The Quelling Tide (The Gifted Realm Book 7)

by Jillian Neal

  Easing his hands back to her lower abdomen, Dan closed his eyes in concentration. His heart flew as he felt Halia’s rhythms, strong and contented, as Fionna slept soundly. He pushed his loving protective bands through to her.

  Suddenly, something shifted. Her energy spun differently. She could feel him.

  Tears sprang to his eyes. His breath panted as he understood what he was feeling. “Hey there, baby girl.” He whispered. She could feel his energy from inside Fionna and coming through her womb from his hands, and she was happy. “We love you so much, sweetheart. I promise I will always keep you safe.” He lay there locked on to his tiny baby girl until he fell into a deep sleep.

  Glass Houses

  Gasping for breath, Dan wiped the sweat pouring from his brow.

  “Daddy!” Aida pled in terror.

  “Fi!” He couldn’t understand what was happening. His brain fought the images of Fionna screaming convulsively on the operating table. The metallic scent of blood hung in the air. But he heard Aida crying and trying to awaken him.

  “Dan!” Fionna grasped his shoulders effectively shaking him from his hellish nightmare. His heart thundered out of rhythm.

  “Daddy, I heard something in my room and Sophie heard it too!” Aida wailed.

  Blinking rapidly, he tried to understand where he was.

  “Dan, I heard something too!”

  “Okay.” He managed to stand thankful that he’d pulled on boxers. “Get in bed with Mommy, baby. I’ll make sure everything’s okay.”

  He discreetly handed Fionna one of his t-shirts, which she slipped into as Aida crawled into bed beside her and curled up in her waiting arms.

  Easing his pistol from the suitcase, Dan slid out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him before raising it and turning on the lights in the hall. Years of training and instinct kicked in as he methodically studied the apartment.

  He cleared the hall and the bathroom before moving into the room where Aida was sleeping. He flipped on the light. Shattered glass was on the floor. His heart hammered as he backed along the wall to the broken pane in the window. There was no one on the street and all of the streetlights were glowing brightly. Half of a broken brick lay at the foot of his daughter’s bed.

  He methodically swept the rest of the apartment. No one was there. The doors were all bolted tightly. It was four in the morning. Debating what to do next, Dan checked and rechecked every room and every window. Nothing was awry save the window in Aida’s bedroom. He unlocked it and eased it upwards. The bushes outside were crushed. Someone had been outside recently.

  Harrowing guilt took him over as he recalled closing her bedroom door and turning on the bathroom fan to block out noise the evening before. He closed the window and pushed a blanket around the casing before returning to Fionna and Aida.

  They were huddled together. Aida was in Fionna’s soothing cast and clinging to her fiercely.

  “Please don’t make me go back to my bed.”

  “No, baby. Of course not.” Dan climbed back in bed with them. “You stay right here with me and Mommy.”

  “Thank you.” She effectively shattered his heart. “Her window is broken. I’ll stay up. You go back to sleep. Fitz will be up in an hour or so. I’ll call him then.”

  Fionna was on the verge of tears. She cradled Aida tenderly to her chest and ran her fingers through her long, thin, brown hair.

  “I want Daddy to hold me please.” Aida begged but was clearly afraid she was going to hurt Fionna’s feelings.

  Smiling at her with loving adoration, Fionna nodded. “I like it when Daddy holds me if I’m scared, too.”

  Aida crawled into Dan’s lap but kept one hand in Fionna’s. Dan pushed his shield out over all of his girls. He pulled the covers around them. She was asleep moments later with both Fi and Dan watching over her obsessively.

  “Honestly, I have several ideas as to what might’ve happened. None of them great.” Fitz admitted as he and Dan moved around the outside of the apartment building looking for any sign as to whom might’ve shattered the window. He pointed to the crushed shrub and shook his head.

  “Let me guess,” Dan huffed. “Some die hard Angels fan took it way too far last night, and wants to let me know what they think about Fionna not playing next season.”

