Meeting Them

  Meeting Them

  A Wings of Artemis novella

  By: Rebecca Royce

  Meeting Them

  Wings of Artemis, book 3.5

  © Copyright 2016 Rebecca Royce

  Published by After Glows

  PO Box 224

  Middleburg, FL 32050

  AfterGlowsPublishing.com

  Digital ISBN: 978-1-944060-39-8

  Cover by Syneca Featherstone

  Formatting by AG Formatting

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  AfterGlowsPublishing.com

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Dear Reader

  Thanks so much for checking out Meeting Them (a Wings of Artemis story). If this is your first foray into the Wings of Artemis, don’t worry. The books are written so that each heroine and hero grouping gets their own storyline within the Artemis world. You do not have to have read either Melissa’s or Diana’s storylines to read Paloma’s. Of course, after you read this one, if you want to go back and read the others, that would be awesome.

  If you have read Kidnapped By Her Husbands (#1), Rescued by Their Wife (#2) (Melissa) or Crashing Into Destiny (#3) (Diana) and want to know where Paloma’s storyline comes then think of it as sometime around the same time as Diana’s. With the pesky black hole screwing with time, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly when. But Paloma doesn’t yet know what’s happened to Diana, and Diana certainly has no idea what’s happening with Paloma. They’ll see each other again; don’t worry.

  Look for more Diana and Paloma in 2017–January and February.

  Hugs,

  Rebecca Royce

  MEETING THEM

  Paloma Delacroix has suffered greatly for a mistake in her youth. She dreams of a future she wonders if she can ever have. But for all her imagination, Paloma can’t predict what is about to happen. Thomas, Clay, Keith and Quinn McQueen are men with secrets and a past that keeps them on the run. But when life explodes around Paloma, the McQueens will be all that stands between Paloma and death.

  Her sweet nature and strength make them believe the universe might not be as awful as they’ve come to believe it. But is it too late for all of them? Or can love win the day?

  Content warning: Reverse Harem. Intense.

  CHAPTER ONE

  A Lot of: I’m Sorry for One Lousy Screw

  If I could go back to my seventeenth birthday and speak to myself, I would tell my younger self not to take Rocky Douglass up on his offer to show me the joys of sex. Today, on my twenty-second birthday, as I desperately tried to become one with the universe and feel it moving, I wished I had known how horribly disappointing Rocky would be in bed. Our liaison was totally not worth the endless punishment I’d earned. I would warn my rebellious teen self that my father would come through the door in a rage.

  He would holler things to me I’d never unhear—slut, tramp, disappointment, embarrassment—and he would send me across the known galaxy to spend the next five years with the Sisters of the Universe mostly in silence, trying to get the said universe, and my father, to forgive me.

  So far neither has happened.

  The wood floor cut into my knees, making them bleed. If I ever got away, I’d never spend a day kneeling anywhere. I wasn’t sorry I’d taken Rocky to my bed. I never would be. But I wouldn’t do it over, just the same. I’d said a lot of sorry for such a lousy screw.

  One more year, then I’d be allowed to tell the Sisters I was never taking vows. My father could pay them all the money he possessed; they wouldn’t keep me here against my will. No amount of political pressure could make me take vows I didn’t feel. I didn’t want a life of meditation and good works. I’d be happy to help anyone anytime if I could. On my terms. Not to benefit the Sisterhood’s agenda. No longer would they force me to work for their causes.

  I’d talk all I wanted. Eat what I wanted. Sleep until I felt like getting up. If I could figure out where to go, since my family had made it clear I’d never be welcome back with them. And Diana, my one true friend, had stopped answering my letters…

  “You see, Sister Sovereign,” the man behind the curtain addressed their leader. He didn’t know the entirety of the Sisterhood—initiates, sisters, and those being encouraged to take their vows like me—kneeled on the floor behind a curtain listening to the exchange. “You’re at risk here. I’ve come to offer my services in making your campus safe from risk.”

  The red curtain kept me from seeing the man on the other side. His voice was low, pleasant, and polite. It had a gruff sound to it. He sounded young, but the timbre of speech meant nothing. He could be as old as time. Whatever. He was the first male voice I’d heard in over a year. Men didn’t come to the Sisters and speak. The staff who cared for the grounds in the few ways the Sisters and their captives—or as they preferred to call it: Initiates—couldn’t, knew better than to speak. They did their jobs and left without speaking a word.

  I had never known how much I craved conversation until it had been taken away from me.

  “Mr. McQueen, it is very nice of you to come by. Your generous donation certainly helped feed the homeless earlier this year. I appreciate your concern. But our grounds have stood where they are, safely, for two hundred years since we were founded here. They will continue to be a spiritual sanctuary for any who seek us for hundreds more. We do not require any kind of military protection. We never have. We never will.”

  “Sister, you misunderstand me. I am talking about giving you, free of charge, a system capable of targeting and eliminating any ships or missiles attacking you. There would be no military presence here. Just a robot scanning your skies.”

