Chapter One

The meeting room was large. It was clustered with tech geeks, enterprising video gamers, media, and the rich looking for a fertile field to sow their money. The male presiding over the conference was Hale Dare.

Thrice still remembered him, the presenter. The easy smile as he held his mate close. The look in his eyes that said he would take apart anyone who got too near. He had been on this planet long enough to hear the name floating through the air. Hale was a wiz with video games. The next breakthrough in virtual reality would be made by him.

He shouldn’t want to growl at the male who had everything, including the comfort of being able to stand before a room full of humans and not worry over the fact he was different. Hale had brothers, his original ones, that must make the difference.

Pushing away his thoughts of the male up front, he scanned the room. Piper should be in here. This was the conference she told Brandi she was coming to. He had her picture memorized. Big gray eyes that seemed to spark with life even from a photo sheet. Beautiful brown hair with red highlights. He had never been tempted to stroke a picture before he laid eyes on hers. Then there was that smile, it was open like she was inviting the rest of the world to smile with her, but it still had an element of being reserved. The difference between the eyes and the smile spoke of two different females, and he wondered which one she was under her mask.

Not that it mattered if he couldn’t find her. He went to her room first. It wasn’t hard to gain access. The room was immaculate as if she never slept there. The tub hadn’t been used, and the bed looked like it had not been slept in for several nights. Her clothes were all put up but didn’t have the look of being moved around to search for the right outfit.

He stopped the maid on her way to the room and asked if she had seen her. He was with the conference and was concerned. She hadn’t seen her since the second day but admitted to not working the weekend, so she didn’t know about those days.

He knew that’s why he came. Brandi’s best friend was missing, and he couldn’t continue to watch his sister worry herself. She died and was given a second chance at life; he didn’t want her to face any problems.

Then there was his brother, Jabari. The look on his face when his mate spoke about Piper made him ache, the way his natural brothers had affected him. This new family was supposed to be about survival, but it was more than that. They were now his family. He still wasn’t sure how it happened or when, but it happened.

The knife he kept tucked into his boot was out held against the throat of the male who thought to walk-up on him. Turning into his other form in a hotel full of people was unwise.

“If I wanted to sneak up on you, you wouldn’t have heard me.” The voice was calm, but he knew it.

His eyes swung back into the room looking at the male at the podium before he turned to stare into the same eyes.

“Yeah, it’s disconcerting to see both of us so close together.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I was told you were looking for something or someone.”

He nodded slowly. No reason to ask, by who. They all knew that Dante was playing with their lives. Who was that male? Why had he taken such an interest in them? Those were the things they didn’t know. As far as he was concerned those were the things that got you dead.

He drew in a deep calming breath. Dante brought them back to this time. Two of his brothers found their mates and Brandi; Jabari's mate survived what killed her. That made him not judge the male so quickly or harshly.

“What do you know about Piper?”

“Nothing and everything. I know you won’t find her in there.”

He knew that much, but then he was the one searching all the faces for hers.

“Then where?”

“Let’s go back to my room.” He nodded and followed Hale up the stairs.

Once in his room, he leaned against the door, still too wary to trust him.

“You haven’t changed.”

He lifted one heavy shoulder and dropped it. What did the male want? He lived in a world that didn’t know he existed. One where every day was a challenge to move forward.

Hale moved to the mini frig and took a bottle out. It wasn’t one that he was familiar with. He poured two shots.

“This isn’t what the humans make. Lucca brews this. Be careful it will put you on your ass.” He held up the glass.

Thrice walked across the room. If there was going to be a fight, the whole hotel would know. He took the glass and knocked it back. Hell yeah, this was good. He eyed the bottle but sat instead.

“What do you know?”

“I have two different timelines in my head. The punishment for coming back and staying more than a few weeks. Which one is the correct line? I don’t know. One has you in it, and one doesn’t. It seems I have lived both timelines.”

“How does that happen?”

“Have you met her?”

“No. All I have is a picture of her.” His fingers drifted to his back pocket without his permission. Her picture was in his wallet.

“I met her; it was so long ago that I didn’t remember.” His lips twisted into a wry grin. “I was given some help. I swear I don’t think he forgets anyone. She is brilliant and well on her way to revolutionizing the world.”

“Someone wants what she is working on?”

“Maybe. There are only two plausible scenarios I can come up with. Someone from the future wants a product she will make.”

“Or?” Thrice’s voice was deadly, a response to the look in Hale’s eyes.

“They want to stop her from making it.”

He stood and crossed the room looking out the wide window. It shouldn’t matter. She was already dead in the time he came from, but he was here, and those eyes were haunting him.

“Is this where you decide which timeline is correct?”

“Hell no. I’m not judge or jury. If it were Tori missing, I’d tear apart whoever thought to touch her.”

