by Rachel Clark
He’d been working on a portable device that would mask her signal from the scans, but now it seemed he needed to disguise her, not just hide her. She needed to show up on their scans, but she needed to somehow give a false reading.
He cracked his knuckles as he shook his head in frustration. He needed to create both a scan dampening field and a signal generator, and even though he had an idea how he might do that, he didn’t have the tools or materials necessary to make it. He wasn’t even sure he’d be able to get the parts he needed.
But he couldn’t sit here all night. He had to at least try to find what he needed. He glanced at the clock. It was almost four in the morning. If he left now he’d maybe make it back here before lunch. He looked at the wall where the hidden door stood. She was safe in that room, for now at least, but he needed to make sure that she couldn’t escape and give away her whereabouts.
He needed to make sure that Tara and Alec had enough supplies so if he took longer than he expected, they would at least be comfortable. He moved quickly, gathering items and food from the kitchen. The hidden space also contained a small bathroom, so he grabbed toiletries and other necessities as well.
It took several trips, but he managed to grab everything he expected the two of them to need for two or three days. He had no intention of staying away so long, but he knew from recent experience that things didn’t always go as planned.
He removed the small panel that hid the lock override, punched in the sequence to open the door, and then quietly dragged the supplies into the room. He stilled at the sight before him. Even though he’d told Alec to hold Tara, he hadn’t quite prepared himself for what the sight might do to him.
A curious jealously wormed its way through him at the same time that his cock swelled with excitement. The man he loved with all his heart and the woman he’d loved from afar were entwined, fully clothed, on the small bed. She slept with her head against Alec’s shoulder, her arm over his chest and her knee bent slightly to fit over his thigh. She looked tired and drawn, but also vulnerable and desirable and very beautiful.
Alec looked even more handsome at that moment than John could ever remember, and he wanted nothing more than to climb onto the bed and pull them both into his arms.
But just remembering the fear in her voice was enough to place a damper over what he wanted. He’d scared her—badly—and he had no idea how to fix it. At least she’d accepted Alec’s presence. At least she wasn’t living through this terrible situation alone.
He bit back the sigh that wanted to escape as he leaned over and shook Alec gently. “Baby,” he whispered close to the man’s ear. “Baby, I need to go out for supplies.”
Alec roused quickly, seeming to wake from only a very light sleep. “Why?” Alec whispered in a sleep-roughened voice.
“I need to track down some parts, but I’ll be back as quickly as I can.” Alec nodded his understanding, his hand moving up his body to rest over Tara’s hand that lay fisted over his heart. “You’ll be safe in this room, but it’s extremely important that Tara not leave. They’ll come as soon as they detect her signal, so she has to stay in this room.”
Alec nodded his understanding but stiffened when Tara moved against him.
“What language is that?” she asked quietly.
“Tara,” John said softly in English, “I didn’t mean to wake you. Everything’s okay. Just go back to sleep.”
“No,” she answered stubbornly. “I asked you a reasonable question, and I expect an answer. What language is that?”
He smiled slightly at her attitude. She was locked in a small room with two men who outweighed her five times over—men she probably believed to be delusional—but she still found the courage to stand up to him. Maybe that’s why he’d given up everything he and Alec had ever known to try and protect her.
“There is no name for it. This is the language our people speak. Everyone speaks the same language, so it has never been given a name.”
“Your people? What country are you from?” She looked to be getting angry now, and John, though relieved to see her natural, normal personality, worried that she would soon remember the fear she’d felt yesterday. She’d stopped short of actually calling him crazy, but it had been obvious in her behavior that she thought it.
“We don’t have a country.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but Alec moved slightly and pulled her tighter against him.
“Tara, trust John, please.” The words were awkwardly pronounced, but he was grateful to Alec for his effort. Learning the local language had been a cause for argument for so long in their relationship that John had given up hope of Alec ever being able to communicate with Tara. Hopefully, Alec knew enough of the language to keep her calm while he was gone.
Speaking in his own language again, he gave quick instructions to Alec, told him he would lock the door from the outside, and all the while tried really hard to avoid the angry look on Tara’s face. Guaranteed, he wasn’t going to be very popular once he locked them both in again.
Chapter Five
Alec watched John watching Tara. He’d always known his lover felt deeply for the woman but somehow had convinced himself that despite all of their relationship issues, he was secure in John’s love. Now he wasn’t so sure.
When John looked at Tara, his face lit with a type of pleasure that Alec hadn’t seen in a very long time. Not since they’d first met and their relationship had been shiny and new and full of possibilities. He pulled Tara closer even as he realized the strangeness of his thoughts. He wasn’t just jealous of John’s feelings for Tara but also the possibility that Tara might have feelings for John that excluded him. He knew it was ludicrous. Tara was terrified of John, but still, what happened when she learned the truth? Would she still push John away?
When she asked about their language, Alec had been willing to tell her almost anything. Anything at all to put her mind to rest. Hell, he’d make up a name for his language if that’s what it took to help her relax.
