Page 73 of Savage Reckoning

Gabriel

I’m woken with a start by the shrieking of a siren. I roll out of Megan’s bed and grab my clothes. Less than half a minute later I’m outside, sprinting around the side of the cottage in the direction of the clinic.

I meet Megan coming out. She and Freddie are pushing a wheelchair, and if I’m not mistaken, the occupant is Ethan Savage. I skid to a halt in front of them.

He recognises me at once. Not bad, given it’s been a few weeks since Minsk, and he’s been in a coma since our previous one and only meeting. He doesn’t give the impression of being especially pleased to see me.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

I offer my hand. “Gabriel Sawyer. Nice to meet you, Mr Savage.”

Megan does her best. “Ethan, this is Gabe. He… I mean, he and I… That is…”

Ethan scowls at her. “Just get me to the castle. We can deal with the introductions later.”

“Let me.” I take Megan’s place behind the wheelchair and shove.

She and Freddie jog along beside us.

Men are arriving from all directions, heading towards the castle. Clearly the siren, which is still wailing, is some sort of call to arms.

“What’s this about?” I yell, wrestling the wheelchair up the castle steps.

“There’s going to be an attack,” is the best an out-of-breath Megan can manage. “Ethan called a war conference.”

There’s no time for further discussion. We arrive in the entrance to the great hall, where maybe a couple of dozen men are already assembled. From among the crowd, a boy of about twelve years old disengages himself and rushes at us with cries of “Papa.” He flings himself into Ethan Savage’s arms. “Papa, you’re better.”

Ethan hugs the boy back. “I’m certainly getting there, son.” He puts the boy at arm’s length. “I need your help, Tomasz.”

“What, Papa?”

“I need you to find Jacob, then go with Aunt Faith. You’ll have the little ones with you as well and you’ll need to help look after everyone.”

“But, Papa, I want to stay with you.”

“I know, but this is an important job, and I need someone I can really trust. Will you do it for me? Please?”

The boy regards his father, then nods. His reluctance is obvious, but he does as he is told. Asked.

“You can trust me, Papa.”

“I know that, son. I love you.”

“I won’t let you down.” He hugs his father again, then rushes off in search of this Jacob.

Ethan watches him go, then seems to give himself a mental shake. “Right. To business. Is everybody here?”

A few stragglers are still filing in. I spot several women as well and the men. Cristina Savage is already seated at the huge table. Beside her is Beth, Aaron’s partner. And, of course, Casey Savage-O’Neill. Magda hobbles in, and one of the men stands to offer her a seat. Even the cook is present, hovering by the door to the kitchen.

I manoeuvre Ethan’s chair to the head of the table, then take a step back. Tony, Rome, and Aaron form up beside me, while Jack takes the seat next to Ethan, opposite Cristina.

“It’s good to see you back, boss,” one of the men calls out.

There’s a generalised cheer, which Ethan acknowledges. Then, silence.

“We have a problem,” Ethan announces. He beckons Freddie forward. “Tell them.”

The lad has the appearance of a rabbit caught in headlights. “I… Well…”

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