by Char Webster
He had just settled himself into the ATV when the man in the driver’s seat turned to him and said, “How did Taylor make that energy shield? He doesn’t have that gift. It’s almost like he got a power jolt. And Jason doesn’t have that kind of power, either, to stop someone falling.”
Brooks gaped at him. He had been too wrapped up in the moment to realize it. Someone was enhancing their gifts. It had to have been the young woman. She had looked familiar to him, and she looked to be in her early twenties.
He couldn’t believe it. After all of these years, he had found her. He had found the kid that he had been looking for, and he had to leave her for now. He would be back for her.
Brooks took off down the trail and out of the park.
~*~*~
Nick was just about to land the final punch to knock out the guy he was fighting with when he noticed Kate get grabbed from behind. He lost focus and was punched hard in the side of his head. It was enough to make him slightly dizzy and not able to block the next punch that was sure to knock him out. He wouldn’t be able to save Kate.
Jason came out of nowhere and blocked the punch while throwing one of his own. The guy went down and Jason yelled, “Oh yeah!”
Jason hadn’t seen that the last man held Kate by the hair with a knife to her throat. Nick grabbed his arm and turned him toward Kate.
They both approached slowly, but the man screamed, “Stop. Don’t come any closer. I’ll kill her.” He stopped, and Jason said, “Calm down, buddy. All your friends left you. You’re on your own. Let the girl go, and you can walk away.”
“Where are the kids? Get me the kids.”
Nick answered him, trying to shake away the dizziness. “They’re long gone. It’s done. You have no chance. Let Kate go.”
Kate was trying to get the knife out of her pocket slowly so the man wouldn’t notice. She was glad Nick and Jason were distracting him. This man was oozing desperation, and that was never a good thing.
He loosened his hold on her slightly, and she thought that he was going to let her go, but he started screaming that he needed to get the kids for Brooks and that he wasn’t leaving without them.
Kate started to infuse him with calming emotions to see if she could get him to let her go. She tried talking to him calmly. “You don’t need to take children from their families. They’re not pawns, they are children. It’s obvious that you are very loyal to your boss, and he should reward you for that, not punish you. You should be treated better. Now is your chance to walk away and start over. You don’t need to work for a man like that. Just go off on your own and start over.”
Kate thought that she was getting through to him when he pushed her away from him and onto the ground. His mood immediately changed back to desperate when Kate lost contact with him. He turned to look at her with disgust and raised the knife to throw at her. She stared in horror as the knife was just about to leave his hand when Ryan shot the guy and he fell back, motionless.
Kate fell back with relief and exhaustion over the entire situation. Nick scrambled over to Kate and pulled her into his arms. They both held on to each other tightly.
Jason ran to Ryan. “Dude! You are the man!” Jason told Ryan, who had also crumpled back down to the ground.
“Just remember who saved all your asses. The guy with a freakin’ arrow through his shoulder,” Ryan told him with a laugh that hurt like hell.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nick looked around, and everyone was either down on the ground and injured or worse. Some had fled with Brooks. The coward, Nick thought. He pulled Kate up and hugged her to him again. “We did it.” Nick told her, smoothing her hair. “We got the kids back, and we’re safe.”
“You call getting shot with an arrow safe?” Ryan complained with a groan as he tried to move.
“Well, relatively safe and only mildly injured.” Nick looked around at the men who worked for Brooks, who didn’t fare as well. “Let’s get out of here. The park will be opening soon.”
Nick pulled out his cell phone and called the Association. After a few rings and a click, a voice answered. Nick quickly gave his name and number and told them that he needed a cleanup crew at the park and that a few needed medical assistance.
Jason helped Ryan up and promised that he would get his computer later that was still up in the tree.
The four of them stumbled back through the trail and decided to commandeer the ATV that was left unattended. It was better than the walk back to the vehicles with Ryan injured and everyone else a little beat up.
Robert told them that he and the kids would meet them at the Riverton Yacht Club.
Jason volunteered to take Ryan to an Association doctor to patch him up, and they would meet at Kate’s later. Kate and Nick rushed to the Yacht Club to get the kids.
~*~*~
Ray walked out of the park and pulled out his phone. He had watched the whole thing go down and was not surprised at the outcome. Brooks was an idiot, and it was finally catching up with him. He was evil and sadistic, but still an idiot. The phone only rang once.
Louise picked up right away. “What’s going on, Ray?”
“Louise, my dear, I have some news for you,” Ray crooned. “I found the Key.”
“Are you sure? We thought so before, but it turned out to be nothing,” Louise told him.
“I’m positive. It happens to be the child that your husband had been looking for all those years.”
She sighed. “Does he have the Key?”
“No, he left here with his tail between his legs. He royally screwed this one up. His stupidity and greed finally caught up with him. He didn’t get the kids or the Key. I don’t think he knows that she’s the Key. Brooks almost had her killed, but she was able to save herself and her man.”
“That would have been a serious mess. Do you know where she is?”