John finished telling him everything else as quickly as possible. He smiled, and Alec thought he would lean forward and kiss him good-bye, but he stopped himself midmovement and started to pull away.
Alec couldn’t stand the thought that his lover would hide their relationship in front of a woman who was quickly becoming very important to them both, so before he could talk himself out of it or think rationally, he reached over and gripped the back of John’s neck.
Before he could react, Alec pulled John toward him. Slightly off balance, John placed his hand on the bed, leaning over Alec as he smiled sadly.
“I love you,” Alec said clearly, cursing himself for not knowing how to say it in English. He wanted Tara to know how he felt about this man, but he supposed the fact that he was about to kiss his lover good-bye might help break the language barrier.
John looked relieved and hopeful and a dozen other emotions before he exhaled heavily and crushed his lips against Alec’s relieved smile. Alec tried not to analyze why John had thought he wouldn’t want to kiss him in front of Tara, so he deepened the kiss even further.
He felt Tara move beside him and had a moment of terror when he realized she may be about to use their distraction to her advantage and make a run for it. He almost laughed aloud as both he and John moved to hold her still without actually breaking their kiss. Tara wriggled a moment more before giving up and lying limply in their hold.
Finally, John lifted his head, and Alec wanted to cry at the relief he saw there. He’d hurt his lover so badly over the last year, he hadn’t even noticed when John had begun to doubt his love. Oh hell, he really needed John to know that he loved him and supported him in every way.
“Keep Tara safe,” John said as he leaned forward for another quick kiss. “I’ll return as quickly as possible.”
Alec nodded, determined to live up to his lover’s faith in him. He felt Tara tense as John left the room and locked the door behind him.
“It be okay.
Trust John,” he said to Tara as he smoothed the hair away from her eyes. She nodded, and he hoped that she at least was feeling less in danger and more protected than she had yesterday.
“You love him, don’t you?” she asked. He looked at her quizzically, hearing the words but not really understanding them. “You love John,” she said again as she nodded her head.
“Love?” he asked carefully. Was that the word he needed?
“Yes, love as in care for John. Live with John. Love him with all your heart.” She pressed her hand to Alec’s chest and then to his lips. “You love John.”
“Yes,” he agreed, hoping he understood her correctly. “Alec love John. Trust John. Tara trust John.”
* * * *
Strange as it sounded, Tara was beginning to trust Alec, despite the fact that he obviously loved and trusted John. Alec seemed to genuinely care about both of them, and that could be the difference between life and death.
When John had first entered the room, she’d been terrified. She knew that she was very literally cuddled up to John’s lover, and she’d braced herself for the fit of jealously that would surely follow.
But instead, John had stood over them both. She’d barely had the courage to open her eyes the small fraction necessary to see him, but fear had won over cowardice. If attack was imminent, she wanted to at least see it coming. John had watched them both for a long moment, and if she’d had to guess, she would say that he was not unhappy to see them together. In fact, he appeared quite pleased that she and Alec seemed close.
It had taken every cell in her body to stay still while they talked in their own language, but eventually her need to know had overridden her sanity, and she’d demanded details.
The smile John had given her had been a little unnerving, and she couldn’t decide if he respected her for standing up to him or thought she was simply a lunatic for taking on two men who were so much larger and far more dangerous than herself. She still couldn’t believe she’d lain there and watched them kiss for almost three seconds before it occurred to her that this was her chance to escape. John had left the door unlocked, and in their distracted states, she might’ve had a chance to run.
Strange how exciting it had been when they’d both reached for her and held her immobile as they continued to kiss. It had been one of the more intimate moments of her life, which had made the experience even weirder. Maybe she’d been locked in this windowless room for far longer than she realized. She certainly seemed to be suffering from some sort of mental incapacity.
“Sleep,” Alec urged as he pressed her head back onto his shoulder and played with the curls of her hair. Part of her wanted nothing more than to lose herself to unconsciousness, but the rest of her demanded action.
“I need the bathroom,” she told Alec, wondering how on Earth she was going to explain her need to a man who didn’t understand the language. An unnerving image of a game of charades entered her mind, and she spoke louder, very aware that yelling a language the man didn’t understand was not going to make him understand any better, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“Bathroom! I need the bathroom. If I don’t get to pee in the next five minutes we are going to have a very messy problem on our hands. Bathroom,” she shouted in annoyance. “Dammit! How the hell did I get kidnapped by someone who doesn’t even understand the fucking language?”
She glared at him angrily, frustration that he couldn’t understand her shouted words making her irrational. “I want a fucking bathroom. I want a fucking toilet, and I really want a fucking shower!”
“Shower?” he repeated, raising his eyebrows as if he understood that particular word. “Tara, shower, yes.” He nodded as he said the stilted words.
“Yes, Tara wants a shower,” she said tiredly, no longer caring if he understood or not. She shook her head. Nature was going to be appeased one way or another. Dammit.
