Erin nodded. The woman was not going to cooperate. She knew that without having met her. “Well, I like the Guardians for their decision to help her.” She waited a couple heartbeats. “Where is Brianna now?”
“Locked in a holding cell on the lower deck of the airship. Trust me—it was a necessary measure to take with her. The regular rooms lock too, but none would ever hold her. She’s too clever for her own good.”
“So she’s a reluctant prisoner on a ship full of prisoners who don’t admit that’s what they are. Goddess Nate, I think back to when I first met ya and wonder at my own naïveté. And the fecking doors lock? How much more are you keeping secret? Here all this time I looked at Toorg and Berg and thought they were just being helpful.”
Nate ran a restless hand through his hair. “They are just being helpful.”
Erin huffed and shook her head. “That’s bloody sugar coating a turd. Angus was right about all of ya. No wonder ya want to get rid of him. Ya are hoping to find a stupider version, but I don’t think ya will. No wonder ya had to go time travelling and universe shopping to find people with heart. Yer Universe 1 people haven’t gotten over their fecking war. It’s stifling the part of yer natures that figure out how to make things better, not worse. If that’s the fecking price of yer peace, I’ll take the problems of my struggling universe any day.”
Nate waved a hand. “I can’t argue with you anymore.”
“Fine. I’m done as well. When do we get to see her?”
“Why would you want to see her?” Nate asked.
“Is Brianna our next match or isn’t she?” Erin demanded.
Nate lifted a hand. “You’ll use your best judgment and pick a match for her.”
“No.” Erin smacked the folder down on the top of her desk. “Based on fecking what? Yer wish for an easy life with no emotional ripples in it?”
Nate firmed his jaw. “Fine. I’ll let you talk to her. You’ll soon enough see what I’m talking about. Are you going to tell Angus about our whole conversation today?”
“Ya mean about the other versions of him that ya offered me? Not if I want ya to fecking live another day. I’d rather deal with ya than some stranger… so no, I won’t be telling that part. However, I am going to speak with him about Brianna. And I want him to go with me to see her. She’s technically kin to both of us.”
“Actually, she not kin to either of you, but okay. Darcone has to be present. He’s the only one who can handle her.”
“I like Darcone. Him being there suits me just fine,” Erin declared. “Besides… he’s in her fecking folder anyway. Or didn’t ya know that either?”
“Fucking damn technology,” Nate declared, yanking open the office door and storming out.
Erin eased herself back down in her chair. “What a bloody mess this all is.”
She took out the photo of Brianna. The woman in the photo was a blood MacNamara. She’d seen every variation of Angus manifest in the seven children Mary had borne him. Brianna had Angus’s eyes and the determined look in them. The only question in her mind was why the original MacNamaras had kept such a thing from someone like Nate. Or was he just lying?
“Don’t worry, lass. Help’s coming soon. Yer kin is on the way to ya.” Saying it made her smile, even at the fierce looking woman.
She hoped the original MacNamaras were smiling down on the situation as well.
She pulled out the photo of Darcone and lifted an eyebrow. “At least the fierce looking Brianna holds a little hope for yer scary arse,” she told him, chuckling at her wicked thoughts that probably were no more than a moment’s entertainment.
But the possibility of matching one of the MacNamara’s girls with the noble alien made her feel a little better.
Telling Nate he couldn’t take her Angus from her had done the same.
Chapter Twenty
Erin smiled at the woman sitting in her office looking dreamy eyed and mellow. Mia’s contented smile told her more than words ever could.
“So I guess you’ve made yer decision then.”
Mia nodded. “An alien, Erin. I’ve fallen in love with an honest-to-god alien. He’s just so… amazing. Kor-el is amazing. And in bed… wow. I don’t know if I could ever be with a regular man after Kor-el. I don’t even want to be away from him now. His people are excitedly waiting for our return. He said our children would be honored and raised with more care than I could even imagine. He said I would be respected just because bearing a child is so honored there.”
“He certainly does sound like quite the catch, as does his homeland,” Erin said. “But…?”
