Microsoft Word - MaximumVelocity.rtf, page 22
Besides, she does not expect you to live as husband and wife from the get go.”
Leon’s eyes sparked with anger. “The Matriarch must be insane. I will not marry a
fourteen year old child!”
“Child or not, you are marrying her. I will force you down the aisle if need be. Whatever
comes to pass, I will not watch you be slaughtered on the orders of The Matriarch. We must go
with the flow on this decision. And, Leon, never, ever let anyone else hear what you just said to
me. If The Matriarch hears of your doubt in her sanity, she will kill you on that pretense. Do you
understand?”
Leon nodded his head. But it was not enough to satisfy Rick. “Answer me, Leon. Do you
understand?”
“I understand. I will do my duty.”
“Good. I look forward to seeing the grandchildren that you will give me.”
Leon smiled and closed his eyes. “I am tired.”
“Of course you are. But you must remain awake for at least another few minutes. Your
Grandmother will be paying you a visit in exactly five minutes.”
“Is she bringing the girl with her?”
“Aurora. You will learn to call her by her given name. You can not refer to your wife as
the girl.”
“Yes, master.”
“Father, Leon. Call me father.”
“Father.” Leon scrunched his face up. Rick smiled. When Leon had been born, Rick had
never thought Leon would grow to resemble his mother so much. Of course, Leon looked like a
man, but Leon had Desiree’s eyes. Love welled in Rick’s heart. Rick frowned when his
communicator activated.
“Master, The Matriarch has transported to the White Lotus. She is on her way to your
position.”
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“I understand.” Rick looked at the door.
Soon, The Matriarch would come sailing through it in her usual splendor, and she’d have
the little bitch…that is to say, she’d have Aurora with her. “Leon, prepare yourself.”
“I am prepared. I will not fail you.”
“I never thought you would.”
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Chapter Twenty-One
Aurora was numb. The sight of her Aunt Samantha slamming against the bus benches
still haunted her. Samantha couldn’t be dead. If she was, it was all Rory’s fault.
The Matriarch had let her bathe and sleep. Then, The Matriarch had given her some food
and told her that they would be meeting Leon. How would he react when he saw her? Rory
didn’t even want to think about it, let alone live it.
She followed The Matriarch down the long seemingly endless corridor. Rory glanced
down at the sundress The Matriarch had given her to wear. The Matriarch had even tied her long
red hair back with a ruby red ribbon. The corkscrew platform sandals Rory wore, were making
her feet ache. If she weren’t careful, she’d twist her ankle.
“Leon will accept you with open arms, Aurora. Why, you look like a breath of fresh air in
that dress. Leon would be crazy not to like you. Mark my words, it will be love at first sight and
you will have one legendary love story to tell your grandchildren.”
“Grandchildren?” Suddenly, the world tipped beneath Rory. The Matriarch caught her by
the elbow before she could fall flat on her face.
“Watch your step, Aurora. You mustn’t hurt yourself before I present you to Leon.”
“Yes, Matriarch.” Rory had learned to not argue with The Matriarch. It made life much
easier. Even though she’d only been in the company of The Matriarch for a few hours, Rory was
bright enough to realize that The Matriarch was one woman that you didn’t cross.
“Ah, here we are. These are Leon’s quarters until he fully recuperates from his little
incident.”
Incident? Had it suddenly slipped The Matriarch’s mind that Rory had shot Leon in the
gut? Rory shook her head and waited while The Matriarch’s personal handmaiden opened the
door for them. Rory closed her eyes and allowed The Matriarch to guide her into the room.
Silence. Cold silence.
Rory could feel the tension rippling through the air. She cracked one eye open and then
the other. Leon was lying on a med bed and there was a scary looking man standing beside the
med bed.
“Rick, Leon, allow me to present, Aurora.” Rory forced out a weak smile. Then, she
curtsied. The Matriarch had run over the whole procedure with Rory before they had left the
Jade Flower. She knew her part well, and she knew if she didn’t pull off a grand performance,
The Matriarch would be displeased. And Rory was smart enough to know that she didn’t want to
tick off The Matriarch.
“Grandmother, you have chosen well. Aurora is the picture of perfection.” The man
standing next to Leon gave her a syrupy fake smile. Rory shivered and crossed her arms over her
chest. The Matriarch pulled her toward her and shoved her toward the chair next to Leon’s bed.
