A Reluctant Companion

by Kit Tunstall

  The healer looked relieved. “I’m glad you want to keep it. A lot can go wrong with a termination, unless you go to the hospital. It’s safe and fast there, but most women don’t have that option.” Susan frowned. “Herbs aren’t as precise…” She trailed off. “Sorry, that’s not a good topic right now, is it?”

  Madison shook her head, not liking to think about abortion after learning she was pregnant. Warmth spread through her, and she smiled. “I’m going to meddle shamelessly, you know. I won’t let him raise our baby the same way his mother reared him.” It was a promise she made to her baby, and to Tiernan himself. Their baby deserved more than that, but so did he. He needed to know what it was to be a father, to love a child as his son or daughter, not a replacement part in the Archer machine that ran the Northwest Federation. He might never fully commit to her, or utter words of love, but Madison knew on an instinctive level that Tiernan would love their child completely, without condition, if he gave himself the chance. What had frightened her just a few minutes ago suddenly filled her with hope and joy. She had never planned to be the mother of the next Archer, just as she had never planned to be Tiernan’s companion, or to love him, but plans happily went awry in the best ways sometimes.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Contentment and optimism were still flowing through her when she left the clinic an hour later, with Figg and Vinny close behind. Susan had kept her long enough to be sure she wouldn’t faint again, but had insisted she go home to rest instead of doing a shift that day. Madison hadn’t argued much, because she truly was tired. Now that she knew she was pregnant, she suddenly felt it too. It explained her tiredness in the evenings, when she often had a nap after dinner, before Tiernan was ready for bed. They would make love, and then she would fall into a deep sleep within minutes. Before her new knowledge came to light, she had dismissed it as a touch of depression from losing Cleo, along with maintaining a busy day to keep unwanted thoughts at bay. In retrospect, it made perfect sense, and it had started about three weeks ago—which was about right, she supposed, since Susan guessed she was around six or eight weeks pregnant, based on when she had missed those days of her tea.

  It was a surprise to see Cam a few steps ahead. Fear touched her for a moment, until she saw him smile and lift his hand to wave. Figg and Vinny tensed, with one of them putting a hand on her shoulder that she shrugged off. “It’s fine,” she said breezily as she picked up the pace. “I know him.”

  Madison hugged her big brother as she got near, only realizing he was nervous when she pulled back and looked at him. Her anxiety returned. “What’s wrong? Is it Momma?”

  He shook his head. “She’s fine.”

  Madison frowned. “Then why are you here?”

  “I can explain all that, but you need to come with me.” He put his arm around her waist as her guards drew closer.

  “Ouch, you’re holding me too tightly.” Madison wiggled away a bit. “Come back to the capitol building for tea. We’ll talk there.”

  He shook his head. “No, you have to come with me.”

  “She’s not going anywhere with you,” said Figg as he stopped a foot away, gun held at the ready.

  Madison frowned, torn between telling Figg to mind his own business and her own instincts urging her to move closer to the escorts. She tried to pull away, but Cam’s hold tightened. As she opened her mouth to rebuke him, movement from the corner of her eye made her turn her head. She cried out a warning, but it was too late for Figg and Vinny. Two men standing behind them had rammed guns into their skulls before they’d had a chance to turn around. She watched her friends fall to the pavement with horror that only increased as Cam suddenly lifted her into his arms.

  She opened her mouth to scream, and a fourth man came into her line-of-sight. He stuffed a filthy white rag into her mouth before uncoiling a section of rope. “Hold her still, Cam, or I’m going to have to knock her out too.” He sneered. “I didn’t bring any tranqs, Miss Cole, so it’ll be the butt of the rifle for you too.”

  Madison froze, fear turning her blood to ice. She wanted to keep fighting, but the thought of having that heavy rifle butt smashed into her head held her back. It wasn’t just herself she had to think about now. There was the baby to protect too, and she didn’t know if it was riskier to keep trying to fight or to be docile as they whisked her away somewhere more private—where they could do anything to her with no one around to hear her screams.

  That decided it, and she tried to kick out at him. Madison cried out with shock as her own brother put his arm across her throat, cutting off her supply of air. She thrashed against him as blackness encroached on her vision, and weakness surged through her.

  “Just relax, Madison. It’ll be over soon.”

  Cam’s words followed her into unconsciousness as she slumped in his arms.

  *****

  To her surprise, she her hands were free when she woke. So were her feet, and the nasty rag was no longer in her mouth. She was on a semi-comfortable mattress stuffed with hay, in a loft. Her head ached, and she groaned as she sat up, fighting a surge of nausea that almost won before she choked it down. After a long moment, and several deep breaths, she was able to stand without crippling sickness and shuffled across the small room, down the wooden stairs that led to a small bedroom. More steps took her out of that room and into a main living area with a neat living room and kitchen.

  Her brother sat at the kitchen table, alongside the man who had threatened to smash her head with the rifle. Madison trembled, a combination of fear and from the cold in the air. They must be in the higher elevations. She tried peering out a nearby window, but the thick drapes obscured her vision.

