by Jillian Neal
He cupped his hand, summoned a brilliant green shield, and threw it over the door. Dan saw the glow of a sound cast cover the shield. No one outside the room would be able to hear him.
“This was supposed to be a big surprise, but I already told Maddie about it while we were coming back over here. Recently, I purchased us a vacation house on the Mediterranean. It’s near Camargue. It was supposed to be a tenth anniversary present, but no one, not even any of my officers, know that I purchased it. Only the guy I bought it from has any idea, and I bought it under an alias, so he doesn’t even know who I am. He’s almost 95 and a complete curmudgeon. He’s never left the town of Camargue, so I’d say he’s probably not a risk. We’re going to move in there for a few weeks until I can figure out what the hell happened. Obviously, we’re selling our place.”
Maddie blinked back tears of frustration.
“You’re more than welcome to stay with us. It’s a big house right on the water, very private, and mostly furnished. There’s an enhanced express from the little town there, so it’ll be an hour or so trip both ways to come into the city for the trials. Like I said, no one, not even my mom, knows I bought it. I wanted somewhere way out of the way that no one knew about. Fi and Aida could stay at the house with Maddie and the boys and be completely safe while we’re gone. After the last trial, I’ll get you a jet you can go straight home, or to Kauai, or wherever you want.”
Dan was quite certain that he no longer believed in completely safe.
“Let me talk to Fi for a minute, okay?”
“Of course.” Fitz pulled his shield from the door and guided Maddie out of the room.
Fionna stared up at him sweetly and held her hands out for a hug. Guiding her tightly into his embrace, he allowed himself just a moment to really feel her tucked in the safety of his arms.
“I’m okay, Dan. I feel all right. My radar is still a little ragged, but Halia is perfect. I’m starting to be able to feel her energy without even having to concentrate.”
“Fi, I know, but your radar isn’t okay. I can feel it. I just can’t keep letting this happen.”
“Dan, I do not want to go home without you. I would be terrified. We still don’t know if these people were after you, or Fitz, or me. My energy is just a little off. It’ll settle down. I need our family together, and your mom has invited like the entire Realm to our reception. We can’t just call it off. It’s this weekend.”
“Eat please, baby doll. For me.” Dan slid another plate of eggs and croissants her way.
She wiped her hands on a wet wipe and began eating slowly. “I don’t give a damn who my mother has invited. I understand that you’re scared, baby. Please just take Aida on to Kauai. No one but the Haydenshires and my parents know you’re from there, even the press thought we’d gotten married in Waikiki. They never made the connection. You’ll be safe, and I’ll come as soon as this is over.”
“No, we can’t teach Aida that the way we deal with our problems is by separating and running away. A private beach house in the south of France doesn’t sound too terrible.”
“I just don’t understand this.” Dan finally let the terror and the grief flood through his soul.
Fionna hugged him tightly and tried, with her weakening capabilities, to soothe him. “I know, but I also think Fitz could really use your help figuring all of this out.”
“Dammit, I don’t want to figure it out. I want it to stop happening! I ended him. I killed him with my bare hands, so that you wouldn’t have to live through something like this ever again, so that my babies would be safe, so that we can have a real life. It just doesn’t seem like I’m asking for too much.”
“I know.” She whispered softly. He felt her intoxicating warmth and her love move through his chest. His shield tried desperately to block her out. He wanted to be mad, but it just felt too damn good. He couldn’t deny himself the healing salve that soothed his every pain.
Listen to your wife. Follow her lead. She knows what’s best for your little ones, and, to be frank, she knows what’s best for you, Daniel. You’re a better man when you’re with her. Governor Haydenshire’s command seared through his anger and frustration.
Medio Capusan knocked and then entered. Dan backed away and slipped his shirt back on. He moved to the other side of the bed as the Medio checked the baby monitors.
“Aida.” He kissed her cheek.
Her eyes fluttered open hesitantly. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Hi, baby.” He smiled against his will. “Come sit with me in the chair, so the Medio can check on Mommy.”
