Phoenix Inheritance (18 page)

“Oh, right. So when will I see you again?” she asked.

He kissed her. She kissed him back. Maybe he'd stay a little longer…

He broke the kiss and put his forehead against hers. “I'm not sure. I'm due leave but I never know for certain if I'll get it until the papers are signed. How long will you stay here in Turkey?”

“Another week, maybe less.” Thoughts of the rest of the world crowded in. “We're at the recovery of bodies stage, unfortunately. There's not much left for SAR to do.”

“Text me before you fly back to the states, okay?” He laced up his boots.

“Sure. Absolutely.”

“I'll hold you to that.” He reached over to the desk that held Kim's paperwork. “Here, I made this for you.”

He handed over a piece of paper folded into a bear. “Origami.” She brought it up to her eyes. “A bear. It's cuter than the one that attacked us.”

He laughed.

“Where did you learn origami?” she asked.

“My dad was stationed in Japan when I was a kid. I learned it out of boredom one summer. It comes in handy now and then.”

“I love it.” She very gingerly set the little paper bear on top of her suitcase. “Thank you. That was very thoughtful.” Her voice caught. It was just a folded piece of paper. But they both knew it was much more.

“You're welcome.” He kissed her again and left.

But after he walked out, she lay back on the cot. Thor head-butted her dangling hand, reminding her she had responsibilities, the first being getting him and Loki something to eat.

But damn.
Daz.

She supposed she should be worried about what she'd gotten herself into.

But she wasn't.

Chapter Eight

The talk with Daz about Alec, Beth and the Phoenix Institute lasted over a whole pot of coffee. Once Renee recovered from her shock, she agreed that their son should meet with Beth right away.

That meant a trip to the Phoenix Institute, right now.

Daz also convinced her they should move there for a few days, especially if it turned out that Charlie was a telepath. The more time he spent with Beth, Daz said, the better he'd be able to control the ability. That was what Daz claimed, anyway, always assuming Charlie was a telepath.

She accepted that. She was in way over her head as it was.

Still dazed, Renee packed overnight clothes for herself and Charlie, plus food for Thor and Loki since they were taking the dogs with them. Charlie seemed nervous about going but Daz described the Phoenix Institute as “Hogwarts for psychics” to him. After that, Charlie couldn't wait to leave.

They left Odin the cat at the house.

“I asked him if he wanted to come with us. He seemed scared. He said he had to stay,” Charlie said. “But he asked if we could leave him food.”

“Uh, sure,” Renee said. The cat had nearly killed them yesterday. She had no problem leaving him behind. Along with leaving cat food that she'd bought a few days ago when Charlie had first spotted Odin, she jury-rigged a cat litter box with newspaper and some bits of potting soil.

All the housekeeping accomplished, they piled into Alec's SUV. Daz drove, over Alec's objections. From their conversation, Renee gathered Alec had only recently gotten his license.

“Why did it take you so long to learn to drive?” she asked Alec. It made no sense that a man with psychic powers wouldn't have learned something so mundane.

“I wasn't allowed to drive growing up,” Alec said, staring out the back window. Charlie and the dogs were in the backseat with him.

Renee glanced at Charlie. “Was it because your special abilities interfered with driving?”

Alec grinned. “No. My guardian seemed to think I had better things to do.” He shrugged. “But I'm learning.”

Alec turned to Charlie and began chattering with him about psychic abilities.

“My dad called you Firefly. Is that your superhero name?” Charlie asked.

“Sure, I guess so,” Alec answered.

“Do you have a costume?” Charlie asked.

“Uh, just my military-style fatigues. Why?”

“I can design you one. Mom, did you pack my drawing books?”

“Of course,” she said.

Charlie was adjusting to the idea of psychics really well. Still, he grew quieter the longer they were on the road, and she became concerned. He didn't like surprises, and they'd rushed him out this morning, plus his routine was completely disrupted. Not only that, Charlie was worried about the detours they took around fallen trees and downed electrical wires.

“They'll all get fixed, right?” Charlie asked.

“Absolutely,” she told him.

“And we'll get power back in the house soon? I'll be able to use my computer when we get home?”

“Yep, you will,” she said.

These were the kinds of questions Charlie asked when he was getting worked up. She was tempted to tell Daz to turn around for home, but they were committed now. Finally, they drove through a gate that was part of a high fence that enclosed the Phoenix Institute grounds. Daz parked in a lot that was in front of a building that resembled a hotel/conference center.

“And you've got a pool and game room underground?” Charlie asked Alec.

