Saving Them

by Rebecca Royce

  Saving Them

  Wings of Artemis, Book Six

  Rebecca Royce

  After Glows Publishing

  Saving Them © Copyright 2017 Rebecca Royce

  Published by After Glows Publishing

  PO Box 224 Middleburg, FL 32050

  AfterGlowsPublishing.com

  * * *

  Cover by Syneca Featherstone

  Formatting by AG Formatting

  * * *

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Contents

  Note from the Author

  1. When Memories Are Hard

  2. Space Food

  3. Communication Problems

  4. Changes In Direction

  5. An Old Friend

  6. Things Can Go Wrong, Or They Can Go Right

  7. Meeting The Family

  8. Daddy Dearest

  9. From Themselves

  10. No Shame In Asking

  11. Nice To See You Again

  12. A Path Forward

  13. Because Nothing Is Easy

  14. Stronger Together

  15. Babies And Bombers

  16. Turning Off The Chip

  17. Shalom

  Also by Rebecca Royce

  About the Author

  Note From the Publisher

  Note from the Author

  Dearest Reader,

  Thank you so much for picking up Saving Them (Wings of Artemis #6). This is Paloma’s second novel and the last book where she will feature as the heroine. This series has been designed so it can be started at any time. Still, if you are a reader that prefers to read books in the order with which they are released then the current reading order as I write this is:

  Kidnapped By Her Husbands (Melissa)

  Rescued By Their Wife (Melissa)

  Crashing Into Destiny (Diana)

  Meeting Them (Paloma, novella)

  Reclaiming Their Love (Diana)

  Loving Them (Paloma)

  Saving Them (Paloma)

  Ship Called Malice (Coming October 2017. Priscilla, first featured in the Married. Wait! What? anthology and then released on its own, novella, stand alone, no cliffhanger, not part of the main series arc.)

  Dark Demise (Waverly, coming soon)

  * * *

  Thank you for sticking with me on this journey through space and time. I love these books. I wake up in the middle of the night ready to write them.

  I hope you like Paloma’s conclusion. I loved writing the Sandlers. I hope you like spending time with them as much as I do.

  * * *

  Hugs,

  Rebecca Royce

  1

  When Memories Are Hard

  One year earlier, Earth Standard Time

  I leaned against the window of the shuttle, watching as Earth grew smaller and smaller. In minutes we wouldn’t be able to see the blue planet anymore. I touched the window. Someone approached on quiet feet from behind then a hand sprawled out over my skin on the small spot where my shirt didn’t quite meet my pants.

  “P?” Quinn kissed the back of my neck. “It’s very late. You should be sleeping.”

  I shook my head. “We pulled away from Earth. There’s no way I was going to sleep through it.”

  The place where humanity began had been my home for almost a year. I would never forget my time there, even if most of it had been spent taking meetings with rich people and convincing them it was better to trust my husbands to take down their father than anyone else in the universe.

  Garrison Sandler had brought his armada to Mars Station. Next stop would be Earth. While he wasn’t watching, his sons would take back their home planets and force their father to return to Sandler space and away from Earth.

  Then the real battle would happen. We were looking at years of pain before we reached the end. If we ever get there… I forced that thought from my mind. It was important to stay positive. If such a thing is possible… There I went again.

  Quinn squeezed me just a little, bringing my attention back to him. It wasn’t possible to simply take a legion’s worth of ships from Earth and point them in the direction of Sandler space without someone noticing. Since stealth was the name of the game, the ships were leaving in small groups and rendezvousing a distance away.

  Tommy, Keith, Quinn, and Clay had all needed to cut through some red tape before they could exit Earth. That had put us in the third round of departures, even though technically Tommy would oversee the battles once we engaged.

  “Are you okay, Quinn? Why aren’t you sleeping?” Better to focus on him than me.

  He didn’t answer for a second. “I don’t know a lot of things about emotional understanding. But I do know when my wife isn’t okay. The others are busy, and so am I, but I’ll never be too busy to notice you. Talk to me, P.”

  I took a deep breath. He’d given me an opening to say what I shouldn’t say, what I ought to keep to myself. I wasn’t going to waste that chance. I needed to say my truth whether it was something everyone needed to hear or not. I wasn’t getting better being silent. “I’m afraid, Quinn.”

  There. I’d said it. I wasn’t as brave as my husbands were. I’d stood by their side, meeting after meeting, and pushed for the cause. I even believed it was the right thing to do. And now, here we were, and I couldn’t sleep, doubting everything, terrified. I had to be strong enough to be their wife, and I was failing at it. Every day a little bit more.

  “Me, too.”

