Claimed by Three

by Rebecca Airies

  “That’s what we plan to do.” Berenger smiled. The hologram faded, and he put the small comm away.

  “We’re taking you to the hospital now.” The medic walked up to them. “We’ll take her to Cassid City Hospital. You can meet us there.”

  He nodded. She hugged him tight. He held her and reluctantly released her after a few moments. He’d have liked to go with her, but he needed his vehicle. He’d follow and get there soon.

  “Hurry, but be safe.” She slowly released him and let the medic urge her up into the bay of the vehicle.

  He waited until the medics had left and then walked to his skimmer. He started the trip and then contacted Kassius and Teague to update them on where she was. The conversation was short, but they told him they’d meet him at the hospital.

  He found a spot on the lot to land before he disembarked the skimmer and strode toward the large gray building to find Sephanie. Trees and flower beds edged the lot and bordered the building, giving life and color to the area. The sterile interior seemed jarring after the beauty of the exterior.

  He only stopped to find out where Sephanie was, and then he went to her. Well, he tried. The nurses and orderlies stopped him outside the treatment room and wouldn’t let him go to her while she was examined. Escorted away from the room, he found a seat in the waiting room and knew he’d be sitting and wondering for a while.

  Kassius and Teague arrived with Cooper, Paine, and Lawson on their heels. He stood and met them as they crossed the waiting room. He knew they’d tried to get to her first. He was glad he wasn’t the only one who was shut out of the room.

  “How is she?” Kassius asked.

  “While she was at the scene with the medics, she seemed fine. She was shocked, but she was aware and able to answer questions. She didn’t understand what went wrong.” Berenger exhaled heavily.

  “And have you thought of a reason for the problem?” Kassius stopped near Berenger but looked toward the door to the treatment rooms.

  “I don’t know what malfunctioned. I can’t think of a series of failures that would result in something similar to what she described, much less why they would occur at once.” Berenger clenched his jaw. It frustrated him that he couldn’t think of an answer. His first thought when he’d heard about the accident had been that speed enhancement she had fitted on her skimmer. The modification often caused out-of-control acceleration, but that wouldn’t affect the steering.

  “That’s because it wasn’t a failure, not in the sense it was an accident or a technical glitch,” Cooper said as he sat down.

  “What do you mean, it wasn’t a failure? How do you know?” Teague remained standing and frowned at Cooper.

  “I talked to a friend who has a connection in the Planetary Police. They found evidence at first glance something was tampered with on her Duce.” Cooper’s hand clenched the arm of the chair. “Did she notice anything last night?”

  “It was back at her place. She was with us until this morning. After a long night with us, she was tired. So the only thing she noticed was how good we are.” Teague shrugged, but a smile curved his lips.

  Berenger shook his head. Prodding the brother of their woman might be an interesting game, but this was not the time for it.

  “That’s more than I needed to know.” Cooper sent a glare toward Teague. “Barring someone picking her out of the crowd and deciding she would be a great person to torment, it has to be someone angry at her or you.”

  “What about her business? Has she fired anyone lately? Have there been any minor instances of destruction? The graffiti on her house is in a totally different class from tampering with someone’s vehicle.” Kassius sat down heavily in the seat.

  Berenger agreed. The person who had put the paint on her house probably hadn’t sabotaged the vehicle. To make the different systems on her skimmer fail would require a lot of tampering and intent, not to mention knowledge. If they’d randomly ripped or messed around with the wiring, the results would have been much different. The skimmer might not have started at all. Someone made sure she got off the ground before everything fell apart.

  “It could be related.” Teague took a deep breath before he continued. “It wasn’t done by the same people, but that doesn’t rule out someone arranging for one or both incidents.”

  Berenger stared at Teague while the words tumbled around his mind. Someone could be behind both the incidents. Was that same someone behind the vandalism at the grove? Were they related, or was it merely coincidence someone had vandalized equipment at the orchard as well as Sephanie’s Duce?