Charlie sounded calmer. Good.

“Sure do! I'll show you while your mom and dad see the doctors,” Alec said.

“Mom, are you going to be okay?”

“I'm going to be fine,” she said. “You heard what Alec said. He has good doctors on call here.”

“I'm sorry I hurt your shoulder,” Charlie mumbled.

“You didn't hurt my shoulder. The storm did.”

As they climbed out of the truck and got their gear, Renee took Daz aside. “I think Charlie should stay with me. He's getting worked up.”

“He'll be fine. He's already bonded with Alec and, anyway, Alec has the TK. He'll be better at keeping Charlie from running off than we are. They were fine in the yard, right? And won't Charlie be worried while the doctors are looking at your arm? He already seems to feel guilty about it.”

“Yes, he would but…” She shook her head. A brand-new place, with a brand-new person. That was never a good combination for her son.

“You have to take care of yourself too, Renee.”

“Not if it hurts or upsets Charlie. He's priority number one.”

“If you're not in good shape, how can you take care of him?”

She sighed. “You're right, I guess.”

“What if you send the dogs with Charlie?” Daz suggested.

“That's a good idea.”

Daz grabbed their gear and they walked into the lobby of the Phoenix Institute. Charlie instantly ran over to the botanical display at one of the windows. “Mom, these are banzai plants!”

“Bonsai plants,” she corrected his pronunciation automatically. “But good eye, Charlie, that's exactly what they are.”

The Japanese influence was evident in the entire lobby, including the symbols painted in green and gold on the white walls of the circular lobby. “I've seen these symbols before, in Buddhist temples on the island of Japan. I think they mean peace and serenity.”

With the symbols, the smell of sandalwood and the bonsai plants, the lobby was far more temple than business center.

“You've been to Japan?” Charlie asked her.

So she'd managed to impress him. Nice to know she still could do that with her son, after he'd seen someone lift things with their mind. “I was in Japan once, before you were born, on a SAR mission.”

“Was it this pretty there?”

Renee thought of the rubble of homes and the tears of survivors after the tsunami. “In places, it was.”

“Want to see the game room now, Charlie?” Alec asked.

“What kind of games you got?”

“Oh, some video games, a pool table, air hockey, a few other things.”

“I like air hockey.” But Charlie didn't sound enthused.

“Great, let's go,” Alec said.

Charlie mumbled a quiet okay. Renee ordered the dogs to go with him and he perked up.

They set off. Renee took a deep breath. It would be okay. She had to learn to let Charlie out of her sight.

Daz put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax, Renee. Everything will be fine.”

“Maybe.” Thor would keep Charlie calm. Relax, as Daz suggested. But she could still feel the tension in her shoulders. She looked around again at the lobby. “I never pictured your Phoenix Institute like this.”

“You expected it to look like a barracks?”

She nodded. “Yes, more like some sort of military installation and not like an upscale hotel and conference center.”

“The fortress part is downstairs.”

“You're joking.”

“Nope,” Daz said. “The downstairs is a military installation.”

“Daz Montoya, you're telling me you work in an underground complex?”

He grinned. “Yep. There are living quarters, where you and Charlie will stay, and the medical facility and some military stuff.”

“Okay, then.” Her sense of having stepped into a new world increased. “Then I hope all of it feels as welcoming as the lobby.”

“Thank you for the compliment.” A young woman entered from one of the connecting hallways. “I've discovered I like decorating. I wanted this lobby to remind me of my mother. It's a way to honor her memory.”

Daz introduced them. “Renee, this is Beth Nakamora.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

Like her lobby, Beth wasn't what Renee expected.

Beth was no more than five feet tall and thin-framed as well, but yet she had an aura about her that would likely attract attention anywhere she went. Quiet self-confidence, Renee decided. She'd seen it in many SAR personnel over the years. Beth Nakamora knew what she was doing or, rather, she was certain that what she was doing was correct.

“Let me take you to our medical facilities. Daz sounded very worried about your shoulder when he called.” She gestured down one of the hallways that emptied into the lobby.

Renee followed, wishing she had Thor and Loki at her heels. Usually, when she went somewhere unusual, her dogs were with her, silent but welcome companions. Without them, she felt naked. Alone.

Daz took her hand. “It's going to be okay.”

She wasn't alone. Daz was here.

They went down one floor to a state-of-the-art, almost futuristic, medical facility. The doctor on duty was a short, pudgy man with an owl-like face. Daz stayed with her as the doctor poked and prodded at her shoulder. She gritted her teeth to hold the pain at bay. Then it was time for X-rays. When those came back negative, Renee felt a wealth of worry lift off her shoulders.