  “Oh, you’re awake, your highness,” said the man beside her brother.

  Frowning, Madison stood still as he and Cam got up, walking toward her. She wanted to take comfort in her brother’s presence, but found she had no trust in his good intentions either. “What’s going on?” she asked in a shakier voice than she’d planned to use as they stopped in front of her.

  “Madi, this is Leon Briggs. Leon, this is my sister, Madison.”

  “Pleasure,” he said, though his tone indicated his lack of interest.

  “Who are you, and why am I here?”

  “Leon’s the leader of the resistance, Madi.”

  Rage exploded in her, temporarily blinding her to the need to keep herself and her baby safe. “You bastard. You’re the one who killed three innocent people, including Cleo.”

  Leon blinked. “Wrong, highness,” he said in that same mocking tone. “My rebels didn’t do that.”

  She didn’t believe him, but wisdom was finally catching up to emotion, and she bit her tongue. “Why am I here?”

  “To show you something,” said Cam. “Can you ride?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course I can ride, Cam. I’ve been on a horse since I was little.”

  It was her brother’s turn to roll his eyes. “No, sis, I meant do you feel like riding at the moment? Do you need food or rest first?”

  Leon sighed. “There isn’t much time, Cam.”

  He held up a hand. “I know, but she hasn’t eaten for hours.”

  Madison was torn on how to proceed. They didn’t seem to want to hurt her, so should she just do as Cam asked and see what he wanted her to see, or should she try to delay and stall? Since Tiernan’s soldiers had no idea where she was, what would delaying gain her? “I’m fine. Maybe you have some bread I can take along?” Starchy bread sounded like heaven in her queasy tummy.

  They set off within fifteen minutes, after she had used the facilities and donned a borrowed jacket from a surly-looking old woman that muttered under her breath every time she looked at Madison. Her horse was elderly and on the slow side, but neither Cam’s or Leon’s horses were in much better shape. It was clear from what she’d observed that the rebels were a modestly funded group. She hoped they were modestly staffed too, and kept her eyes open for an opportunity to escape.

  The
y rode for almost an hour before Leon put up his hand. She drew on the horse’s reins as Cam stopped behind her and Leon hopped off the horse in front of her. “We walk from here,” he said.

  “Walk where?”

  Leon didn’t bother to answer her.

  Cam fell in step beside her. “Be quiet, okay? They can’t hear us.”

  She frowned. “Who can’t?”

  “Archer’s men.”

  Her stomach stirred with anxiety and excitement as she realized they might be approaching some of the troops in Tiernan’s military. She might be able to escape the situation and be back home by nightfall.

  But what about Cam? What had her idiot brother gotten himself into with this rebellion? Tiernan already didn’t like him, so it was unlikely he would intercede to keep her brother from facing punishment. She swallowed thickly, contemplating the crimes he would be charged with, including treason and sedition. And murder? She didn’t believe Leon’s disavowal of responsibility for the bombing, so the question was, had Cam also been involved?

  The questions fled her mind as they crested a hill, and Leon pushed her down on the ground, behind a stand of large rocks and brush. “Look,” he hissed.

  She peered downward after taking the binoculars Cam thrust into her hands. At first, she couldn’t figure out what she was supposed to be seeing. A line of supply wagons, all bearing the Northwest Federation’s crest, proceeded in an orderly fashion along a rough track in the forested area. It was only when they came to a halt that she saw another group of men come out, also wearing the uniform of the commander’s troops.

  She watched in shock as the new group began raiding the wagons loaded with rations for the people—as Leon informed her quietly when she inquired about the cargo—all with the assistance of the men entrusted with the shipment. There was talking and laughing between the two groups as they pilfered half of the crates, stashing them on three nondescript wagons.

  Once the considerably-lightened convoy continued on its way, and the other group had departed in the opposite direction with their loot, she sank down to the damp ground, still clutching the binoculars. “What was that?”

  “They stole food from the people.” Cam’s mouth tightened. “You saw it for yourself.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t understand. Why would Tiernan’s troops take rations from his other troops?”

  Leon scoffed. “It’s obvious. He’s skimming the rations for some purpose—trade with another territory, or perhaps to keep people weak and desperate. Maybe even to create his own rebel group, so he’ll have a reason to crack down on the federation and take away the last of our few freedoms.”

  She shook her head. “Why would he do that? He’s the commander and could do that if he wanted—not that he would.” It was impossible to imagine Tiernan being so devious, especially when he’d been shocked to learn of the rebels’ existence. Hadn’t he? Had it all been an act? She shook her head again, refusing to believe that about the man she loved. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but Tiernan isn’t responsible.”

  “I told you she wouldn’t believe you,” said Leon with a sneer.

  Cam touched her shoulder. “Look, we know it’s him. The rebels have traced these activities all the way back to Seattle-Archer. Archer is playing some kind of political game at the expense of the people he’s supposed to take care of, Madi.” His expression hardened. “It has to stop before people start starving, or before violence explodes, and a full-scale civil war kills innocent people driven to desperate acts.”