“Yes, I know exactly where she lives. She’s not going anywhere.”
“Good. Leave her be for now until we get all the other pieces together. Gather up the kids we talked about from our other homes, and then we’ll go after the others we need,” she told him. “Meet me at the location we discussed.”
“What about these kids Brooks wanted?” Ray asked her.
“Leave them be for now. We know where they are.”
Louise hung up, and Ray smiled slyly, already planning his next steps.
~*~*~
Kate jumped out of the SUV and started running before it was even fully stopped. The kids were running toward her as well. They all collided, hugging and clinging together, and were all crying, laughing, and talking at once.
Nick and Robert watched the reunion and smiled. Kate pulled both of the guys into their group hug. Robert rolled his eyes but hugged them back. Nick joined in enthusiastically.
~*~*~
When Kate got the kids home, they all immediately showered, changed, and headed for naps. No one had slept very well during the last few days, and everyone was coming down from an adrenaline rush. She hated for them to sleep in their own rooms, and she kept checking on them the whole time. It was going to take her a long time to get over the fear of losing them. She wasn’t going to let any of them out of her sight for very long.
Jason had taken Ryan to get patched up, and Nick and Robert went back to Nick’s house, which was just down the road from hers. She would have to check it out. It was kind of nice knowing he was so close in case something else happened.
All the guys promised to stop by that evening so that they could all spend some stress-free time together. That was what they said, but Kate knew that they wanted to get the details about the kidnapping. Only a few of the men were caught today, and the ones in charge had escaped, so the guys wanted to be prepared in case they come back. She hoped that they wouldn’t try anything again. Kate wanted the kids to have a safe, happy life, and not have to constantly watch out for it to happen again.
She checked on the kids once more and settled down on the chair in her bedroom to wai
t for them to wake up.
~*~*~
Nick handed Robert a beer, and they both sat on Nick’s back deck.
Neither of them said a word for a few minutes until finally Nick broke the silence. He looked directly over at Robert and said with sincerity, “Thanks for rescuing the kids today and for going after Kate and everything. I couldn’t have done any of it without you guys.”
“You have to know I would do anything for you, Nick,” Robert told him, shifting in his seat so he was facing Nick. “I’m closer to you than I am my own brother. Hell, I love you more than anyone. I’ve hated these last couple of years not talking to you. I came back to the area to try to fix things with you.”
“What the hell was all that at the carnival then?” Nick asked.
“I followed you there but lost sight of you. I was wandering around trying to figure out where you went, when I saw Sam with her husband and baby. You know how I get when I lose my temper.”
Nick laughed. “Yeah, you act like an ass.”
“Whatever. I also saw you watching Kate, and I wanted to see what was up with that,” Robert continued. “Listen, I know you probably heard all kinds of stories about me since I took off, but I’m still the same guy. I’m still your best friend.”
Nick hesitated but said, “I’ve really missed you, but the stuff you’ve done . . .”
Robert laughed but without humor. “All I’ve done is work a bunch of private security jobs all over the country. The Association doesn’t like anyone who breaks their rules, and I basically threw them back in their faces.”
“You didn’t work against the Association?” Nick asked, really needing to know that answer.
“Not in the sense you are referring to. I don’t like them, and I won’t work for them anymore, Nick.” He paused. “They threw me in jail for falling in love with a girl. Think about that. The only thing I did wrong was love the wrong girl.”
Robert got up and leaned against the railing, looking out at the backyard. “I was brokenhearted and in jail, and my best friend deserted me.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve tried to help you more than I did.” Nick came up next to him. All his life, he had been taught that the Association rules were absolute and never to go against them. Now he was beginning to wonder if he had been wrong all along.
Robert turned to look at Nick. “You know that can happen to you.”
Nick just looked at him but didn’t answer.
“I know you’re in love with Kate,” Robert confessed. “It’s obvious to all of us. If the Association finds out, it could get really bad. It could get even worse if they find out that Kate is Jim and Amanda’s lost child. They’ll lock her up if they find out.”
Nick hung his head and rubbed the back of his neck. He had an incredibly guilty look on his face.
“Oh crap, you told them, didn’t you?” Robert asked, grabbing his friend’s shoulder. “We need to protect her.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to her,” Nick promised.
Robert smiled. “I know you won’t. You love her,” Robert told him. “Just in case you didn’t know, she loves you, too.”
Nick got a huge grin on his face. “Thanks, man, and just so you know, I love you, too. You and the kids are the only family I have left.”
Nick pulled Robert in for a man-hug, and the two guys settled back onto their chairs on the deck and chatted about the last few years they had been apart.
~*~*~
A few hours later, everyone was in Kate’s family room to share stories of what had happened and to assure each other that they were all okay and safe. Kate wouldn’t put Maddy down and had the little girl sitting on her lap. She also wanted to keep Alex and Zach as close as possible and insisted both kids sit on each side of her. They didn’t complained at all about it. Zach was even leaning against Kate.