The doctor provided her with a shoulder sling, and full bottles of painkillers and muscle relaxants.

“You're well-stocked,” she said to Daz.

“We have to be,” Daz said.

She pocketed the pills without looking at them. The sling was more than welcome but she had to be clearheaded for Charlie. No pills.

Once back upstairs, Beth led them into an office that was set up more as a living space. “Make yourselves at home. You can wait in here while I talk to Charlie in one of the smaller rooms.”

“I'd rather be there when you talk to Charlie,” Renee said. “He doesn't like meeting new people.”

“That's completely understandable. But I need to gain his trust to speak to him, mind-to-mind, and if you're in the room, he's going to look to you instead.”

Renee frowned. That made sense, as much as anything regarding telepathy made sense right now.

Beth turned on a television monitor that showed the video feed from the room next door. The room was obviously set up for kids, with a toy box, containers full of Lego bricks, Lincoln Logs, action figures, along with several child-size comfy chairs. “You can watch everything that happens, and we're only a few feet away,” Beth said.

“I guess that's okay,” Renee said.

Daz put his arm around her. “It's going to be fine.”

“I know it's hard not to be nervous but—”

Beth stopped talking and a strange look came over her face.

“Daz? What's happening to her? Is she okay?” Renee said.

“She's talking to Alec telepathically,” Daz said. “They're connected enough that if he calls to her, mind-to-mind, she hears him. But she needs to focus like this to hear him clearly.”

“I see.” She didn't. Renee added that to the list of questions she had about telepathy. It was certainly a more subtle ability than Alec's TK.

Beth's face returned to normal. “You need to both come with me.” She led them back out to the hallway at a brisk walk.

Oh. No. Alec was with Charlie. “Something's wrong with my son?” Renee asked.

“He's scared and acting out,” Beth said.

I knew it.
She should have stayed with him. She should've listened to her instincts. She should never have let him out of her sight.

Beth led them back down the hallway, to the lobby, and down another hallway that branched off it. They rounded a corner and there was Charlie, on the floor, his head in his hands. He was rocking back and forth. Thor was at Charlie's side but her son wasn't even acknowledging him. That was bad, very bad. He'd totally checked out.

Alec stood over him, clearly confused about what to do next. “I didn't know what to do, he—”

Renee knelt down next to Charlie, not hearing whatever else Alec said, too focused on her son.

“What's wrong?” Daz said.

Renee waved a hand at them for quiet. Charlie had done this once before, at an amusement park. He didn't mind the roller coasters but he'd been terrified by the costumed characters. She put her arm around him and tried to get Charlie to rest against her. She kissed his head, rubbed his back, and murmured soothing words into his ear.

After a few minutes, he stopped rocking. Another minute passed while she just held him. Thor came closer and sat at their feet. Loki stayed back.

“It's too bright in there, Ma,” Charlie said.

“That's okay. You don't have to go back inside,” she said.

“But I know it would be fun. Alec said so. I like Alec.”

“I'm sure you can have fun with Alec some other way.”

Beth knelt next to them. “I have a small room with Legos and some other types of building blocks. Would you rather go there, Charlie?”

He glared at her. “Who're you?”

Alec knelt too. “This is Beth. I was telling you about her.”

“Oh.”

Daz sat on the other side of Charlie. A few more minutes passed as Charlie's breathing returned to normal.

“I'd like to get up now,” Charlie finally said.

“Great,” she said.

Renee helped him up. He clung to her hand while he wiped tears off his face with his sleeve. “I was scared without you,” he said. “I thought maybe I'd fall over a cliff again.”

Guilt dug claws into her. She should never have let him run off yesterday. She hugged him. “I'm right here. And you're never falling off a cliff again.”

“You promise?” he asked.

“I promise.”

“Can we go home?” he asked.

Again, she should have listened to her instincts. Beth could have come to their house to examine Charlie. But they were here now and she didn't like the idea of another car ride with Charlie in this mood. “I'll think about it but, in the meantime, don't you want to go check out the Legos first? We can build them together.”

“There's a huge batch of 'em,” Daz said. “More than even at my place.”

“Okay. I'll try.”

Charlie held her hand the entire walk to the playroom. She sat down with him as he dumped out some Legos. They built a house for a while, with Alec and Beth pitching in. That, Renee suspected, was so he became used to the new people. And it was an excellent idea.