Royal (Terk’s Guardians #9)

Epilogue

T wo days later, early in the morning, Terk sat in the kitchen, his head in his hands, when his phone rang. Sophia came in, putting the call up on the TV. He looked at her in surprise.

“It’s Levi.”

He nodded, as he looked up at the big screen. “Levi, how’re you doing?”

Levi opened his mouth to speak and then frowned. “Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah, it’s been a hell of a few days,” Terk muttered. “It seems as if Celia’s in pre-labor, then she’s not, then she is. Man, I, for one, find it more than a little frustrating.”

Levi laughed. “Yeah, and, for Celia, it’s ten times worse. This is definitely a new experience for you, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely,” he muttered, almost with a groan. “We’re all waiting and excited and worried and trepidatious and every emotion in between. But our last job finished successfully, and things are calming down, although it was a little on the rough side.” Terk sighed. “We rescued two Americans, and now we’re all just trying to recuperate.”

“So, I hear you have Bruce over there.”

“Yeah, so what do you know about Bruce? He’s had a rough go and is still in and out of it. He’s unconscious or close to it a good share of the time still, though he is improving.”

“But he’ll make it, right?” Ice asked, her face coming into view.

Terk smiled broadly when he saw her. “Hey, Ice. You get kudos from me on having kids. I’m,… I’m still struggling, and the babies aren’t even here yet. And it’s only our first time.”

She burst out laughing. “Yep, there is nothing quite like it,” she murmured. “I would love to chat on that, and we will sometime soon, but back to Bruce. What’s going on?”

“He’s okay. He’s just… it’ll take some time. We used so much energy to keep him alive as we worked to get him here that we can’t really put him into standard medical care. They would never understand what they were looking at, and we need him close by to keep up the energy treatments. I am sure that he’ll make it, but it’ll take him a while. He was mistreated terribly, and frankly it’s a miracle he survived. Without help from Royal during their captivity, Bruce wouldn’t have made it. I’m sure of it.”

“His prognosis is good to know,” Ice told Terk, as she looked over at Levi pointedly. “I guess you didn’t get a chance to tell him, did you?”

Levi shook his head, and then another face appeared on the screen.

Terk studied the other woman, feeling a stirring deep inside. “Taryn?” he asked, after a moment.

She gave him a bright smile. “Hey, somehow I found my way to Levi’s.”

“That’s an interesting place for you,” Terk noted.

“After leaving England the way I did, not too sure what I wanted to do next, it just seemed right that this is where I landed.”

“Anyway, Terk, I gather she’s one of yours,” Levi stated, with one of those long-suffering sighs. “Seems as if every time I find somebody new and interesting, almost immediately I find out they’re one of yours.”

“Oh, absolutely. Taryn and I did a couple jobs together way back when, before I started working exclusively with this team,” Terk explained to Levi and then looked at her. “I had no idea you were over there.”

“After I lost my partner,” she began, “I went AWOL for a while. A long while.” She gave him a lopsided grin. “But it’s all good now.”

He nodded in understanding. “That’ll do it, won’t it?”

“It absolutely will,” she stated, then changed her tone to all business. “I understand from Levi that you’ve had a lot of changes in your world.”

He gave her a bright grin. “Yes, and even more in the next day or so, but you guys had a particular reason for calling, I’m sure.”

Levi nodded. “Yeah. Taryn brought somebody with her. Another young woman, Amara, who apparently was looking for Bruce.”

Terk frowned at that. “If that’s the case, she’ll be happy to know that Bruce is here.”

“She’s not sure whether it’s him or not, so that just adds to her worry.”

Terk laughed. “It should be easy enough to identify him, once we send over some photos.”

“That would help,” Levi said. “Also Amara says that Bruce is special.”

“I would agree, based on what Royal has shared with me. However, Bruce hasn’t exactly been conscious enough to let us know just how special he may be, though.”

“She says he definitely has abilities.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” Terk stated, with a note of humor. “Yet we have no idea about his skills to date. We’re just trying to keep him alive. He’s out cold most of the time, occasionally surfacing for a matter of moments, but he’s mostly just out.”

Levi nodded at that. “Amara’s asking your permission to come over and see him.”

“Permission granted,” Terk replied cautiously, “though it would help to know whether she’s friend or foe first.”

At that, another woman stepped into the visual frame. “Friend, very close friend,” Amara added, “at least I hope so. I haven’t seen Bruce in many years.”

“Right. And why do you want to see him now?” Terk asked cautiously, studying her, trying to get a better handle on her energy.

She whispered, “Because I care. I kept getting all these messages, saying that he was hurt. By way of Taryn, we came to Levi, and, through Levi and Ice, now we’re coming to you.”

“Bruce is here. He is hurt. I’m hoping he’ll make it. It’s pretty touch-and-go at times,” Terk shared, “but you’re welcome to come see him.” He then looked at Taryn. “Are you coming too?”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “I was hoping that maybe you had somebody over there you could send to help us here, or at least maybe run a ground crew.”

“What’s the matter?” Terk asked.

“I got wind of a few children being held hostage by a man here in Texas,” she began in a tone that made him curious. “And these children, I believe, are gifted.”

“He’s holding them hostage? Why?”

“Because he wants to sell them to the highest bidder,” she stated, her tone harsh.

Terk winced. “ Great , that’s exactly what we need, isn’t it?”

“Levi can supply one or two men, and I was hoping that I could get some help from your side.”

“For people like us, always, you know that.”

She smiled. “Just checking that things are still the same as they were before.”

“That will never change,” Terk declared. “And you always know that, if you need something from me, you can contact me, without any reservations. So, if this one is happening in Levi’s corner of the world, I’m grateful. Things are kind of chaotic here at the moment.”

She laughed. “Yet you’ll be very happy in another day.”

He perked up at that. “I sure hope you’re right about that another day thing.”

“I am. We’ll keep in touch, but I do know that we’ll need some assistance.”

“Okay. Do you have any idea who and what’s going on over there?”

“I’ve heard kids are involved.”

“Does the kidnapper have any biological claim over them?”

“He’s the uncle,” she said, then hesitated.

“And it has been confirmed that the children are gifted?” he asked Taryn.

She replied with a question. “Do you remember my talents?”

He dredged up the memories in the back of his head. “Yes. Is that how you found these kids?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Terk knew someone else who could sense psychic abilities in people too, just like Taryn. Might be a good person for this job, if Alex was willing. He’d spent so much time in VA clinics, looking for those he could help, that he might not be interested. Then again he’d mentioned getting burnt out. Mentally Terk sent off a message to Alex, as Taryn filled Terk in further.

“They’re his sister-in-law’s kids. She’s dead. The uncle lost track of the family, when the kids’ father disappeared after their mother’s death—just went crazy and left, abandoning his own children. Because they’re biologically related to the uncle, I highly suspect that the uncle is correct in thinking that they do have abilities. And, of course, he’s just being the usual asshole, trying to get something out of it transactionally.”

“That’s something we’ll put a stop to.”

She hesitated. “If need be, I’m prepared to buy them.”

Terk sucked in his breath. “That would not be a precedent we want to set.”

“Maybe not, but neither can I take a chance on losing them. Let me know whatever you decide, and I’ll keep in touch.”

And, with that, she ended the call, and the screen went blank.