Marianne's Abduction (12 page)

Callie
tried to distract her, but she didn’t want to talk and she had no interest in
card games. She only wanted to see Vaughn and River walk through the front door
with her aunt and uncle behind them.

When
the time they’d been gone reached five hours, she sat on the sofa, knees drawn
up, and tried not to cry. She’d been in that position about five minutes when a
noise outside reached her ears. At first she ignored it. It wasn’t unusual to
hear spacecrafts during the day, and she knew what they sounded like when they
were simply flying overhead. But then she realized the sound of this one was
getting louder, and she jumped up.

She
started to run outside, but Jakara caught her arm. “Let them land first. We
have to make sure who gets off the ship.” She stared at him with her mouth
open. He had a rifle, and it was slung over his shoulder.

This
time, she couldn’t hold back the tears. It had never occurred to her that
whatever he’d heard over an hour ago might have been
fake
,
and the Tyranns were on their way right now to ambush him, Callie, and her.

“Get
inside with Callie,” he said quietly, fixing her with a dark gaze.

She
obeyed him this time as understanding finally dawned on her. Callie placed an
arm around her shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze “Don’t worry. It will be
okay. He’s a good shot.”

But
there was only one of him, and who knew how many Tyranns on the ship.

Chapter
Twelve

Marianne
heard Vaughn’s voice inside the quarters first, and she ran toward the sound.
To hell with what Jakara said. Vaughn wouldn’t sound so damn happy right now if
he’d been escorted here by Tyranns.

She
cried out at the sight of his face, and then she was in his arms and River was
next to her. He pulled her close and held her, too, and then they both turned
her around. Marianne had to blink away tears before she recognized her Aunt
Betsy and Uncle Blake. They were so thin!
And both looked used
up and worn out.
Uncle Blake sported a horrible scar on his face that
hadn’t been there two years ago.

They
both held out their arms, and she collapsed into them one at a time, kissing
their faces and blubbering through her tears. When Vaughn and River were
finally able to pull her away, reminding her that her aunt and uncle needed
food, a nice hot bath, and sleep, she held each of her men again, not wanting
to let them go.

“That
was the longest five hours of my life,” she said.

“Ours,
too,” said River. “We both kept your beautiful face in our thoughts to keep us
going.”

“I
can’t ever thank you enough for this. There’s nothing I can do or say that will
repay this debt.” A horrible thought occurred to her. “Are we safe? I mean, did
you get away cleanly?”

“There’s
one guard dead,” said Thane, “but they won’t know who killed him. And a cell
phone signal they probably intercepted, but they can’t trace it here.”

“Oh…”

Vaughn
kissed her. “Don’t worry. We’re not staying here, just in case.”

“Where
are we going?”

River
brushed a finger along her face. “How do you feel about the ocean?”

“I
love the ocean. Why?”

“Jakara
and Callie have been offered the use of a very large house about an hour from
here. It has plenty of room for the four of us, plus your aunt and uncle. And
it has underground cables for the Internet.”

She
smiled so wide her face hurt. “Are you serious? We’ll all be together?”

“Yes.
And less than two minutes from an Addonian base, so you’ll hear planes flying
overheard in addition to the sound of the surf. But we’ll be safe and
well-protected. What do you say?”

She
gazed into River’s eyes, and then into Vaughn’s. Then she linked each of her
hands in one of theirs. “As long as I’m with you two, I’ll go anywhere you
want.”

Vaughn
gave her a look filled with love and lust. “I was hoping you’d say that.
Because you’re stuck with us, you know.
Forever.”

“And
we’re never letting you out of our sight again,” said River, giving her an
equally loving, lustful look. “Not for the rest of our lives.”

Marianne
was sure her heart would stop from the joy filling her entire body. “Then I’m
the luckiest girl on any planet. I love you both so much.”

“And
we love you,” said Vaughn.

“We
will both love you for the rest of our lives,” said River.

She
embraced them each again, letting the fear and
doubt melt
away as they held her. She was here now, and safe, with Vaughn and River.
They’d saved her, and they’d rescued her aunt and uncle. And soon, she’d be
with them in a new home, and she’d have the rest of her life to repay this debt
to them. She’d have the rest of her life to make sure they both knew how very,
very much she loved them.

The End

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