“She’s asleep for now, but she’ll be awake soon. Would either of you like to keep her company for a little while? I need to head home and get some clothes and then I’ll be back,” she said.
“Yes,” we answered in unison.
“I’m leaving her in your hands. Take care of her until I get back,” she said, supposedly to both of us, but her gaze locked onto me.
I nodded.
Once she was gone, I turned to Brian. “If you’d like to go first, that would be all right.” I owe you that much for saving her, I thought.
He didn’t say anything, just stood up and walked through the swinging doors.
My dad showed up only a few seconds after he left.
“I wanted to stop and check on you,” he said, giving me a quick hug. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I’m okay.”
“How is Nikki?” he asked, sitting down in the chair Brian had vacated.
“They say she’s okay. I let Brian go in to see her first.”
“I understand. He’ll be having a hard time for a while. It’s nice that you let him go first. I’ll come back later and get a statement from her.” He paused for a minute and shook his head. “I never thought Reuben would have been capable of such things. He hid his secret well. I never suspected him to be the one responsible.”
“Are all of the missing hikers in that pit?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
He nodded solemnly. “Everyone who was missing and a few more we never knew about.” He stood. “The state is sending in a forensic team, so I have to get back. I just wanted to check on you, son.”
“I’m okay,” I repeated, giving a halfhearted smile.
When he left, I felt Nikki wake up. Everything is okay, just take it easy. I’m just outside in the waiting room. I’m right here if you need me, but I let Brian come in first. He needed to see you were safe.
I felt her mind relax and knew she had heard me. Then I began picking up bits of images from Brian as he talked to Nikki, letting me know they were talking about his dad and what had happened.
After a while, he came back out, looking slightly better for having seen her. “Thanks for letting me go first,” he said.
“Sure thing.”
“I’m heading home. I need to check on my mom,” he said and left, without waiting for me to reply.
I stood up and went to Nikki’s room. She was sleeping, her blonde hair curling all around her head on the pillow. They had cleaned her up and bandaged her scrapes and a IV ran to her wrist.
I sat in the chair beside the bed and waited. She awoke and I leaned over and kissed her. The air warmed and swirled around us.
“I’m so glad to see you,” she said, smiling.
“Not nearly as glad as I am to see you.”
“Where’s Brian?” she asked, looking over the seat on the other side of the bed.
“He’s gone home to check on his mom. He’s pretty shaken up. I hope you didn’t mind that I let him come in first. He needed to see you and he looked a lot better when he came back out.” I picked up her hand that didn’t have the IV. “How’s the head?”
“Feels like a wrecking ball hit the back of it. Other than that though,” she shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”
“Your mom left a few minutes ago. She’ll be back soon. She told me to take care of you.” I dropped my eyes to the white blanket on the bed and picked at a loose strand of thread. “I haven’t done a good job of it. I’m the reason you’re in here.”
“None of this is your fault, Adam. I’m fine. Really. I’ll be as good as new in a few days,” she reached out and brushed a strand of hair back from my face.
“I never should have left you.” No amount of convincing on her part would ever sway that and I knew it.
“It’s done now and I’m okay. Reuben’s dead and the mystery of the Trail Killer is solved. Now you won’t have to go searching any more Deadlands. You can stay right here all the time.” She gave me one of her too large smiles, one that stretched across her face. A smile that I knew I would always love.
I couldn’t help smiling back. “You’d better count on it.”
Epilogue
I waited until they released Nikki from the hospital before I went to check in on Darren. I’d made him a promise and I intended to keep it. I found him sitting on the rock wall behind his house, looking completely lost.
“Hey,” I said, hopping up to sit next to him. “How ya doing, man?”
He shook his head, the movement sending his shaggy, dark hair into his eyes.
“They told us that my dad saved Nikki by pulling her out of that pit and that he had a heart attack. That he’s a hero,” He looked up, his dark eyes piercing mine, daring me to lie to him. “My mom needed to hear that, but I know that wasn’t what happened. Too many nights I laid awake listening to him beat her and more than once he beat me when I tried to make him stop. He was the one that took those hikers and he definitely was no hero.”
It wasn’t a question and he already knew the answer, but I nodded anyway. “I’m sorry.”
His gaze dropped back to the ground and he went still for a few moments.
“Listen,” I said, hopping up from the wall, “I promised you a hunting trip and I think now would be the perfect time to go.”
“But I’m not a Keeper,” he said, not bothering to look up. “I’ll never be a part of your pack.”
I leaned forward so that I could look up into his face, forcing him to look into my eyes. “Being a Keeper is a lot more than having a wolf. It’s about protecting those you love and taking care of the ones who can’t defend themselves. You’ve done that. You’re a Keeper, Darren. You’ll always be part of my pack and one of my brothers. We’ll always have you, and you’ll always have us.”
His eyes filled with tears. He brushed them away with the back of his hand and hopped down from the wall, following me to my Jeep. All of the doors opened and Erik, Ed, Tommy, and Michael rolled out, each one holding a quiver of arrows and a bow, ready to join us. When he spotted them, Darren’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t expected for all of them to be coming too. While he had lost a father, he’d gained five brothers.
Erik passed him an extra bow and grinned. “Welcome to the pack, dude. Now, let’s go hunt!”
The Keeper Saga Continues…
Get ready to join the Keepers on their next adventure!
Nikki, Adam, and the Pack return in—
Blood Moon Rising
(Coming Early 2017)
Never miss a new release. Sign up for KR Thompson’s VIP mailing list and be the first one to know when the next book comes out—
http://www.krthompson.net
Other Books by K.R. Thompson
The Untold Stories of Neverland:
Pan
Hook
Nerida
Jack
Short Stories:
Dragon Kept: The Chronicles of a Blue Fairy
The Curse of Everson House
Anthologies:
Once Upon a Time: The New Fairy Tales
Haunted: Ghost Children
Haunted: Houses
About the Author
K.R. Thompson writes paranormal with a bite and fairytales with a twist. An avid believer in the magic of stories, she spends her nights either reading an adventure or writing one.
She still watches for evidence of Bigfoot in the mud of Wolf Creek.
Stay up to date by visiting her website - http://www.krthompson.net
Or on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/thekeepersaga
@writer_kthompsn
thekeepersaga
www.krthompson.net
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The Keeper Saga: Wynter's War, Charmed, and The One (The Boxed Set Book 2) Page 36
