Phoenix Inheritance

by Corrina Lawson

  “Of course. A baby who can heal.” She smiled. “I bet that comes in handy when he’s teething.”

  Philip laughed. “So far, it has, though we had to have Beth convince him telepathically not to prevent his teeth from coming in. He didn’t understand why they had to break through the gums and hurt him.”

  “I just told him he needed teeth to eat cookies,” Beth said.

  The two of them were so easy with each other and spoke so honestly about psychic abilities. It gave her hope that Charlie would have peers who would accept him as he was. “It sounds like I’ve come to the right place for my son.”

  “You have,” Beth said. “Daz and Alec do some security work and we have enemies, as you know but, to me, children like Sam and Charlie are the heart of what we hope to accomplish. You’re not alone, Renee. You have friends here. I also have some clients I’m working with very quietly off-site. I’m hoping once we eliminate Rasputin’s threat that we can bring them on-site and make this a fully functioning program. Charlie won’t be alone, either.”

  Beth’s eyes unfocused again.

  “She’s talking to Alec,” Philip said.

  “I’m beginning to recognize the signs.”

  “You’re taking all this very well. I know it can be an adjustment to accept a new reality. My wife took it somewhat in stride once the initial shock wore off, even though she’s not a psychic. Maybe you’d like to talk to her and compare notes?”

  “I’d like that. Just give me time for the initial shock to wear off too.”

  Beth blinked and came back to them.

  “Trouble?” Philip asked.

  “Yes. The good news is that they have the cat. The bad news is that they were attacked at your home.”

  Renee stood. “Are they okay?” Daz.

  “They’re fine but we need to discuss what to do next. Renee, I know you need quiet but would it be all right if they come to this room?”

  “All right? Of course it’s all right.” Daz attacked? Renee glanced back at the bedroom. “You’re certain Charlie will stay asleep? He doesn’t need to hear all this. It’ll scare him.”

  “Yes,” Beth said.

  “Good.”

  What she didn’t say was that all this scared her too.

  Chapter Eleven

  When they arrived back at the Institute, cat carrier in hand, body in van, Daz expected to consult with Drake and Beth about the next move. He didn’t expect Renee to be involved, which only showed how he’d classified her as not belonging to this part of his world.

  That, he mused, might be a large part of the issues between them. Renee had allowed him to see all parts of her life. Alec and Beth knew everything about each other. Even the ultimate keeper of secrets, Drake, apparently trusted his wife with everything.

  Daz had kept part of his life hidden from Renee, always. He even had shrugged off her questions about the shoulder wound yesterday. It was past time to fill her in.

  Unexpectedly, Renee hugged him when they arrived at her temporary living quarters. He slid his arm around her waist, not wanting to let go, reminded of how she’d flung herself at him when he showed up at her tent in Turkey. He’d been surprised then, too. He’d learned then when she let go of that outer shell, she really let go.

  “You sure you’re up for hearing about this? It’s been a long couple of days.”

  “I’ve never been good at resting. What happened? Who attacked you? Did they get away?” She pushed back from him, noticing the blood on his pants.

  “It’s not mine.”

  Alec and Beth went off to a corner to confer in their own telepathic way. Philip Drake, who’d managed to fade into the background when Alec and Daz arrived, rolled his eyes at the pair.

  “They’re going to be useless for a while.” He jabbed a finger at Alec and Beth. “Sit and tell me what happened. Let’s find out what we’re dealing with.”

  Daz sat, Renee right next to him, and told Drake about the dead intruder and the bear attack.

  “That bear attack sounds awfully familiar,” Renee said. “What a weird coincidence.”

  “Yeah, I’m wondering if it’s a coincidence at all,” Daz said.

  “How could it be anything but?” she asked.

  “We never found out who kidnapped the people from your supply plane,” Daz said. “It could be connected.”

  “I’m the conspiracy theorist here,” Drake said. “And I can tell you that’s a slippery road to go down. Look at it logically. The first time, you were in an area with a bear population and, today, you were also in an area with a bear population.”

  “Today definitely involved Rasputin’s people.”

  “Rasputin’s people?” Renee asked.

  He watched Renee for a reaction as he briefly filled her in on the immortal Court, Rasputin and that one of his men had attacked them today. She absorbed most of it without visible emotion except the part about knowing Rasputin had an operative in New Jersey even before today.

  “It wasn’t just the storm. That’s why you insisted on us coming with you,” she said.

  He nodded. “You both will be safe here until we find him.”

  She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

  “I know it’s a lot to absorb.”

  “I swear, I half think I’m going to wake up tomorrow and all this will have been a dream.” She sighed. “Just give me time to let this all roll around my brain.”

  Most people would’ve had a ton of questions. But Renee wasn’t most people. She was incredibly self-contained until she was sure of her footing.

  “Was the bear being controlled in the first incident in Turkey?” Drake asked.

  “That bear seemed to be protecting its cubs more than anything else,” Renee answered. “I don’t know enough about bears to say if it did anything unusual.”