  His answer stunned me, and I turned in his arms to look at him. He was naked from the waist up. Quinn was a beautiful man. I stroked down his chest, and he shivered beneath my fingertips from the contact. His gaze never left mine. Those beautiful, blue, soulful, lost Sandler eyes. Quinn’s body hardened as we stood there, and all I had done was touch him. His desire for me, his constant want, humbled me. What had I ever done to deserve the love that he and his brothers gave me so freely?

  Nearly get killed, over and over, again?

  Make things harder?

  “You don’t seem scared. Are you just saying that so I don’t feel so alone?”

  Half of a smile appeared on his face. “Maybe.”

  “That’s what I thought.” The ship vibrated slightly. It would be picking up speed soon. For a person who had once spent almost no time traveling in space, I’d really learned the ins and outs with these men.

  He kissed me lightly on the lips.

  I sighed. “Thank you for trying.”

  “What did he try and not manage to do?” Tommy Sandler leaned against the doorframe of the viewing room. If he wasn’t piloting, then it had to be Clay in control. Keith had been asleep where I’d left him in the bedroom. It was probably a good idea for Tommy to have taken a break. He was going to be perpetually working from now until whenever this was over.

  If it ends… There I went again.

  Quinn kissed my forehead. “I tried to make her feel better for being frightened. She saw through that.”

  Tommy took the room in two stride
s and joined us. “You know part of me wanted to leave you on Earth, but I think that would have been worse for you. Not knowing. Eventually, this, like everything else, will become normal for you. I hate that, but it’s the truth. War was always coming. Like we told that last senator—we could sit and wait for it to get us, run and hide, or say no more.”

  “I know. Intellectually, I understand all of it. I’m still afraid. I’ll get it under control.” This wasn’t the same type of anxiety I took medicine for every day. This wasn’t me trying to manage my response to things since I’d almost been blown up over and over again and abandoned by my family. This was something I had every right to fear.

  Tommy pressed himself against my back, his hands coming to my hips. I closed my eyes. Tommy and Quinn were the least likely of my husbands to take a moment just to breathe. If that was what we were doing right then, I would make no moves to stop it.

  “Paloma, the four of us would give our lives for you,” Tommy whispered in my ear. “You are the reason for everything.”

  I sucked in my breath. “Don’t.”

  A year later, standard Earth calendar time

  Base of the resistance

  * * *

  I woke up in the med machine. I hated these things. An alarm went off, buzzing in my ear, and I pounded on the top of the machine until it was opened. Keith stared down at me from above, his eyes huge, dark circles marring his beautiful face.

  Nausea rolled through me. I had no time to worry about it. My pulse raced.

  “Paloma, you need to calm down, my love. Your heart rate is through the roof.”

  I knew it was. I couldn’t slow it down. Not for anything in the world. How had I gotten here? Why was I in this machine? What had happened? What was the last thing I remembered?

  I grabbed onto Keith’s shirt pulling myself into a kneeling position. There had been fire. Flames everywhere. An explosion. “Where are they, Keith?” My voice strained. When was the last time I had used it? I didn’t even know. I’d lost track of time. “Where are Tommy and Quinn?”

  He cupped my face, his big hands trembling where he touched me. “Paloma. Please, I need you to breathe with me. You have been very hurt. It’s a small miracle you’re here at all. Please. Breathe.”

  “Keith.” My own hands were not steady. I didn’t even know where I was. I didn’t care. He needed to answer my question. “Where are Tommy and Quinn?”

  My husband kissed my forehead, the tip of my nose. “I love you, Paloma.”

  “Why won’t you answer my question?” I pushed at his chest, and he didn’t budge. “Answer me. Answer me, damn you.”

  From across the room, Clay spoke. He sat on the floor. I hadn’t even seen him. His knees were pressed to his chest.

  “They’re dead, love. They’ve been dead for a month.”

  My ears rang. “No.” I shook my head. “No. That’s not possible. They’re not dead. They’re not dead.” I hated the taste of the word on my tongue.

  “Paloma”—Keith tugged me tight against him—“What do you remember? How much? Anything?”

  “No.” I fought in his embrace. I didn’t want to be held. I wanted to find Tommy and Quinn. I needed all five of us together. They were my husbands. We were supposed to win an epic battle and then live to be old. Children. Laughter. Arguments. The universe couldn’t be so cruel. It wouldn’t snuff out Tommy and Quinn.

  Clay jumped to his feet, then crossed over to us. He put his hand on my cheek. “We almost lost you, too.”

  He lifted me out of the med machine and soon all three of us were on the floor. I sprawled on my chest. I pounded on the cold surface. Again, and again. “No.”

  Keith lay next to me. “Paloma, please. Listen to me. You have been very unwell. I need you to calm down.”

  The door banged open and multiple footsteps sounded. People were coming toward us. Who was there? I didn’t want anyone. No, that wasn’t true. I did want Keith and Clay. I just needed Tommy and Quinn, too. They were the only people I wanted. Everyone else should just go.