Mia chuckled. “You and Angus are amazing. How do you know there’s something else on my mind?”
“Finely honed matchmaker instincts,” Erin said, grinning as she shrugged.
Mia snickered and shrugged. “I just wish I could have a wedding—that’s all. Like most women, I’ve dreamed of having one. They don’t have ceremonies like that on Kor-el’s world. They just make an arrangement and announce it in public. The man stands in some city square and talks about it all day. He also takes on anyone who disagrees and makes sure the matter gets settled one way or the other before he goes home to his wife.”
Erin ran a worried hand through her hair. Angus told her in great detail about the bloody fight between Kor-el and Jex. She was suddenly glad Angus had decided to return to the alien common room with Kor-el. If the now contented man decided to spend the afternoon bragging to all the still horny aliens about Mia’s choice of him, Kor-el would need someone to have his back.
“Maybe we could have a little wedding ceremony on the airship,” Erin said.
Mia looked around. “No. There’s no need for that trouble. This place is not exactly romantic, is it?”
Since the woman was right, Erin shrugged. “True enough. Is there anything else I can do for ya?”
Mia looked down at her hands. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
Erin spread her own fingers to brace herself, even though Mia didn’t see her action. “Ya can ask. I can’t promise an answer.”
Nodding, Mia lifted her chin. “Are you and Angus breaking up? You’ve been together like five times longer than most relationships in existence. I guess what I’m saying is that I hope you work things out. I wouldn’t have had the courage to do this if it wasn’t for both of you.”
Erin smiled at the woman. “Angus and I are fine. We’re not perfect, but our relationship is supported by a large foundation of knowing each other well. My heart belongs to him—always has—and I can’t believe I’ve said this to two people just today. I usually don’t do that much confessing. Angus tends to use it against me when he finds out.”
Mia giggled. “So your arguments are just normal for the two of you?”
“I suppose they are,” Erin said, a bit surprised at how right the answer felt. “We’re getting better at compromising. That’s more important to us than disagreeing about something.”
When Angus walked through the office door with a frown on his face, she and Mia both turned to him.
“Is Kor-el still alive? Mia was just telling me about the customs of his people,” Erin said.
“Are ya kidding?” Angus exclaimed. “There are celebrations happening left and right in there. The ale is pouring freely… so freely in fact, I had to leave. Too tempting to a man trying to stay out of the box.”
“What box?” Mia asked.
Erin laughed. “It’s our word for Nate’s rejuvenation cylinder. Angus requires frequent visits to stay in proper form.”
“Oh,” Mia said. “Well, you look great, Mr. MacNamara.”
“Aren’t ya the sweet one for noticing my fine manly figure. Ya should see me in my kilt, lass.”
Mia laughed. “I wish I could. I wish I could see Kor-el in one too. He’d so tall and his… uh… legs would look nice in a kilt.”
The blush lighting Mia’s face drew a grin from Angus. Luckily for the woman, Angus let his wicked thoughts go unspoken. Erin pic
tured Angus in his kilt and smiled. He did look impressive in it. He wasn’t even exaggerating.
The idea when it bloomed in her mind came bursting through fully and with all details intact. Nate would squawk like a wet hen… or forbid it… which might put a real damper on things. Best not to dash anyone’s hope by mentioning her idea to the happy woman in her office.
Mia stood to leave and hugged them both. Erin felt her heart clenching as she leaned against her desk and watched the woman thanking Angus for his help.
Why couldn’t these brave women get back in touch with New Earth and the world they hailed from? Were they chattel being bartered to the aliens or were they heroines volunteering to save their world? It seemed to her like Nate and the Guardians were confused about what these women were. Well, she and Angus weren’t. The truth was real clear to the two of them. And the very least each heroine deserved was a proper wedding before being sent off on her big adventure.
When the door closed behind Mia, Erin rose from her perch and walked to the man who was both lover and friend in this strange land.
“Angus, how would ya feel about a hosting a big wedding?”
