The Whitney Powers Paranormal Adventure 3 Book Bundle

by Jason Paul Rice

  “What did you just say?” Whitney asked in shock.

  The nurse lowered her head and peered through her black-rimmed glasses. “Sorry, I guess it was a bad joke.”

  Whitney shook her head. “No, did you just say that I was pregnant?”

  The nurse nodded, “Yeah. I know it’s early but I assumed you knew.”

  Trent stood up and leaned over Whitney. He planted a long sensual kiss on the woman he loved. He pushed his arms under her back and pulled Whitney off the thin mattress and held her tight. She could feel the love and her battered body started to feel right again.

  He said, “I love you, baby. This makes me so happy.” He kissed her neck.

  Long tears ran down to Trent’s chin and fell gently on Whitney’s chest.

  “Oh my God, me too,” she said and dug her fingernails into the back of his head and pulled him in. She kissed him back and completely forgot about the other room guest.

  The nurse started backing away toward the door. “I’m just going to get out of here and let you guys enjoy the moment.”

  Whitney sat up and hugged her man again. Instant glee comparable to a mixture of painkillers and adrenaline took the weariness away and she kissed Trent on the cheek. After the past two weeks, her life somehow seemed even more complete now. They smashed their wet faces together and enjoyed the moment.

  Trent pulled his head back and Whitney said, “This would explain why I’ve been feeling sick every day for the past week or so. I assumed it was just due to you being kidnapped and being in and around Dankstone, but this does make much more sense. This gives us a chance to have some time to ourselves and maybe get the agency open.”

  Trent broke the embrace and stood straight up. “Sounds good to me. I can’t wait to see what your mom says.” He started bouncing up and down with infectious excitement as Whitney’s grin widened.

  She said, “Yeah, we should definitely tell her and my dad in person. And I need to find my phone so I can call my sister and tell the girls. I promised them that I would let them know first if you got me pregnant.”

  “I got you good, girl,” Trent said and pointed his hand like a gun at her.

  “What are you even saying, you dork?” Whitney asked, shaking her head.

  Trent shrugged his shoulders and couldn’t stand still. He looked like an excited child on Christmas morning. He said, “Hell, I don’t know. I don’t even know what I’m saying right now, I’m so happy.

  Trent grabbed her cell phone from the nightstand next to the bed and handed it to Whitney. She scrolled to the V section of her contacts list and called Victoria.

  “Hello,” a young sounding voice answered.

  Whitney said, “Who is this?”

  The person said, “Guinevere. Who is this?”

  “This is your Aunt Whitney and I have some special news for you. Remember when I said that if I got pregnant, you and your sister would be the first to know.”

  Guinevere said, “Uh huh.”

  “Well guess what?” Whitney asked.

  “What?” a confused young girl asked back.

  “Oh, you’re not very good at this. I’m pregnant, silly.”

  Guinevere said, “Congratulations, Aunt Whitney. If it’s a girl, are you going to name her after me?”

  Whitney laughed. “Maybe, we’ll have to see about that. Make sure to tell your sister, alright?”

  “OK, Aunt Whitney, I’ll tell her,” Guinevere promised.

  “Good girl. Now can I talk to your mom for a minute?” Whitney requested.

  She could hear Guinevere’s fading voice. “Here mommy. It’s Whitney. She’s pregnant.”

  Victoria screamed before answering. “Hello, you.”

  “Hi.” Whitney shifted around on the bed trying to get comfortable.

  “Congratulations,” her sister said, almost out of breath.

  “Thanks. Don’t tell mom or dad yet. I want to tell them in person and I should be out of the hospital in a few days.”

  Victoria interrupted her. “Wait, what are you doing in the hospital?”

  “It’s a long story that would rival War and Peace so I can’t really go into all the details now, but everything is alright and if you can get everyone together in a couple of days at your house I can explain everything.” Whitney handed Trent her pillow so he could fluff it for her.