  Fitz offered him a sorrowful nod as he held up a crumpled piece of magazine paper. A page out of an old Angels program. “I’m thinking this was supposed to be around the brick. The only thing with this is that even though it got out that you were bringing the girls here,” he eased as Dan continued to lambast himself for discussing their trip and their children in public. “No one knew where you were staying. I didn’t reserve the apartment in your name. Old habit I guess, but even if I had the only people that know you’re here, would be people that work for the Senate. On the other hand, if you have friends who are Angels fans and you know Fionna Styler is going to be here, you’d talk. People are stupid. None the less, I can’t have my best friend’s family waking up in the middle of the night because people are throwing shit through the window.”

  “Aida’s still terrified. She actually thought we were going to send her back to bed.” Dan still felt the heartbreak of his baby girl begging to be allowed to stay in her mother’s arms.

  Slapping him on the back, Fitz chuckled. “She’ll be all right, Dan. You, however, are a hopeless case. She’s got you wrapped so tight you’ll never be able to straighten yourself out, and you’ve got another one on the way.”

  “I don’t want to be straightened out. I like it right where I am.”

  Shaking his head, Fitz grinned. “I know, and I’m really happy for you, but let’s go get you packed. Maddie won’t be happy until she has you all at our house anyway.”

  “Are you sure?” Dan quizzed. “I could get a hotel room or maybe we should go home. What if this gets worse?”

  “You’re not going home. The boys will double up. Aida can have Alfred’s room, and you and Fionna can have the guestroom. It’s fine.”

  As Fitzroy had purchased his home under an alias and very few people actually knew where he lived, Dan knew Fionna and Aida would be safe there, so he agreed.

  “Besides we need to get going. Mad’s already alerted every lingerie house in Paris that she’s bringing Fionna shopping today, so by the time they’re finished you won’t have money for a hotel room or an earlier flight.”

  Dan grinned. Fionna would be absolutely thrilled to spend her birthday shopping for Parisian lingerie.

  “There are much worse things she could spend it all on besides lingerie.”

  “Well said.” Fitz laughed.

  “Fi will be thrilled. I just have to convince my baby girl to hang out with me and the boys all day.”

  “She seems pretty taken with you Daddy-o. I thought I was going to have to pry her out of your arms with a crow bar when I got here, so I’d say you’ve definitely gotten yourself a daddy’s girl. We’ll take the kids out to the boys’ favorite children’s park.” Extremely pleased with Fitz’s assessment, Dan nodded his agreement.

  An hour later, Dan and Fionna were settling Aida in Alfred’s room. She seemed very pleased that she wouldn’t have to sleep in the apartment anymore, but she stuck close to Dan for most of the morning.

  “I wasn’t sick this morning. That’s something.” Fionna allowed.

  “I think the time difference threw you off, and then you’d eaten before you are normally up being sick.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking that too, because I feel better as soon as you make me my tea and I eat a little something.”

  She knelt down in front of Aida. “All right, my sweet girl, you have fun with Daddy today, and tell him to take lots of pictures of you so I can see when I get back.”

  “What are you and Mrs. Fitzroy going to do?”

  “We’re going shopping.”

  “I like to go shopping. Daddy and I could come with you.”

  “You and Daddy are going to a super fun park, and
I’ll be back later this afternoon. You can tell me all about your day.”

  “What if someone throws another hard thing?” Tears formed on her on eyelashes.

  Dan felt his heart stutter. “Baby, remember, Mr. Fitzroy and I are pretty sure that was an accident.” He gazed into the innocent, tear-filled eyes of his precious little girl and lied to her. It made him sick.

  Alex and Alfred finally convinced Aida to play a game in Alex’s room as Fionna was getting ready to leave.

  “Fi, baby, please, for me, be careful!” Dan was terrified some idiot out there was going to try and take out his disappointment that the Angels would be getting a new Receiver on her.

  “Dan, I’ll be fine. We’ll be in public the entire time, and I’ll text you all day so you know I’m okay.”

  “Just watch everyone around you. If you see or more importantly if you feel anything strange at all, leave wherever you are and call me.”

  “I promise, and I really, really want to do this. It means so much to me that Maddie’s taking me under her wing. There’s so much I want to ask her about. Please.”