She laughed at the momentary surprise on his face, but it faded to a determined look and tight jaw as he nodded.
“Alright, Erin O’Shea. I accept yer proposal. I’d be honored to make ya my wife.”
Erin laughed from her belly. “Goddess, I wish ya could see yer face right now. It’s beaming with a fecking mixture of fear and resignation. Ya can relax yer manly figure, Mr. MacNamara. I wasn’t offering to take yer arse on for eternity.”
Angus frowned hard. “No? Why not?”
“Because I don’t want any man marrying me as a fecking favor.” Erin put a hand to his chest and smiled up into his worried gaze. “I was talking about Mia and Kor-el. Do ya think we can have a wedding ceremony at Dargoona Castle for them?”
Erin grew a little alarmed when Angus laughed loudly and picked her up to swing her around. She called out his name which had Toorg sticking in his head. He shook it and did the equivalent of an alien eye roll when they looked his way. They both laughed again when the door closed back.
Angus lowered her feet to the floor. “Ya are fecking brilliant. Not only can we do a proper wedding for the happy couple, we can do a series of games for the entertainment of all. When the lasses see what the alien lads can do, everyone will be lining up for sweet meets.”
Erin’s vision seemed to expand as images of it filled her mind. She patted Angus on the chest again as she thought about it. “I like it, Angus. How dangerous will it be?”
Angus shrugged. “No more than any céili at Paddy’s where the Guinness flows freely.”
“Okay. What could go wrong then?” Erin teased.
“Nothing worth worrying about,” Angus declared. “Nothing at all. This is going to work better than you can possibly imagine.”
Erin looked at Angus and remembered her fight with Nate over him. This was the man’s true power. His excitement could sweep ya up and everyone else close by him. She chuckled as she looked at Angus. There was so much love in her heart, it felt like it might burst.
“What’s so funny?” Angus asked.
“Ya are. I am. Being here is fecking absurd. Now we’re planning a wedding at a castle that we’ve inherited from some other version of us. Doesn’t it all seem like a dream to ya? It does to me.”
Angus snorted, but nodded. “Sometimes. Then I think about the new peace between us, and I hope no one wakes me.”
“Bet that’s yer cock talking again,” Erin teased. “It’s been a whole fourteen hours since he and I were friendly.”
Angus laughed and pulled her into his arms. “No. It’s the rest of me this time. Yer obsession with my cock is between you and him. He’s been lounging around all day thinking about last night. He’s nearly as happy as Kor-el’s cock. If my wicked appendage gets any more contented, they’ll be no living with him.”
Laughing, Erin slipped her fingers through Angus’s and pulled him to the door. “I’m telling Toorg we’re leaving early today. May have to make an early night of it too.”
Angus didn’t answer her. He just hummed at her side for the entire walk to their room. Erin felt as happy as she could remember ever being. More… she was contented. Something she knew was much harder to find in any life.
Chapter Twenty-One
She and Angus had decided over breakfast to visit Brianna before broaching the castle wedding subject with Nate. Apparently permission to visit her had been granted because shortly after they asked Toorg to take them there, Darcone magically appeared. Toorg smiled and waved after handing them off.
They followed Darcone down more metal hallways than it seemed possible for the airship to have and still be able to float with the birds. At the bottom, there was a big area with several smaller rooms equipped with bars meant for keeping people in them. A lone prisoner sat on a bunk in one. She had an arm propped on one knee and was staring at the wall.
She slowly turned her head when they approached.
“Look. It’s another alien miracle. Back from the dead again?” Brianna asked.
Darcone stepped up to the bars and put his face into one of the spaces between them. “Arrrrgggghhhh…” he growled.
They watched in fascination as Brianna MacNamara fluidly rose from her bunk and walked to the bars. She leaned into the same space, inches away from a snarling Darcone.
“Bring that growling shit in here and see what happens,” Brianna ordered.
Then to their continued amazement, she screamed in his face, launched herself at the bars, and growled back at him, hissing so fiercely that Darcone instinctively backed away from her.
