A Reluctant Companion

by Kit Tunstall

  The room was modest, with just a bed, dresser, nightstand, armoire, chair, and fireplace, along with another door she presumed led to a bathroom. Starting with the nightstand made sense, because it was the smallest area to search. She flipped through the contents of the drawer, finding nothing of interest.

  Next, she went to the armoire, opening the doors. His uniforms hung on one side, and several shelves lined the other section. She rifled through toiletries, underwear, and shoes before finding a stack of papers. Pulling them out, Madison scanned them quickly, finding most related to his duties as Tiernan’s second-in-command.

  As she put those back, a small clear plastic frame caught her attention. It was worn and scratched with age, so it must have predated The End. No company had existed with the capability to manufacture plastic for decades. It wasn’t the picture frame that caught her attention. Rather, it was the two painted portraits inside. One was of a handsome man who strongly resembled Aidan, but she swore had traces of Tiernan too—especially the warmth in his brown eyes. The other painting made her heart stutter as she stared at the countenance of a younger Catherine Archer than the one captured on the large canvas in Tiernan’s study. Either she had been a bit gentler than, or the artist had been generous, because she looked softer. Her eyes sparkled a bit without the hint of coldness.

  Staring at the small portrait, she nodded, all her doubts quelled. Aidan was clearly her son. Otherwise, why would he have a portrait of her? After the way his mother had treated him, she wondered why he’d want one, but experienced a pang at the thought of never knowing her mother. Not knowing what she had looked like would have been awful. To know she had sent her away would have been unbearable, but she imagined there still would have been curiosity about her mother. Aidan must have felt the same way.

  She was debating about whether to take the pictures as proof, or just tell Tiernan what she’d found, when she heard the door click. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she hurried to close the armoire while searching for a place to hide. The bathroom offered the only option, and she rushed toward it as the main door opened.

  A stifled curse left her when she opened the door to find a brick wall. What the hell? Why have a door opening to a brick wall?

  “It used to be a bathroom,” said Aidan conversationally. “Joseph Archer was a bit eccentric and had a lot of unused rooms bricked off. He claimed it would reduce heating costs. There’s a shared bathroom down the hall.”

  Swallowing thickly, she turned slowly, not sure how to reply or even begin to justify her reasons for being here. “Uh…”

  He smiled, and it was full of gentleness. “It’s okay. I know why you’re here.”

  Madison couldn’t look away from the crossbow at his side. “Uh…”

  Aidan glanced down at it before setting it on the nightstand. “I’m not going to shoot you, Madison.”

  Relief surged through her. She had been wrong. Not about him being the missing twin, she was sure, but he clearly wasn’t the one who had killed Joan.

  Shaking his head, he said, “No, then they’d know it was me. It has to look like rebels.”

  Ice water coursed through her veins at his words, and she took a step back without thinking, running right into the brick wall. Her mind searched for a way out, but all she could think of was to keep him talking. Maybe Tiernan would come looking for him if she could delay Aidan long enough.

  As though he’d read her thoughts, he said, “It has to be now. You know everything, and Tiernan’s not due back for a couple of hours.” Genuine regret seemed to shine from his warm green eyes, so much kinder than his mother’s. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

  “Then don’t.” She cleared her throat. “You’re Tiernan’s brother, aren’t you?”

  Aidan nodded once, his mouth twisting. “I’m the disposable spare.”

  She winced. “That was Catherine. Tiernan had nothing to do with that. You have no reason to hate him.”

  He looked honestly puzzled. “Why do you think I hate him? He’s my best friend, and I love him.”

  Blinking, she said, “You tried to kill him.”

  He sighed. “No, I didn’t. I knew he’d take the side entrance. The bombing was necessary to encourage him to look for the rebels.”

  “You killed Cleo.” She couldn’t keep the anger from her tone, though she really didn’t want to enrage the man standing between her and the exit.

  “That was an accident. I liked her.” He shrugged. “She wasn’t supposed to be there.”

  “So you’re just absolved?”

  He frowned. “I know exactly what I’ve done, and what my tally is, Madison. Cleo’s blood is on my hands.”

  “But why? If you love Tiernan, why are you doing all this?”

  Aidan lifted a brow, as though he couldn’t understand her confusion. “Because he has everything, and half of it should be mine.” He took a step closer to the bed as he began unbuttoning his jacket. “I came to find him with the intention of telling him who I was, but the timing was never right.”

  “He would have welcomed you,” she said with utmost confidence.

  He shrugged. “Perhaps, or maybe he would have been threatened by me. How was I to know he didn’t feel the same way as our mother, that I was a potential rival, not a brother?” Dropping the jacket on the bed, he started rolling the cuffs of his shirt to his elbow. “I thought I’d get to know him first, to let him see I wasn’t a threat, but…”

  “But?” she probed after a moment of silence, wondering why he was disrobing somewhat. He certainly didn’t give off a perverse sexual vibe, as though he planned to rape her. A chilling thought made her cringe. Was it to keep blood off his clothes?

