by C. L. Stone
“That’s good. Maybe you aren’t anxious right now?” He winked at me. “Maybe I calm you down.”
“I have enjoyed being with you, Clay. Do you have a favorite dinner? I could try to make it.” I didn’t have much to offer them. Food seemed to be it.
His eyes widened. “Can you do steak?”
“Do you have a grill?”
He held up two fingers. “I’ll get them out of storage and clean them. You can pick.”
“You get them out. I’ll clean them.”
An alarm sounded in the med bay. I waited for my nerves to fray about whatever it was, but they didn’t. I stayed calm, my arm on Clay’s. “I think the medicine is working.”
“That’s not a good alarm. Someone’s at the door, and whoever answered it doesn’t like who it is. Come on.” He took my hand and pulled me fast from the shuttle’s med bay to the house. “Keep your head down. Be as silent as you can.”
I obeyed without question. This was a different Clay than the one I’d been around. Gone was the sweet romantic, and in his place was a focused, determined man whose energy alone made me want to follow his orders.
We went in the back door of the house. I’d never been in the room he brought me to. In fact, I’d thought it was a pantry. Clay put his finger to his lips to order me quiet and flipped on a screen that showed the front door.
Thomas stood there alone, and two men in dark suits spoke to him. Behind the two, five men holding guns waited.
Clay whistled through his teeth. “Damn it. Who are these fuckers?”
“—because we heard she’s alive, and as the only survivor of an attack as large as the one on the Sisterhood, we need to speak to her.” We’d clearly come in during the middle of a conversation. I caught on quickly. They were asking about me. My heart fell into my stomach. Who were these people, and why did they want me?
“Police?” I whispered to Clay. He shook his head.
“No. These are not authorities that can be trusted. These are profiteers. They attacked the Sisterhood, and the fact that you lived has thrown off their plans. They don’t want to get caught. I know them, actually. They’re infamous.”
I pressed my head against Clay’s arm. He smelled clean, like soap. “What’s going to happen?”
Would Thomas turn me in? I knew he’d protect his family against anything. Was I now something he had to get rid of to keep his own safe?
“I …”
Thomas answered. “Are you talking about my wife?”
The guys stared at each other before they looked back at Thomas. “I don’t think so. We heard a young woman named Paloma sought employment. She’d been in the Sisterhood.”
Thomas laughed, leaning against the door. “Yes. At one point my wife was with the Sisterhood. But she couldn’t resist us. We can be persuasive when we want to be. Eventually, we convinced her she wanted to be a McQueen. Paid the good Sisterhood for her two weeks ago. She was here when things went to hell, doesn’t know a thing about it. And as for her looking for a job? Ever had a young wife? They tend to freak out the first night, you know? She’s calmed. No more running off for jobs. We keep her occupied in other ways.”
They did what? I sucked in my breath. He told them we were married?
“Fucking brilliant, Tommy.” Clay grinned. The door opened and closed, Keith coming in. “You watching this?”
“Baby.” Keith kissed my hand. “You need to take off your shirt. Trust me, we won’t even look.”
“I …” My cheeks were bright red. This was really insane. What would taking off my shirt do for any of this?
The men were still talking. I didn’t think they particularly believed Thomas. He stayed easy-going, like he had all the time in the world to manage this.
“Raise your arms,” Keith told me. “Quinn wants to be here too, but it’s always better if he stays away in moments like this.”
He pulled my shirt over my head, and Clay grabbed me. “Put your arms around my neck, legs around my waist. And trust me. Trust us. No one is getting you. Play along. If you can’t think of something to say, say nothing. Just remember, you’re our wife.”
Clay pushed out of the secret room, and the next thing I knew, I was in his arms, shirtless, by the front door. I was totally covered, my breasts pushed to his chest. Still, I hadn’t been so exposed since my father pulled my naked self away from Rocky and dragged me through the main corridor of Mars Station.
“I thought I heard someone at the door. Sweetheart here wanted to know who it was.”
I buried my head against his neck. “Not naked, darling.”