“Mrs. Vindico, your blood pressure is stable, but your rhythms are still a little jagged. The fetus appears to have suffered nothing from the episode, so you are free to go, but I’m going to write you a prescription for something to help you relax. Dad she’s going to need lots of rest over the next few days and to be casted every few hours until her radar rhythms sooth on their own. I don’t recommend her flying until those have stabilized.”
“Thank you,” Fionna was visibly relieved.
The Medio offered Dan a knowing grin. “A little of the medicine you administered a few hours before you arrived here would ensure that there was a stabilizing energy available for several hours.”
Fionna giggled and blushed violently, as she nodded her understanding. Dan found himself chuckling despite the desperation permeating his soul.
Medio Capusan waved her good-bye, and Dan moved to the bed. “You sure you’re ready to leave?”
“I’ll be fine. I promise. Looking forward to the medicine that will help me calm down. The bad stuff has already happened. I wish my body would stop thinking it’s incoming.”
“And you want to do this seaside thing?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Fine.” He acquiesced. “But you are relaxing for the next day or two, just sleeping, or laying out, or something that requires no effort.” Dan laid out his orders.
“Or maybe just a little effort.” Fionna attempted to flirt in effort to show Dan that she’d made a full recovery. But he saw the weary exhaustion in her swollen eyes, and her normally vibrant purple Receiver’s rhythms would crackle often and tense with anxiety.
“Yeah, well, I’ll take care of that, too.” Dan refused to admit to her that he knew she wasn’t as quite as healthy as she wanted to pretend.
The Best Laid Plans and Coffee
As all of the logistical planning for the move had to be done and executed carefully to make certain that no one knew where the Fitzroys and the Vindicos were heading. Everyone ended up at Fitz’s mother’s home in Nanterre, a few miles outside of Paris.
Taking a page from Rainer and Emily’s playbook, Dan called and booked a suite at the Ritz Paris. He returned to Fitzroy’s home while Fitz stayed with Fionna, Maddie, and the kids.
After packing all of their things as quickly as he could, Dan lugged their suitcases into the waiting cab. He halted the cab nearly a mile before the Ritz and slowly walked along the sidewalks. He only needed a few people to recognize him.
Turning the corner just before the hotel, he saw them. Someone from the hotel had alerted the press that he’d made a reservation.
“Are you planning on moving to Paris? Are you and Fionna separating for her safety? Did she kick you out? What about the baby? Can you tell us what happened last night?” The questions rang out quickly. Dan ignored each and every one.
He paced silently to the hotel check-in desk, acquired the key cards, and disappeared up the elevator. He entered the suite, collapsed in a chair, summoned, and changed one of the complimentary American papers he’d picked up on his journey. He kept close watch out of the windows of the suite as the press began to dissipate.
“Emily Lawson (Haydenshire) named Senior Receiver for the Arlington Angels.” was the headline.
Not certain that today was the day for Fionna to see that, Dan left the paper in the suite and carried the luggage back down the elevators once the reporters had gone. He met another cab ne
ar the back kitchen entrance of the hotel and was driven back to his family.
Fitz moved next. He made quite a show of packing numerous suitcases and then driving his car around town until it was recognized. He then drove to the apartment complex owned by the French Parliament and unloaded.
Fionna and Aida joined Dan in a third cab a couple of hours later and were driven to the train station.
Pulling on a baseball cap and his darkest sunglasses, Dan moved through the station warily. Fionna and Aida entered through another door and headed away from Dan. He located a ticket-teller wearing thick glasses, meaning she was not Gifted, so he stepped up and purchased three tickets on the enhanced express to Camargue.
Fionna donned one of Maddie’s intricate pashminas covering her hair and good portion of her face. She’d worn her sunglasses along with ragged jeans and an old t-shirt, certainly not something Fionna Styler would ever have worn out of the house.