  “No, Sephanie’s employees don’t change often. Most of her people love working for her, and she likes keeping them there. The last person she fired was two years ago for stealing. A couple workers have left since then. One because she was marrying, and the other was a young man who finished university and started a job in his chosen field.” Cooper leaned back in his chair, and Paine put his hand on Cooper’s shoulder.

  “I haven’t fired anyone, and I’m pretty sure Berenger’s workers haven’t changed in a while either,” Kassius said slowly.

  Berenger gave it some thought. It might not be someone they’d fired. Maybe it was someone who was pissed at them. But why would they go after Sephanie when their relationship was so new? And how would anyone from his work know about the relationship so soon?

  “Are any of you here for Sephanie Lindsey?” A woman in a dark blue nurse’s uniform strolled into the room.

  “Yes, actually, we all are. I’m her brother, and these three are her men.” Cooper stood and took a step toward the woman.

  “Well, she’s being released. She’ll be ready to go home in a few moments.” The nurse stopped in front of them.

  “Are there any recommendations once we get her home? Does she need to rest? Any treatment?” Berenger felt his muscles relax as the relief washed through him. There was no doubt in his mind she would come home with them. He wouldn’t accept anything else. Someone had sabotaged her Duce. They could try anything next.

  “Rest and pampering. If any of you are good with massage, that might help. She’ll be sore, but there’s no tissue or bone damage.” The nurse smiled. “We’ll bring her out in a few moments.”

  “She can’t be alone.” Cooper glanced at them as the woman left them.

  “She won’t be. We’ll keep her with us.” Teague looked toward the door where the nurse had disappeared.

  “Do you think she’ll go along with you? Even after she’s told it’s probably sabotage, she won’t think there’s enough danger to take that kind of precaution. It’s not the way she thinks.” Cooper raised a brow.

  “She’ll stay with us regardless. We have no idea who the real target is here. It could be her or someone trying to get to us through her. We are not leaving her without protection.” Berenger tried to remain calm. The thought of her alone and in danger made him want to tear through the hospital.

  “All I can say is, prepare for an argument. We had to talk for days before she allowed men to sit in the bakery with her while she worked. She was adamant about not letting anyone run her out of her home, so we had someone stay at her home most days as well as extra patrols by the police.” Paine looked toward the doors of the treatment area.

  “Yeah, his sister is not the most cooperative woman in the world.” Lawson nodded. “Better you find that out early.”

  “Since she’s his sister, I didn’t think she would be the most biddable woman. On top of that, we’ve seen her stubbornness already. It’s not a problem. If she gets too resistant, we’ll pick her up and carry her off. We are bigger than her.” Teague grinned.

  “Watch your back if you do that. She has friends, and she can definitely be vengeful.” Cooper shook his head.

  “We’ll talk it out with her and make her understand, but leaving her in danger isn’t an option for us any more than it is for you.” Kassius shrugged but stared toward the doors when they opened.

  The nurse pushed Sephanie into
the room. Sephanie seemed more relaxed than she had been at the accident site. Berenger walked to her, but the nurse continued pushing her toward the desk. He wanted a chance to hold her again but knew the woman was focused on her job.

  “Do you have your vehicle waiting nearby?” The nurse looked at them. “Getting her processed out won’t take long.”

  “I’ll go get it and bring it around to pick her up.” Kassius paced over to Sephanie and patted her shoulder for a brief moment before he left the waiting room.

  Teague crouched by Sephanie’s chair. As he held her hands in his, he looked up at her. “How are you doing, Sephanie?”

  “I’m all right. I’d hate to repeat that landing.” She smiled at him, and her voice was cheerful.

  “I don’t want you near that type of landing again.” Berenger grimaced. The sight of her Duce crumpled at the front and crushed at the bottom would haunt his nightmares.

