It didn’t take her long to discover that wasn’t the objective of the Corporation. The only thing the Corporation cared about was making money and maintaining power.
The only good out of her time there was that she’d met Tienan and Logan. The same age as she, they’d become her friends.
Taking a deep breath, she reached out and plucked her favorite book from the table.
Its cover now tattered and torn, she’d discovered it among a box of books in the far corner of the room a few months ago. She’d never read anything like those books in her life. They were filled with tales of erotic love and romance. For a woman who’d only had one single relationship in her life, which had been an unmitigated disaster, it had been a revelation.
Christina’s Tapestry had quickly become her favorite of them all. The tale of a woman plucked from her mundane life and swept away to another place and time and into the arms of not one but two warriors had enthralled her. In the land of Javara, women were scarce and the brothers had engaged in a sexual competition in order to convince Christina to stay in their land and choose one of them as a husband. The men shared the woman but only one man could be her husband and claim the children as his own.
That was fine in a book, she supposed, but Kathryn didn’t see how it could work in practice. It was fine for Christina and Jarek, the older brother in the book, but what about poor Marc? Although accepting of the arrangement, Marc had seemed lonely. As silly as it was, Kathryn had cried for Marc. He was a special man and deserved a woman of his own. She’d actually gotten angry with the author for leaving him in such a state.
“Oh God,” she moaned. “I’m losing my mind. I’m worried about a character in a book when Tienan and Logan’s lives are in danger.” She didn’t want to think about what would happen to her if her part in this were ever discovered. Using their superior physical skills and intellect and her knowledge of the lab and the security systems at the various checkpoints in the city, they’d managed to get both men out of their confinement cells last night and away from Piedmont Corporation. Now, they had to figure out what to do next.
She wrapped her arms around herself, blinking back the tears that threatened.
“What I need is a magical tapestry to whisk all three of us out of this mess.” She smiled wistfully, thinking how nice it would be not to have to worry about her father, the General and the entire situation for just one day. Her entire life had been stressful for as far back as she could remember but the past few months that stress had increased tenfold. Exhaustion hit her and she knew she had to go back down to her rooms or eventually Tienan and Logan would come looking for her.
She pushed to her feet and stumbled slightly. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The interrogation teams didn’t concern themselves with such mundane things as food and water and now she was feeling lightheaded. Extending her hands to steady herself, she hit the corner of a small trunk. It slid off the top of the larger trunk it was resting on and crashed to the floor. “Shit!” She pitched forward, barely avoiding ending up face first on the floor.
The fallen trunk had popped open and she glanced inside as she wiped her hands on the legs of her pants and steadied herself. A leather-bound journal caught her eye and she plucked it from the depths of the trunk. It was obviously old, the leather cracked. Opening it carefully, she sucked in a breath when she realized it was from one of her ancestors, a woman who’d lived more than one hundred years before. “This is amazing.” She turned one page, then another, reading rapidly.
Closing the book, she tucked it under her arm. She needed to read this. She was about to close the top of the trunk when something caught her eye. Plucking the bundle of fabric from the trunk, she shook it open, coughing and sneezing when dust flew from it. Carrying it closer to the light, she exclaimed with delight as the pattern emerged.
“Well, you wanted a tapestry.” It was exactly as she imagined the one in the book would be and although it was dirty, she could see the myriad colors in the fabric. Red, green, blue, black, brown, white, silver and yellow all peeked from beneath the layer of dust, forming a picture. There was a stone castle in the center, surrounded by an abundance of flora and fauna, most of which she’d only seen in pictures. The river beyond the castle looked so real, she thought that if she touched it her fingers would get wet. “Incredible,” she whispered. The colors would be positively vibrant after a good cleaning.
A man stood in front of the castle, tall and proud. He was dressed in brown pants and boots, his chest bare. Long brown hair fell to his waist and his golden-brown eyes seemed to stare at her, through her. Her nipples tightened dramatically, making her gasp. What was wrong with her? The longer she stared at him, the more aroused she became. Her panties were damp and her body felt heavy, almost lethargic.
This was crazy. It was definitely time to break out her vibrator. She groaned as she realized that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. Not with Tienan and Logan staying with her. She’d spent the last seven years trying to think of them only as friends but with them here with her now that was becoming much more difficult. They were both handsome, virile men and she was only human after all. And she was a woman who, because of her commitment to her work and the lack of opportunity to meet someone who wasn’t cowed by her father, hadn’t had a man share her bed in over five years.
A noise startled her, sending her pulse racing. “Who’s there?” She thought about what she’d heard. It had sounded almost as if someone had sighed. That was crazy. It was probably the wind in the eaves or something.
No one answered but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t alone. She’d become very paranoid in the past few months, even more so in the past twenty-four hours. Draping the tapestry carefully over her chair, she laid the journal on top of it. She had to leave them here. She couldn’t risk bringing them down to her room. If any of the staff discovered either item they’d tell her father and he’d have them thrown out just because they were important to her.
She closed the lid on the trunk and crept back to the door, listening carefully. After a few moments, her pounding heart settled and she cracked the door open. Seeing no one, she turned off the light and made her way down the stairs, placing each foot carefully on the step. A part of her wanted to bring the tapestry with her but logic prevailed.
“I wish that the tapestry was magic and it would bring Marc to me.” She sighed, her words drifting back up the stairs, as she pulled open the door to the hallway. One night of hot sex with the man from her fantasies would at least relax her and maybe make it easier to face the coming days ahead. Her life was changing, no doubt about it.
No matter what happened, she knew she couldn’t stay here any longer. Tienan and Logan didn’t know it yet but when they left the city, she was going with them.
Glancing up and down the hallway to make sure no one else was there, she sneaked back to her room, ready to face Tienan and Logan. They needed to make plans.
Chapter Two
Marc Garen sat in his chair at the head table in the great hall, just beyond the feasting crowd, watching as friends, family and honored guests toasted the arrival of Jarek and Christina’s third child. This one was cause for a major celebration. After two boys, they’d had a girl—a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty like her mother.
The child was the center of attention, her proud parents holding court as one person after another came to pay tribute. Their other two children, five-year-old Baron and three-year-old Derrik, stood beside them, looking proud and pleased. Even at their young age, they knew the importance of a female child.