Royal (Terk’s Guardians #9)

Chapter 13

“I don’t understand how he can do that,” Janna muttered, “but then he seems to have that ability. It’s as if he could just ease out of consciousness and into this altered state.”

“It goes along with energy work, I think,” Terk replied, as he led the way back down to the kitchen. “If you want to grab some towels, some are in there.” He pointed to a large closet. “Cleaning supplies are in here, and, as far as your living quarters are concerned, you’re on your own for keeping up your apartment, however you want it.” He laughed. “We don’t even begin to have enough staff for that housekeeping stuff. If you want to grab a nap yourself, go right ahead.”

She nodded. “I did want some coffee and to see if I could snatch a laptop or something. Otherwise I can pop over to my place and grab one.”

“If you want to make that trip, you can. I can give you a set of wheels or give you a lift.”

She pondered that. “I need clothes anyway, so I’ll go,” she muttered. “Maybe I’ll just take a vehicle, if you’ve got mine accessible, seeing as how I left it here. Since he’s sleeping, I should slip out now.”

“But how are you doing for exhaustion?”

“I’m doing okay.” She shrugged. “I just want to ensure I get back before he is up.”

“Are you sure you don’t want somebody to go with you?”

She looked at him. “Why? We’re not meeting with MI6 until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, correct?”

He nodded. “That’s correct.”

“Good enough,” she said.

He led her to the garage and pointed out her small car and handed her the keys. She got into her vehicle, tired and yet wanting this errand over with, she knew she would feel better with some clean clothes and a laptop, and pulled out from the castle and headed home again.

Just getting home and walking inside filled her with a sense of freedom. She’d set out to save Royal, and she’d managed it in a big way. Feeling that wonderful sense of homecoming, she headed up to her bedroom and quickly packed up enough clothing for several days. She didn’t want to stay too long at Terk’s castle, not when she had her own private space here, but there was definitely a need to keep both Bruce and Royal at the castle, where the healing could take place at a stronger level.

Plus, she definitely didn’t want to bring MI6 here. Even though they undoubtedly knew where she lived and who she was, she wanted to keep them completely out of her personal life, as much as she could. Deciding on a quick shower, she quickly hopped in, scrubbed down, then dried off and put on fresh clothes. She dumped her dirty clothes into the laundry, grabbed a toothbrush and a few other essentials, adding them to the things she’d already packed.

As she walked back down to her main entrance, she looked around to see if she was missing anything else and then froze. Standing in front of her was one of the two men who had been on the helicopter. She let her breath out in a harsh rush of air. “What are you doing in my house?” she snapped.

He just smiled, a lazy smile that set her heart on edge. “Nice to know this is where you live,” he said menacingly, “and you’re all alone too.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “And? What’s that got to do with you?”

“Oh, I think I owe you for making me look stupid and getting me in trouble with my bosses.”

“You didn’t even have time to go home and come back again,” she muttered.

“No, we already got our marching orders,” he stated, with a harsh laugh. “Turns out they are… very cut-and-dried. No going back.” He walked around, looking at her place, and then turned, as if he needed to get something out of his system. “That means I can’t go home to a job that paid well and kept my head held high with pride,” he murmured. “So, I decided to have a little visit with the one who was so obviously at the root of my problem,” he said, glaring at her. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Really?” she asked, staring at him warily, as he looked around her small space. It was anything but small by any measure, but she was feeling backed into a corner. Why had she come here alone? Terk had even offered to drive her himself.

Royal wasn’t here to help her out this time, so there was no chance to trigger a wishy-washy mind-set, at least not long enough to get this guy taken care of. She sent out a warning to the ethers, hoping that somebody, Terk even, could send help or backup of some sort, maybe even wake up Royal and have him hopefully confuse this guy enough to change his mind.

At this point, she would take anything. The last thing she wanted was to end up dead, shot in her own place, because she had thought to come get clean clothes. That would be an irony far too hard to accept. “So, what’s your plan?” she asked, as she tossed her backpack over one shoulder. “Presumably you brought wheels.”

“Of course,” he said.

“And your friend?’

“He’s gone back to face the music, but I… will not go back in defeat.” He was starting to bubble in anger, and she could see it in his aura. “I will only go back with the job completed.”

“Ah, so you’re planning on taking me all the way back to Moscow, is that it?”

He nodded. “That is the only way to restore my honor.”

“Your honor won’t get restored, no matter what,” she muttered, staring at him. “You really can’t figure that out yet?”

Fury flashed across his face, and she realized that, once again, her casual seat-of-her-pants style would get her in trouble.

She asked him, “How is it that you think none of my friends will be there to help?”