  His unfocused gaze cleared as he looked at her again. “Things changed. I saw what he had, and I became bitter. Angry. Resentful.” Shaking his head, he said, “Of my own brother. By the time I knew I could safely tell Tiernan who I was, I couldn’t anymore. I let my desire to have what he has overtake me. Can you understand that, Madison?”

  She nodded, willing to agree to anything to keep him talking, though she really could understand his feelings to a certain extent. Just not to the extent that led him to betrayal and murder. “So, what did you do?”

  Aidan took a couple of steps closer, but stopped. Was he toying with her? “I selected a contingent of loyal troops and began stealing rations and generating ill-will toward Tiernan’s leadership. A rebel group formed, and he started pursuing them, making the problem worse.”

  A glimmer of comprehension came to her. “And you’re going to be the hero who deposes Tiernan and rights things for the people?”

  He inclined his head. “That is the plan. Or, it was, until Briggs got involved. He decided to assassinate Tiernan, but only after making him suffer.” Aidan sighed. “I couldn’t allow that, but I also couldn’t risk Tiernan taking him alive and accidentally discovering something that made him suspicious of my plan. Distraction was the best technique, so I ‘found’ the journal you’d been keeping.”

  Anger surged through her again. “You bastard.”

  He nodded. “I absolutely am, dear Madison. I was also sloppy, with limited time, and made several factual errors. When Tiernan really studied the book, he soon realized your beautiful hand didn’t pen it.”

  “Still, it served its purpose,” she said blandly, though rage was making her blood boil. “You managed to keep us apart and him in turmoil until Briggs was almost out of the picture.”

  “Yes, though I was surprised he tortured him for information.” Aidan shook his head. “That was so unlike Tiernan.”

  “Why Joan?” She sniffed back tears. “I don’t understand. She had already told me.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know how much she knew about me. I’ve never met her, but she might have information I didn’t know about. Again, I couldn’t take the chance.”

  She compressed her lips. “So, you slipped away while I was telling Tiernan she needed to tell him something.”

 
He nodded. “I heard enough to guess what she was going to reveal.” His eyes softened. “Congratulations on the twins, by the way. I wish I could let you have them, but they’re the next heirs. I just can’t—”

  “Take the chance,” she said sourly. “You don’t want to leave any competition around, in case the people turn to them when they’re older.”

  “Yes, you’re very clever, Madison.” He looked regretful. “Too clever. I hadn’t planned to make another move just yet. I was hoping to arrange an accident for you in the next few months. It’s so much neater to deal with it before they’re born.”

  He was a monster, but his flashes of humanity hid it well—and made him all the more chilling. “Either way, Tiernan will be destroyed. If you love him, how can you do this to him?”

  He didn’t answer for a long moment. “I’m in too deeply now, Madison. There’s no turning back. I’ve gone far enough to lose his trust if he finds out what I’ve done, but not quite to where I could take his place without a civil war. I’ve thought about stopping, but I can’t.”

  She held out a pleading hand. “You can. You have to. Think what you’re doing to him. He’s your brother, Aidan.”

  “And my biggest rival.” He spoke with bitterness, and a touch of dark amusement. “I guess Catherine was right.”

  Madison shook her head firmly. “No, you’re making her right. She was a hard, cold woman with no compassion. You’re turning into her. Is that what you want?”

  He sighed. “I want what I can’t have through other means. To get what’s rightfully mine, I have to remove Tiernan. I love him, but I need this. I can’t stop.”

  Perhaps he was unaware of the quiet desperation in his tone. Madison wasn’t sure, but she thought that maybe he was on a path of destruction he didn’t know how to end. Was he asking for help to stop? Or was he warning her he couldn’t stop and didn’t want to? It didn’t matter at the moment, since she and her babies were his targets, regardless of what motivated him to continue.

  As she racked her brain to come up with a way to get through to him, the door creeping open a couple of inches caught her attention. Her mouth was dry with fear and anticipation as she waited to see who stood there. Was it someone who could help her, or was it one of Aidan’s loyal supporters?

  Her heart skittered in her chest upon recognizing Tiernan. Doing her best not to betray his presence, she returned her attention to Aidan, willing him silently not to look behind himself. “What do you plan to do with me and the babies?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. At first, I thought maybe I’d push you down the stairs. Pregnant women are clumsier, so it’s plausible.” He shook his head. “The problem is you might not die from that. I could break your neck first, I suppose.”

  She closed her eyes, stomach churning with nausea at the thought. They blinked open at a small noise, and she cried out with alarm when Aidan spun around to confront Tiernan.

  They stared at each other for a moment, hurt and confusion—along with a strong undercurrent of anger—in Tiernan’s eyes. “How could you do all this, Aidan?”

  Aidan shrugged. “I’ve already explained all that to Madison. Perhaps she can enlighten you, if you both survive.”