Then he screamed at her again… or at least he growled with lots of feeling. The glaring between them could have leveled a fecking city.
Erin’s gaze went back and forth between the pair. She leaned over without removing her gaze from them. “What just happened?” she asked.
Angus leaned towards her to speak. “I think our girl just told Darcone to feck off in his own language. I can’t be completely sure. But I’ve learned there is a large variation of growling among aliens.”
“Hmm…” Erin said, keeping the sound of her musing low. “Theirs must be a love like ours. Nice to know my instincts were right about the two of them.”
Angus chuckling over her joke brought both Brianna and Darcone’s gazes to the two of them.
Erin cleared her throat. “Darcone, will ya leave us to visit with Brianna for a bit? Don’t worry. We’ll keep our distance from the bars.”
“Arrgghh… no,” Darcone said roughly. He pointed at the bars. “She. No brain.”
“I can see why it seems like that to ya, but Brianna’s just being a typical MacNamara. Please,” Erin replied gently. “This is a family matter. We need to speak with her alone.”
Instead of answering, she saw Darcone turn back to the girl. “Do no harm,” he ordered, pointing a finger at Brianna. He marched off when Brianna lifted a middle finger and smiled evilly.
Erin waited until she heard Darcone’s footsteps grow faint.
“Are you clones of my parents?” Brianna asked.
“No,” Angus answered. “But we’re not yer original parents either. I’ll not lie to ya about it.”
Brianna snorted. “No shit. Lying wouldn’t work anyway. Dad would have already been yelling. Mom would have been wringing her hands. Then they both would have started lecturing, passing the lecture baton between them. You two are just staring at me with the same shock everyone else does.”
She went back to her cot and sat. “What exactly are you then, if you’re not clones? You look like they did when they were younger. Mom has a picture at the castle that could pass for the two of you.”
Erin shrugged. “What we are… well, that’s hard to explain.”
Angus snorted. “Not really, but we can’t give ya details, but the short version is that we’re yer fecking ancestors,” he interj
ected, walking closer to the cell. “Girl, why do they have ya in a cage?”
“Girl? You obviously haven’t been here long. I bet I’m older than you.”
“Ya are, but not by much. Angus is sixty-seven. Nate told me you were eighty. Ya look twenty,” Erin said.
Brianna turned her head away. “You can thank my clever sister for how young I look. The first time she helped fix Mom and Dad, I let her fix me too. I didn’t know it was going to quadruple my freaking life span. I’ve looked like a perpetual teenager for over fifty years.”
“Ya didn’t answer my question, lass. Are ya going to tell us why ya are locked in a cage?” Angus asked.
“Ask Nate. He seems to have all the real answers. You know, I was heartbroken when he and my sister broke up, but I can see why Sheena left him now. The Admiral walks around with the Guardian rule book shoved up his proper ass.”
“Sheena? Who’s Sheena?” Angus asked.
“Feck me. I forgot to tell ya, Angus,” Erin said, patting his arm. “Sheena is Brianna’s older sister.” She turned to Brianna. “But I didn’t know Sheena was one of Nate’s wives. He left that part out.”
“She was his first, and supposed to be his one and only, like that happens in real life. I think Mom and Dad were the last real couple who ever fell in love on this forsaken planet. Nate broke my sister’s heart and broke her in the process. Sheena never got over it.”
“If ya are eighty, then how old is yer sister?” Angus asked.
“She’s forty years older, only she still looks…” Brianna glanced at them. “She looks your age. She and Nate were both in medical school when they met.”
Erin nodded. “I remember Nate saying Sheena was a doctor… a… feck, I can’t remember the term. Some sort of scientist too, right?”
“Yes. Sheena is a bio-molecular geneticist,” Brianna supplied. “Which is a fancy way of saying she fucks with a person’s DNA until she can make them become anything she wants them to be. Last I heard, she was working on giving New Earth soldiers superpowers in case we have to fight aliens again.”
Matchmaker Abduction: Aliens In Kilts, Abduction 1 Page 16
