One Four All
Lira Pakan, heir to the Throne of Zhinshu, has vanished. Her zealots gather along the border with the neighboring state of Khubuk, awaiting the outcome of her father's pleas to the World Court.
Captain Tanner Kepp serves in the elite Special Forces of Khubuk. When the captain is ordered to choose two men to accompany him to Land's End, an isolated compound on the maritime border between Khubuk and Zinshu, the last thing he expects to find is the missing princess.
Captain Kepp, Arms Master Cer Watso and Sergeant Redda Till realize they must rescue her and avert all out war.
The princess, however, has other plans. These men can be more than her rescuers. According to the law of Zhinshu, she must choose three men as consorts. Her people say: "one to guard the right hand, one to guard the left hand, and one to guard the back, always."
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Science Fiction
Length: 32,827 words
ONE FOUR ALL
Julia Rachel Barrett
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
ONE FOUR ALL
Copyright © 2010 by Julia Rachel Barrett
E-book ISBN: 1-60601-957-0
First E-book Publication: September 2010
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2010 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter from Julia Rachel Barrett
Regarding E-book Piracy
Dear Readers,
Thank you so much for purchasing my book. As authors, we put our heart and souls into our work. E-book piracy hurts every single one of us. We appreciate your support. Buy e-books! Avoid pirates!
With deep gratitude,
Julia Rachel Barrett
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my author friend, Mia Watts, who encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and write a ménage.
ONE FOUR ALL
JULIA RACHEL BARRETT
Copyright © 2010
Chapter One
“Captain Kepp, come into my office for a moment.”
The tall man lifted his head from the duty roster.
“Yes, sir.” He rose and followed Commander Grange into the cramped mobile field headquarters.
Ducking to clear the low doorway, Kepp’s eyes fell on a short, balding man partially hidden by a stack of files. He wondered how the man had managed to slip past him. He’d been standing at the table in front of the door since dawn. Kepp raised his eyebrows and looked at his commander.
“Sir?”
“Kepp, this is the Secretary of Banking and Commerce, Tuth Regnan.”
Kepp extended a hand, but the man ignored him and remained seated. Rude fucker.
“I believe you’ve heard the name,” continued Commander Grange.
“Who hasn’t?” Kepp replied, and added, “sir.” He watched and waited for his commanding officer to explain himself.
“Captain, you and I are the only two men on this base who know that the Secretary of Banking and Commerce is here. I’d like it to stay that way for the time being.”
Kepp nodded.
“General Battarq has advised the Secretary to come to us for some assistance with a private matter. The general thought it expedient to send him here so he could discuss the situation in person. The secretary has explained his problem to me, and he has mentioned that General Battarq personally recommended you for this assignment.”
A plumb covert assignment behind enemy lines? Kepp took a second look at the man. The Secretary of Commerce and Banking seemed an unlikely messenger from General Battarq and the junta. If anyone was to show up with a private message, Kepp expected it would be one of the general’s personal advisors.
“Secretary Regnan? Would you like to explain your request to Captain Kepp?”
“Yessssss,” Kepp heard the small man answer his commander, “if you consider him trustworthy. This is a sensitive matter.”
Kepp bristled at the implication. If a viper could speak, he thought, the tone of its voice would sound about as slimy as this man’s did.
“I trust Captain Kepp with my life and the life of every single man in this platoon.”
“But is he discreet?”
Kepp caught the look of unveiled contempt that flitted over his commander’s face. The secretary seemed to miss it altogether. Commander Grange answered with one word, “Very.”
The man sighed. “I suppose I have no choice. What did you say his name is?”
Kepp was sick of being talked about as if he wasn’t even in the room. “Kepp,” he answered for himself. “Tanner Kepp.”
The secretary’s eyes flitted over him. In that brief moment, Kepp glimpsed a mixture of loathing and fear. What a horse’s ass.
“Mr. Kepp, I have a…there’s a personal matter I need attended to. It’s not something our forces would usually be involved in, but there is a great deal at risk, and I, well, I simply must have help from the best man available. Are you the best man available?”
The man was speaking in riddles. “Mr. Secretary, I can’t exactly claim to be the best man available for an assignment when I don’t know what the assignment is.”
“I need you to watch my wife,” the man blurted out.
Kepp laughed out loud. He couldn’t help it. He heard the secretary clear his throat and he saw Commander Grange trying to hide his grin.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Secretary, but that sounds like a house problem. I’m a soldier, not a nursemaid. There are many private security firms available for hire.”