“You’re only half-naked. And even that’s too many clothes for my taste.”
Thomas groaned loudly. “We have guests. I’d rather they not see what belongs only to us. Here, baby.” He pulled his shirt off, and I leaned back to let him shove me into the clothing.
He touched my cheek. “You really are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
In Clay’s arms, with his hard body holding me still and Thomas’ hand on my face, I shivered. They were both, in that moment, more visceral than I’d ever seen them before.
“As you can see, she’s fine, and I’m not letting my wife go anywhere. You can all move on.” His eyes were steel when he spoke to the profiteers. “We’re busy. I haven’t been with her enough today.”
“If we went downtown to look, this is all official? You’ve filled out the paperwork?”
Keith came out of the back of the house, his hair wet. “Are we having some kind of party?” He walked up to me and kissed me square on the mouth. “Wore me out, Baby.”
“They want to know if we’ve made this official.”
Keith nodded vigorously. “Sure did. Just today. We’ve been somewhat busy before now. Quinn, bring out the paperwork.”
Quinn, looking different than I’d ever seen him in glasses and a hat, came out. He held a paper in his hand, which he promptly gave to Thomas.
“Here.” Thomas handed it to them. My heart raced so fast I thought I might faint. Clay’s hand was on my back, under the shirt, stroking up and down my spine.
“Easy, daring.” He kissed my cheek. “It’s okay.”
The profiteers examined the paper and then handed it back to Thomas. “Sorry for the confusion. So you say she wasn’t there during the explosion?”
I found my voice. “What explosion?”
“We’ve had her somewhat tied up.” Clay bit my shoulder. “In fact, I’m getting back to that. I don’t need a bunch of nonsense on my honeymoon. Have a good day, and get the hell out.”
Thomas closed the door, and after a beat, Quinn threw off his hat and glasses. “It’s real. Took me a minute, but I broke the system, uploaded the document, and anyone who looks will find her married to us.”
Clay set me down on the counter. “Are you okay?”
“Nice move with the naked.” Thomas shook his head. “They were going to swallow their tongues. I couldn’t leave her that way. You okay?”
They all looked at me. I needed to answer. “I guess so. I mean, I’d rather not have to get shirtless again, but it did work. Did you say you uploaded a document?” I’d have time to be embarrassed later. For now, I needed to focus. “It’s official?”
Quinn nodded, his eyebrows raised. “Congratulations Mrs. McQueen.”
“Shit.” Thomas banged the table. “They’re going to look more into us now. Damn it. We have to go. Protocol B. You’re all coming to Mars Station, then we’ll go into hiding again. Keith, fix whatever you did to my shuttle. Quinn, grab me a shirt and Paloma some pants.”
He didn’t hesitate and ran for the shuttle. Before I knew what had happened, we were all seated on the shuttle with Keith pounding on the control panel. The shuttle seemed to sigh, and then it turned back on.
“Simple Pronto Algorithm. You would have gotten it eventually.”
Thomas shook his head. “No time to play.”
And just like that, we were airborne. When we were in spac
e, I turned on the four of them. I’d kept quiet because a crisis was a crisis. I wasn’t going to be hysterical when they needed quiet. The men at the door were bad news.
“Are we actually married?”
Thomas hit a button on the control panel and spun around to look at the rest of us. “Want to field that one, Quinn? Or shall I?”
Quinn steepled his fingers. “You know how it’s not possible to be a little pregnant? You either are or you’re not?”
“Is this going to matter to my question?”
“It will.” He took my hand, and I let him.
“See, the thing is, you’re married to the four of us. It’s legal. I realize it takes consent to get married. You haven’t. You could contest the marriage. They’d let you out. But you don’t need to because in this case it is actually possible to be a little married and mostly not. We’re living under aliases. There are no Thomas, Clay, Quinn and Keith McQueen.”
I sat back in my seat. I hadn’t seen that coming. “Who are you?”
Clay spoke fast. “There’s a very good reason, and I hope you won’t hate us when you know.”