  “This is a nightmare. This is a nightmare I’m having in the med machine.” That made sense. Soon, I would wake up.

  “Paloma.” My best friend Diana’s voice caught my attention. Diana was here? She was across the galaxy at some place the resistance had gathered. Was that where we were? How had we arrived here? “I know this is awful. I actually do know.”

  She squatted, which looked hard. It took me a moment to realize why… she was pregnant. When had that happened? “Diana?”

  My best friend touched my hair. “It’s me. You’re safe with us here.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “This is wrong. You’re all wrong. My husbands are not dead.”

  “Gorgeous.” I knew that voice, too. It belonged to Ari Bennett. My husbands’ first cousin on their mother’s side and my sometimes doctor. He looked haggard. His hair, which he always kept neat in a bun on the top of his head, fell around his shoulders. He’d also grown a small beard. None of this was a good look for him. But then, maybe he knew, maybe he understood just how wrong this all was. He was showing on the outside what I felt deep in my soul. Everything about the universe had gone wrong.

  Ari flirted with everyone. That was his go to attitude. His look may have changed but his nature clearly had not. “Gorgeous,” he repeated. “I’m going to need you to try to breathe and calm down. If not, Lewis and Cash over there are going to put you back in that med machine whether you want it or not. They’re hard asses like that. Your heart rate is way too high.”

  “Hey, you can just as easily put her in. We’re not hard asses. I’m thinking we need a consultation. This should not be happening. She should be in the machine. Call Dane,” either Lewis or Cash answered. I didn’t know them well enough to tell. They were both Diana’s husbands. I’d only seen them through a view screen once. That was right. I had seen them. That memory was clear. We’d been on the shuttle, and Tommy had decided to touch base with the resistance. That’s when we’d learned our plans were compromised. Ari had been taken captive and tortured until he’d given up information. It had nearly killed him.

  I raised my head to study Ari again. Yes, I could see it. He had that look that everyone I knew eventually obtained… it was the stare of the abyss. He’d seen the universe for what it was—cold, unfeeling, and destructive. This wasn’t his fault.

  It was mine. I was cursed. Everyone who loved me suffered. The Sisters of the Universe were right about me. I was a negative energy and that was all I brought with me wherever I went. My mother. My husbands. Ari. Diana.

  “That’s it.” Ari raised his eyes and stared at a beeping machine. Was I still hooked up to it? “Breathing is not hard. Simplest thing to do. We can do it even when we don’t want to.”

  Dizziness rolled over me, and the nausea that always came from being in the med machine returned. I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to puke. I needed to understand. How could they be telling me that Tommy and Quinn were dead when it wasn’t possible?

  “Clay. Keith.” I spoke with my eyes closed, and their hands came to my back, one of them rubbed me slowly. “They don’t feel dead. I have this place, this spot inside of me where I put all of you. I can’t really explain it.”

  Clay answered. “It’s okay, honey. You don’t have to. I have a spot for you, too.”

  “Me too,” Keith whispered.

  Diana stood. She kind of made an oomph noise when she did it, and I felt the lack of her the second she stepped back. I didn’t even have to open my eyes to know she had moved away.

  “I still feel them there. They can’t be dead if they’re still there.”

  Silence met my statement, and finally, I had to open my eyes to see what was happening. I had really made a scene here. It wasn’t like me. What was the matter with me? Clay was behind me. His head pushed on my upper back. His body shook a little bit. Was he crying?

  I couldn’t turn to look. Keith’s gaze demanded my attention, his blue depths insisted I look at
him straight on. I let out a breath. If they were dead, then Keith had lost his twin. He and Quinn had been together since they were inside of their mother’s womb, hardly ever spending any time apart. A year, maybe, when Keith had gone to school and taught on Earth.

  “Tell me.” I loved this man. I loved Clay. I didn’t love them less than I did Tommy and Quinn. Now that my head was returning, I could see… I’d made this so much worse. What was the matter with me?

  Keith shook his head. “Paloma, you’re fighting a war inside of your own head right now. Whatever it is, you aren’t allowed to feel guilty about it. You’ve just woken up after months of being sedated. That much time in the med machine does funny things to people. That’s what Ari told us. No one expected you to wake today. Next week, maybe. Or he’d have been here to ease you back in better than I did. I heard you pounding, and I had to pull you out.”

  “Keith,” I said and concentrated on breathing. “Tell me. Please.”

  “About five months ago, we were taken prisoner by the Cartel. All of us. For two months, we all, you included, endured a living hell. They gave you some medicine on that ship. Some of the horrible shit my family is famous for. That’s why I think you don’t remember. We removed it from your system on the shuttle but still. It’ll likely come back, your memory. It might feel fuzzy.”

  My memory, or lack thereof, was not my main interest right now. Keith was stalling. “Keith.”

  Clay sucked in a breath. “Tell her.”