“No. No. No. No private security firms. Private security firms can be bribed. I need a patriot, a good, solid, reliable patriot. And the general says that you fit the bill. You see, my wife is in grave danger. Grave danger.” The man fiddled with his tie, brushing aside an imaginary speck of dust. �
�As you know, I am a man of great influence, power, and wealth. I have made enemies over the years, both internal and external.” Secretary Regnan raised his eyes and then lowered them just as quickly. “My enemies have been unable to get to me and lately they’ve turned to my retinue. Specifically, they’ve targeted my wife. I want her watched.” The man hesitated. “Perhaps ‘protected’ is a better choice of words. Yes, I need my wife protected.”
Speechless, Kepp glanced from Regnan to his commander. “You want me to act as a bodyguard?”
“It would be a temporary assignment, Captain. Three to six months while the Secretary is out of the country, no more,” replied Commander Grange. “The general has ordered you to choose two other men. We would transport you to the secretary’s compound as soon as possible.”
“You require three men to watch one woman?” asked Kepp, incredulous.
“My wife is a very important woman,” huffed Secretary Regnan.
Kepp turned to the commander. “Sir, I don’t see how I can leave the men right now. The Zealots are massed on the borders. There have been incursions. Sir, Mr. Secretary, I appreciate the consideration, but I really don’t think I’m the man for this job.”
Commander Grange rocked back on his heels. He looked amused. “Well, Captain, unfortunately General Battarq thinks you are, so you’ll choose two men today, pack your gear, and we’ll ship you out by fourteen hundred. I’ve got a heli-jet waiting. The secretary leaves in one hour for the Pacific Rim, and he doesn’t want his wife left with nothing more than his personal guards for any longer than necessary.”
For fuck’s sake, is the woman made of solid gold?
“Sir…”
“Sorry, Captain Kepp, there will be no further discussion. Dismissed.”
Fuming, Kepp saluted, and with one last glance at Secretary Regnan, turned on his heel and ducked beneath the door frame.
Bloody son of a bitch. Just when it seemed they would see some action, off he goes to babysit a spoiled rich biddy who was probably terrified to see her own shadow in broad daylight. Well, if he had to suffer, so would Red and Wat. If he was going to be forced to tote around shopping bags and eat petit fours and drink herbal tea, then he wanted his two friends with him to commiserate. Damn his bad luck.
Chapter Two
“What’d you say the name of this place is?” Red asked for the tenth time.
“I don’t know,” Kepp grumbled. “Land’s End or something idiotic like that. Get your gear stowed.”
“And they need three special ops to babysit?” asked Wat, tossing his bag in the back of the heli-jet. “Who the hell are we babysitting? The Empress of Siquan?”
“No, a politician’s wife. Regnan, the Secretary of Banking and Commerce, a goddamned swamp rat bastard if I ever smelled one,” answered Kepp.
“And you roped us into this?” asked Red. He threw his bag on top of Wat’s and crossed his strong arms. “Why?”
“Because there’s no way in hell I’ll do this on my own for six fucking months. If I go, the two of you go.” Kepp laughed, “Besides, you’d miss me.”
Wat raised an eyebrow. “You mean you don’t want us seeing any action without you.”
“No fucking shit,” added Red.
Kepp growled at his friends. “Get your asses in there and buckle up. That’s an order, gentlemen. We’ve got a long flight ahead of us.”
* * * *
He was leaving. Praise the Gods, he would be gone for several months. Of course, he hadn’t given her any information. She’d overheard the housekeeping staff talking. They spoke in soft voices, forewarned, afraid to cross him. Lira knew how they pitied her, pitied the fact that she was forced to allow the sweaty pig anywhere near her. If she could, she’d have threaded a needle through his eye and into his vile brain. But General Battarq held her young sister, Meme, hostage to her good behavior. If she uttered a single word of protest, if she tried to escape, Regnan would contact Battarq, and Meme would be beaten.
In public, Regnan referred to her as his wife. The staff knew her as Lisa Regnan. Some of the more perceptive understood that not everything was as it seemed, but they would never utter their suspicions out loud. They weren’t even allowed to speak to her directly. All communication went through her so-called husband or his guards. Only her maid had access to her. It was the only concession Regnan had been willing to make, because he thought her maid a harmless, stupid mute. F’yit was neither stupid nor mute. She was Lira’s eyes and ears, and Lira hoped the maid would keep her one step ahead of the bastard Regnan.