He looked around and smiled. “They think the danger is past. They think it’s over with,” he stated, “so it really doesn’t have anything to do with them now. This is all about you and me and how you made me look like a fool,” he growled.

“What is it you think I did?” she asked. “You were in the driver’s seat of a vehicle. I have no idea what happened, but you killed your own man. I just figured that somebody paid you off to be a traitor to your own country.”

His face lit with almost an unworldly air as he stared at her. “No. It was you. We heard stories about all of you, but the only one who could have done it was you. You did it.”

She shook her head at that. “I don’t know how you figure that,” she argued, trying to come up with a game plan that would work. “That’s all BS.” He frowned at her. “Here you are blaming a woman, when I’m sure your bosses would never begin to think that such a thing could be possible to begin with, especially by a woman.”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re the one I take.”

“Ah, so it doesn’t really matter if I did the damage or not, but you think I’m the weakest link? I’m the one you think you can just pick up and carry back, as if a head on a stick, so to speak. So, I am just to be a trophy for them, some bargaining chip for you to save your job, and for them to use against the government? That’s it, huh ?”

He nodded, with a smile. “You will do.” He gave a hysterical laugh. “And the men? The men you came to help? They will want to rescue you, so, yes, you will definitely do nicely.”

She winced at that because, of course, if Royal had any idea where she was, no way he wouldn’t come after her. “That’s nice, but you’ve already injured those men so much that it’s not as if they can help.”

“Yes, but eventually they will. They’ll pressure their government, and my government will be happy to have that bargaining chip,” he stated. “So, get going. Come on. Out the door.”

She groaned but steadily walked out the front door, and, as she did, she found Royal standing on the other side, Calum half holding him up.

She raced forward. “What are you doing?” she cried out. “I left you sound asleep.”

“Yeah, but you left,” Royal said, “and I could sense the wrongness.”

“It would have been nice if you’d mentioned something beforehand,” she said, with a mock smile, “because this guy was waiting for me when I came downstairs.”

Calum eyed the man in confusion. “Wow. Are you sure you want to do this?”

The other man growled. “She must come back with me. Failure is not allowed. My life is over, but if I take her—”

“Your life is already over,” Royal declared. “You may have had some freedom and made a new life somewhere if you’d just disappeared, but now you’ve tried to kidnap a British citizen in her own home. Do you really think that’ll go over well?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. If I don’t succeed, I might as well die trying.”

Calum gave a sad sigh. “That’s fine with me, good even, but the British government feels differently.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked.

“Because we’ve already talked to Jonas, and they want you alive.”

“No, I won’t be taken alive.”

“You won’t take her or us out of here, so I’m not sure what you think your options are.”

The man frowned at him and pulled out a gun. “Did you think I wasn’t armed?”

“No,” Calum said. “I just don’t care.”

The Russian stared at him in shock. “I don’t understand. How is this even possible? How can you people be so calm in the face of certain death?” He took a step forward, lifting the weapon higher and pointing it at them. “If she doesn’t come with me alive, I will kill all of you and take pictures,” he declared, with a nod. “That will make my country happy and will redeem my position.”

“Maybe, but it won’t make anybody else happy,” Calum said, with that same lackadaisical tone.

She smiled at Calum and pointed to Royal. “Royal is about to collapse.”

Calum asked Royal, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Now that we’re here, and she’s safe, I’m feeling much better.”

“She’s not safe. You are fools,” the Russian cried out in fury. “How dare you ignore me?” He stomped around as he bellowed, then stepped forward, ready to fire the weapon at her.

She looked over at Calum. “So, is this something you want to handle, or do you prefer I take care of it myself?”

Calum chuckled. “You’ve had all the fun so far, so I’ll take care of this one.”

He took several quick steps forward and, in a surprise move, pivoted and kicked backward, up and high, hitting the Russian hard in the jaw.

The Russian stared at him blankly, then slowly slid to the ground.

“Ooh, I love that move,” Janna said. “How very primitive of you.”

He didn’t seem to mind her mocking tone, and, besides, he got his man. “What can I say? There are times,” Calum said, looking down at the unconscious man as he picked up the weapon, “when a little physical violence feels pretty good.”

“Yeah, I get that. I wanted to kick him myself.”

He flashed her a grin. “You’ve already pretty well taken everything else from him, so really no point.”

She laughed and asked, “Now what?”

“Now we’ll phone MI6, and Jonas will come and collect him.” Calum looked around her place. “I will stay here and wait for Jonas. Meanwhile, you can take lover boy here back to our place, get him settled into your apartment, but maybe this time stay with him, so he actually stays put and gets some rest?”

She glared at Royal. “Did you hear that? You need to get back to bed and stay there.”