  Drake spread his hands in front of him. “You see? A coincidence is the most likely explanation.”

  “I still think they’re connected,” Daz grumbled.

  “We’ll also look into that possibility, of course. I’ll get ahold of the classified reports from that mission.”

  “I’ve been wondering for years about what really happened with that mission. Whatever you find, I want to know,” Renee said.

  “Absolutely,” Drake stood. “You two obviously have a lot to talk about. Where’s the attacker’s body?”

  “Medical unit,” Daz said.

  “I’ll see what I can find out from the autopsy.” Drake nodded curtly and left.

  “He sure knows how to take a hint,” Renee said.

  “Do you like him?” Daz asked.

  “He’s careful in what he says and a very private person but, yeah, I liked him. His little baby is really cute. Why? Is there some reason I shouldn’t like him?”

  Only that Drake could become a remorseless killer under the right circumstances. But he was no threat to Renee and Charlie. “Drake can be a difficult person.”

  “He’s not big on talking about himself. Like you.”

  Renee thought he and Drake were alike. Damn, if he needed proof that he’d done things wrong with Renee, that was it.

  Alec and Beth joined them, having apparently finished their silent talk.

  “We’re agreed that our best lead is the cat,” Alec said.

  Renee drifted away from Daz and sat on the floor next to the crate that held Odin.

  “Poor kitty,” she said. “It seems all rests on him.”

  “He’s still terrified.” Daz knelt next to her.

  The little cat remained at the back of the large dog crate, all hunched up, glaring at them.

  “Let me see if I can calm him down.” Renee opened the door and reached her hand out. “Here, kitty.”

  Odin flicked his ears at her but showed no other signs of moving.

 
“Maybe he knows you don’t like cats,” Daz said.

  “Or he smells the dogs on me. But if I were him, I’d have trouble trusting any people.”

  “Especially if someone’s been ordering him around telepathically,” Beth said.

  Renee put up her hands and made another time-out signal. “Okay, now you’re over my head again. I accept my son and other people can speak telepathically to animals, and I’m working on the whole Rasputin stalker thing, but could you explain how someone can order animals to do something telepathically? Is it something Charlie could do?”

  “I can order people around for a limited time,” Beth said. “As Daz said, the bear today was definitely under telepathic control. And, yes, Charlie might be able to do it, if his gift is strong enough.”

  “So Charlie could order the cat to tell us what it knows about the intruder and the others?” Renee asked.

  “I’d have Charlie ask first,” Beth said. “But, yes, the easiest way to find out what the cat knows is to have Charlie talk to him.”

  “That might be scary to Charlie.” Renee sighed. “On the other hand, we have to catch the other man involved. Could you, I don’t know, put me in Charlie’s head while he’s talking to Odin? So I could comfort him if something scary shows up?”

  “Absolutely. I could put both you and Daz into the conversation.”

  “Good,” Renee said.

  “We’ll meet back here in the morning, then, after everyone has had some rest,” Alec said. “Unless you have more questions?”

  “All my questions would take years.” Renee sighed and looked at Odin again. “But Daz will fill me in.”

  Alec and Beth left the room, leaving Daz alone with Renee.

  He had so much to say that he didn’t know where to begin.

  “Charlie’s fast asleep?” he asked.

  “Beth said he would sleep all night.”

  “Good.” Now what?

  “I could really use the long version of what happened with Rasputin,” she said.

  “Absolutely.”

  They settled on the couch once more. Renee snuggled against him. Daz didn’t question her affection. He was simply glad of it.

  He started from the beginning, from being shot at in New York while conducting surveillance on Richard Genet. Daz also filled her in about Marian Doyle, the woman who could walk through walls.

  Originally, he, Richard and Marian wanted to find Rasputin’s missing corpse so the Court could study his DNA. The Mad Monk had been a powerful psychic when alive. But instead of a body, they’d found a Rasputin who was very much alive and at the head of an organization that viewed Alec was some sort of evil fire demon.

  “He’s crazy,” Renee said.

  “He’s certifiable and that’s not even doing it justice. He thinks Alec will burn the world in fire and he’s determined to kill Alec and everyone connected with him. The problem is that Rasputin’s also a firestarter, as dangerous as Alec, with a side of crazy. Plus, Rasputin has an army of fervent believers at his beck and call. I think our dead man and whoever he was working with are among them. That’s why we haven’t opened the Institute to Beth’s students. We can’t do that until we eliminate the threat.”

  “You’re worried about the Institute. I’m worried about you. Rasputin gave you that handprint scar personally.”

  “Yeah. He put his hand on me and…”

  Renee put her hand over the scar. “You don’t have to say it.”

  “It wasn’t the pain. I know about pain. But having no way to fight back…”

  He couldn’t finish. She put her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her waist.

  “I’m not sure that was the worst of it. At the end, it looked like I was going to be executed. All I could think about in that moment was you and Charlie, and how I never got to know you like I should have and how I hadn’t spent enough time with my son.”

  “Oh, Daz,” she breathed.

  “I’m only alive now because someone else saved me. I wasn’t good enough to survive on my own.”