Aida was sporting one of Alex’s baseball caps with her hair in a bun underneath it along with one of Alfred’s button up shirts. Dan hardly recognized her. He set Fionna and Aida’s tickets on an empty counter and walked away.
An hour later, Dan breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped off of the train and into the car he’d rented, using one of his aliases. Following Fitz’s directions, Dan located the house, which he had to admit was rather well hidden.
“Wow! This is beautiful!” Fionna took in the expansive house and the sandy seashore that was completely unpopulated.
“Not bad, right?” Fitz still felt terrible about what had happened.
“Very nice.” Dan gave him a genuine smile. They entered the home and Dan felt the relaxation his weary body pled for begin to seep into his veins.
Fionna rushed to the large deck along the back of the house taking in the teal blue Mediterranean waters and breathing in the salty air like perhaps it would carry her home.
Aida stuck close to Dan as Fitz showed them around the house. There was a large sitting room and a reading nook, which Aida eyed excitedly. There was a simple kitchen and master bedroom on the main floor and four additional bedrooms on the upper level.
Two of the bedrooms had sliding glass doors that led to another deck that overlooked the ocean. They contained large queen-sized beds.
There was a room with bunks for the boys and another smaller room with a double bed and a purple coverlet that had Aida beaming.
Fionna joined them upstairs as did the boys who were already asking if they could go swimming.
“Sorry, boys. No one is going out to the beach until Uncle Dan and I figure out what’s going on.” Fitz sounded morose, and Dan was surprised when even Alex didn’t argue.
“Why don’t Aida and I make some butter cookies for later this evening, and you and Dan go rest.” Maddie urged Fionna.
“I think that sounds like a great idea.” Dan was unwilling to negotiate.
“All right, fine.” Fionna sighed.
Maddie did an outstanding job of distracting Aida and the boys as Dan led Fionna up the stairs.
“Are you going to keep being mad at yourself the whole time we’re here?” Her tone held no judgment, but it rang with disappointment.
“I’m sorry.” Dan sighed.
“Will you hold me? You’re starting to shut me out again.” Her voice broke and tears pricked her eyes.
“I’m not, Fi. I swear. I’m just trying to figure out how this happened.”
“Fitz said that when he put out the arrest warrants, they all panicked.”
“I know that, baby doll, but what I want to know is how did they find out the warrants had been issued? Only Iodex officers should have known that. Fitz has a leak, and I’m just not certain he’s willing to admit that yet.”
“Okay, he has a leak, but he didn’t tell any of his officers that he bought this amazing house. Why don’t we sort of relax and enjoy just being together where no one knows where we are? Please.”
“Yeah, okay.” He had to get it together. She and Aida weren’t going to really relax until he did.
Trying to remember everything Medio Capusan had instructed, he forced a smile. “How much talking would I have to do to get you to take a nap in the buff with me?”
She grinned at his attempt at flirting. “Well, does that door have a lock?”
Dan checked it and gave her a nod.
“Then you probably wouldn’t have to talk too much.” She granted him one of his smiles. The effect eased the terror that had permeated his soul.
“But I am looking forward to hearing the talking part.” She threw the pillows off of the bed, eased the sheets and quilts down, and moved towards him.
He wrapped his arms around her squeezing and plying her backside. “I want to hold you naked in my arms, baby, with nothing between us. I want to wrap you up in my shield. I want to feel you, all of you, and I want to feel Halia. I need to know you’re both safe in my arms.”
With a heavy nod, she dispensed with the jeans and t-shirt. He watched the panties slid down her legs and her bra slip as it was relieved of the weight of her breasts.
He undressed and guided her into the soft, cool sheets. She curled up on his bare chest.
Just as he’d begun running his hands over her body, caressing and adoring his wife, Dan’s cell rang. “Dammit.”
“Who is it? Didn’t you already talk to your Dad?”
“Yeah and your Dad and Gretta twice. It’s Portwood.” He answered immediately. “Hey, you okay?”
“I called to ask you that, man.” Portwood chuckled.