He gave her a crooked grin. “Yeah, but will you stay with me?”

She flushed. “Maybe, if you will behave yourself.”

“Not happening,” he said, as he looped an arm over her shoulders. “But it might be a day or two before I can do anything other than sleep.”

It took no small amount of effort and muscle, but she finally got him to the car and, with Calum’s help, into the vehicle.

Calum added, “I’ll phone ahead. Just get him back to the house, and they’ll get him upstairs again.”

And he was right. By the time she drove into the yard at the castle, several men were waiting. They quickly picked up Royal and disappeared with him.

She got out more slowly, only to find Terk standing there, his hands on his hips.

“That’s one of the reasons why we generally go everywhere as part of a team.”

“Maybe so,” she admitted, “but I honestly didn’t think the Russians had anything left to care about.”

“Never forget what it’s like for these guys in some of these countries or organizations when they fail,” Terk noted. “There’s always a backlash, and they end up somewhat desperate, with nothing left to lose, which is when they are the most dangerous.”

“Hopefully this time he’s in good hands, and the backlash is truly over with, and we can now relax.”

“I hope so,” Terk said cheerfully, “but we’ll be on alert anyway. I’m very sorry that happened, Janna. I should have insisted you take someone along.”

“You are distracted today, and who wouldn’t be?”

He then waved her upstairs. “Go on up and take care of Royal, and try to get some rest yourself.”

She nodded. “I will, but I’ll grab that coffee on the way.” She picked up coffee and made her way up to the apartment. As she got inside, she found Royal nearly asleep, but not quite, clearly waiting for her. She walked over, dropped her backpack on the floor and set the coffee on the bedside table. She sat on the bed beside Royal and patted his cheek. “Go on now. Get some sleep.”

He stared up at her. “Will you stay?”

“I promise. I’ll stay.”

He closed his eyes and whispered, “Thank you.” And, with that, he crashed.

She sat stretched out on the bed beside him, then opened up her laptop and proceeded to spend a few hours catching up on the world that she had left behind, before starting this venture. Periodically she stopped to spend a few moments wondering what she would have done if Calum and Royal hadn’t shown up at her house.

If they didn’t have a system already in place to deal with these things, then it would have been so different for her. Sure, she’d gotten into trouble because of the original plan, but she wasn’t so foolish as to think that it couldn’t happen again and again. She had to admit to enjoying having people to count on for help, something she hadn’t allowed herself for a very long time.

She was also enjoying interacting with people, something she was frankly surprised at and out of practice with, realizing she needed to curb her sharp tongue if she would share this home with so many people. The benefits of joining Terk and his band of merry men definitely far outweighed the cons at the moment, and she found herself looking forward to meeting the rest of them, especially the women.

Now all she had to do was get this guy back on his feet and ensure Bruce would be okay, and then maybe she would see a way forward. As soon as her now cold coffee was gone, she curled up right beside Royal and slept.

*

Royal woke up and yet remained silent and still, as he tried to figure out where he was and what had happened. As the memories filtered back in, he looked over to see Janna curled up beside him. As she promised, she had stuck around and stayed at his side. He reached out a hand and gently shifted the still damp hair back off her face, realizing that she must have grabbed a shower somewhere along the line, something he could really use himself.

He just wasn’t sure where his energy level was at.

Still, determined to follow through, he slowly sat up, walked to the bathroom, and used the facilities, then took a good look at his face. Yeah, a shower was something he most definitely needed. He turned on the water, then moving carefully and slowly, had a hot shower. When he came back out, despite the longer hair and beard he hadn’t been able to cut all this time, he was looking clean at least, though very thin, pale, and a bit scraggly. He found Janna sitting up in bed and waiting for him.

She smiled. “You look much better.”

“I feel better,” he acknowledged, “but, at some point, I’ll need to get some shaving stuff.”

“Sorry, I never even thought of that,” she said. “It’ll be on the list to get when we have a few minutes. You’re in desperate need of clothes as well, though Terk told me that they have some basics they keep in stock, since they frequently get surprise visitors.”

“I can work with that, as long as you don’t mind a beard,” he added, with a chuckle.

“If it’s yours, I don’t mind a bit.” She opened up her arms, and he sat back down on the bed and gave her a big hug. “How are you feeling?” she asked, eyeing him critically.

“I’m fine. I feel better. Obviously it’ll be a few days before I get some energy back, and then months of putting on some weight and building muscle again, but I’m on the mend. Have you had an update on Bruce?” he asked anxiously.

“Not recently, no, and I just woke up myself.”

“Right. So, we do need to check on him.”

