Marianne's Abduction Read online

  Marianne excused herself to the bathroom so she could collect her thoughts. She sat on the closed toilet seat lid and rested her chin in her hands. How was this possible? Did women really fall in love with two men? Did two big, strong, alpha men really fall in love with the same woman? Had they discussed this? Were they okay with it? How in the hell did something like this work? Should she tell them how she felt? Should she wait until they said something first?

  “Jacob,” she whispered. “I wish I could have saved you.” But if she had, she never would have met Vaughn and River. Was this fate? Or had circumstances completely beyond her control taken over and brought her here? If she’d been in Germany with Jacob when he was taken, she’d have been taken, too, and sent to the Zoo or the holding cells. She wouldn’t have been able to stay with him.

  And if they’d managed not to be taken, they’d be hiding in a cave or something right now, waiting for the madness on Earth to be over. But it never would be. Not unless the Tyranns could be stopped before the only people left on the planet were the ones hiding underground by now.

  She glanced at the ceiling. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but it’s time to say goodbye.” He would want her happy. Callie had been right about that. It was time to let go of the past and embrace her new life. And it was time to tell Vaughn and River that she loved them.

  ****

  Vaughn had no idea what was different about Marianne after Thane, Rune, Jakara, and Callie left that night, but he knew something had happened. She asked if they could shower together, and he certainly wasn’t about to turn her down for that request. But instead of practically ripping off their clothes and grabbing them like she usually did now, she slowed down considerably. She was tender, touching them as a lover would, washing every square inch of their bodies including their feet, while they stood under the spray.

  She kissed them tentatively, as if unsure whether she should, and her blue eyes were dark with intensity and mystery tonight. When they made love in her bed, taking turns the way they always did now with her, she was no less receptive to them, and she certainly enjoyed it, but her reactions were more measured. More peaceful, even. Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer.

  She’d had two orgasms, and had left the room to use the bathroom. While she was gone, he asked River if he noticed something off about her.

  “Yes. What do you think it is? Did something happen that we missed?”

  Vaughn shrugged. “Can’t think what that could be. Do you think she and Callie talked about something that upset her?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe we should simply ask her?”

  Vaughn nodded, and then Marianne came back into the room. She sat down on the bed facing them, cross-legged. “If I don’t get this out I never will.”

  Vaughn was concerned because she looked ready to cry, and he had no idea why she was so nervous.

  “I have something to tell you two, and I have no clue how you’ll react. For all I know, you’ll kick me out of here tonight.”

  “Sweetheart, we would never do that.”

  He moved to hold her but she held up her hands. “Please. I need to say this.” She took a deep breath. “I’m … oh God. I can do this. I’m in love with you. Both of you. I love you both.”

  He and River exchanged a glance, and then Vaughn pulled her into his arms and held her so tightly he was afraid he’d hurt her. “Oh, Marianne. We love you, too.” He cupped her face. “Don’t you know that?”

  Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

  “I think I’ve loved you since the first day you were here,” said River. “But we didn’t want to say anything. Jacob … and your aunt and uncle … you needed time. And none of us knows what will happen.”

  Big tears spilled over her lashes, but a huge smile split her face. Vaughn pulled her close again, and then he laid her on the bed and kissed her. She cried into his open mouth, and she was still crying when he released her so River could climb on top of her and have a turn.

  “You’re okay with this?” she asked. “With me loving you both?”

  “Of course we are,” said River, licking her neck. “You’re such a silly Earth girl. Did you think we could live here with you, and make love to you every night, and not fall crazy in love with you?”

  She cried and laughed at the same time, and then they were a tangle of arms and legs as he and River took turns again sinking their cocks into that velvety wetness between her legs. It was the only place Vaughn ever wanted to be. He’d never felt this way, and he knew he never would again. Marianne had been the only girl for him from the moment he’d first looked into her eyes.

  ****

  River thought his heart would burst. He could hardly breathe, which made fucking her a bit difficult. He gazed down into her tear-streaked face, happier than he’d ever been in his entire life. “I love you,” he whispered. He’d say it every day if that’s what she wanted to hear. Every hour, if she needed that much reassurance.

  Sharing her body and her love with his brother seemed like the most normal thing in the world. He and Vaughn had shared everything most of their lives. And Marianne was more woman than any one man could handle, anyway. She was feisty and fun, and more passionate than he’d ever been able to imagine a woman—from Earth other otherwise—could possibly be.

  When she came again, he let go and spilled his seed inside her, and then held her until their breathing returned to normal. That night, he kept her in his arms long after she’d fallen asleep and Vaughn had slept, woken, and then left the room to return to his computer. River had slept enough, too, but he didn’t want to leave her tonight.

  There was nothing more any of them could do, sitting in front of a computer, at this point. Their plan was in place. Now they needed to execute it. They’d gone over the details for what felt like a million times. So much depended on their moles posing as Tyranns, and those men risked their lives every single day. But without them, they had no chance of making this work.

  Marianne had asked for details, but they hadn’t told her. Not yet. They would have to, but tonight River only wanted to hold her. He wanted to feel her skin against his, and hear her softly breathe in her sleep. He inhaled the scent of her hair, and traced the line of her body with one finger, barely touching her skin so he didn’t disturb her.