  She sighed loudly. I knew the sound; I’d heard it very often myself over the years. Usually directed at me. Sister was done with the conversation. “Thank you for your time. We are not interested.”

  The man let out a loud, huffing sound before he spoke. “Well, you have my contact information. If you change your mind, and I hope you do, I’ll be happy to install a system for you.”

  “Thank you. One of my Initiates will see you out.”

  It took me a second to realize she meant me. I’d only recently gained privileges allowing me to be in public. Most of the girls I started with had gotten public sighting rights at eighteen. Of course, none of them had been in as much trouble as I’d been. With only a year left til I was allowed my freedom, they had to let me out at some point. Today was the day, it was my turn, and I was going to walk Mr. McQueen, silently, to the front gate.

  The act made today the best day of my whole life.

  I rushed forward, head down, then stopped abruptly to wait. I’d gotten a quick sight of him, which was easier said than done with my gaze kept low to the ground. The three-second glance told me he was tall and had brown hair with blond tips. He had an oval face, thick eyebrows, and a strong nose. He frowned, and I wondered if he ever smiled.

  Just the basics. Look any longer and the official sisters—some of whom had been angry captives like me when they�€
™d first arrived—would scold or maybe beat me.

  One more year. I wouldn’t make any more mistakes, and then I could be on my way.

  “Follow Initiate Devereaux. She’ll take you where you need to leave us. May the Universe move for you, always.”

  I walked with my head down toward the front of the campus with Mr. McQueen following close behind me. Pretty soon, he caught up and kept pace next to me instead of behind me. I’d not had a man so close to me in five years. My heart raced. I couldn’t screw up. I wouldn’t make a mistake. Every minute of every day was a test. I would fake it until I could get out. Then I’d find a way to put this whole nightmare behind me.

  “Is there anything I can do to make her change her mind? It’s very important she let me install the system.”

  I didn’t answer him. This was a test. They’d somehow told him to talk to me to see if I would falter. I would not.

  “Can’t we talk quietly? I mean, I know we’re not supposed to talk. But I really think you would benefit by the system. Does she have something she likes? Chocolate? Booze? Help me out, please.”

  I could have laughed. Sister Sovereign’s idea of a good time was cotton underwear. I knew that for a fact since it was my job to wash them. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t very well tell him even if I could talk. Girls had to keep some secrets, even when they hated each other.

  A noise caught my attention. On the roof, the old men who had worked for the Sisterhood for forever were hammering into the rock roof. I’d never seen anything like the way someone had constructed this campus, and I suspected I never would again since it was completely asinine. Who put boulders on the roof?

  The one they were manipulating started to slide. I saw what was going to happen when no one else did. “Move,” I shouted, pushing Mr. McQueen out of the way when I did. We both fell out of the way, the boulder scraping the back of my leg when it hit before rolling away. I screamed out in pain. I was hurt, but I would live. If it had hit the man desperate to install security, it would have killed him.

  I lay on top of him, my hood down on my initiate uniform. We could see each other clearly even as I cried in pain.

  “Oh, hell.” McQueen grabbed my shoulders. “Are you okay? You just saved my life. Oh no, it hit you.”

  “I …” I don’t know what I would have said. I was hauled off the man by two of the sisters. I couldn’t put weight on my foot, but it didn’t stop them from bringing out the stick and caning my back while I tried to balance on the one I could still use.

  They yelled about how inappropriate I was, how I was a disgrace, and they dragged me backwards. I’d failed the test given to me by the universe. Apparently they thought I should have let the man die rather than touch him and say one word in the meantime.

  The bigger of the two Sisters went for another strike when the stick was pulled out of her hands. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? She just saved my life. She’s injured. Help her. Or give her to me, and I’ll do it. You want to hit someone? Hit me.”

  “Mr. McQueen.” Sister Sovereign’s voice boomed around us. My foot throbbed, my back hurt, and all I wanted in the universe was something for the pain. I looked up to meet the gaze of the man who stared back at me in horror. He was incredibly handsome, and I hated him completely. Why had he come here? Why had this happened?

  She continued, “We do things differently here. Paloma Devereaux knows exactly what she did and what will happen to her now. Goodbye Mr. McQueen. Never come here again.”

  I woke up later, flat on my stomach in my small cell. My back burned and my ankle throbbed. They’d clearly not put me in the medical machine after forcing me to drink the knock-out juice. I would place money on them beating me again after I was unconscious.

  Everything hurt.

  I closed my eyes. I’d never get public privileges again. The next year was going to be hell.

  I hated Mr. McQueen.

  I hoped I never saw him again.

  ***

  Three weeks later, I pulled weeds from the garden while I waited for the call to meditation. I didn’t feel particularly drawn to the meditation, but it was better than hauling up the endless plants in the back of the property in my Initiate uniform, which included two petticoats made out of wool. I was going to sweat to death.

