The older man who’d spoken to them earlier marched down the ramp, followed by two younger warriors in full battle gear, holding deadly weapons. The leader’s hair and beard might be laced with gray, but his bearing was straight and proud. The way he walked, the way he held himself seemed very familiar.
Vaden stepped forward and bowed. “Father.”
Crap, this was Vaden’s father. And if Vaden was a prince of Gravas, that meant this was the king.
****
Vaden was more than a little surprised to be face to face with his father. “I did not expect you.” He hadn’t expected the king to leave the Gravasian warship, but he should have. His father’s curiosity would demand nothing less.
“Introduce me,” the king ordered. Vaden noted his father hadn’t taken his eyes off of Abby.
Vaden nodded and urged Abby just to the front of him. “This is Abigail Marks. My Abby.” He kept one hand at the small of her back. “This is my father, King Agman el Gravaso.”
“Fuck me,” Flynn muttered. “You never mentioned you were a fucking prince in the past.”
“It never came up in conversation until today,” he retorted.
Flynn stepped up and gave a curt nod. “Welcome aboard, your highness.”
His father’s face was stern, but his eyes sparkled. The old bastard was enjoying himself. He held out his hand to Abby and curled his fingers inward in a “come here” gesture. “Let me have a better look at you.” It was an imperial command.
She stepped forward without hesitation. “It’s nice to meet you, sir. I mean, your highness. Yes, Vaden did lose his ship, but that’s my fault. I thought it was space salvage and boarded, not realizing his engines were down.” She frowned. “He didn’t have replacement parts. That’s on you.”
Vaden knew his jaw had dropped. She was taking his father, King of Gravas, to task.
“But having crazy Jasper Freeman fire on us? That’s on me. Vaden protected me when he didn’t have to. That’s on you, seeing as you raised him. Or at least I assumed you did.”
“Shut up, Abby,” Flynn ordered.
She suddenly seemed to comprehend the tension that now permeated the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean offend you.”
“No, you meant to defend my wayward son.”
“Vaden is a fine warrior,” she insisted.
As much as his ego was boosted and his heart was filled with love at her defense of him, he stepped forward and put his hand over her mouth, silencing her. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear. “Best to quit while you still can.”
She nodded, but she also licked his palm. He wanted to grin but kept his expression stern. Appearances were everything for a Gravasian warrior in the presence of outsiders.
“You have chosen well.” The stamp of approval from his father meant everything to him, considering the loss of the political and economic ties when his former bride had bolted. “Thank you for your assistance,” he said to Flynn. “Come.” He turned and began to walk up the ramp, his guards following.
“So this is it,” Abby said. “You’re leaving.”
How could she think such a thing? “We’re leaving,” he told her. “You’re going with me.”
Garth raised his blaster. And that fast, the other men shoved their women behind them and drew weapons they’d kept tucked away.
“You aren’t going fucking anywhere with our sister,” Flynn informed him.
Chapter Twelve
Abby was stunned by how quickly the situation deteriorated. While Vaden’s father was stern, she actually liked him. How could she not when he reminded her of Vaden? She saw the flicker of pride in his gaze while he looked at his son.
Everything had been going so well. Now they were all pointing weapons. Her brothers were aiming at Vaden. The king and his men had their blasters pointed at her brothers.
“Stop.” She jumped between the two groups, even knowing it was downright stupid. But in her mind, it wasn’t as stupid as all these men getting ready to shoot one another. “Just stop.”
She looked to her brothers first. “Lower your weapons. You’re not going to hurt Vaden.”
“Why the fuck not?” Flynn demanded. “We just got you back, and he wants to take you. Someone took you from us before, and it’s taken us ten fucking years to find you.”
She understood her brother’s fear, truly she did. “I’m not going anywhere,” she promised.
“You are.” Vaden’s voice was hard and unforgiving.
She turned to him, noting his father and the Gravasian guards were now beside him. “I need to spend some time with my brothers.” She willed him to understand. “I just got here. I can’t leave them.”