  If this failed, they might be killed. She might be captured. So many things could go wrong. And if even one of them did, they could lose her forever. River wanted every fiber of his being to memorize her. Her looks, her smell, her voice, and the look in her eyes when he was inside her.

  He kissed her hair, and snuggled closer against her warm, lush body. She stirred in her sleep, woke up for a few seconds, but then her eyelids fluttered and she went back to sleep. She needed to rest, and he let her, even though his dick was rock hard again. Tomorrow morning, their plan would begin, so tonight, she needed as much sleep as possible.

  River had no idea what would happen in the morning, or in the next few days as they put their plan into motion, but he knew that no matter what did occur, he had tonight. He had this woman in his arms, and he knew she loved him. And now she finally knew they both loved her, too. The three of them had that to take with them, no matter where their fates lay.

  As he drifted off to sleep again, River sent up a silent prayer that their fates were with each other. Because he’d rather lose his own life than lose Marianne.

  Chapter Ten

  Marianne sat quietly next to Callie, and listened to Vaughn, River, Thane, Rune, and Jakara outline the plan, but inside she was screaming. There were so many uncertainties. Each minute was planned out, except for the amount of time they’d be inside Atkins Prison because they had no control over that. If one step failed, the entire plan would fall apart. They had back-ups, but there were only so many contingencies they could plan for.

  The first step was to get them on Voyeur Moon, and to do that Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune were posing as Zoo guards. Three of the guards currently assigned to t
he Zoo were undercover Addonians, and had procured uniforms and credentials for them. Marianne thought they were out of their minds. “What if your credentials are checked?”

  “They won’t be,” said Thane. “As long as we believe we’re guards and act like everyone else, no one will suspect a thing.”

  “But what excuse are you giving for flying there in the first place?”

  Rune grinned wickedly. “The four guards whose credentials we’ve copied will mysteriously find themselves on Earth, with no way to contact their superiors or get home.”

  “Until a transport shows up and they tell them what happened,” said Callie, quietly.

  “By that time,” said Jakara, “Blake and Betsy Williams will be safely out of Atkins Prison, and no one will be able to trace this back to us.”

  “You kidnapped four Zoo guards?” asked Marianne.

  “Not kidnapped,” said Rune. “Vito, Daven, Rygal, and Tallis are merely diverting their spacecraft.”

  “How?”

  He and Thane exchanged a glance and then laughed. “Four men on Addo have decided to join the Tyranns, and they were chosen to be Zoo guards. We found this out just last week when Vito intercepted a radio transmission. He monitors them on Addo and Sera, looking for people on both planets who attempt communication with Voyeur Moon.”

  “We got lucky with this piece of information,” said Vaughn. “We decided to use this by having Vito, Daven, Rygal, and Tallis pose as pilots and navigators from Addo, heading for Voyeur Moon to work for the Tyranns. They got in touch with the four men going there to work as Zoo guards, and asked if they could hitch a ride.”

  “Then once they’re on board,” said Thane, “they will overpower the real Zoo guards and put them to sleep, using the same medication the Tyranns use on Earth people so they survive the hyper jump that brings them here. Then they’ll take the craft to Earth and leave them there. After that, they will join us on Voyeur Moon with their fake identities already in place, just in case.”

  “So the Tyranns only know about the Zoo guards,” said Marianne. “That’s all they’re expecting to show up.”

  River nodded. “Exactly. But the real Zoo guards don’t know that. They never questioned it.”

  Marianne shook her head. “Pure genius. But what is the second step?”

  “We’re going to Atkins to pick up two men assigned to the Zoo,” said River. “Betsy will be disguised as a man once we’re on the way back to the spacecraft.”

  “But what if they recognize you inside the prison? Someone might notice their reaction.”

  Vaughn grinned. “We have people working inside the prison, too. He’s going to let them know what’s going on so they can play it cool.”

  “Can you trust these people?” she asked.

  “With our lives,” said River. “They’ve worked for us now for over a year. They know what they’re doing.”

  “But are there really two prisoners assigned to the Zoo?”

  River shook his head. “No. We hacked into the database and falsified that part. All the guards out front will know is that we’re there to pick up two prisoners for the Zoo, and their records will show that. Our contacts on the inside are responsible for making sure it’s your aunt and uncle who are brought to the front when we arrive.”

  “How will you get word to them?”

  “We have a system of codes,” said Vaughn. “Don’t worry about that part. This isn’t our first time springing people from a prison on Voyeur Moon.”

  “Okay. But how do you get my aunt and uncle on a ship once you have them? You’re supposed to be bringing two men to the Zoo. Won’t that be tracked?”

  Vaughn bit his lip. “That’s the tricky part.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that,” said Callie.

  “They’re taking four prisoners from Atkins back to the ship,” said Jakara, “But only two will be recorded. The other two are decoys. They’ll be the ones delivered to the Zoo.”

  “Who are they?” asked Marianne.