  “Hey,” A deep voice called my attention, and I looked up, utter horror travelling down my spine. It was Mr. McQueen. He was back, and he’d brought three other men with him. They were all roughly the same height, although one of them stood slightly over the other three.

  The tall one had strong features and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. His brown hair curled slightly on his head. He wore a green t-shirt and a pair of jeans. A tattoo of something serpentine curled on his left arm.

  He looked at Mr. McQueen who stood on the other side of him to the left. To their right, two other men, maybe slightly younger, waited as well. They had a very similar look but weren’t identical, although other people might think they were if they only gave the two of them a cursory glance. The one all the way to the left had blonder hair and a slightly longer face. He was dressed much more casually than Mr. McQueen and his tall friend, wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt displaying a logo I didn’t recognize. In the middle, the fourth guy had jeans and a white t-shirt. They were all staring at me.

  Were they trying to get me killed? What fresh hell had the Sisters sent me? I dropped my gaze fast to the grass.

  “Ms. Devereaux,” the tallest one spoke. “My name is Thomas McQueen. Tommy is, ah, fine. This is so weird with you not looking at me. I’m here to thank you for saving my brother’s life. We have been very concerned for you. He tells us they beat you rather severely and you were already hurt. I’ve been watching you for an hour or so. I can see you’re favoring a leg, which makes me think maybe it hasn’t healed exactly right. None of us are doctors, but we know one. I … ah … I’ve come to see if you’d like to come with us now. The four of us will break you out and take you wherever you want to go.”

  I risked a look up then around. There was no one to see them talking to me. What was the worst that could happen? I knew the Sisters wouldn’t kill me. If they wanted to, they’d have done so long ago. They couldn’t charge my father for my room and board if I died.

  “You’re all brothers?” I whispered my response.

  Thomas nodded. “That’s right. I’m Thomas. You’ve met Clay. You saved his life. And those two are the twins, Keith and Quinn.”

  They all nodded to me, Keith’s eyes kinder than Quinn’s but both of them pleasant.

  “I am okay.” I didn’t know these men. The one thing I’d learned in my time with the Sisters was the universe was hard, unfair, uninterested in being kind to me, and I had nothing to offer of any use to anyone or anything. I was still going to figure out something to do when I got out. If I went with these strangers, something worse would happen to me.

  “You’re obviously not.” Thomas looked up at the sky. “Look, I explained to my brothers that you people do this on purpose. You come here to become something you want to be. You might even ask for the beating.”

  “Can anyone ask for a beating?” I shouldn’t have spoken, and I winced when I did. What was the matter with me?

  “In certain circumstances, beatings can be consensual. In sex, for example.” Quinn answered.

  “Quinn, don’t help.” Thomas rolled his eyes.

  Now that I knew they were all brothers, I could absolutely see the resemblance. They were all handsome, and they needed to be gone.

  The call to meditation came out over the speakers. Everyone would be occupied for a few minutes. I stood.

  “Are you trying to get me killed? I don’t want to be here, but I have been for five years and will be for one more. I’ve already taken a beating for saving your life,” I addressed Clay directly. “I appreciate your concern, but there’s no way you can make this better by doing anything but getting out of here before you’re caught.”

&nbsp
; Keith put his hand out like he wanted me take it. “We won’t hurt you. No one will beat you if you come with us. We have shuttles. We can take you wherever you want to go.”

  “I have nowhere to go.” My first conversation with men in five years, and I wanted to cry. A tear slipped out before I could stop it, and I wiped it away. Keith dropped his hand, his face falling. “I’ve been disowned. They think I’m a very bad person. I have one more year to go here before I can figure out where I can go or who will have me. Please be on your way.”

  Thomas bent his neck to look me straight in the eyes. “I’ve known very bad people. The worst possible. You are not one of them. If you need to get out of here, we live four hours north of here by foot. If you can find a ride, that’s better. We won’t be here after winter comes. Our cabin is on top of a hill called Wallace Hill. It’s the only one there. If you hit a village called Grayland, they’ll know where it is. Come if you need us. Otherwise, we’ll leave you alone.”

  “Tommy,” Clay spoke for the first time. “I don’t think I can leave her here. I don’t think I can. She’s basically being held against her will. They beat her. I … I …”

  Thomas put a hand on his arm. “She’s declined our help.”

  “Seems to be happening a lot,” Quinn answered.

  I ran-limped back toward the compound. I couldn’t be caught with them. I didn’t want my food privileges cut in half.

  That night, I had a dream where four lovely men with the bluest eyes rivaling the sky kissed me and held me while I held onto them like they were the most important beings in the universe. In their arms, I swore I could, for the first time, feel the Universe move.

  My days fell back to normal. I didn’t regain anything I lost, but my body healed, slower than I’d have liked. I pretended to meditate and fed the poor when they came to our doors, the only part of my life I actually liked.