  Madison bit her fist as the men surged together, trading punches and kicks. They grunted in their exertion, and she honestly couldn’t tell who was winning for several minutes. It wasn’t until Tiernan managed to shove Aidan’s head up, his arm against his throat, that she saw a chance to help. Without hesitation, she grasped the pitcher on the dresser and slammed the pottery down on Aidan’s head. He slumped atop Tiernan a second later.

  Tiernan pushed him off, wincing as he got to his feet. He cradled his middle. “I think he broke a rib.”

  “Are you okay?”

  He nodded, though grimaced. “I’m glad you didn’t call out.”

  She frowned. “I didn’t? I just stood there frozen?” Shaking her head, Madison let some of her self-disgust show. “How useless.”

  He hobbled toward her. “No, not at all. You acted when you had the chance, and you kept people from running to investigate.”

  Madison frowned. “You plan to hide this?”

  “No.” Tiernan stood up straight with a hiss of air through his teeth. “I just don’t know who I can trust at the moment. The wrong soldiers could have given Aidan the advantage by turning on us.”

  “Oh.” Reaction set in, and she slumped against him, though mindful of his bruised or broken ribs. “Why are you here? Aidan said you’d be gone for a while.”

  “I would have, but the car broke down. We caught a ride back on a wagon, since it was closer to Seattle-Archer than the distribution center, and our driver was headed this way. When I came in, I couldn’t find you anywhere, and I knew it wasn’t a clinic day. Aidan had stayed behind, ostensibly to investigate Joan’s murder. I was looking for either one of you when I found a skittish little maid in one of the offices.”

  “Stacy.” She was thankful the girl had crumbled under pressure. “She let me in here.”

  Tiernan nodded, scowling with disapproval. “Against all protocol.”

  “My fault,” she insisted. “I promised she wouldn’t lose her job.”

  “She won’t. I’m just glad she knew where you were. As soon as I heard you were snooping around Aidan’s room, I figured out you had some reason to think he might be my twin.” He looked down at his brother, still passed out on the floor. “I’d expected to find you and get you the hell out of here before anyone found you, not discover this situation.”

  “He wasn’t planning to make his next move just yet.” As he stirred a bit, she backed away. “Let’s tie him up or something.”

  Tiernan nodded, gesturing to the curtain ties. “Get those please.”

  She hurried over to grab the beige cotton strips as Tiernan rolled his brother onto his stomach and secured his hands behind his back. He tied them tightly together with the cloth she gave him, tugging on the cloth to check its strength.

  When he stood up, he clutched his side and groaned again. “Dammit. I’d rather have just about any injury than a broken rib.”

  She went to him to pull up his jacket and shirt. There was a red spot that would probably become a large bruise on his left ribcage. “My poor darling.”

  “I’ll survive,” he said drily. His expression changed when he stared at Aidan again, as the other man groaned and twitched. “Wake up,” he commanded harshly.

  “What will you do with him?” asked Madison as Aidan slowly rolled to his side before hitching himself into a kneeling position. It looked like a difficult task with his hands bound behind him.

  Tiernan hesitated for a long second before his mouth firmed. “What can I do with him, Madison? He committed treason by trying to kill you.”

  “Not just me,” she said softly. “He’s responsible for instigating rebel activity.”

  Aidan spat blood on the floor, leaving behind a molar. “Damn, Tiernan. You have a hell of a punch.”

  “As do you.” Tiernan rubbed his side in a way that suggested it was subconscious.

  “I also set the bomb that killed Cleo.” Aidan reported it in a neutral tone, as though it was practically irrelevant.

  Tiernan stiffened. “I really have no choice, Madison. The law is clear.”

  “Catherine’s law.” She touched his shoulder. “She’s the one who caused all this, Tiernan.”

  Her lover looked at her, shaking his head. “No, it’s not that simple, and you know it. She caused the division between us, but Aidan is responsible for his own actions.”

  Aidan nodded. “He’s right, Madison. There’s no other option. He has to have me executed.”

  She shook her head. “You’re both mad. Tiernan, just exile him.”

  Tiernan shook his head. “No, he has to face justice.”

  Fighting back the urge to tear out her hair, she said, “Everyone believes the rebels set the bomb.”

  “Except the rebels,” pointed out Aidan in
a helpful manner. “If Tiernan ever wants to end the war with them, he’s going to have to give them a compelling reason and proof that he hasn’t been stealing rations and terrorizing the people.”

  “What is wrong with you?” Madison hissed at him. “Shut up, Aidan.”

  “He’s right,” said Tiernan. “You can debate it all you want, Madison, but it changes nothing. My brother has to be executed.”

  She sighed, trying to think of some way to dissuade him. It wasn’t so much that she cared about Aidan’s fate. Rather, she worried how the knowledge that he had allowed his brother to be executed would weigh on Tiernan. It was a heavy burden that he shouldn’t have to carry. “You can’t do this, Tiernan. Not for him, but for you. It will destroy you to have his death on your conscience.”