“But you will leave me.”
Abby looked deep into his eyes and realized Vaden was … hurt by her declaration. “It’s not that I don’t want to be with you,” she began. And how awkward was this with her four older brothers watching her every move and listening to every word. Not to mention their women. “Can we talk about this? Alone,” she added.
The king shook his head. “Your brothers have pulled weapons on a prince of Gravas. The sentence for that is death.”
“No.” She backed away from Vaden and his group, hating the growing distance between them with every step she took. “I can’t let you kill them.”
The king stroked his gray beard. “I might see my way to pardon them.” She knew what he was going to say before he even said it. “If you come with us.”
It would kill her to leave her brothers behind. It would also kill her to watch Vaden walk out of her life. She was damned whatever she did.
“No.” Vaden stood with his feet braced apart and his shoulders squared. “The Marks brothers saved my life. They are pardoned.” He glared at his father, the tension in the room growing with each passing second. Sweat rolled down her spine. Trigger fingers were itchy as the men stared at one another.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the king acquiesced with a quick nod. “Fine. But we must go.”
Her stomach hurt at the thought of never seeing Vaden again. He wanted her to go with him. As much as she loved him, she needed time to get to know her brothers again.
On impulse, she went to Vaden and placed her hand on his chest. “Stay.” She looked toward her brothers. “He can stay, right?”
Flynn frowned but nodded.
“You want me to stay?” Vaden’s eyes were nearly unreadable, even to her. Their dark depths were cool.
Was she making a mistake?
It didn’t matter. She had to make him understand how much he meant to her, how much she’d come to love him, even if they’d only known each other for a short time.
“Only if you want to. I want to be with you, Vaden. Even if you are a prince.” Her attempt at a joke fell flat. She was losing him and didn’t know what to say or do to stop it. “For ten years, I thought my brothers were dead. Do you have any idea what that’s been like? Thinking I’m alone in the world,” she continued before he could answer. “Having to choose between the two of you is tearing me apart.” She blinked back tears before they spilled down her face.
“I know you probably have duties and responsibilities back home.” What was she thinking? That a prince could defy his father and stay with her, a woman he barely knew? Confidence deserting her, she dropped her hand. He caught it and brought it back to the front of his battlesuit, placing it over his heart.
Vaden glared at her brothers. Not a good sign. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, making her shiver. “You stole a bride from me.”
With everything happening, she’d forgotten that. The beautiful light-haired woman, the woman her brother Amos called Angel, was supposed to have married Vaden. Now she felt even more stupid. Angel was the heiress of a big shipping company. She had power and prestige and connections.
“You owe me.” Vaden’s voice was harder than she’d ever heard. He wrapped his fingers around her hand. “I’m claiming my prize.”
> She wasn’t sure who was more shocked, her or her brothers. There were shouts of “no way” and “not happening.” And predictably from Flynn, “No fucking way.”
“I’m a prize?” That implication stung. “I guess the joke’s on you then. I’m not much of a prize.”
Vaden lifted her right off her feet, his dark eyes snapping with anger. “Don’t you say that. Don’t you ever say that again. You are everything. I would fight the entire universe for you.”
Warmth seeped into her heart, driving back the hurt and chill. “Really?”
He heaved an exasperated sigh. “Yes, really.” He lowered his head until their foreheads were touching. “You are my wife. It is already done. I have claimed you under Gravasian law.”
“When? How? Shouldn’t I have been consulted?” Part of her was deliriously happy. Another part wanted to thump him on the back of his head and demand to know what he’d been thinking to do such a thing.
“I recorded our conversation. You said you loved me. That you would take me. I knew we might not make it, that Freeman might take you and kill me. If that happened, I wanted the full might of the Gravasian military to rain hell down on him and rescue you so you could be returned to your family.”
He’d done all that. Thought enough about her to do all that.
“Wow.”