“We do, yet I think the others have it firmly in hand.” She stroked his cheek. “I really want to learn how to do what they do —the healing, I mean. Apparently the twins are quite skilled at it.”

“It sure seems so. It’s nothing short of a miracle that Bruce is still with us,” Royal said, with a gentle smile. “But honestly, considering the abilities you already have, I’m sure you’ll take to it easily.”

“I don’t know about that, but I would like a chance to find out.”

“Does that mean you’ve decided you want to align with Terk?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, and, if nothing else, I saw the benefits all over again after having them handle the problem at my place,” she muttered. “It was nice not to be alone. Plus, they took care of dealing with the government and all that crap.”

“Yeah, it was great we could just come straight back here.”

“Of course we’ve got that whole debriefing mess with MI6 to deal with tomorrow,” she reminded him, “and we can’t get out of it. Still, it will be nice to know that, once again, no matter what, we’re not alone.”

He nodded. “I’ve been thinking of that aspect myself. Definitely some advantages to being part of a team.”

“What about you though?” she asked. “Are you even free to leave the government?”

“Oh, yes. I won’t be working for them anymore. I wasn’t planning on it after this job anyway. I’d already made up my mind that I was coming back to find you. Then it all turned to crap, and I found myself tortured and starved, stuck in a Russian prison.”

She gave him a gentle smile, then kissed him. “I spoke to Bruce briefly, and he mentioned that you told him all about me.”

“Absolutely.” Royal chuckled. “When you think you won’t survive, you focus on all the things you’ve missed out on. Things that you should have done, that you could have done, and you were at the top of my regrets list. So, I’m very grateful to have a second chance.” Then he wrapped her up in another big hug.

She smiled. “Even though I didn’t… tell you about Sam?”

“Yes.… Obviously I would have liked to have known him and to have been there for you through all that pain,” he said, with a glassy gaze. “I would have liked to meet my,… my son,” he whispered gently. “There are enough things in life we must deal with, without adding more, especially those we can do nothing about,” he murmured. “It’s definitely time to let some of this go.” Then he tilted her chin and kissed her gently.

When he pulled back ever-so-slightly, her eyes were crossed, and she gasped. “God. Everything just seems to be so much more with you.”

“I think it’s the energy, and now that you mention it,” he murmured, “you pack quite a punch yourself.”

She smiled at him. “What about the fact that everybody here seems to have this whole pregnancy thing going on?”

He hesitated, then looked at her and asked, “How do you feel about trying again?”

“It’s not so much about trying again,” she noted, “as I’m pretty sure I would have no problem getting pregnant, but that whole journey?… Well, doing it alone was pretty rough.”

“I wouldn’t want you doing it alone,” he muttered, tapping her on the nose. “But being here, there is a good chance that, unless we can figure out how that energy can be stopped, you’ll end up in that state.”

She gave him a beautiful smile. “I’m not at all upset about that. I always wanted a family. But, after everything, I guess I just never thought it would happen to me.”

He nodded, then kissed the scar on her face in that same gentle way he’d done before, letting her know that it made absolutely no difference to him. “I suggest we let Mother Nature take its course.”

She laughed. “Maybe once or twice, but we won’t let it continue until we have a whole baseball team. We’ll draw the line somewhere.”

He burst out laughing. “Agreed, but two would be nice. Two would be very nice. And, by the way,” he said, as he waggled his eyebrows, “I’m feeling much better, so absolutely no point in wasting time. We might as well get started on that plan.”

She burst out laughing, then wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. She already felt the evidence of his need against her belly. “You know you should rest, right?”

“Nope, not happening. This is more restoring than any rest could possibly give me,” he whispered against her hair, as he kissed his way down her neck, her throat, and behind her ears, gently leaving a trail of nerve endings waking up slowly, as if they’d been asleep for a very long time. “You’re very special, and I’m so grateful to be here with you, so grateful for everything you did to bring me back.”

She tapped a finger over his lips and whispered, “And yet it better not be gratitude that has you here right now,” she murmured.

“Nope. Never. It’s love. It’s pure, unadulterated love. Let me show you.”

And, with that, he went to town, showing her by his actions, his words, and the break in his voice as he spoke about how much he cared and how much he thought about her, as he trailed kisses up and down her body and explored every inch of her, until she was crying out with need.

When he finally slipped inside her, he whispered, “Now this is where home is.”

She exploded moments later, her body a wealth of nerve endings, but more than that, her heart fully opened for the first time in a very long while. She had to agree with him. This was home.

She welcomed him back into her life and into her heart, whispering, “You’ll never leave me, right?”

“I’ll never leave,” he vowed. “Not now, not tomorrow, not ever, I promise. What we have isn’t temporary. This is forever.”

And he kissed her again.