“Aurora, I will leave you to talk and bond with Leon. Frederick, come with me, we have
matters of great importance to discuss.” The Matriarch moved over and grabbed a hold of Rick’s
arm. To Rick’s credit, he also knew that The Matriarch always got her own way. The door
whooshed shut softly behind them.
Rory felt as if she were having a heart attack. She sat down in the chair and clenched her
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hands tightly in her lap. Then, she began to bite on her lips. She looked everywhere but at Leon.
What did you say to a guy you just shot not twenty-four hours earlier?
“We will be married tomorrow. Did you know that?” His soft voice made her jump. She
sat back down on the chair and looked at him.
“NO.”
He stared at her. In fact, he hadn’t stopped staring at her since she entered the room.
“You will have to be a model wife to me.”
She looked down at her hands. “Whatever,” she muttered beneath her breath.
“Look at me!”
She stared up at him, with her heart jumping up in her throat. “What do you want me
for?”
“I never asked for you. My grandmother thinks she’s giving you to me as a gift. And my
grandmother always gets what she wants. It would be in your best interest to go along with it. I
will not force myself on you. Even I’m bright enough to realize that you are a mere child. But the
day will come when you will be my wife in every sense of the word. Aurora, you will bear me
many children.”
“No.”
“Don’t talk back to me. Rule one. My grandmother will not appreciate that behavior in
you.”
“My family will rescue me.”
“Your family is nothing. No one has ever gone up against The Anasazi Triad and lived to
see another day.”
“You’ve never met my family. My aunt is the greatest bounty hunter in the known
worlds. She will kill your father.”
Fury shone in Leon’s eyes. He sat up and reached for her wrist. Pulling her roughly
toward him, he caught her gaze and held it. Damn, he was awfully strong for just being shot. She
grimaced.
“Don’t you dare speak of my father in that manner! Your aunt is not worthy to lick his
boots. You will hold your tongue, unless you can think of other things to discuss. You do not
even deserve my forgiveness, and yet....” His voice trailed off.
“I’m sorry that I shot you. I didn’t think the gun was loaded with real bullets.”
“That much was apparent when you actually discharged the bullets into my gut. I know
you did not hurt me on purpose. And to that end, we might be able to have a harmonious married
life. But you must know one thing.”
“What?”
“Your loyalty will be to me. Not to my grandmother, but to me. In the end I will be the
only one that will care whether you live or die. My father told me I could kill you once my
grandmother passes away…and she will, she’s over one hundred years old. The time is ticking
away for her. But I don’t want to kill you. You have fire within you. Fire that I can use to fan the
flame of The Triad. You will be the mother of my children. Do you understand?”
“Never.”
“You may be defiant for awhile, but I assure you, you will bend to my way, eventually.”
Rory tried swallowing past the lump in her throat. She coughed. “You have no heart.”
“I forgave you. If I had no heart, I would want you dead.”
She couldn’t stand listening to him one more minute. She pulled away from him and
stood up. Folding her hands in front of her, she began pacing. “Why did they take me? What do I
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have that The Triad wants?”
“I don’t know. My grandmother must have seen some form of talent in you. You are
beautiful…more beautiful than any woman I have ever seen. But grandmother would not have
had you taken from your father for your looks alone. She must know that you have good genes.
There has to be something unique about your family line.”
Rory searched her mind for the special quality. No. It couldn’t be. Of course, she knew
her Aunt Charlotte was a powerful telepath among other things, but Rory only had strange
prophetic visions by way of her dreams. Rory hadn’t told anyone about her visions, except for
her father. She gasped, and doubled over. Why would her father tell The Triad that she was
gifted? Why? Hot tears stung her eyes. If only she’d seen her own future.
“What’s the matter?” Leon’s color was improving. “You look like you were poisoned.
Should I call for the doctor?”
Rory let out a sound that strangely resembled a whimper. The tears she was holding back
trickled down her face.
“Aurora, I order you to sit down!”
She looked over at Leon. The walls felt as if they were closing in on her. “I can’t....” She
shook her head and walked back to the chair. Why was she trying to fight Leon? There was no
sense in fighting. She couldn’t escape.
“Drink that water in the glass, you look like you’re going to pass out.”
Her hands shook as she reached for the glass. She didn’t know how she managed it, but
she drank the water down in one giant slurp.
“Why do you care? You should have let me pass out.”