  All of his mental debate about forbidding her to go melted in the light of her pleading gaze. Smiling at her tenderly, Dan nodded. “I know, baby. Just please be careful.”

  “I promise.” She brushed a kiss across his lips. That was all it took to catch the very essence of her energy.

  “Come here to me, Mrs. Vindico.” He pulled her back and engaged her in a deeper far more intense kiss. She responded heatedly and soon they were consuming one another.

  Fitzroy cleared his throat loudly, and Dan pulled away gasping for breath.

  Aida giggled as the boys pretended to gag loudly. “They do that a lot.” She informed everyone.

  “Do they?” Fitz egged her on.

  “Yes!”

  “That’s so gross, Uncle Dan!” Alex stuck his finger in his open mouth and made another gagging noise.

  “Talk to me in a few years, kid.”

  “We’ll be back around four, so you two can get ready to head to the tower.” Maddie strategized. “Have a good time, and Alex mind your father and your Uncle Dan.”

  “Oui, oui maman.” Alex rolled his eyes.

  Dan buckled Aida into Fitzroy’s car between Alfred and Alex. As they were driven to the northern most end of Paris, the boys began regaling Aida with everything she would see at the park.

  “There’s a huge playground, and lions, and monkeys and sometimes there’s a puppet show.” Alfred explained sweetly.

  “Yeah, and you have to be careful because lions eat girls!” Alex sneered.

  “Alex!” Fitzroy roared.

  “My Daddy won’t let a lion eat me.” Aida declared.

  “Yeah, definitely Daddy’s girl.” Fitz chuckled quietly.

  “Can we ride the train please, Papa?” Alfred begged.

  “A train like in Anne, Daddy?” Aida sounded thrilled.

  “Kind of.”

  “Sure.” Fitz turned to drive to the train entrance at Pointe Maillot. Soon Dan was holding Aida’s hand and guiding her onto a miniature train. He squeezed into a seat and felt badly as she tried to wedge herself beside him.

  “I’ve never ridden a train before.”

  Dan was pleased that she didn’t seem frightened. She was excited though she kept his hand tightly in her grasp.

  The train lurched and her entire little body tensed, but as it pulled away from the station she relaxed and smiled. Dan pointed out landmarks as they rode.

  When his cell phone chirped, he had to stand to pull it from his pocket but he reseated himself quickly.

  Just checking in... was the text from Fionna. It also contained a selfie taken in a lingerie store dressing room mirror. She was wearing a loose, sheer, grey nightie that scalloped up over the tiniest G-string Dan had ever seen. Both of her lips were visible to his prying eyes. There was delicate cream lace that formed a delicious curve over her nipples, but they were on full display in the see-through nightie.

  He couldn’t seem to recapture his breath or calm his hammering heart. He understood that the loose fabric that currently hung off of her slender waist would one day fall around her baby bump.

  The G-string had tie sides with satin ribbons that hung down her thighs begging to be untied.

  “Buy that now!” was his reply.

  “We’re here!” Alex’s announcement shook Dan from his erotic fantasies and reminded him that he was supposed to be giving all of his attention to his little girl and his godsons.

  Over the next hour, Dan had a ball watching Aida experience so many things she’d never seen before. He took pictures of her riding the ponies, and of her eyes goggling over lions, monkeys, and bears.

  She drove him around a track in a car as he attempted to help her follow the marked road signs written in French. That went well until Alex continued to bump into her car with his.

  They rode water rides, the carousel, and other carnival style rides much to her delight.

  As Dan carried her on his shoulders to find some lunch, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Deciding to wait until Aida wasn’t directly above him to read the text, he listened to her squeal in delight as he hoisted her to the ground.

  Fitz guided everyone into one of the restaurants on the property. As they found a table, Dan pulled his cell from his pocket.

  “What kinds of things do you like to eat for lunch, sweetheart?” Fitz asked Aida kindly.

  “When I lived in the orphanage, I ate the grey stew everyday, and so I don’t think I like stew anymore.”

  Fitz and Dan shared a heartbroken expression as she went on. “But now I like it very much when Mommy makes me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with strawberry jelly that makes my tummy smile, and I eat carrot sticks with,” her brow furrowed, “What do I put the carrot sticks in?”