  “The built-in safety features worked.” She pulled one hand free of Teague’s hold and touched Berenger’s arm.

  He forced himself to let it go. They would get into a discussion about the crash later. “Let’s get you home so you can get some rest.”

  “I have to go to work since I’m not hurt.” She tried to stand.

  The nurse urged her back down into the chair. “Remain seated until I get you outside of the building. Policy.”

  “Your skimmer is trashed. You were shaken up in the crash. You’re taking at least a day off,” Teague said.

  Berenger turned and saw Teague giving her a hard look. That might not be the best way of gaining the cooperation of a woman who had already shown a bit of stubbornness.

  “I need to work. I haven’t contacted the bakery yet about the accident. As far as they know, I’m only running late.” She shook her head. “I’ve got to go. I scheduled myself to work. They’ll be short of staff if I’m not there.”

  “I called for you after Berenger told me and I heard the message. They’re calling in someone to take your place. All you have to do today is rest.” Cooper raised his voice. “Your manager, Mary, said for you to take care of yourself and they’d see you or talk to you tomorrow.”

  “I’m not tired or in pain. I feel fine.” She glared at her brother.

  “How about we need you to rest? Will that work? After seeing that damage, I have to know you’re safe and not alone.” Berenger tried to take the logical route. She didn’t know the full details, and going into them here wasn’t the best idea.

  “But if you take me home, I’ll be alone unless one of you plans to stay with me.” She looked up at him with big eyes and seemed confused.

  Apparently, the crash had affected her more than she thought. Normally she’d realize they planned to take her home with them. It was one more reason she should stay close.

  “Well, we could swing by your house, get you some clothes and a few other essentials. After that, we’ll go to our home.” Teague stood, but his voice softened and a small smile relaxed his lips.

  “All right, I’ll go to your house tonight, but I’m working tomorrow.” She nodded.

  “Good, that other man should be waiting for us. You’ll be home and resting soon.” The nurse turned away from the desk and guided the chair around the crowd gathered near Sephanie.

  The nurse didn’t stop again until the chair sat in front of Kassius’s green Duce. Kassius waited, and Teague helped her into the back and climbed in after her. Berenger would have loved to go with them.

  “Sephanie, I’ll see you at the house. I’ve got my Duce to pilot, and there are a few things I have to do. I’m going back to work and telling them I’ll be gone for the rest of the day, as well as assigning someone to finish what I was working on.” Berenger gave her a hug. He also intended to make it clear with his employees any calls from or about Sephanie should be put through immediately.

  “If you have something important to do, you don’t have to come be with me. You can go back to work.” She bit her lip.

  “Baby, I told you. I saw your skimmer. There is no way I’m staying away from you.” Berenger reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. “Now, don’t them give too much trouble while I’m gone.”

  He couldn’t resist a last caress of her cheek. He left before he could give in to the temptation to go with her. It wouldn’t take long to finish up at his shop.

  * * * *

  Kassius sat behind Sephanie on the couch. Her legs were stretched across the cushions. He gently massaged the tension away from her shoulders. He hoped it helped with any soreness that might develop as well. Teague wasn’t there. He’d gone to talk with Sephanie’s brother and his contact with the police. Berenger couldn’t seem to sit still now that they’d gotten Sephanie home.

  Right now, Berenger was researching the feasibility of building an antitampering device for skimmers or coming up with an alarm that would alert the pilot before leaving the ground if anything was done to it. Kassius thought Berenger’s sudden desire to invent was a bad case of nerves and what-ifs running through his mind. He had a few thoughts along those lines himself, but he wasn’t letting her out of his sight. Not anytime soon.

  “Do you think he’ll calm down before we go to bed tonight?” Sephanie glanced back toward the office where Berenger went.

  “He’ll work it out, baby. You might find your skimmer is the first ever fitted with an antitampering device. Well, when you get a new one. Until this is over, it’s probably best not to get a new vehicle.”

