Sheena hung her head. "Bri and her damn gossip. Yes, Scott was handsome. Unfortunately, he turned out to be yet another lying bastard I let into my life. I'll tell you what I told Nate when he came to visit this morning-I don't share myself with men who can't be honest with me."
"Ya poor lass. I bet yar pent up something awful then. Want me and Erin to find ya an alien? They're all honest to a fault from what I can tell."
Despite her irritation-and Angus seemed to irritate everyone-Sheena laughed at the teasing offer. It chased the tears away. Sentimentality had never been her friend. Regrets about the past just made life harder to live.
"Hold that thought about the aliens, Angus. I'll get back to you if I get desperate."
"Ya do that, lass. Erin and I will always be there for ya. We live to serve."
Sheena chuckled and went to lie down. She pulled covers over her that still smelled like Scott and tried really hard not to feel sorry for herself.
"Hello, Nathaniel. What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting any contact until my birthday next month."
Nate put his hands behind his back, adopting a military-at-rest pose. His mother was too adept at reading him and his hands often gave away his mood. But he had to talk to her, no matter how much he wished to avoid it. The dream conversation he'd had with Sheena was too real to ignore.
"Sorry. I needed to talk to the Provost."
"I see."
Nate watched his mother shuffle some papers on her desk. He'd hurt her feelings by making this contact about business, but it couldn't be helped.
"Okay. The Provost it is. What can I do for you, Admiral Tiberius?"
"Why did you send Carleton and Elsa to the AAS airship? You frightened them and got the matchmakers churned up."
"I'm not at liberty to say why, but my actions were mostly to protect them. Brianna MacNamara still has trackers on her trail."
"Novus Prime sent General Montgomery to retrieve Sheena. She refused to go back with him. The man didn't stay long enough to be questioned. It's time you told me what's really going on. You can't just keep sending people to the airship."
"Sheena's still there? Good. I'm glad you two are finally making up. Maybe I'll get a grandchild out of your relationship this time around."
Nate snorted. "She isn't staying for me. She's staying to protect Angus and Erin. She's staying because of Carleton and Elsa. She's staying because Novus Prime probably told her to stay."
"Novus Prime would never ask her to do that. Staying for the castle keepers I can understand, but the clones? I'm surprised she cares about them at all."
Nate dropped his stance and paced the conference room. "Sheena cares alright. She's filed for ownership."
His mother laughed, but not kindly. She'd always liked Sheena well enough, but hadn't exactly mourned her loss after he and Sheena divorced. He'd always found that strange, but had never figured out why. Maybe it was because his mother hadn't even acknowledged his other wives.
"Ownership. Well, I didn't see that coming. Your father will not be pleased with her request. He thinks clones are inherently evil and should all be destroyed."
Nodding, Nate paced the room. "I know. Why is Brianna MacNamara really here? Did you send her?"
"I made a suggestion which she could have refused at any time. But I suppose there's no reason not to tell you what happened now that Brianna's voluntarily in the AAS program. On her last assignment, Brianna witnessed a group execution. There are several criminal factions after her. The AAS program may truly be her last resort."
"Execution of whom? Who died?"
"I'm not at liberty to say."
Nate watched his mother shuffle papers again. "Mother, how often do you lie to me?"
"I never lie to you, Nathaniel. I tell you everything you need to know. However, you don't need to know everything. You have one job and that's to take care of the AAS airship."
"Who determines what I need to know, Provost?" Nate asked. "Father? The Guardians? You?"
"Why all these tough questions today? You've never had them before. Haven't you had an excellent career all these years?"
Had he? Nate was no longer so certain. His captain couldn't handle a simple shuttle docking on his own. His mother assigned that man to his ship. Everything was suddenly suspect.
"Chaos has ruled my life lately. I'm trying to figure out why," Nate said.
"Chaos's name wouldn't happen to be Sheena MacNamara, would it?"
Nate ignored the jab. "Are the new matchmakers at risk? Is someone trying to kill them?"