  “I don’t believe it was Tiernan, but you can meet with him and share your concerns.” Her eyes widened. “Is that why you brought me here? You want me to arrange for you to meet privately with Tiernan?”

  Cam and Leon shared a look before her brother shook his head. “No, sis. We can’t confront him over his misdeeds. He’ll just make us disappear.”

  “He wouldn’t—”

  “Get to the point, Cam,” said Leon.

  Cam nodded. “We brought you here because we need your help.”

  She sighed, completely lost. “Well, if you don’t want me to facilitate a meeting, I’m confused about what you think I can do to help sort out the situation.”

  “You can kill him,” said Cam coldly, without any hint of emotion.

  Madison shivered with fear. Never would she have imagined her brother could be so dispassionate about someone’s death—the death of someone she loved and by her own hand. “You’re crazy. I’m not killing Tiernan.”

  “I told you,” said Leon again. “This was a waste of time.”

  Cam stared at her for a moment before letting his shoulders fall. “You’ve changed, Madison. I can’t believe you don’t have more sympathy for the plight of the people of this territory.”

  She snorted. “I can’t believe you’re so callous as to kidnap me and ask me to murder the fa…the man I love.” Instinct had her withholding the news of her pregnancy, and she substituted other words at the last minute.

  “The man you love is a monster,” said Leon.

  Madison shook her head. “You don’t know him, and you don’t have any real proof of your allegations. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I won’t have any part in it.”

  Leon’s mouth tightened, but he stood up and walked away without speaking. She got to her feet and stared up at her brother. “Take me home, Cam.”

  He looked disgusted. “Yeah, I guess you belong with him.”

  “You can take her home after you take out a squad to intercept that load of rations,” said Leon over his shoulder, as he mounted his horse. Doffing an imaginary hat, wearing a sneer, he said, “Until then, you’ll be our honored guest, highness.”

  Madison wanted to believe they were telling her the truth, but as she mounted her horse and rode between the men, she couldn’t quite believe either of them. Why would they bring her out here, reveal their identities, including the leader’s, tell her their plan to assassinate Tiernan, and then just let her go when she refused to cooperate? Unease and fear made contentious allies that stirred up a new round of nausea in her gut. They were watching her too closely for her to escape just yet. Her only shot lay with getting Cam alone and trying to talk some sense into him. With that being her big plan, no wonder she wasn’t feeling optimistic as they returned to the small cabin in the mountains a while later.

  Leon thwarted her feeble plan within minutes of arriving back at the cabin. He forced her to go back inside, leaving her under the watchful eye of the surly old woman, while pulling Cam off to the side to whisper to him. She caught a glimpse of them through the window above the sink, and her heart sank as Cam remounted his horse and rode across the yard to a small barn, where a few ragged-looking men and women waited, all on horses that looked as worn as they did.

  She collapsed into a wooden chair at the table, wishing she hadn’t eaten the bread on the ride as it churned in her stomach. The queasiness increased as Leon came back inside, eyeing her coldly. Taking a deep breath for courage, she asked, “What are you really going to do with me?”

  He tilted his head. “You’re sharp, aren’t you, highness?”

  “Sharper than my idiot brother.”

  Leon gave her a wide smile, but it had a predatory edge. “Perhaps he’s just idealistic or naïve.”

  She snorted, but didn’t offer a counterargument. “Let’s cut the crap. We both know I’m not going to kill Tiernan, especially based on your flimsy proof. Cam might have believed that was why you kidnapped me, but I don’t for a second, any more than I believe you didn’t set that bomb.”

  Leon shrugged as he took a seat across from her, receiving a cup of coffee from the surly woman, who didn’t offer one to Madison. “Believe what you want, but my group didn’t do the bomb. We’re more direct.”

  Through narrowed eyes, she watched the controlled movements of his hand as he lifted the mug, barely resisting the urge to slam her hand against the metal cup as it neared his visage. It would provide temporary sat
isfaction, but would no doubt lead to violence she didn’t want to face. Not that she might have much choice. “Then be direct and tell me what my purpose is here?”

  “You’re here to prove a point, highness. We want Tiernan to know we aren’t afraid of him, and we won’t hesitate to make the hard decisions or do the difficult things. In short, your death will send a message.” He sipped his coffee without concern, as though they were discussing something mundane, not her imminent demise. “It’s hard to say how much he cares about you, but you’re the only one he seems to be close to at all. I just wish he had a family. Killing his wife and children would send a much stronger message.”

  Madison gasped. “How can you be so ruthless?” Thank goodness she hadn’t accidentally revealed her pregnancy. Had she done so, her death might have already occurred, even with Cam still around.

  He lifted a shoulder. “I’m no worse than he is. Do you have any idea the suffering food restrictions are causing? Kids are skin and bones. Mothers losing their babes in the womb for lack of nutrition, and for what? The Federation produces enough food to feed everyone, or trade for what we need. Political games trump the citizens in his eyes. It’s time he learns the citizens won’t stand for it. If he wants games, we’ll play ‘em, but we’re playing to win.”