  River gave her a sheepish look. “Let’s just say that sometimes prisoners on transports go missing, and even the Tyranns can’t find them, and leave it at that.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Marianne, no one was harmed,” said Vaughn. “These are men convicted of true crimes. We merely had some of our people ambush a transport, and in the diversion, two prisoners went missing. We’re … holding them for now until we need them. Which will be when we leave Atkins.”

  “Holding them where?” asked Callie.

  This time, it was Jakara’s turn to give Callie a sheepish look. “Remember when I told you how very few people lived near my home on Voyeur Moon? We have a house on the other side of the hills that we use for purposes like this. That’s where the men are right now. About five minutes from Atkins Prison, right under the Tyranns’ noses.”

  “Holy shit,” whispered Marianne. “So you plan to pick up my aunt and uncle, get these other two men, and take them to the Zoo instead? But don’t they have names or something that they track?”

  “Prisoners inside Atkins have ID bracelets with bar codes,” said Thane. “We made fake ones to match the fake names we entered into the database. Once we have the men, we’ll simply switch them, and destroy the ones your aunt and uncle are wearing.”

  “But how will you get my aunt and uncle onto the ship without being seen?”

  “You let us worry about that,” said Rune. “We’re very good at creating diversions.”

  “What about the ship itself? Can’t they identify them?”

  “It’s a Tyrann craft,” said Thane. “We procured it.” The men all chuckled.

  Marianne shook her head. She didn’t ask how they’d stolen a Tyrann spacecraft. There were so many things that could go wrong with this plan that she stopped counting because she knew she’d lose her mind otherwise. “God save us all.”

  Because Jakara might be too easily recognized by someone on Voyeur Moon, he was to stay behind in the quarters with Marianne and Callie. He had instructions to take Marianne and Callie to Sera if anything went wrong.

  “We have contacts inside the Ministry who will keep us safe,” said Vaughn. “They know you might be coming there to live, and they will make sure you’re kept hidden from the Tyranns if this goes south.”

  “And Callie and Jakara? What will they do?”

  “Go into hiding again, possibly on Sera.”

  She stared into Vaughn and River’s eyes. “But if anything goes wrong, I might never see you two again.”

  They both held her close. “We are not going to let that happen,” said River.” He kissed her. “We will come back to you, Marianne.”

  “You’d better,” she whispered, trying hard not to cry.

  They each kissed her so many times, and whispered how much they loved her, that Thane and Rune had to pry them away from her. She kept her composure until she watched them board the ship with Thane and Rune, the four of them dressed as Tyrann guards. Then she put a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream as the craft lifted off the ground, and stood outside watching until long after she could no longer see it.

  Finally, Callie gently led her back inside. “Come on. Jakara found a way to bring up free cell on Vaughn’s computer. He’s been trying for months.”

  Marianne almost smiled, grateful that they were trying to distract her with something familiar, but she knew she couldn’t sit at a computer and play a game right now. She only wanted them back here, and she wanted her aunt and uncle with them. Nothing else would make her feel safe or happy ever again.

  She loved Vaughn and River with her entire heart and soul, and she always would.

  ****

  Vaughn wanted to ask River to turn the ship around as soon as they cleared Addonian air space. He kept picturing the look on Marianne’s face as they’d boarded, after he and River both turned to wave to her one more time. She looked like she was certain she’d never see them again, and his heart had nearly burst.

 
Vaughn wasn’t worried about this part of the plan. The ship with the real guards had already left, and those same guards would soon be on Earth with no way to contact the Tyranns or get back here. They knew when the scheduled raids occurred, and another one wouldn’t happen for forty-eight hours. By the time the real guards convinced those flying the transports to Earth who they were, this would be done, one way or the other.

  And the guards wouldn’t be able to identify who had knocked them out, regardless. They didn’t know Vito, Daven, Rygal, or Tallis by name because the four had used fake ones. All they’d be able to tell the Tyranns was that the men had told them they were navigators and pilots coming to work on Voyeur Moon, and that they’d put them to sleep as soon as the ship was in the air. When they’d woken, they’d found themselves on Earth with their uniforms and credentials missing.

  That part hadn’t been necessary to the plan since Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune already had credentials and uniforms, but Jakara thought it would be a fitting touch to leave the four guards on Earth with no clothing and no ID.

  Less than twenty minutes after their ship left Addo, Vaughn and River heard from Jakara. Rygal, Daven, Vito, and Tallis had deposited the real guards on Earth, and they were on their way to rendezvous with Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune on Voyeur Moon. There was no turning back now.

  This plan would work. It had to. Because all he wanted to do was hold Marianne in his arms again, and then continue holding her for the rest of his life.

  Once they were in Tyrann air space, it didn’t take long for their radio to crackle. The voice asked for identification, and River sounded so smooth and confident as he told them a big fat lie. The voice on the other end didn’t even hesitate as it told them they were cleared for landing on Voyeur Moon.

  They had contacts inside the Zoo, and they’d been in place for a while now. Those contacts had arranged for Vaughn, River, Thane, and Rune to be the guards assigned to travel to Atkins and pick up the two prisoners, again by hacking into the Tyranns’ computer systems.