  “You’ve saved so many people, including me. Seems about time someone returned the favor.”

  “I should’ve been better.”

  “Am I somehow a lesser person because I needed your help to save me in that snowstorm? Is Charlie?”

  “What? No, of course not.”

  “So why do you feel lesser for needing someone else’s help this time?”

  “Because I…I didn’t even have a chance. They have powers, I don’t.”

  “Our odds of rescuing my friends in Turkey were astronomical. You evened the odds by outthinking them. I bet you could come up with something that will do the same in dealing with these guys.” She cuddled closer. “You’re a tactical and strategic specialist. That’s why you were a SEAL. You said I was Wonder Woman. But remember what I called you?”

  “Batman. I know.” He stroked her shoulder. “Aren’t you just full of advice tonight.”

  “I’m just giving you back your own words. You told me it was okay to ask for help with Charlie. You were right.”

  “You know what really terrifies me? What if I fail again, with Charlie’s life at stake?”

  “I worry I’m going to fail Charlie every day,” she whispered. “Welcome to the club.”

  “The club?” He cleared his throat. “What does that mean?”

  “It means you’re finally realizing just how much commitment goes into being a parent.”

  That was harsh. But true. “I have a lot to learn about commitment to my family.”

  “You knew you had an obligation.”

  He winced. “That’s the worst thing I think I’ve ever said.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I’ve gone over that night a thousand times in my head. If only I could play it out differently.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “I was in love with two things: you and being a SEAL. That’s who I was back then. I guess I thought you were threatening my being a SEAL, deep down. I knew being with you would change my life and I wasn’t ready for it. Or Charlie. I was fucking terrified.”

  “Me too,” she whispered.

  “I should have told you how much I loved you and that it scared me. We could have talked it out and dealt with it together. And I should’ve told you how excited I was about Charlie once the shock wore off. I just thought if I did, the fear would get loose and…”

  “And what?” she asked.

  “And you’d see my weakness and I wasn’t sure if I could handle it all. I never wanted anyone to see me fail at anything.”

  “You saw me fall apart yesterday.” She closed her eyes.

  “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you fall apart.” He drew her closer to him. “But it’s been rough, hasn’t it? I noticed that you didn’t have many pins in the map in your home from the last couple of years.”

  “Thor and Loki are getting older and I don’t like being gone from them for more than a day or two.” She sighed. “But that’s not all of it. Charlie traveled well as a toddler. Not so much lately.”

  He stroked her hair. “Damn, Renee, I’ve wasted a lot of time with us.”

  “You’re not the only one. I was intent on not letting you back in because I was so hurt.” She smiled. Her eyes were bright. “Ah, Daz, ever look back and wonder how the hell you got to a certain place?”

  “Lately? All the time.” He kissed her, just on the lips, afraid to do more and somehow break this new understanding between them.

  “Can I tell you a story?” he asked.

  “Another story? More tales of your immortal prince?”

  “No, only about me.”

  Renee let her hand wander below his waist. “You may say you want to tell a story but another part of your anatomy wants something else.”

  She was flirting with hi
m. This was good. “We’ll get to that,” he said into her ear. “Let me tell you about me and Alec. When I first started working here, I thought it was a dream job.”

  He stroked her neck, just featherlight touches. She made some sort of happy sound halfway between a purr and a sigh.

  “The money was great—which you know—and I could see Charlie on a regular basis. Well, semi-regular, because Lansing didn’t give me as much time off as promised. But I was happy with the work, Alec was just, well, you’ve met him. You know.”

  “Alec’s the kind of guy who makes everything around him seem brighter,” Renee said.

  “Exactly. Even though he was just seventeen when we started, I could see it in him then.” Daz paused. “What I didn’t see—no, what I refused to see is that Alec was a prisoner and I helped him remain that way. I took orders from Lansing not to let him out of sight and to limit his contact with the outside world. For his own good, I thought.”

  “And you followed orders?” she said in a quiet voice.

  “Just like I always did. I told myself Alec had to be protected. I did what I could and badgered Lansing into letting me take him out to a few places to experience life. And I made sure he was part of my team instead of being of an outsider. We were a good tight unit. Alec had friends for the first time. I told myself that I’d done what I could, that it was enough.”

  “But it wasn’t,” she said.

  “No. Alec was brainwashed into obeying Lansing, and I didn’t stand up for him. I’ve got no excuse for that.”

  “So what happened to change everything?”

  “It was Beth. She started as Alec’s psychologist, brought in to help him work with outsiders. Alec didn’t have a lot of patience for people who couldn’t handle his firestarting.” Daz smiled. “Beth sized everything up fast, and together, after a bit of a mess, she and Alec faced Lansing down.”

  “You sided with Alec,” Renee said.

  “Yeah but that was after Alec took the first steps himself. Too late.”

  “That’s why you’re so determined to help Alec now. That’s why you went to Europe, wanting to pull your own weight in this fight.”

  “Yeah.” And that was why he’d almost drowned training yesterday.