“We’re Thomas, Clay, Keith and Quinn Sandler. I’m sure you know the name.”
My head spun. “The people who are always destroying everything? The Sandler Cartel?”
Keith nodded. “My father would argue that we do those things to rebuild them in our image. His ultimate dream is to just be in charge, be the king, rule the world. It’s kind of simple in his maniacal craziness, but there it is.”
“He’s not maniacal or crazy.” Quinn rubbed his eyes. “He likes to win. End of story. He knows how, and he’s not afraid of the consequences.”
I looked between them. They were still the same guys as before. Thomas still made me nervous, but he was so handsome I could hardly breathe for looking at him, and his eyes spoke of pain that would never heal. Clay was romantic, easy-going, smart, and hidden. Keith kept secrets, he said funny things, and he charged forward. Quinn understood what it was to be damaged and had done something so bad he’d never get over it. They were still the four men I’d spent days with, who’d saved me—twice—who’d married me to keep me safe.
Yet they were Sandlers. My father called their father a lunatic at dinner conversations, and if my father said that, then it had to be really bad. Of course, he was also the man who’d dumped me in the Sisterhood and never looked back.
“Why aren’t you guys with him? Why the name change?”
Clay sat back. “She hasn’t run to the other side of the ship yet boys. She’s not shrieking in terror.”
Thomas slammed his hand on the console. “She should be. We’re not good news, Paloma. This is our life. These three are going to convince you to stay married to us. They are already all head over heels for you. I get it. You’re gorgeous, and you’re sweet, and somehow despite what was done to you, your soul is intact. You look at me with innocence in your eyes. I’d do anything to protect it, but I live in the real world. You live with us, this is your life. Get comfortable, and it’s time to run again. We don’t get to settle down. There is no someday for us. We have nothing to offer a wife.”
I held up my hand. “Before we get into the marriage part, can you answer my question? Why are you not Sandlers anymore?”
“Because.” Quinn closed his eyes for a second. Opening them once again, he seemed to stare far away, focused on somewhere else, not here. “When I was ten, my dad came to my room. He asked me to help him. He wanted to win the universe. He thought I could tell him how to do it.”
I sucked in my breath, his own words coming back to me. “Because you have a pathological need to win.”
He nodded once. “I started working on the program, on how to win the game. I gave him a very basic write up. Every year after, I improved the plan. When I was sixteen, it was done. When I turned eighteen, he implemented it. I never thought … I always believed it was hypothetical. A game he and I worked on together. I didn’t mean to kill anyone, Paloma. I didn’t mean to destroy lives. But that is what I have done. When Tommy realized it, he went and got Clay. They rescued us. We’ve had to leave ever since. No one gets away from Garrison Sandler.” Quinn lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Do you hate me? Are you disgusted? I am the definition of monster.”
“No, you’re not.” Clay swiveled his chair around. “If he had told you it was anything more than an exercise, you wouldn’t have done it, not even at ten. He used you. He used your desperation for his affection. After Tommy, the rest of us just didn’t live up. He was giving you a chance to, and he knew exactly what he was doing.”
I moved before I could overthink it. I sunk down on my knees in front of him, a position I had sworn off ever getting in again. “If you weren’t a good person, if you weren’t worth it, Thomas would have left you there. He saved you because you can be saved. This is your dad’s sickness, his fingers on the buttons. Not yours.”
A single tear travelled down his cheek, and he pushed it away. “It was my plan that destroyed the Sisterhood, P. My idea that killed the Sisters and nearly you. Sure you still want to be near me?”
His words settled on my shoulders like bricks. This was what he had meant. Clay had come to the Sisterhood because he knew. How far could I believe what I said? Was it still not his fault, even when it had so deeply affected me?
The answer was yes. “Quinn, I know you didn’t do it on purpose.”
He placed his head in his hands, and he wept. Oh no. Had I made everything worse?