“No. My grandmother would view that as a weakness. Whatever happens, Aurora, you
can’t be viewed as a weakling by my grandmother. If you dissatisfy her, she will kill you. She
has killed many people. You will only be another dart on her game board.”
“No, you didn’t answer my question. Why do YOU care?”
“My grandmother was right in one thing. You are exactly what I would have chosen in a
wife. You’re a bit young, but the years will pass. I can wait.”
Rory’s heart stalled in her chest. She looked at him with her breath coming in ragged
gasps. “You’re just as much of a monster as The Matriarch.”
“But I am a monster that you will want on your side. There are many more horrible things
I can do to you. It is better for me to love you than to hate you. Wouldn’t you agree, Aurora?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Why? I can’t very well call you girl or wife, as my father pointed out to me.”
She looked away from him. “You should call me Miss Mallory. You don’t deserve to
have such a familiar tone with me.”
“No?” he laughed. “I think I will find married life with you quite entertaining. We are
going to be MARRIED!” He raised his voice as he accentuated the last word. “If that doesn’t
entail me to some form of familiarity, I don’t know what does.”
She hated him. But she was relieved that he didn’t hate her for almost killing him. She’d
never killed anyone in her life before and the thought of what she’d done had sickened her.
“Now what?” She pinned him with her gaze.
“Are your eyes the color of violets?”
She jerked her face away out of his gaze. “Yes.” Why had he been so interested in the
color of her eyes? If he really was beginning to like her, she could be in more trouble than she’d
originally thought. “They are a family trait.” A trait shared by those that were the highly gifted
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ones. But she couldn’t tell him that. The less he knew, the better.
“Take my hand.”
“The hell I will.”
“You should have your mouth washed out with soap. You have a very foul mouth for a
girl of your tender age.”
“I’ve been abducted in the middle of the night. I’ve watched my father fall helplessly
down in front of me and I’ve gone through even more hell than that while your grandmother put
me through her bloody mind games! Forgive me if I don’t behave like a proper young lady.”
“Watch your tongue. I hate foul mouthed sluts.”
“Slut? Keep calling me that, and I’ll be glad that I shot you!”
Leon smiled. “Let’s not tell lies to hurt each other. Like I said before, I want to be on
your side. Just bend with me and all will be well. And trust me, I know you aren’t a slut. First of
all you’re too young, and secondly, my grandmother would only give me a virgin for my wife.”
Rory wanted to vomit. She unclenched her hands, and smoothed the wrinkles out of her
dress. “You must hold my hand so that my grandmother will believe you are the light of my life.
She wants us to get along. Why disappoint her? Besides, I will ask her to leave you here with me.
You’re safer with me, than you are with her. So why not be a good girl?”
“Fine.” She reached for his hand. It was unusually warm beneath hers.
“Your hands are SO small.”
“And yours are rather big,” she remarked.
“I’m only twenty, so really there isn’t a big age difference between us. Give it three or
five years and it will seem like nothing at all.”
“Three or five] years?” She couldn’t help but screech the last bit.
“Well, maybe two. You’ll be well and old enough to share my bed when you’re sixteen.”
Rory couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want to even think about what he was talking about.
The horror of it made her want to puke. Didn’t Leon realize that she didn’t love him?
“I’ll never love you.”
“That’s fine. You’ll want me to love you, though if you want to live an untroubled life.”
“I already told you, my family is coming for me. They won’t give up on me.”
“Oh, yes, they will. If they don’t, The Triad will kill them all. I’m not giving you up. I
want you, now that I see how beautiful you are. I won’t ever let you go. So resign yourself to
your fate, Aurora.”
A chill ran up and down her spine. Leon’s tumultuous dark blue eyes stared almost right
though her. “Stop looking at me.”
“Never. I could stare at you for hours. Just be thankful I’m not a sick and twisted cookie,
or I’d be doing much, much more than just staring.”
Her skin crawled. She was just about to tell him off when the sound of the door
whooshing back open caught her attention. She turned her head and met the happy gaze of The
Matriarch.
“Ah. Leon, you look much better. I can see that your bride to be is bringing the color
back into your cheeks. Splendid. Simply splendid. The sight of you two together warms my
heart.”
Rory couldn’t help but wonder how it could warm The Matriarch’s frozen shriveled
prune like heart.
“Where is my father?” Leon asked.
“He had other matters to attend to. Come, Aurora. We must go now.”