  “I wasn’t planning on risking that.” She leaned back into his touch and cocked her head to one side while he focused on a knot of tension still in one shoulder. “Aside from that, the claim probably won’t go through until the investigation is complete.”

  “Now that we know you’re in physical danger, you’re going to have to adjust to having someone with you everywhere you go.” He felt her tense beneath his hands.

  She looked back at him and narrowed her eyes. Red washed over her cheeks. “I’ll still go to work and see my friends and family.”

  “Be reasonable. You’re in danger. It will only continue while this person is out there.” Kassius tried to make her see their desire to protect her wasn’t arbitrary.

  “And what if he’s not caught? How long do you think you three can continue to shadow me? Teague will be called back to duty eventually.” She shot a scowl over her shoulder.

  “We’ll work something out like your brother did. We won’t leave you unprotected.” He kept his voice calm. He hadn’t expected her to argue after what had happened.

  “I’m not letting some bastard who can’t show his face change my life.” She folded her arms across her chest.

  Kassius inwardly cursed. Her brother had said she’d been difficult when he, Lawson, and Paine had tried to get her to move out of her home. The memory came too late to save him from stepping into trouble. As he took a deep breath, he decided the only thing for it was to admit the truth.

  “I know we’re not certain what the vandal will do next. You’ve been the target of two attacks now. Admittedly one of them wasn’t violent. I need for you to be safe. For me. You may not be worried, but I am.” He smoothed his hands over her shoulders.

  “I’m worried too.” Her shoulders sagged. “I don’t understand why someone would do this. Is it about you three or me? If it’s me, there’s only one person I can think of with a desire to harm me. The officer I spoke to didn’t think my suspicions had any credence.”

  “Who do you think it is?” Kassius tensed.

  “Lillie Malone.” Sephanie stared at him as she said the name.

  Kassius shook his head. “I don’t think—”

  “I know you don’t believe she has a negative thought in her head. No male does.” Sephanie faced front again, but not before he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. “If it’s not her, I have no idea.”

  “I don’t know either, baby. We’ll discover why.” He began to massage again, hoping to make her feel better. “Until then, will you please
let us watch over you?”

  “I need to work. I also want to be able to talk to and see my friends and family. If I’m locked up in a room, the person behind this wins.” She twisted so she could look at him. “I don’t want that.”

  He fell harder for her in that moment. That focus and courage were part of what had attracted him in the beginning. She was so determined. All he wanted to do was wrap her up and keep the danger away from her. They could only guess at the reason behind the attacks. Keeping her safe would be difficult.

  “We’ll try to make sure you can continue your life in a way close to normal.” He exhaled slowly. He knew there might come a point when they couldn’t give her the freedom she wanted.

  “That’s all I can ask.” She gave a small nod.

  “Now, are you still all right? Are you feeling any pain?” He put his arm around her back.

  “No pain, and my muscles feel wonderful. Your hands are a definite plus in this relationship.” She swiveled so she was leaning against his arm and the back of the couch. Her legs hung over one of his.

  “You can have access to these anytime you want when you commit to us.” He grinned at her.

  “Well, you’re persistent.” She shook her head at him. “Our relationship is doing great. We’re not going to rush it. Believe me, I want what you do. I need to make sure we build something strong enough to last. This is important to me.”

  “We’re going to last. I know it. We’re right for one another.” Kassius urged her to relax against him. After this day, he’d be happy to have her cuddled up next to him all night.

  “It certainly feels right.” She nestled against him.

  “We’ll be there for you. If you feel frustrated, we’ll be happy to help you work that feeling right out.” He skated his palm up her body in a slow, sensuous stroke. “If you need to be held or feel lonely, we’ll happily hold or be with you.”

  “How about some of that holding me now? I don’t doubt you, and there’s nothing for you to prove. I know you’re good men. I want all of us to be certain and for there not to be danger coming at us.” She leaned against him and rested her cheek on his chest.