AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Eleanor Carter, daughter of Harold Carter, who was a senator. She was the child you eventually married yourself.”
“Correct. Harold held Copeland off from doing so, thanks to certain favors he’d done for the Holy Leader that would have been problematic if they’d come to light. Harold had the distinction of being among the very few Copeland wouldn’t dare cross.”
“A lucky man.”
“Until he learned he was dying. Eleanor was fifteen by then. Harold begged me to adopt her and keep her safe from Copeland…including marrying her when she turned sixteen, which was frowned upon but legal in our society. He signed over guardianship to me before he died, so there was no chance of my custody over her being challenged.”
“Are you saying you never—”
“My marriage was never consummated, Nobek Kuran. I’ve done many things I’m not proud of, but harming my best friend’s child wasn’t among them.” Bryant’s tone was harsh.
Kuran didn’t want to believe Ken Bryant could be decent, but his gut told him the man was being truthful. “She still ended up as Copeland’s wife.”
Bryant shocked him again. Tears welled in his eyes. “I failed to protect her. It haunts me to this day. I failed her so terribly, as hard as I tried. When Copeland insisted I divorce her, when my friends warned they’d heard he’d have me executed for treason if I resisted, I attempted to send Eleanor into hiding. It was arranged, down to surgically changing her appearance and sending her off-planet later. I would have gotten her out of the territory that night, but they came for her, they came armed and took her…”
Bryant’s voice broke in the middle of what had become hectic babbling. He spent nearly a minute scrubbing a flood of tears from his cheeks before he was able to speak again.
“She ended as all Copeland’s wives did: beaten, broken, and finally, dead. Until it was over, I did what I could to free her, including remaining in the bastard’s good graces. I couldn’t help her if I were in prison or a corpse. I played Copeland’s adoring acolyte so I could stay close in hopes of finding a way to rescue her. I lost a fortune in bribes, in hiring kidnappers who always failed or simply took my money and disappeared.” His tearful gaze held Kuran’s. “You’ve heard horror stories of what the original Earth was like. I’m here to tell you, you haven’t heard the half of it.”
“What does this have to do as far as the attacks you admit you were behind?” Though Kuran thought he had a clue.
“There are other would-be Holy Leaders waiting for their chance to come to power.” Bryant’s grief turned to gritted-teeth anger. “Maybe their sicknesses are different on the surface, but it boils down to one sin in the end.”
“The hunger for power.”
“And they’ll stoop to anything to get it. I’m playing two ends, Nobek.” Bryant stood and paced. “I’m sleeping with the enemy, playing their game so I can make sure they lose. I hired Fitch and King to attack Stacy and Alpha Space Station to show the Earthtiques I’m on their side and can be trusted. I was banking on those idiots to be stupid enough and you and your people to be smart enough to keep real harm from happening.”
“I could tear your head off all the same. Someone could have been hurt.” Kuran wasn’t going to let him off the hook easily.
The lieutenant governor didn’t acknowledge the threat. “I’m Stacy’s most logical challenger for the governorship. No one who can seriously compete has my credentials. I’m conservative, but moderate in front of the public. The Earthtiques support me because they think I’m one of them. But, thanks to the information about my marriage I’ve leaked to Miss Nelson, my campaign is fatally flawed. Stacy will win, and if the legislature goes the wrong way, she’ll be a dedicated obstacle in the Earthtiques’ path. They’ll be kept at bay for at least a little while longer.”
Kuran was silent as he absorbed the revelations. At length, he said, “You expect me to believe that’s your endgame and you fully support Governor Nichols.”
Bryant stopped in front of him. “Fully? Iamconservative in my views, make no mistake. I want Earthers in complete charge of this planet. No alien influence, especially Kalquorian, in the near future. But Stacy has far more right than the Earthtiques, and she’s the force we need in the driver’s seat for now…as long as she’s willing to work alongside those of us who put our people over everyone else.”
“Then you have no problem telling me the names of those who might stop at nothing to take her out of the running?”
Bryant’s smirk was merciless. “I’ll share every word that passes from their lips straight to your ears. Incidentally, Cal Mitchell should be your top suspect for what happened to your Imdiko. He’s hinted strong measures need to be taken.”
“What’s your price for such help?” Kuran had the sudden suspicion Bryant saw him as a pawn in the “game” he was playing.
“I told you…this is Earth. My world, not the Kalquorian Empire’s. When we have proof Mitchell or some other human instigated the attack on your clanmate, he’s to be prosecuted through official Earth channels. No disappearances. No sudden deaths. No abrupt change of heart, as happened to Fitch and King.”
Kuran eyed him. “Are you suggesting the empire is meddling in Earth affairs?”
“The men I hired vanished for several days afterward. They reappeared home on Mercy. When I spoke to them, they had no memory of their activities against Stacy or your space station…they swore up and down they’d never attack anyone. They actually preached to me about the importance of accepting alien cultures.” Bryant’s smirk grew uglier. “Don’t pretend you weren’t involved.”
“I’ll deny it to my last breath. I’m delighted to hear they had such a spontaneous change of heart.” Kuran’s tone lowered in warning.
“Would Stacy share in your opinion? Does she have any idea of what happened to them?”
Kuran glared at him. “The blood of the man or men who hurt my Imdiko is mine to claim. I have every right.”
“Your vengeance outweighs the good of Earth? Particularly a crime committed on Earth? Then you prove our fears, Kalq.” Bryant stepped close, challenging him. “I’m ready to hand you information on my planet’s enemies to maintain Earth’s freedom from the monsters who destroyed its predecessor and started a war. A war, I remind you, that killed a large number of your people. But you won’t get shit if you refuse to help me on my terms. If nothing else, you should keep Stacy and what she would expect of you at the forefront of your mind.”
It was unthinkable Etnil’s attackers should have a chance to walk free. To continue breathing. But Bryant was right where Stacy was concerned. She’d be appalled to discover what Kuran had done to the men Bryant had hired. As much as she loved Etnil, she’d prefer a trial for his attackers over Kuran exacting the vengeance he was due.
“You’ll have to come clean to the governor. She has to be in the loop as far as what you’re hoping to accomplish,” Kuran growled. “Remember, she needs me watching over her, keeping her safe.”
