First Episode

The Cost of Power is set in an alternative universe from the main Martiniere Legacy series. In this book, I take a closer look at the mind control technology and…the relationship between Gabe and his father Philip ends up being different.

Additionally, Gabe tells Ruby who he really is much, much earlier than in the main Martiniere Legacy series.

Most of all, I’m freeforming this story. I somewhat know where it’s going to go, but how it unfolds depend on what happens with Gabe, Philip, Ruby, and Justine once they get on a roll in this particular setting.

Enjoy! This is part one of Chapter Four. There will be five parts to this chapter.

July, 2033

RUBY

Gramps gathered up his share of the cash, tucking it into his wallet, then started to push himself up. Gabe stepped in to help him. “I’ll give you a hand, Ron. Let Ruby sit for a little bit.”

“Probably should give me a weapon or two.”

Ruby stifled a smile as Gabe made sure Gramps was steady on his walker. He’s so good with Gramps. Another thing she loved about Gabe—he had been the same way with Granma, gentle with her as she faded away.

Gabe picked up one of the shotguns, checking to ensure it was loaded. “Don’t come roaring out unless you hear one of us yelling for help, Ron,” he said. “Keep this weapon for self-defense only. Let me and Ruby take care of the rest.”

Gramps grumbled, but didn’t insist.

Ruby slumped back in her chair as Gabe and Gramps left the kitchen.

Now she had time to think.

Gabe was—she stared at the pile of cash he had pushed over to her, curling back up into a roll. Ruby picked it up and thumbed through the bills—fifties and hundreds—before folding the pile and stuffing it into her jeans pocket.

Five thousand dollars.

And the casual way he had handled that roll of cash, when otherwise she had watched Gabe be oh-so-careful with his money, not spending wildly even when he gambled—and gambling was one of those habits that he only let loose every now and then—

This casual dispersal of ten thousand dollars was the sort of money-handling behavior she would expect from someone who was wealthy, along with the encouragement to spend it freely. So different from the way she had seen Gabe manage his finances over the past four years. How could he have changed so quickly?

Then again, given the original purpose for that money, perhaps that explained why he wanted her and Gramps to spend the money without concern. Expiating the Saldivar ties.

Ruby sat up and rested her elbows on the table, burying her face in her hands, her thoughts whirling.

Gabe was rich.

Had proposed marriage, and she had accepted. He was promising to build her a lab.

The issue that had sent him into hiding wasn’t indenture debt but something even worse—and if Philip is Gabe’s father, then why the hell is he trying to kill him? Does he even—no, he has to know. IVF, remember?

She raised her head and picked up the paperwork once more, hoping to find some answers, or perhaps something different.

Still the same.

Father: Philip Joseph Martiniere.

Mother: Angelica Liliana Martiniere. Maiden name: Saldivar-Ramirez.

Your mother’s maiden name was Ramirez? Damn it, Gabe, did you want to be discovered?

Then again, there was the Gabriel/Gabe roommate situation from his Northview Military Academy days. But where was the real Gabe Ramirez? Was he another of her Gabe’s relatives? The last name suggested that might be the case.

Ruby flipped through the paperwork. So much minutia recording the custodial chain that there was no question that Philip Martiniere was Gabe’s father—she had occasionally seen similar documentation with horses produced through embryo transfer and artificial insemination.

Just not in this detail. Looking closer, she spotted Saul Martiniere’s signature in several places. Further—papers certifying Saul Martiniere as Gabriel Martiniere’s adoptive father. Implemented two years after Gabe’s birth.

Why?

Was that part of the mystery around Philip’s hatred of Gabe?

She sighed and set the papers down, rubbing her eyes.

“Hey.” Gabe returned. He rested his hand on her back. “Would you mind helping me set up the dining room? I want to meet there tomorrow, and I prefer that it’s staged in a particular manner. Better to do it now than tomorrow morning.”

“No problem. Does Gramps know we’ll be working in there?” His bedroom was across the hallway from the dining room. Since Gramps was armed, she didn’t want him mistaking them for an intruder.

“I made sure he knew.” Gabe picked up the papers she had just set down. “Saul adopted me when I was two? I would have thought that would have happened right away.”

“You would think so.”

He exhaled. “He’s still Papa.” His shoulders sagged—in relief? “Let’s get this done, then you can crash.”

“What are you doing?” She followed Gabe down the hallway.

“Staging for best effect.” He scowled. “I want to send a message from the very start that my return as a Martiniere will happen on my own terms. If the Family wants me to become the Martiniere-in-waiting—well, they need to make some concessions.”

The Double R’s little-used dining room was closed off from the rest of the house by pocket doors, with a pass-through that had sliders to keep it shut off from the kitchen. The dining room had been carefully preserved in its former glory, hearkening back to the early days of the Double R when Ben Ryder’s wife Mollie Bennett, daughter of a railroad baron and a society matron in her own right, had presided over social events at the ranch.

Dust covers hid the chairs and oak table from Mollie’s era, along with the big oak sideboard and the china cabinet. They carefully removed the covers and Ruby carried them to the laundry chute in the kitchen to be washed before replacing them. When she returned, Gabe was aligning the chairs.

“I want to sit here.” Gabe wrestled one of the two tall-back dining chairs with arms to the east end of the table. “Gerard at the other end. Then you on my right, Ron on my left. Justine and Donald across from each other. Kendra and her husband Scott next to them. Piotr and Serg on each side of Gerard.”

Almost like thrones. Gabe and—Gerard.

So many things she needed to learn about the Martinieres, including just why staging like this was so important to Gabe. But for now—focus on this. Ruby pulled out one of the good tablecloths and they aligned it on the table.

Gabe frowned at the sideboard. “Didn’t I see your grandmother bring out a silver coffee and tea service to use at your coronation as Miss Rodeo Oregon?”

“Yes. You want to use it?”

“That, and the good coffee cups. The silver flatware. Maybe send someone from security to pick up some pastries from the Good Times Bakery in the morning. The crystal water pitcher.” His lips tightened. “It’s all high-quality tableware, even if it’s old, and I want to send a message from the beginning that you and your family are not to be underestimated.”

“You think that will be a problem?”

“Probably not, given who is showing up. But all the same, I still want to leave that impression. Unconscious perceptions will spread to the rest of the Family.”

Ruby retrieved the service and set it on the table, the pieces still in their protective bags. She checked quickly to see if anything needed polishing—no. Gabe set out coffee cups and water glasses, then small plates for pastries, along with silver spoons and forks engraved with an R.

“There,” he said finally. “That’s done. Rubes, you look all in. Why don’t you go to bed? I’ll be up after a while.”

“What are you doing?”

“Checking the bunkhouse and the cottage, then waiting for Serg and security to arrive.”

“Then I’ll do all that with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.” She set her jaw and glared at him.

“All right. I was planning to sit on the front porch swing while I wait. With the AR and a shotgun.”

“You really think there will be a problem with a SWAT team enforcing a foreclosure action?”

“I’m not gambling. Better to be ready for possible trouble.”

Previous Episode |

Leave a comment