One Four All (3 page)

The other man paled but didn’t back down. He opened his mouth. “Fuck you.”

“Wrong answer,” said Kepp, and his big fist nailed Speth in the jaw, slamming him into a closed door. The door crashed open beneath his weight, and the man fell onto his backside into the room beyond.

“Fuck me,” hissed Wat.

“Fuck me, indeed,” added Red.

Her back to them, a woman rose from a pool of steaming water sunk into the floor of the room. Kepp noticed a number of things about her all at once. Her movements were as graceful as those of a ballet dancer, her ass was wondrously round and shapely, and that same ass, along with her lovely, slender back and shoulders, was covered with wide, purple bruises. Without a hint of embarrassment in her posture, the woman turned to face them. Kepp sucked in a breath at the sight at those high, pert breasts with their puckered rosy nipples, and he muttered a prayer that his army fatigues were baggy enough to cover the size of his sudden erection.

A small woman came running from an adjacent room, carrying a flimsy wrap of some sort. She handed it to the taller woman, but it was too little, too late. The gauzy wrap stuck to her wet, naked body like a second skin. Kepp, along with Red and Wat, who had crowded into the doorway beside him, had no difficulty viewing every single inch of her long, lithe frame.

“Why does Mr. Speth lie on my floor?”

“What?”

“Mr. Speth.” She motioned with a graceful wave of her hand. “He lies there, bleeding.” And she smiled.

Kepp looked down at the prostrate man. He’d forgotten all about him.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t…” Kepp lifted his eyes. “Who are you? And who the hell beat the shit out of you? Pardon my language, ma’am.”

The woman glanced from Kepp’s face to Mr. Speth and back again. Kepp felt as if he could read an entire world in that one look. Before she had a chance to answer, the guard lurched to his feet.

“Mrs. Regnan,” the man growled, holding the back of his hand to his bleeding mouth, “and she fell down the stairs yesterday.”

“Isn’t that always the story,” commented Red, staring daggers at the guard.

“Tell them,” Speth ordered.

“You always speak to your mistress in that tone?” asked Wat. “Secretary Regnan know how disrespectful you are to his wife?”

“I’m not…” the man muttered, “I’m not the one throwing punches and knocking down doors.”

Kepp walked forward. The woman clutched the wrap with her left hand. She didn’t wear a wedding band. He reached for her right hand and clasped it in both of his. She squeezed back with surprising strength.

“I’m Captain Tanner Kepp, ma’am. This is Sergeant Redda Till and Arms Master Cer Watso. We’re from the Seventh Squadron, and we’ve been assigned to protect you in your husband’s absence.” The woman shook hands with both Red and Wat.

“Protect me from what?” she asked, a hint of warning in her voice.

“Perhaps we’re here to see that you don’t,” Kepp cleared his throat, “fall down the stairs again.” He watched the woman close her wide, gold-brown eyes, and he could feel her inner struggle. When she finally opened them, the pleading she radiated pierced him to the core.

“Thank you, gentlemen. I’m sure my…my husband will be pleased by your concern for my well-being. Where are you to be housed?”

“Next to you.” Speth’s voice sounded harsh. Kepp saw him jerk his head at the smaller woman, and she ran to fetch a towel from a neat stack on a table. Speth grabbed it from her and pressed it to his bleeding mouth. “That way, they’ll be able to keep an eye, uh, it will be easier for them to protect you, Mrs. Regnan.”

Kepp watched as the woman’s delicate, pink tongue flicked out to touch the tip of her teeth, and his lust for her flared in tandem with his fury at whoever had beaten her. Mr. Speth stepped between the woman and the three soldiers. The woman backed away, and over Speth’s shoulder Kepp watched her disappear into the adjoining room. She walked with dignity, hips swaying gracefully despite the pain he knew she must feel from the beating. The shorter woman followed, closing a door behind them.

“This way.”

Speth led them out the open door and into the hallway. He’d told the truth, their suite of rooms did adjoin hers. Kepp looked around. He spotted a connecting door in the wall, and he wondered on which side the door locked, but he didn’t bother to ask the guard. He and his men would figure it out quick enough. The men remained curt as he showed them around.

“Here’s your video cam, your com link to the guard stations…”

“Guard stations?” interrupted Kepp. “I only saw one.”

“There is a small side entrance for the hired help. Delivery trucks pull up there to drop off foodstuffs, linens, and other supplies. I’ll be back later to show you.”

Red flipped on the video cam. “What’s this for?”

Speth rolled his eyes. “So you can watch her, idiot. What do you think?”

“What the hell? You’ve got a camera in her room? Why would you have a camera in her room?” Wat asked. “Exactly who do you think is going to bust in there? The Zealots?”

Kepp could tell that Speth had had enough of them and wanted to get as far away as possible.

“Look,” the man said, “just do your job. If General Battarq sent you, then he must have briefed you. When my master returns, he’ll want his wife here and in one piece. Think you three can manage that?”

“Sure,” replied Kepp, “as long as you stay the hell away from her.”

“It’s my job to…”

“Beat her?” interrupted Red.

“I do as I’m told,” shouted Speth.

“Like a good little sadist,” commented Wat.