“Shower,” Alec said as he levered off the bed and held his hand out for her. After a moment of uncertainty, she placed her hand in his and let him help her to her feet. He dragged her behind him as he moved to the corner where the small light hung suspended from the ceiling.
She watched in uncomfortable fascination as he ran his hands over the wall. It seemed more and more likely that he’d misunderstood her words, and she found herself wondering about his sanity as well. Just as she was about to surrender to despair, Alec grunted something, and with a small click, a door popped open in the wall.
“Shower,” he said grinning at her. There was no light beyond the open doorway, and she was very reluctant to step into such complete blackness. “Shower,” he said again and nodded at her to enter.
She shook her head, the terror of waking to pitch-black darkness last night returning to choke her. “No,” she said as she shook her head more vigorously. “No, it’s dark, and I can’t see, and I’m scared, and I want to go home and—”
She didn’t get to finish the frantic words as Alec pulled her into his embrace. She hadn’t realized she was crying until Alec’s oversized knuckle swept the moisture across her cheek. He held her close, mumbling words she couldn’t understand, and she clung to him as she shook.
Chapter Six
God, how could he be so thoughtless? The woman was already scared witless and here he was trying to shove her into a dark, little room. He murmured words of comfort, knowing that she wouldn’t understand him, but hoping she would recognize the tone.
She clung to him, her whole body shivering in reaction. Damn, the harder he and John tried, the worse they seemed to make the situation for her. Alec held her until she sagged against him, her energy gone. He had no clue what the words “I’m sorry” were in English, so he just held her and silently cursed his own inability.
When she seemed calmer, he held her and twisted so that he could reach the light just inside the doorway while showing her with his actions that he was not going to push her into the room. He fumbled against the smooth wall, his fingers sliding against the cool tiles until he found the switch.
The immediate brightness stung his eyes, and he closed them for a moment, but he felt her lift her head away from his chest.
“Bathroom,” she said quietly.
He looked into the tiny room. Bathroom? The room that held a shower was called a bathroom? He filed this away for later reference at the same time realizing that Tara could help him learn more of the language. Chances were they were going to be locked in this room for quite a while, even if John got back quickly. Teaching Alec the local language just might help Tara set aside her fear for a while.
Tara stepped back, wiped her eyes with her fingertips, and gave him a small smile. “Bathroom,” she said as she stepped into the small space. “Shower,” she said pointing at the shower stall.
He knew the word shower. There wasn’t an actual translation for the word in his language, so both he and John had used the local word for the cleansing area.
Tara saw the toilet in the far corner and headed over to that spot. Her hands moved to the clasp of her jeans, but her hands stilled, and she gave him a pointed look. He wasn’t quite sure what she wanted, but when she tilted her head towards the door, he figured she was probably asking for some privacy. He could give her that. He turned his back and stepped through the doorway. He pulled the door closed part way, uncertain if she would welcome the claustrophobic feeling of being locked into an even smaller space than the room where the bed was.
A few moments later she opened the door and asked him something about the shower. She lifted her shirt between thumb and forefinger seeming to indicate something.
“My clothes. Clothes,” she said. He lifted his own shirt in the same manner, and she nodded. “Clothes.”
When he finally realized what she was asking for he felt like a bit of an idiot. She wanted a shower and clean clothes. Putting on clean clothes was what one did after a shower. He must be losing it to miss such a simple meaning.
He nodded and turned back toward the bags John ha
d dragged into the room earlier. “Clothes,” he said with a smile.
Tara fell to her knees and opened the overstuffed bag.
* * * *
Tara opened the bag quickly.
“Clothes,” Alec said again, but they weren’t just anybody’s clothes, they were her clothes. Hell, one of them—probably John—had gone through her wardrobe and filled a bag with practically everything she owned. She gasped when her hand found silk. Someone had even cleared out her lingerie draw. God she hoped that wasn’t some sort of warning of things to come.
“Tara, shower, be little.”
She looked up at him a frown contorting her face as she tried to understand his meaning. “Little?” she asked.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out, and she could see the frustration marring his handsome features. It was obvious he wanted to say much more, but he simply didn’t have the knowledge of her language.
“Little shower?” she asked again, trying to reassure him as well as understand him. “Do you mean a short shower? Get in, get out, very quick shower?” He still looked at her with that frustration brewing in his eyes. In desperation she moved to pantomime, pretending to turn on the taps, wash her hair and body, and then turn off the taps. “Little shower,” she said hopefully.
He nodded like he wanted to agree but wasn’t quite sure he should. She glanced at her watch, surprised to see that it wasn’t yet five o’clock. She was assuming, of course, that it was morning, although, with the absence of natural light, she really couldn’t be sure about anything.
Her watch. She lifted it to Alec’s face, pointing to the second hand as it did its rapid sweep around the dial. “Little shower,” she said, making a circle in the air. He nodded, seeming to understand what she meant.