  Victoria said, “You’re really going to hold out on me for a few days as to why you are in the hospital? You’ve got to give me more than that.”

  “Alright, I was shot three times on my latest adventure. As I said, I am going to be fine and I will explain everything and drop the bomb on mom and dad. I know you are going to tell Aaric, that’s a given, but you can’t tell anyone else about any of this.” She smiled and moved up as Trent slid the refreshed pillow under her head and back.

  Whitney had forgotten that the entire ordeal had taken less than a fortnight. It had seemed like such a long, drawn out chase that had gone on for months. Her body and mind ached from the effects of the latest adventure as she leaned back.

  Victoria said, “You know I’m going to call you every single hour on the hour until you finally give in and tell me about your latest superhero adventure. You can’t pique my interest by saying you’re pregnant and oh, by the way, I’ve been shot too. You are the female James Bond.”

  A sense of pride coursed through Whitney. She enjoyed the comparisons. “Haha. That seems to be the consensus. I really appreciate the compliment, but I should go now. Don’t call me, I’ll call you.”

  Victoria chuckled, “Yeah right. Keep an eye on your phone. I love you, Whit.”

  “I love you too, Vic. I’ll talk to you later.” She made a kissing sound.

  “Alright, love you. Bye,” Victoria said and hung up the phone.

  Whitney hung up and gave the phone to Trent, who put it back on the nightstand.

  “Did you figure out how they kidnapped you?” Whitney used the controller by her right hand to adjust the bed and raise the back.

  Trent nodded. “Apparently this guy is singing like a canary. I just don’t know if it is all to be believed. He said that a few of his best men snuck into our room and covered my face with a towel full of chloroform. Then, they scooped me out of bed and threw me into a van.”

  “I can’t believe I slept through the entire thing. How didn’t I wake up from that?” Whitney wondered.

  Trent cracked his knuckles said, “Who knows if they hit you with some chloroform to make sure that you wouldn’t wake up and see what was going on. I know you aren’t a heavy sleeper so I assume they did something to you. Anyway, they kept hitting me with chloroform every time I woke up. Apparently they loaded me onto a plane like some simple cargo and I was in Adoxia within a day.”

  “How did you survive without eating or drinking?”

  Trent replied, “Our evil doctor hooked an IV up to me so I would survive until he got me into that Dreamland. He said that he brought me into that room, sat me in the chair and placed my hand on Robbie. The last thing I remembered was going to sleep next to you on vacation and when I opened my eyes, I was in that weird place with Robbie telling me he could get me out of there.”

  A sudden sense of guilt hit Whitney. “He did the same to me and lured me into the city so that I could be captured. But again, I can’t blame him for all of that. Do you think I killed those people? I mean I know I killed some of those men in Dreamland or whatever it was. Was it real? Am I a murderer?”

  Trent laid his palm on top of her good hand and used his thumb to massage her knuckles. “Stop talking crazy. I don’t know what that was, but it wasn’t reality and even if you did do it, you were only doing your job as a crusader of justice.”

  Whitney pushed Trent’s hand away. She hooked her finger on the beltloop of Trent’s jeans and started to pull. “I guess that’s true. I just felt really guilty. Did you ever have to do that?”

  Trent’s face became red and he sat down next to her. “We all do what we have to do. I di
d what I had to do to bust up that first mob ring and the thoughts still haunt me sometimes. I think you can derive an answer from that. I think you should prepare your mind if some of the missions in the future are of the magnitude that Darominius has mentioned. It comes with the territory of saving the world.”

  Three years ago, Whitney had little to no responsibilities. Now it felt like the weight of the world was pressing down on her. “I never thought about it until I released those flames and heard those awful screams. That still gives me the chills when I think about it.”

  Trent said, “I still want to know how you learned to do that and if you could teach me.”

  Whitney lips curled up and a glow came over her cheeks. “Darominius, who we are apparently calling D now, taught me how to do it, of course. In fact, I need to text those guys to let them know that I’m alright. I have like ten texts from each, but I keep stalling on getting back to them. They should probably be home by now.”

