Reid, page 21
Riff shrugged. “Everybody there is incredibly talented. Even a few people who didn’t have abilities when they started are slowly developing some.”
“People without abilities are there?” she asked in surprise.
He nodded. “Not all partners came with abilities,” he shared with a smile, “and it didn’t matter in the least. You’ll be welcomed for who you are and what you are, which is as a person. So don’t expect anything less, and you’ll be treated just fine.”
“I never expected anything differently,” she noted. “I’ve heard such amazing things about Terk.”
“And they’re all true, dammit,” Riff agreed, then burst out laughing. “In fact, he’s listening in on this conversation as well.”
“I’ll have to learn to tell when he is and when he isn’t,” she murmured, “because it’s all new to me.”
Not that new, Terk replied. You managed to talk to me just fine. You’ll find your abilities will grow incredibly, once you get here. Everybody’s have.
She smiled at Reid, reaching out to hold his hand. “I can’t wait.”
Epilogue
Sanders opened his eyes, feeling the shudders rippling through his body. Once again one of the female healers was at his bedside. “Will I live?” he asked, a note of humor in his tone.
“You’ll definitely live,” she declared, “but I’m hearing rumors that some people may not be very happy that you escaped their custody.”
He winced at that. “Will that cause you guys trouble?”
“That’s not your problem,” she stated firmly. “Your problem is making sure you’re healthy.”
“I’m doing much better,” he noted. “I was thinking I could get up and come down for a meal.”
“If you feel you’re up to it, then do so.” She eyed him carefully. “However, just a few minutes ago, you didn’t seem to be up for it.”
“I’m feeling much better now,” he said.
She nodded. “I’ll give you ten minutes to get dressed, and then I’ll walk you down to ensure you’re okay and can find your way.”
“Is it that bad?”
“It’s that bad,” she confirmed, with a laugh to lighten the truth.
She closed the door behind her, and he quickly dressed in the clothing the women had provided for him. He had no idea where he was or when he got here. He knew this place was huge, and lots of people were here. They’d been looking after him since his rescue, but he didn’t even know who all these people were. When he opened the door, she studied him carefully and nodded.
“You look like you’re holding for the moment.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I was trying not to burn through too much energy.”
“No, never a good idea,” she agreed comfortably, as she walked downstairs at his side. When they entered this massive room with the largest table he’d ever seen in his life, all the conversations stopped. Veni raced to his side. Grateful, he enclosed her in a warm hug.
Terk stood and walked over to him. “Sanders, how’re you doing?”
“Considering what I’ve been through, I think I’m doing just fine.” He reached out a hand, and shook Terk’s. “I didn’t get a chance to say it before, but thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Riff is the one who rescued you.”
Sanders nodded at Riff, seated at the table. Then Sanders turned back to Terk. “Now, if only there was a way to go back and rescue somebody else.”
At that, Terk frowned. “What do you mean, somebody else?”
“One of my jailers, his daughter has abilities, like us. She doesn’t dare tell anybody, of course,” he shared. “When she realized what I could do, we stayed in contact the whole time, without telling anybody, just to keep her safe, but she’s desperate to get out of there.”
“Where you were being held? Up north?”
“Yes, but her father moved her to the Baltic Sea area.”
He nodded. “Do you think that you’ll go back and get her?” Terk asked.
Sanders winced. “If I can have another couple days to get my strength up, that would be ideal. I can’t leave her behind, and I feel that I don’t have much time to do that.”
“How old is this daughter?” Clary asked.
He looked over at her. “Twenty-seven.”
“So, she’s not a child anymore.”
“No, and she’s lived in fear all her life. Her abilities are pretty strong. Apparently her mother did her best to keep them hidden, but her mother was killed a few months back, and her father’s gotten more and more suspicious.”
“Of course. Any strong gift like that will be revealed, and, although she’s probably been good at keeping it contained, she’s obviously slipped a time or two.”
“Exactly, and I know her father. I also know that everybody there was looking for more psychics, and, if her father thought that he could curry favor by providing a bona fide one, his position in the guard would be gold.”
“What about his daughter? Does she want to leave her father?” Clary asked.
“Her father’s the problem. Her mother is now gone, and, although he’s been a good father, I think she’s afraid he would give her up in a heartbeat to elevate his own position. Don’t forget that, for these Russians, it’s a point of honor. It’s not a case of thinking that she would be hurt because, from his point of view, she would be in an exalted position as being special. She would be a special prisoner,” he explained. “In her father’s mind, as a female, she would always be somebody’s prisoner, but he wouldn’t call it prisoner. He would call it their wife.”
“Ah, right.” Clary winced. “God, I hate that mind-set.”
“You might hate it, but it’s prevalent in those patriarchal societies,” Sanders said. “So I would very much appreciate a chance to build up my strength a bit and then get her out of there.”
“Do you think you’ll be up against much opposition?” Terk asked.
“It depends on whether her father has found out what she can do or not,” Sanders replied, “but, in my heart, I would say, absolutely.”
“Why is that?” Terk asked. “Have you had any contact with her?”