Hale was assuming that Piper meant something to him besides being Brandi’s best friend. He chose not to disillusion him. There was always the possibility that the reason Hale never saw him in the first timeline was because he chose to stay away from her. The weight of the picture in his pocket felt heavy.

“We have to find her first.”

Hale moved over to a chair in front of a small side table. He turned on the computer. “Do you have her number?”

“I do.” He rattled it off. Whatever program he was running it wasn’t something he’d ever seen on this planet. “Can you trace her with it?”

“I’d tell you yes and no, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t go over well. I have her biometrics. That along with the number will cut through any static in the air even if she’s underground.”

“How did you get her biometrics?” The low growl made its way through the wall.

“Call it a gift. Do you want to find her dead or should I continue in the hopes of finding her alive?”

Thrice pulled himself together. How could a picture of a female move him? No more acting like he wanted to find her just to make Brandi happy.

“Alive.”

Hale nodded and kept inputting data. With nothing to do, he went back to thinking of Dante. That had to be the male who had given Hale the gift. He heard the rumors. The male was the first. It was hard to believe, most created thought the first and his brothers were dead. The possibility that they were still alive and affecting their lives deserved some pondering.

“Are you his brother?”

“No, I’m a half-brother just like you.”

All the created shared the same female DNA. Which made them half-brothers, although they thought of themselves more like cousins since each had his own family group. Hale was making a point that he was spending his time doubting his family.

He could argue back that not everyone thought of family the same way they did.

“I got her.”

“Where?” He looked at the computer screen. There was a grid with a city map laid over it and a flashing sign that read Piper.

He looked at Hale.

“I’ve got to amuse myself some way. I left Tori at home with the boys.”

He gave Hale another look.

“They’ll always be boys to me.”

“How many?”

“Three, she refused to have any more. Something about being outnumbered. Shall we go get your girl?”

She wasn’t his. But he couldn’t bring himself to say the words.

*~*~*~*

How long had she been in this hell hole? She was lying on a mattress on the floor. It was old, but at least it didn’t smell of urine and other bodily functions. The concrete floor was so much worse because it was cold. The one thing the mattress couldn’t do was keep away the mice, but she hadn’t seen a rat, so she considered herself lucky.

The walls around her were rough as if someone had used dynamite to create this cave. How long had she been here? One day had turned into two, and now her math was fuzzy. Her effing math was never fuzzy, but there was no sun down here. There were no shadows or even a glimpse of moonlight, so all she had was her math. There were soft steps on the floor and then part of the dirt was kicked.

One of her jailers was coming in. They fed her once a day but left several bottles of water. She almost wanted to laugh; her father was getting what he desired. His daughter on a diet.

“Who’s there?” She called out. They never showed themselves. She didn’t even know if they were male or female. They used a voice modulator that she never encountered before. It not only changed the sound of the voice, but it made it sound inhuman. It would be perfect for the new VR game she was working on.

“Have you gotten in touch with my father yet? He will pay whatever you are asking.”

She never believed her life would be in danger because of her dad. Oh, he warned her. He warned her when she went to a college, not of his choice. He warned her when Brandi became her best friend. Then he warned her when she moved to a city where he didn’t have the authority to control those in command or what went on in her life. Her dad was full of warnings, but for all his faults, he would pay to get her back.

A green leafy salad was pushed through the slot under the cage with a large stick, so she wouldn’t see her captors. Maybe they hadn’t called her dad because this was his idea of a weight-loss program. She stopped to think about it. Her dad could be vicious. He forgot what loving and warm were a long time ago. His hopes and dreams for her all centered around her being skinny enough to be married to a political figure.

As if that was what she wanted for her life. No matter how cruel her dad could be this wasn’t his style. He would have her kidnapped and taken to the nicest clinic money could buy. However, he wouldn’t put her somewhere her life would be in danger.

“Please.” She called out again before she told them his number. “Just call him. He’ll pay, and then you can go live the good life or whatever you call it.”

Then she could go back to her life. She could see Brandi. Her heart tried to stop every time she thought of her best friend. She was dying, and Piper wouldn’t be there to say goodbye or to remind her of all the good times they shared. She drank some water and picked at the leaves they called a salad. At this rate, she’d be joining her friend.

“Tell me what you want.”

In the air in front of her was an incomplete computer code. She thought it was for a computer, but it was nothing she had ever seen before. The first time they showed it to her, she stared at it for hours fascinated. If only she could figure out what the symbols represented, but she didn’t know.

“I still don’t know what this is. Tell me what I’m supposed to do with it.” There was a pleading in her voice, she had to get away.

The door slammed closed in the distance. The code faded away. She made her way to the bars of the cage and tried to shake them.

“Help.” It came out as a whisper the shouting hadn’t helped. She slid down to the floor. How much longer could she live on leaves?