“Oh.” Dan supposed that was fair. “We’re all right. Fi’s radar is still a little off. She’s just lying down for a nap.” He hinted that he’d like to join her.
“Is Aida all right?”
“For now. I’m sure there will be lots of questions in the next few days.”
“Tell Fi we’re thinking of her, and little Aida, too.” Portwood stalled.
“Did you want to ask me something?” Dan fished around in his mind until he landed on Portwood asking if he could call if he had any work related questions.
“That obvious?”
Chuckling, Dan was glad they were getting somewhere.
“Nah, just a guess.” He lied.
“Sure you don’t mind? I’ll be quick.”
“It’s fine. Go ahead.”
“We traced some money that’s been bounced around from one of the Interfeci accounts that ended up in Belgium. Something about it bugs me. It’s not like Nic.”
“Okay.” Dan tried to think back over all of Wretchkinside’s moneymaking ways.
“He took marked money, I mean hot, straight from a bank job, to purchase those guns from the supplier that Pravus had in Columbia. Why wouldn’t he clean it? He was so meticulous about everything.”
Dan drew a deep breath. It seemed his past would forever haunt him.
“You’re right, and my guess is that he did that because he was trying to take the gun running ring down. He wanted them to be caught with the marked bills. He always had to have the last word, and he loved to stick it to someone that was making money off of him.
“The guns we confiscated in Vegas were most of his storehouse, so he was probably paying top dollar to get the ones up from Columbia. That would have irritated him.”
“Right!” Portwood gasped. “Why didn’t I think of that? He thought the gunrunners would end up with the bills!”
“It’s fine. You’ve been doing this for a few weeks. I did it for years.”
“I know, and thank you. You just answered several questions. Enjoy wherever you are, and tell Fionna I hope she’s feeling better.”
“What was that all about?” Fionna yawned deeply. The medicine had muted her anxious radar rhythms and her body was relaxing before his eyes.
Smiling at her, Dan reformed his body around hers and cradled her back to his chest.
“They’re still dealing with all of the money they took in from the Interfeci. Portwood just doesn’t
trust his own gut enough yet. He knew everything I just told him. He just wanted to hear me say it. He’ll simmer down. He needs to get a few cases under his belt, and then he’ll trust himself more.” Dan found himself yawning as well.
“Aida still hasn’t said anything about what happened last night other than that it was scary.” Her voice was sluggish now, and she couldn’t hold her eyes open without great effort.
Dan kissed the top of her head. “Governor Haydenshire said we have to let her deal with it at her own pace.”
“He’s right.” She agreed. “I just wish I knew what was going on in her little head.”
“Our sweet little girl usually gives very detailed descriptions of what she’s thinking about. I’m certain, when she’s ready, she’ll lay it all out there for us. But you my beautiful bride, and my tiny baby girl, need to get some sleep.”
“Do you want to feel her?”
“I’m going to while you sleep. Just relax, baby. I’m right here.” He somehow needed to know that Halia was all right, that she was strong and vital, and that she still recognized his rhythms.
The fight in Fionna’s body gave out, and she closed her eyes.
Dan slid his hands to her abdomen and closed his own. He had it a moment later. His heart raced as he felt his baby girl’s rapid pulses. It shifted again, and Dan felt his breath pick up pace.
A sleepy smile spread across Fionna’s face though her eyes remained closed. “Do you feel that? She feels you.”
Dan nodded but didn’t speak. He was afraid he’d affect the connection.
“I can’t wait to hold her.” He confessed in a pleading whisper. Restless murmurs in the back of his mind kept him frantic that they would lose her too, that he’d never get the chance to have her in his arms.
Fionna was asleep before she could formulate a response.
What felt like only a few moments later, Dan awoke suddenly.
“No!” Fionna shook in her sleep. “No, stop!” Her entire body attempted to push something away.
“Fi.” Dan tried not to awaken her too abruptly.
“Dan! Make them stop!” Terror shot through her rhythms as her body tried to awaken.