and grinned. Two seconds later, I was in his arms. His heart beat. That was enough.

  “She was scared.” Clay kissed my cheek. “You scared her.”

  “Well”—Quinn laughed—“she scared me, too. ‘Don’t call me P.’ I know that I will never, ever be doing anything to get you to talk to me like that.” He kissed my neck. “I always get to call you P.”

  From across the room Keith called out, “You stole that name from me.”

  “Yes, but it sounds better coming from me.”

  Tommy groaned. “If you could all stop for a second, we still have things to talk about. Important decisions. I came up with a game plan. Quinn hasn’t seen it yet, and I want Paloma to hear it when everyone else does because I think she can add to it.”

  He had my full attention and that of everyone else in the room. Tommy made eye contact with everyone quickly before he spoke. “I’ve already discussed this with Melissa and Nolan a little bit. But not the full plan. I think the only way you’re saving this station—in the long run—is to give it up for a short time.”

  C.J. swore under his breath, and Tommy nodded. “I get it. What I’m suggesting, it’s painful for me to even say it, and I’ve only been here a short time. I can see the potential here. I can see what you’ve tried to build, what you did create before the bomb went off in the promenade. You’re right here. Right on the edge of that black hole.”

  The door opened and closed as Ari came in and joined us. He sat down next to Dane, nodding at Tommy after he did.

  My oldest husband cleared his throat. “Thanks for showing up, cousin.”

  “Thanks for waiting.” Ari rolled his eyes. “I have patients, one who needs a lot of time right now. Go on. I see Quinn is alive and out of jail. That’s great news for today.”

  “I was just saying,” Tommy continued, “this is an amazing place, but you’ll never be able to hold it. Not from what’s going to come. My father doesn’t take no for an answer. He will continue to send bombers and get them in here until there is nothing left to save. Or,” he spoke directly to Melissa, “you leave it. You walk away like you’ve lost. And then you take it back. He’s relentless in pursuit, but not so wonderful at keeping up with what he’s taken.”

  Quinn cleared his throat. “I’d say that’s right. This is the first time I’m hearing this, but it makes sense. Paloma and I had a similar conversation. She reminded me of this. People will fight to take back their homes. He never, ever thinks about that. Mostly because I never did.”

  “You leave. Scamper away like you have your tail between your legs. Then you come back. Retake the station. Not from the outside but from within.”

  Dane spoke up. “Are you proposing we leave people behind?”

  “Not even a little bit. I wouldn’t ask that of anyone. But”—Tommy grinned—“I am suggesting that you leave things behind.”

  Clay rubbed my back. “Like what? They’ll find anything we try to hide. Trust me, I once spent a summer working a cleanup crew as punishment for having an attitude problem. They’re good at it.”

  “Not this.” Tommy pointed at Geoff. “Micro-bombs.”

  Diana’s father nodded but didn’t look up from the floor. “The last time I made micro-bombs, one of them got attached to Melissa’s heart.”

  “Really?” Ari stood. “How’d that work out? You’re obviously still here.”

  Dane shook his head. “We can talk about that later. I get the fascination, but not now.”

  Melissa walked over to Geoff and put her hand on his shoulder. “That wasn’t your fault. That was my mother. I never wanted to lead a war. I wasn’t a very good rebel, once upon a time. I was pretty bad at it. But this is different. By the time I was born, Cooper’s family had long ruled that side of the galaxy. Things were bad. My mother created the rebellion, mostly for ego I think. If people had risen up when it was happening, maybe things would be different.” She shook her head. “I won’t tell my children that I ran and hid when there were people to save. This is our home. I’m not losing it to Garrison.”

  Geoff stood. “I can make the bombs. Where are we putting them?”

  “The hidey-holes. The ones in all the rooms for people to hide in if they’re under attack. You clear this place of as many people as you can when you go. Anyone who stays is loyal to Dad anyway. Trust me. Vendors and restaurants and shops won’t make money under Sandler Cartel leadership. Only Sandlers and those who have been loyal a lot longer than anyone here would.” He pointed at the screen. “Get them off. Then blow this place with micro bombs. It won’t bring down the station. You can rebuild it. I know it’s hard to stomach. But this is war. It’s war whether we call it war or we don’t.” He pointed at the window. “It saves the promenade. You do it in the middle of the day. Most people aren’t in their rooms, so if there are innocent bystanders, then maybe we give them a chance. You can’t let Sandler take that black hole. You can’t give them that kind of access. Trust me. I used to be one of the guys in charge.”

  Melissa tugged on the edge of her hair. “Paloma, Tommy wanted you here. What do you think?”

  “I think… I think that this once was a beautiful place to grow up. In the mess of this life, of the way humans destroyed planets so many years ago, Mars Station was beautiful. We had schools. Women were free to live lives here. No one harassed them. Commerce thrived and we didn’t feel like we were constantly under the thumb of a military or security force. I think I saw Garrison Sandler on a screen while I fought for my life against a bounty hunter. He isn’t someone I would trust with anything, ever. He has to be stopped. If you have to lose it to save it, then I’d say do it.” I met Quinn’s gaze. “People protect what they love.”

  I didn’t know if I really had something to add, but I was proud to be in the room with these people. I was proud of the possibilities that things might get better.

  Someday.

  15

  Goodbye, Again, Old Friend.

  Tommy went on to explain the rest of his plan. He was going to take back Sandler space. One planet at a time. The people had long been under his father’s thumb and lived in abject squalor because of it. Yet the remained loyal to the Sandler brand. They want
ed a Sandler in charge. This was Sandler space. Tommy would give them one—well four—other options. But he couldn’t do it alone, and the only place with a garrison of ships and military people around to help with the battle was Earth.

  Hands down. The only option.

  He needed help, and he was going to ask Earth for it.

  Melissa sighed and sat down in her seat. “Earth is complicated. We hated it there when we first came through the black hole, and arguably, my family is powerful. My father is a minister, and my uncles hold cabinet positions. The prime minister owes them all favors. And yet… it’s pay to play and I’d seen enough of that on the other side of the galaxy. We’ve had some things come our way because we were in charge here, but I have never—and I mean never—left anyone desperate here because they didn’t have either political clout or money. That being said, my father loves me. He hates my husbands. But he loves me. And he loves my children.”

  C.J. spoke up. “Paloma’s family is there. Your sister married into the Chen family. They’re water barons. Not political, per se, except when it comes to their personal interests. But they’re there.”

  I held up my hand. The truth of what I was about to say weighed on me, but this was a meeting that required hard spoken words, whether I wanted to say them or not. If Melissa could speak about her past, and years ago Diana had told me Melissa almost never did, then I could too.

  “My father wanted to be in charge here. He wanted to be with all of you. He thought having two daughters would be his buy-in, so to speak. Pay to play. I like that description. Um, I embarrassed him enough that he paid for me to go to the Sisterhood, and he paid every month after to keep me there. I only knew Amber got married because Diana told me. I haven’t had one single communication from them, not even from my mother or my sister, since I left. I think my connection to my father will only hurt our cause.”

  I took a deep breath. I wasn’t lying. Every single utterance was true. Yet sometimes, it was easier to not speak about things I couldn’t manage. My family would always be something I couldn’t manage.