6
Mrs. McQueen
I jumped to my feet and came around behind Quinn, placing myself onto the back of his chair, between his back and the furniture, so that I was essentially his chair cushion. I grabbed onto him and held, placing kisses on his back. “You guys were trying to stop it. You didn’t want the Sisterhood blown up. I know it. Clay tried really hard that day, short of saying he knew the place was about to go boom, which he couldn’t do because of you.”
Clay placed a hand on my arm. “I’m not above saying that. I’ve said it twice, saved three places that way. But the Sisterhood was a late target. It shouldn’t have been hit this early in the game. Dad is changing up the plan because we’ve stopped him three times. We thought we had time and that there were more pressing targets.”
Keith nodded. “It had been two years since anyone died. If you hadn’t shown up that night, Paloma, I don’t know what Quinn would have done. Sweetheart, you saved him that night, and all of us every night since.”
Thomas stood. “I don’t know if people really save other people. I think sometimes we have to save ourselves. Or accept help and go from there. I didn’t save you; I offered you an out. You saved yourself. Paloma’s arrival didn’t stop Quinn from doing something bad; maybe it distracted him enough for him to see hope again.”
Clay snorted, making Keith and Quinn crack up. “You’re so unromantic.”
“I’m sure he can be romantic under the right circumstances. He just doesn’t like me.” I pressed my nose against Quinn’s strong back. “I’m glad you got distracted or whatever. I realize I’m probably leaving you all very shortly. Thomas is going to kick me off this shuttle as fast as he can. But my life wouldn’t have nearly the color in it without you.”
“Okay.” Thomas bent down until he could look me in the eyes. “I want to clarify some things here. You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, anywhere. And I’ve been everywhere. But I don’t get all bent out of shape for pussy. I’ve had plenty, even with the female shortage.”
I winced at his words, and Quinn jumped up to shove at Thomas’ shoulders, nearly throwing me off the chair in the process. “Watch your language.”
“I’m speaking truth here. I like you just fine, Paloma. I may even be a little bit in love with you. Your brown eyes, your dark hair, your perfect breasts. Yeah, I want you badly, too. But this is your life if you stick with me. Look around. We’re charging through space hoping no one catches us, hoping no satellite took down our nu
mbers before we broke orbit and some bounty hunter puts two and two together. You want this shit? You’re welcome to it. Join us, by all means. Give me someone else to keep alive. Ask yourself if it’s me not liking you that’s the problem—or you not liking me. I’m never going to kiss your ass and ask for more. That’s not how it works. I like you, so get over yourself.”
He sat back down at the console and pressed buttons, and Quinn sat back down with a loud groan. I put my forehead on his back and closed my eyes. There was too much truth in this room. I’d been raised to never speak it. A lady didn’t upset the status quo, not if she wanted a good life and a meaningful marriage. The Sisters never wanted to hear a word I said.
I had to think before I spoke. The other way didn’t work for me. It never would.
After a time, Clay took my hand, pulling me from Quinn. I guessed it was nighttime. It was always hard to tell in space. Or maybe he was just tired.
Quinn stood and nodded to Clay. “Keep her warm. She’s the brightest thing in the universe. I never want to see her darkened or cold.” With his speech, he kissed me lightly on the lips. “Don’t go back to Mars Station. I know it’s too soon. But you’re my wife. I’m never going to be a Sandler again. Be Mrs. McQueen. We’ll all love you every day of our lives. Make it real. In your heart. It is in mine.”
Keith rose and hugged me tightly. “Listen, we’re all terrified. Change is really hard—particularly when you think it’s everything you want and were too afraid to admit it. Some of us do better than others.” When Keith kissed me, it was hard on the mouth, a claiming. “What Quinn said. All of it and more. I’m going to sit up tonight and figure out how to make us safer. This can work. We were doing just fine; now we need better.”
Thomas didn’t look up from his console. “Good night, Paloma. I hope you get some good rest.”
“Thanks.”
I had a thought, so I stopped Clay from pulling me from the compartment. “Hey Quinn, this is stupid, but you’re the best gamer in the world from what I hear. It’s too bad you can’t play yourself from when you were living with your father. I bet you’d win. Thanks for your secret. I will keep it. I swear.”