  Trent smirked. “They love you. They are worried about their super hero.”

  “Super hero, yeah right. Apparently, I am the female James Bond, yet I was scared out of my wits during this whole thing.” She tried to downplay her courage.

  Trent said, “That’s what bravery is. How you react to being scared. It’s really simple. And you acted like a hero. I haven’t even heard the entire story and I am impressed.”

  “Hearing that makes me feel pretty good. Thinking about my life just a few years ago makes this so crazy. I didn’t want to let on too much, but things weren’t exactly rosy for me when we met.”

  Trent said, “Of course. Life takes us through dips and valleys and sometimes we get lost in those places for a while. You’ve only crushed organized crime in Pennsburgh, busted the Vice President of Adoxia and now brought a real sick son of a bitch to justice. You should focus on that part of your life.”

  Whitney grabbed Trent’s T-Shirt pocket over his heart and pulled him in for a kiss. “I know, but remembering where I was at makes me appreciate it even more too. It’s no secret that all these great things started happening right after I met you. Could you hand me my phone so I can text back my friends now, please?”

  “Sure thing,” Trent said. He slid her phone off the table with his right hand and caught it with his left. He extended the phone to her.

  15

  Whitney sat with Trent, Victoria, Aaric, her mom and dad, Bo, Darominius and Tara at the long table at the Castle. Party snacks and drinks covered most of the stained maple table. Light jazz played on the house speakers and Guinevere and Gwendolyn could be heard screaming from somewhere in the mansion.

  Whitney and Trent had just finished telling the entire story to her family. She had made up a different escape from the Dreamworld and how the helicopter caught fire because she didn’t know how to explain that she could shift into a dragon. She didn’t think they would believe it.

  Her mother said, “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything to me about it. I thought you were my daughter.”

  Whitney stirred her virgin strawberry margarita. “Oh mom, enough of the drama. If I had told you, it would have made you constantly worry and no offense, but there wasn’t much you could do to help the situation.”

  Victoria said, “I wouldn’t have been able to do the part with the spiders or most of that spooky stuff. I can’t believe it ended up being that creepy guy that we used to know. I’m just glad all of you are safe.”

  Her father said, “It’s always a proud moment in a father’s life when his daughter survives her first gunshot wound.” He pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. “I’m not ecstatic that you didn’t tell us that your husband had been kidnapped, but I’ve learned not to fight you girls anymore. I just worry now and let you be.” Robert Powers grabbed a piece of poached shrimp and dunked it into a small ramekin of cocktail sauce. He rushed to get the shellfish to his mouth before the red sauce dripped off.

  “I couldn’t have done it without my super-duper friends though. When I was at my lowest, they were there for me.” Whitney held her drink in the air and everyone joined her in a sip.

  Victoria chewed on some honey roasted peanuts and covered her mouth. “I could have been there for you too, you know.”

  Her mom added, “Yeah, me too.”

  Whitney rolled her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. “I couldn’t include you Victoria because you would have told mom and she would have called the authorities and Trent would’ve gotten killed. I know exactly how it would have gone and I can’t blame either of you for thinking you were doing the right thing. I just know you both so well that I knew what would happen. Nothing personal.”

  Gwendolyn and Guinevere entered the room and went over to Whitney.

  Gwendolyn asked in a loud whisper, “Is it time for the announcement yet?”

  Whitney realized the previous conversation covered everything she wanted to talk about so she agreed, “Yes, go ahead.”

  The girls tried to talk in unison but they overlapped each other when they said, “Aunt Whitney is going to have a baby.”

  Her mother shrieked, “Did the girls just say what I think they said?”

  Calls of congratulations and well wishes followed as her friends and family surrounded her. Whitney couldn’t get rid of the permanent smile as her mother rubbed her belly. She hugged everyone and they sat back down at the table.

  “Just goes to show that women can do anything, even when they are pregnant. It was a pretty big surprise when the nurse told me.”