  “Ranch dressing.” Dan winked at her. She beamed up at him sweetly. “With that and sometimes she makes me cucumbers that I hadn’t ever had before I came to live with Mommy and Daddy, but I like them very much. And I get to have a few potato chips, and a glass of milk. And if I want more milk, then Daddy says sure baby girl and he pours me more. And when you live in the orphanage, you can only have one of everything because someone else might need the others.”

  Shaking his head, Fitz clutched his chest. “Okay, she has to stop talking now. I can’t cry in front of my boys.”

  “Yeah,” Dan nodded his understanding. “Did I tell you that Fi and I and the girls are going to be the poster family for the Axillary International Adoptions in the Realm program?”

  “Yeah, well, if they need money, call me. If they have two more of her, I’ll take them too.”

  As Fitz explained a few of the available dishes to Aida, Dan opened the text from Fionna. He had to stifle the groan that threatened to thunder from his chest.

  The text read, “Thought this was cute.” It contained a picture of Fionna once again in a dressing room mirror. She was wearing a black see-through nightie with a ruffled bottom that didn’t cover her backside. It tied deliciously between her tremendous tits with a hot pink bow. But what had Dan’s eyes goggling and him panting for breath, were the slits in the fabric over both of her nipples exposing all of the dark cherry mounds. There was a second shot of her from behind. The back of the flyaway nightie ruffled over her backside and she’d completed the ensemble with a black thong that had a matching hot pink bow at the top of her lush cheeks.

  “Baby, you are driving me wild...” he responded immediately.

  Something to Lose

  After lunch, Fitz and Dan watched the kids climb all over a massive playground. Suddenly a man Dan recognized sauntered over to the bench where they were seated.

  “Le Capitaine Fitzroy comment allez-vous, monsieur.”

  “Malden, I’m doing well. How are you?” Fitz offered the man his hand. “You remember Dan Vindico, don’t you? He’s the former Chief of Iodex in America. You’ve met him several times.”

  Sw
itching to English with a great deal of ease, the man nodded. “Officer Vindico, so nice to see you again. I did hear that you recently married zee Fionna Styler of the Arlington Angels, and I used to jus admire your casts.” He joked.

  Dan had never liked Malden. He’d worked with him a few years before when he helped Fitzroy slowly and methodically dismantle the hub of the Interfeci that had taken over Paris. He was pompous and irritating. They’d worked together on a few missions. He shook the man’s hand, but kept one eye trained on Aida as she slid down a long tube slide.

  “Yeah, I definitely married way out of my league.”

  “Daddy, watch me!” Aida attempted to cross the monkey bars, but she got stuck two rungs in and the terror on her face as she looked to the ground had Dan bolting towards her.

  “It’s all right, baby. I’ve got you.” He wrapped his massive hands around her waist and lowered her gently to the ground.

  “It was too much higher from up there.”

  “I know, baby. It’s okay.”

  She hugged him tightly. A man pedaling an ice cream cart pulled up in front of the playground. Smiling, Dan lifted Aida back into his arms not certain why he so desperately wanted to hold her. “Want to get a popsicle?”

  She nodded excitedly. “I haven’t had dinner yet though.”

  “I think since its a special Aida-Daddy day that it’s okay.”

  With her eyes sparkling, she picked out a strawberry fruit pop. Dan ordered a chocolate one for himself.

  They headed back to the bench. Aida crawled up in his lap as she unwrapped her popsicle.

  “Who’s dis?” Malden gave Aida a kind smile.

  She cringed, and Dan’s heart flew. His muscles tensed fiercely as he wrapped her up tightly in his arms.

  “This is my little girl.” He supplied no more information.

  “I didn’t know you had children?”

  “Well, I do.” Dan glared at Malden.

  “Vell it was so nice to see you, Capitain Fitzroy. I’ll see you at work Monday, I suppose.”

  “Yeah, I won’t be in much next week since we have company, but I expect you all to get all of that paperwork done while I’m gone.” Fitz sounded mildly threatening.