He hesitated and then shook his head. “No, not since I was rescued. She cried out for me to run and to ensure that I got free and clear. When I asked her to come with me, she said that she was hurt, and she couldn’t right then. No way she could get out at the time.”
“So, presumably she is still there then.”
“I told her that I would come back for her,” Sanders shared. “No way I can just leave her.”
“I get that,” Clary replied, as she looked over at Riff. “You up for heading back to that lovely region?”
“It’s Estonia, so it’s beautiful, cold in the winter, but it’s a gorgeous part of the world. If she’s there, we would have a much easier time getting her out because we would have the sea available.” He looked over at Terk and shrugged. “I’m game.”
“In that case, Sanders, get your strength back up, ensure you’re grounded with somebody here, and we’ll set up a plan to rescue her. And if she has abilities …”
“She does, very strong abilities,” Sanders confirmed. “I’m just not sure they are things you can use.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s a mind reader. She can look at you and repeat what you’re thinking. But it’s more than that. It’s almost as if she can see different layers of you.”
Terk stared at him, his head tilted to the side. “We certainly have various abilities here,” he began, “but we’ve never seen that before. Still, it doesn’t mean that’s how it would stay either. The longer we all cohabitate in one place, the more we’re becoming adept at hiding our personal feelings from the others, working through multiple conversations in our head at once, learning what privacy means among psychics, while gaining more gifts,” he shared. “So, if she’s got another ability for us to adapt to, I say bring it on.” He looked around at the others.
“If she’s in trouble, and she needs help,” Clary stated, “I say, go get her.”
“Exactly,” her sister, Cara, agreed. “We came here because we were looking for a safe place to be us. So anybody else who needs a safe place to be themselves should be welcome too.”
And, with that, everybody agreed.
Terk looked over at Sanders. “Looks like you’re it. Give yourself three or four days, and you should be ready to go.”
“With a little bit of help from the ladies here,” he replied, “I would like to be ready to go in two.” He looked at Cara and Clary.
They both nodded. “If she’s in trouble, absolutely,” they said in unison. “Plan to be out of here by then.” They turned and looked at Riff. “Are you good with that?”
“Absolutely. Those bellies of yours are getting bigger, and I know Angela’s on her way to deal with you and the other pregnant ladies. I sure don’t want to be around when Angela shows up.”
“We haven’t forgotten our promise to you either,” Terk pointed out. “We will find out who murdered your fiancée.”
He stiffened at that. “I knew you hadn’t forgotten. I just figured that we still don’t have anything to go on.”
“No, not yet,” Terk agreed, “but not for lack of trying.”
“I know. If it were that easy, I would have solved it already,” he murmured, looking around at the people at the table. “I appreciate that you’re all still trying.”
With that said, Riff got up and walked out the door.
This concludes Book 6 of Terk’s Guardians: Reid.
Read about Sanders: Terk’s Guardians, Book 7
Terk’s Guardians: Sanders (Book #7)
Sanders hadn’t been expecting a rescue from his own captivity. Now free, he can do no less than help Natalia, another captive, someone he barely knows. Yet his connection to her had kept Sanders alive during his darkest times. He can do no less than help her now.
Natalia must escape her father’s total control. However, during Natalia’s first few days in confinement, her head had to clear of the drugs her father had been feeding her, just to keep her compliant and captive. After missing a dose, clarity now returning, Natalia finally understands and bolts. But where can she go? She has no one. Until Sanders reaches out …
Meanwhile her father had put a psychic tracker on Natalia’s tail. Now Sanders and Natalia try to hide, yet must find each other, … before her father locates them both.
Find Book 7 here!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Reid: Terk’s Guardians, Book 6! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
I love to hear from readers, and you can contact me at my website: www.dalemayer.com or at my Facebook author page. To be informed of new releases and special offers, sign up for my newsletter or follow me on BookBub. And if you are interested in joining Dale Mayer’s Reader Group, here is the Facebook sign up page.
Cheers,
Dale Mayer
About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today best-selling author, best known for her SEALs military romances, her Psychic Visions series, and her Lovely Lethal Garden cozy series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Broken But … Mending, Hathaway House series). Her thrillers will keep you guessing (Kate Morgan, By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life, a stand-alone novella; and the Broken Protocols series, starring Charming Marvin, the cat).
Dale honors the stories that come to her—and some of them are crazy, break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields, with books available on résumé writing, companion gardening, and the US mortgage system. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
Connect with Dale Mayer Online
Dale’s Website – www.dalemayer.com
Twitter – @DaleMayer
Facebook Page – geni.us/DaleMayerFBFanPage
Facebook Group – geni.us/DaleMayerFBGroup
BookBub – geni.us/DaleMayerBookbub
Instagram – geni.us/DaleMayerInstagram
Goodreads – geni.us/DaleMayerGoodreads
Newsletter – geni.us/DaleNews
REID: TERK’S GUARDIANS, BOOK 6
Beverly Dale Mayer
Valley Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2024 Beverly Dale Mayer
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1-778863-09-7
Kobo Edition
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dale Mayer, Reid