Kepp intervened. “I guarantee she’ll be here and in one piece when your master returns. I’m afraid I can’t say the same for you if you don’t get out of my sight.”

Speth stalked to the door.

“Oh,” called out Kepp, “send another man to give us a tour of the place and introduce us to the staff. I don’t want to see your butt-ugly face unless it’s absolutely necessary. Got it?”

The man nodded, but he didn’t turn around. He vanished down the hallway. Kepp made certain the man was long gone then closed the door. He motioned to Wat.

“Get out your gear,” he said, his mouth against Wat’s ear. “Sweep for bugs. They got eyes on her, you can bet they got eyes on us. I want them found, and I want them smashed.” Wat nodded and went for his bags.

Kepp walked over to the video cam and adjusted the picture. Red stood beside him.

“You think you can tell from the angle of this shot where they stashed this camera?”

“No problem,” Red mouthed in reply.

“There are bound to be others,” Kepp said. “I want them all ripped out of her rooms. We set up our own equipment and link it to our portables, with her permission, so we can tell if those assholes try to get into her room.”

“You think she’s his wife?” Red asked, his voice a mere whisper.

“Fuck no,” replied Kepp. “His prisoner, more like.”

“Catch the tat on her right wrist?” Red continued.

Kepp nodded his head.

“I’ve seen one like that before, just once, in a training session. It’s called an Ouroboros, a snake biting its tail. Only women of the Royal House of Zhinshu are allowed that specific tattoo. They have it put on when they, you know, when they first start to bleed. Shows they’ve come of age or something. It’s a symbol of infinity. You have any idea what we’ve gotten ourselves into, Captain?”

“Not a fucking clue,” whispered Kepp. “No fucking clue.”

* * * *

“Those men have shamed you, my lady,” whispered F’yit, her lips barely moving.

“Shamed me? In what way? You believe these men have shamed me and the guards have not?”

“They’ve seen you, Princess. They’ve seen your body. It’s shameful to openly display yourself like that to the enemy.”

Lira shook her head.

“Oh no, F’yit. I had my reasons. Those men
saw
me. They
saw
the bruises. They looked into my eyes. One of them even stared at the serpent. He recognized it. I’m certain of it. No, F’yit, you are wrong. These three men are sent by the gods. They will be our salvation.”

“How?”

“Isn’t it the duty of the heir to the throne to choose three men or women as consorts? Isn’t it my duty?
One to guard the right hand, one to guard the left hand, and one to guard the back, always
. That is what we say. It is the law of our land.”

“But mistress,” F’yit hesitated, “mistress, we are not in our land, and I repeat, these men are the enemy.”

“I know what they are, F’yit, I know, may the Gods help me. But I believe in the saying, “The honor of a righteous enemy is worth the weight of a thousand friends.” These men may be my enemy, but they are righteous. I read it in their eyes, in their very stance. In the crash of Mr. Speth through my doorway.” Lira allowed herself a small smile.

F’yit fell silent as she helped Lira to dry her long hair and began to plait it.

“I am afraid of these men,” she whispered at last.

“Why would you fear them? They will help us.”

“But what do I do now?”

“You do nothing more than before. You remain mute when you are among the staff, and we play the same game. We keep our heads down. We wait for an opportunity. I will bring these men to our side, I swear it.” Lira laid a gentle hand on her maid’s bowed shoulders. “Perhaps you will not have to swim after all, F’yit.” Her voice very soft, she added, “Now, I will bare my breasts for the guard’s camera and distract them, while you unlock the adjoining door. Then leave me. Make certain the men in the other room see you leave. If one follows after you, he will try to get you alone, ask you questions. Only answer if you are isolated and there are no prying eyes and ears. Keep your answers short. I will tell them whatever truth they need to know. Do you understand?”

Lira saw the fear in her maid’s eyes, but the woman nodded her agreement. Lira depended upon F’yit to do as she was told.

* * * *

All three men heard the snick of the latch being unlocked. They deliberately ignored the sound and went about their business. Out of the corner of his eye, Kepp saw the smaller woman, the one he assumed to be a maid, tiptoe past their open doorway. He flicked a glance at Red, who gave him a slight nod and went after her. After tossing a few items of clothing onto one of the beds, Kepp crossed the room to stand close to his friend, Wat.

“What you turn up so far?” he asked.

“One lens here, one in the other room. Amateurish jobs. They didn’t work too hard to hide them. Nothing wired for sound, other than the com link to the guard house. I’ll rewire ‘em tonight, short ‘em out.” He tilted his head toward the adjoining door. “Hers will be tougher. Might want to leave it alone. We can probably get away with shutting the vids down in here because of your rank, but removing the video cams in her rooms will just arouse suspicion. You want me to do it anyway?”

Kepp rubbed the stubble along his jaw line. “No, you’re right. Take these out now. Leave the video cams in her rooms. Chances are she already knows the cameras are there anyway. Wonder how she distracted the guards so the maid could sneak over and unlock that door?”

“How do you think? Showed off those sweet tits of hers. Jesus,” Wat muttered. “That first look at her had me about coming in my pants, bruises or no bruises. I’d like to beat the shit out of that fucker Speth. You know he did it.”