Regnan planned to get her with child. Lira shuddered. He claimed a child would end hostilities between their two peoples. Bullshit. If it wasn’t for the fact that he knew any child conceived without her consent could not rule, he would have acted already. When she’d refused him this last time, Regnan had been so furious he’d ordered his personal guards to strip her and beat her while he looked on. She’d accepted the beating in silence, convinced that any show of weakness on her part would have given him great pleasure. Regnan would like nothing more than to hear her cry out. Over her dead body, she thought. He would have no pleasure from her, and she would never submit to him. She’d seen his puny member once, when he’d thought to seduce her. He ought to be more careful with it, Lira mused. If he tried that again, she’d find some way to cut it off. It was so very small, he’d hardly miss it.
Lira turned around so she could view her back in the mirror. The bruises across her shoulders and ribs and on her buttocks were fresh, a deep purple in color. They stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin. She sighed. They would heal as they had the last time he’d ordered her beaten. He made the guards take care not to cause any permanent injury, just in case. In case he ever returned her to her own people, she supposed.
Her poor father must be frantic with worry. She’d had no news of Zhinshu other than the rumors she and F’yit managed to overhear from the staff. It seemed the Zealots were massing on the borders. Lira knew that her father had surely appeared before the World Court to accuse General Battarq of kidnapping, but of course the bastard would huff and puff and claim he had nothing to do with the disappearance of King Pakan’s two daughters. Hah. She knew Battarq for what he was, a demon straight from the bowels of hell. He must have wanted her little sister, just as Regnan had wanted her. There was no other explanation. Whatever General Battarq wanted, he took, yet according to her own captor, the general had sworn by his holy book that if she behaved herself, he would wait to use her sister until she was of age.
If Regnan told the truth, and that was a big if, it seemed Battarq hoped Lira would be agreeable and produce an heir for Zhinshu. Then he could use her child to rule both nations. Well, he could wait until his Central States of Khubak froze over. In the meantime, while Lira searched for a way out, she would try to stave off Regnan.
Lira sighed with relief. Today she could let down her guard. For the first time in months, she would be free of his foul stench. Lira heard a familiar knock on the door. She hurried to pull her tunic about her to hide the bruises.
“Come.”
F’yit entered, head bowed. She closed the door behind her. “My lady.” The maid kept her eyes glued to the floor. Both women muted their voices.
“Is he away?”
“Yes, my lady. He flew off late last night, and he has not returned. I overheard his valet say that he’d packed enough bags for a very long trip.”
“Has anyone mentioned when he is expected back? I overheard one of the housekeepers say he would be gone for months.”
F’yit shook her head.
“Then we must keep our eyes and ears open.” Lira softened her voice, speaking barely above a whisper. “We must use this time to plot our escape.”
The maid moved closer. “Mistress, there are but two ways out, and the gates are guarded every hour of every day. Any guard who falls asleep is immediately dismissed. All vehicles are searched. Every woman must show her face…” F’yit hesitated. “The guards k
now your appearance well. All the staff is aware of what happened yesterday. It is the talk of the household.”
Lira leaned towards her maid. “Do you think there is anyone here with the courage to help us?”
Again the maid shook her head. “You may have their sympathy, but, no, they will not stand up to him.”
“Then we’ll have to rely upon ourselves. Come. Look.” Lira walked to the window, the shorter woman following like a shadow. “See my way out.”
The maid blanched. For a moment, she said nothing, and Lira saw the fear in the woman’s eyes.
“You cannot think to swim,” F’yit whispered. “My lady, the water is like ice. The far shore of Zhinshu is a good mile off. What of the currents? My lady, please, I beg you, not that way. Death waits in those waters.”
Lira stared down. “No, F’yit, you’re wrong. Death is right here. I am a strong swimmer. I have to make the attempt.”
“I cannot swim,” the maid murmured, and she reached a tentative hand toward her mistress. “You would have to leave me behind.”
Lira took hold of the small, cold hand and squeezed.
“I have seen fishing boats ply the channel. At dawn, when the tide is slack and the currents are quiet, they anchor right there.” She gestured toward a promontory. “I can get you that far, F’yit. I swear it.” The maid held tight to her hand, and Lira knew the woman didn’t believe her. Why should she? Lira lied, and they both knew it. They would most likely die in the water, but there were worse things than death. The touch of Tuth Regnan was one of those things.
“Perhaps you should give him what he wishes,” F’yit mumbled. “Perhaps then he would treat you with kindness.”
Lira shuddered. “Never,” she replied.
One way or another, she would be gone before he returned. If she survived, she would find a way to help her sister. If she died, well, her sister’s fate lay in the hands of the gods.
“Come, mistress.” F’yit’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Let me help you bathe, and I will rub soothing oils into your bruises. This time they will have a chance to heal.”
Barrett, Julia Rachel - One Four All (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 1