“You are mine, Abby Marks. I knew it from the moment you held your blaster on me and demanded I release you from my ship.”
Her brothers were muttering in the background, but she couldn’t bring herself to be concerned about them. Not when she was having the most romantic moment of her entire life.
“Really?” She could only seem to speak in single word sentences she was so overcome with love for the man.
He brushed his lips against hers. “You are mine. For now. For forever.”
It was a commitment. A vow. “You are mine. For now. For forever,” she repeated back. Vaden brushed his lips over hers. The familiar heat spread throughout her body, making even her toes tingled.
“For fuck’s sake, unhand my sister. I don’t need to add to the nightmares I already have.” Flynn’s voice cut through their moment. She burst out laughing. He sounded so disgruntled and put out.
It suddenly occurred to her, not only she was kissing Vaden in front of her family, but also his father, the king. “Put me down,” she whispered. She needed to try to regain some of her dignity, though she feared it was probably way too late for that.
“No.” Instead, he lifted her legs so he was holding her with both arms. Knowing better than to try to fight him in front of the others—she was reserving that for when they were alone—she looped one arm around his neck.
Vaden’s father had a twinkle in his eye that disappeared as soon as he caught her watching him. Interesting. It seemed Gravasian men liked to pretend they were cold, killing machines. She knew better. There might be no one more dangerous than her man, but there was another side to him, one he allowed only her to see.
She was okay with that.
“You will come home,” the king began, and Abby’s heart dropped. She dug her fingers into the collar of Vaden’s battlesuit, fearing she was going to have to make an impossible choice—her brothers or her husband. And how weird was that? They were married. She couldn’t even wrap her head around that one.
“In one planetary month,” the king continued. “Your wife’s family is welcome to attend the formal ceremony.”
Abby’s heart lightened. Her brothers would be welcome on Gravas. She wouldn’t have to lose them to stay with Vaden.
“Your mother and brothers will want to meet her.”
Knots gripped her stomach. His mother. She had to meet his mother and his brothers. “How many brothers do you have?” she whispered.
“Four. I’m the fifth son.” He was the baby in the family, just as she was.
“It is decided,” the king decreed. Then he looked to his son.
Somehow Vaden managed to bow with her still in his arms. “We will be there, your highness.”
“See that you are.” Then he sent a cold glare over her brothers. “See to it no harm comes to my son and his bride. I am holding you responsible.” Without waiting for a reply, he swept back up the ramp with his men behind him.
“Let’s get them out of here.” Flynn led them all back behind the protective barrier. Vaden put her down and pushed her a bit behind him. She wondered why.
As soon as the outer door shut behind the Gravasian shuttle, Flynn spun around and plowed his fist into Vaden’s face. Blood spurted from the corner of his mouth, but he barely rocked back on his feet. He’d braced himself before the hit had landed.
He’d expected it. She wasn’t sure what shocked her more—the fact Flynn had hit him, or that Vaden had not only expected it but took it.
“Stop it.” She stepped between the two men who towered over her, both of them angry and breathing heavily.
“That is your one shot,” Vaden informed Flynn as he swiped his hand over the blood pooling along his bottom lip.
“Was it revenge?” Flynn demanded. Her other brothers had pushed their women behind them and were standing behind Flynn, ready to support him.
“I say we stuff him in an airlock and shoot him out into space,” Garth muttered.
“We could always call his father back and make him take Vaden,” Kal suggested. “It’s not too late.”
Only Amos kept his silence. But then maybe he was happy that Vaden had a wife. Meant he’d forget about the fact that Vaden had once been contracted to marry Amos’s woman.
It was all too much—the fight for their lives, the crash, being reunited with her brothers, facing down Vaden’s father, and finding out she was married. Now her brothers were fighting with him.
“Stop it,” she yelled. “Just stop it.” She rubbed the growing ache in her chest, but it only kept growing and expanding. Without warning, she burst into tears. Not wanting to face any of them, not her brothers or their women, and definitely not Vaden, she fled down the hallway.