  Her father said, “So I guess you need to shut it down for a while now. You might as well stay back in Pennsburgh, right?” Robert lowered his eyebrows.

  Whitney laughed. “Don’t worry, dad. We are going to move back here and build our house and maybe start that company you suggested.”

  Aaric slid his fingers through his slicked back hair. “I think it’s a great idea. I’ve even looked at some places in the city that would be perfect for what we talked about.” He pointed at Trent.

  Trent said, “That will be part of my focus, but the main focus will be making sure this little lady is alright.” He reached over and massaged the back of Whitney’s neck.

  Her father joked, “Yeah, three gunshot wounds while she was trying to save you. Not exactly doing a bang-up job so far.” He attempted to give Trent a mean look.

  Trent tilted his head and had a smirk on his face. “That does sound pretty bad when I hear it out loud.”

  Victoria interjected, “I wish I was running around getting shot at. It’s like you’re living in a movie or something.”

  “You don’t even know the half of it.” She winked at Darominius.

  The group moved outside to the pool and Whitney stood at the bar with Trent, Darominius, Bo and Tara. Everyone else was in the pool, splashing around.

  Whitney set her drink on the bar. “I just want to thank you guys for everything during this whole mess.”

  Tara said, “That’s what we do, right? Right?”

  Everyone laughed and Bo said, “It wasn’t the James Bond adventure I was looking for, but I’m glad I could help.”

  Whitney shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry, the James Bond mission was the last adventure and speaking of which, who knows what will come next. I might need some help again.”

  Darominius said, “I hope you know by now, that I will be right alongside you for whatever you should need.”

  Whitney held her margarita toward Darominius and he tapped it with his brown bottle of India Pale Ale. She said, “Cheers, my friend. So, D, you wouldn’t happen to know what the next adventure might bring, do you?”

  Darominius smirked and looked down. “I might be privy to some words here and there, but I can’t precisely say what the future holds. Predictions are volatile and certain elements can disappear before an event comes to fruition. Your missions may change because of the actions of other people. Some die unexpectedly and other issues resolve themselves.”

  Whitney used her hand to replicate a person
talking. “Blah, blah, blah. Enough rambling, D, are you going to give me some straight answers or not?”

  Darominius said, “I’ll go with the latter, thank you for giving me a choice. You should focus on the baby and Trent and you right now. Be selfish for a little while because you will be dragged back into the life you’ve become accustomed to.”

  Bo almost spit his drink out and said, “Yeah right, Whit will be nine months pregnant with the baby turtle heading and still be out there busting bad guys.”

  Tara said, “Easy on the visuals there, buddy. I really like turtles, don’t ruin them for me. But you are right, a kid won’t slow this girl down at all.”

  Whitney turned to Tara and held out her non-alcoholic drink. “Cheers.” Tara clanged her White Russian into Whitney’s glass. “I just want to say one more time how sorry I am about some of those awful things I said about you. It was in the heat of the moment.”

  Tara smiled. “The heat of the moment. Now that’s a funny phrase. We both said some crazy shit and here we are cheersing drinks. Cheers.”

  Whitney added softly, “Cheers.” Two pint glasses gently tapped each other again and the girls took another sip of their drinks.

  Tara continued, “And if we didn’t get into that crazy argument, we might still be tied to those chairs being fed by needles and shit. Sometimes things happen for a reason and I’m glad we were tied up because we would have destroyed that room and probably each other.”

  “I don’t really want to fight you. It wouldn’t be fair to you,” Whitney said and looked away.

  Bo added, “Oooohhhhh.”

  Tara took a big gulp of her drink. She curled one of her braids around her middle finger. “I’m going to let that slide because you did turn into a damn dragon and save us with that clipped wing and all.”

  Whitney downed a few more drinks and started to get tired so she and Trent decided to go home. They entered their small house and Whitney realized they would need a bigger place for the baby. They got into bed and Trent started to massage her weary body.