Ryan was patched up and had his arm in a sling. He was already starting to complain about his shoulder itching and not being able to work on his computer equipment with only one arm.
“Can I sign your sling?” Zach asked Ryan.
“Dude, it’s not a cast,” Jason told him.
Jason then began bragging about how he had saved the day and Ryan’s life with freezing his fall in midair. “That was just the coolest thing ever!” he said very enthusiastically. That caused Ryan to remind him that he took out two of the guys with only one arm.
“You wouldn’t be here bragging if it weren’t for me,” Ryan told him.
“True, but what I did was totally cool—you have to admit it,” Jason told him. Ryan cut him off before he could brag more.
“The coolest thing was Nick stopping that bullet. He jumped in front of Kate to take the bullet for her and then somehow stopped the bullet in midair right before it hit his chest. Now that, Jay, is cool,” Ryan added.
Robert looked over at Nick, “What happened?”
Nick smiled at Kate and answered Robert, “Kate was able to enhance my ability to control and direct energy. I’m not sure how, but I was able to create a sort of shield against the bullet.”
“Yeah, that is pretty cool,” Robert told them. “Damn, I missed all of the fun.”
Robert and Nick both sported black eyes, and Robert had a fat lip and a broken nose. Jason asked him, “What happened to you, Rob? Who kicked your butt?”
“No one kicked my butt; I paused when I heard Ryan fall out of the tree and the guy snuck me. I got him in the end, and I saved the kids,” Robert bragged.
“Uncle Rob, we saved ourselves,” Zach told him. “Alex zapped the guy, and I sent him over the edge of the boat into the water.”
Jason got up and fist-bumped with Zach. “All right little man!”
“Hey! I zapped the guy!” Alex added indignantly. Jason went over to Alex and picked her up, turning her upside down. She giggled at the attention, and Jason said, “Do you need a fist bump, too?” She continued to giggle when he set her down and fist-bumped with her, too.
“My turn!” Maddy called out, to him waving her arms. She wanted to be turned upside-down too. Jason swept her out of Kate’s arms and tossed her into the air a few times. She giggled louder than Alex and clapped her hands together. “Again, again.”
Everyone laughed at their antics, and soon the room quieted down. Nick stood up and faced everyone. “I want to thank you all for your help these last few days. We never could have done it without us all working together. I love you guys.”
“Awwww,” Jason said with exaggeration. “You’re going to make me cry.” He began to sniff loudly.
Ryan pushed him with his good arm. “Way to go and ruin the moment.”
Kate smiled widely. She really liked these guys, and she was really glad they were in their lives. She turned to the kids and asked, “Are you guys hungry? Have they been feeding you?”
Zach groaned. “I’m starving. All they gave us was a bunch of sandwiches, and not very good ones either.”
Alex agreed. “We got some kind of sandwich twice a day. The last day I was worried about them feeding us. Zach usually eats more than that.” Zach was nodding.
“What do you want to eat?” Kate prodded. “Anything you want.”
Jason jumped right in and said, “Anything we want, too?” He gave her one of his huge boyish grins.
“No, anything the kids want right now.”
Jason made a huge show of pouting.
Zach’s eyes lit up. “Can we get pizza?” he asked.
“Sure, what kind?” Kate asked.
“Come on, Kate, you have to know: mushroom, jalapeño, and bacon.”
Kate laughed and said, “Sure.” It was the kind of pizza they had eaten together on the first night they were there. It seemed like a fitting meal. She turned to the guys and asked, “What kind do you like?”
“Oh, now you care what I want,” Jason complained, but he got right to adding his preference for pizza.
They ended up getting a few different pies and all happily ate their pizza and enjoyed
the evening. Eventually, Kate called it an early night so that kids could catch up on their sleep, and the guys filed out, all going back to Nick’s.
~*~*~
The guys were sitting around on Nick’s back deck lounging and drinking a few beers. Nick looked around at his friends and was very thankful that they were back in his life.
Ryan stretched his good arm and rubbed his injured shoulder. “I’m going home and sleeping for the next two days.” He got up and left Jason and Robert, both of whom had nowhere in particular to go.
“Good night, Cinderella,” Jason called out to Ryan. They all heard Ryan mutter something, but couldn’t tell exactly what it was.
“Do you two have somewhere to stay?” Nick asked them. He didn’t even get his offer out of his mouth when Robert interrupted.
“I’m staying here. You have four bedrooms, and I’m tired of sleeping in crappy motels.” Robert lounged back, getting more comfortable. Nick raised his eyebrow at his best friend. Nick figured they would be living with him, at least for a while. He was going to give up his apartment in Philly and just stay in this house. He liked it here and it was close to Kate and the kids.
“I’m staying here, too! My last place was in Texas,” Jason called out as he jumped up and started to run for the stairs. “I get first pick on rooms.”
Robert flew out of his chair after Jason, and Nick could hear the two of them fighting all the way up the steps. He laughed and thought that it was going to be interesting with the three of them all sharing a house.