Voices called out to her, but she ignored them, her only goal escape. Strong arms wrapped around her from behind. She knew without turning around that it was Vaden.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear. That made her cry even harder.
“Now look what you’ve done,” Flynn accused.
“Shut it, Flynn,” Vaden demanded. “Your sister has been through much. She barely survived a crash after being hunted and on her own for years. I know you’re angry at me and at the world. Do not take it out on her.”
His defense of her dried her tears. He really must love her to put up with all that he had.
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Flynn raked his good hand over his short-cropped hair. “But you had that hit coming,” he told Vaden.
“If we all got what we had coming, we’d be black and blue.”
Flynn stared at Vaden before giving a curt nod. “You got that right.” With that, he slapped Vaden on the back. “Welcome aboard.”
Men were insane, but she was stuck with all of them because she loved them all. The women were all giving her looks of varying sympathy and support. Angelina seemed unsure, staying close to Amos.
There would be time to get to know them all in the days ahead. “I’m sorry,” she began, only to be interrupted by her husband.
“You apologize to no one. You have done nothing wrong.”
One corner of Flynn’s mouth kicked up in a partial smile. “Seems like you have him wrapped around your little finger.”
“Fuck off, Flynn,” Vaden fired back.
Flynn pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “I’m so glad to have you back. If I have to give you up to someone, I’m glad it’s a big bastard who knows how to fight.”
She sensed this was a huge concession for her brother. “I know how to fight,” she told him, not wanting him to see her as weak.
“I know you do, button. I just wish you hadn’t had to learn.” He released her then, and Garth
took his place.
“I missed you, Abigail,” he whispered.
Kal lifted her into his arms and swung her in circles until she got dizzy. “Put me down,” she ordered while laughing. He did as she asked, but not before kissing both cheeks.
Then Amos stood in front of her. “Are you happy?” he asked.
Vaden was right behind her, so she reached back and took his hand in hers. “I am.” She wanted not only her brothers but him to hear her. “I’m happier than I thought I could ever be.”
Vaden’s fingers curled around hers. “Your sister needs to rest,” he announced.
Kal protested. “I want her to get to know Rory and the other women.”
“I will, but I could really use a chance to get clean and rest.” She still smelled of smoke and sweat and ached in too many places to talk about. She was a mess. Good thing she’d forgotten her sorry state while meeting the king, as otherwise things would have gone even worse than they had.
“Of course.” It was Lacey who stepped forward and took her hand. “Follow me. There’s a spare cabin. Your brothers set it up years ago for you. They never gave up hope.”
Abby remembered liking the quiet woman she’d known as a girl on Eden. “Thank you. I’ll see you all later,” she promised the rest of them.
Lacey placed her palm against the scanner, and the door slid open. “One of your brothers can code you into the security system later.” She waited until they’d entered the room before returning to Garth, who was waiting down the corridor for her.
The room was small, but fully functional with a bed, storage, and another door that she assumed led to a small bathing chamber. A small desk with a personal computer was tucked in the corner, but it was what was on it that drew her inward.
The door shut behind her and Vaden, leaving them alone for the first time in what seemed like days even though it was only a matter of hours.
“What is it?” he asked. He slipped one arm around her waist, pulling her back against him.
“My things.” Her small button collection sat in a jar under a lamp. Beside it were a couple of tattered books and a broken comb. She ran her fingers over the wood of the comb. It wasn’t expensive, wasn’t even bought. “Flynn carved this for me out of a solid piece of wood. I had a friend who had a pretty pink comb. I know now it was cheap plastique, but back then I thought it the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Flynn must have heard me talking about it. Next thing I know, he’s giving me this. He even carved flowers in the handle. I loved it, but I still secretly wanted the pink plastique one. He kept it. They kept it all.”
Salvaging Abby (Marks Mercenaries Book 4) Page 12
