Page 23 of Ride the Whirlwind

“Hey, Spitfire, I think you should come outside,” a blond, teen boy peeked into the office, flashing the cutest grin Martens saw. “The Special Ones are here,” he whispered-shouted.

“Thank you, Tarrin.” Alasdair's answer came in a soft, affectionate voice. “Will you please go and tell them to wait a couple of minutes? I'm with a patient right now.”

“No,” Martens raised his voice, “Please, c—come inside. My mes—message also concerns you.” He closed his eyes, inhaling sharply. “I... please, believe me. It's true, I swear.”

“Relax, kiddo, I'll believe you, and so will Tarrin,” Alasdair rubbed soothing circles on the boy's back. “Why would someone as sweet as you lie to us?”

“My friend...the one who told me about The Base and convinced Dad to let me come here...his name is Ardan and lives at my honorary uncle's villa in San Francisco. ‘I love you and all our children, and I can't wait to hug you to my chest.’ This is more...personal.” Martens hopped from the examination table and pulled a neatly folded piece of paper from the back pocket of his jeans.

He offered it to Alasdair, who took it and stared at it in disbelief. After a while, the redhead unfolded the note with shaky fingers, an immense joy replacing the incredulous expression from earlier. It was there: Ardan's uniform, cursive, neat handwriting, an irrefutable proof that his heart was still beating for his loved ones. Like an extension of the man, the words written on that sheet of paper caressed the redhead's soul, making it sing with joy.

My most beloved Spitfire,

I hope you'll forgive me for not getting in touch with you earlier. It was per doctor's orders. You know how obedient I am (as a patient and as your husband), so I didn't protest. Doc Douglas is a talented, gifted healer who brought me back from the realm of shadows, and I'm forever indebted to the man, so please, don't be mad at him.

There is another reason why my contact with you was limited to that one phone call: Graeme McGowan, Doc's best friend, the one who rescued me and my cellmate Brodie after we escaped that hellhole, is surrounded by enemies who closely watch his every move. They are wolves in sheep's clothing, posing as his allies and associates, and he can't tell who plots against him and who is loyal to him, so the two of us devised a plan, but we need you, Pater, and Papa Lance to come here and help us. Hopefully, the presence of a bunch of strangers in the house would make them lose their cool and act recklessly.

I miss you, my Spitfire, with every cell of my body, and I can't wait for us to be reunited, to see your beautiful smile and lose myself into those stunning emerald eyes. I'll count the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until I'll hold you in my arms again, until the two of us will become one. I'll make love to you all night long, and I'll cradle your sleeping, snoring form to my chest. We'll grow old together, my Spitfire, and we'll live to see our grandchildren's kids. This is a promise I'll keep at all costs.

Until then, take care of you and give the kiddies all my love. I miss their bright smiles, crystalline laugh, their cute grins, and crazy antics. Soon, I'll be back home, and I'll enjoy every minute I'll spend with them to the fullest. For now, this is only dreaming out loud, but I promise to make the dream come true once I get home.

P.S. Martens is Doc Douglas' son. Poor kid has been through a lot, so please make him feel at home.

Faithfully yours,

Ardan

CHAPTER 18

“What took you so long? I was starting to worry about you.” Daniel frowned, examining Alasdair who’d finally joined the Dragons' House special team after making sure Martens was comfortably installed in one of the dorms.

“Sorry, guys, I've had a patient, and I guess I've got a little sidetracked. Nothing to worry about, cousin. I'm...fine,” the redhead said, still a bit shocked after reading Ardan's letter. “Scratch that. I'm ecstatic.”

“Come here, little one. Let me hug the hell out of you.” Moira, one of the wonder girls in the tech department, threw her arms around Alasdair's slim waist, kissing him on both cheeks.

“He's all grown-up now, a happy father, and a married man.” Valerie Salazar, who was also part of the tech department, imitated her best friend. “Sorry that you have to go through this, sweetie. We'll use everything in our power to bring that husband of yours home.” She spoke softly, caressing Alasdair's cheek.

“Look, I've only had the privilege of working with Ardan on one case some seven years ago, but, from what I could tell, he wasn't the type who gave up easily.” Lexi Beragon put a hand on the redhead's shoulder, looking straight into his eyes.

“Thank you guys for being so supportive.” Alasdair finally spoke after several failed attempts. “I really, really appreciate your kind words and concern. I have some great news to share.” He paused a little, looking around. “The little patient I told you about earlier brought me the evidence that my Ardan is alive and well. Take a look,” he said and extracted the letter from the pocket of his jeans, giving it to Daniel.

“This is...incredible, fantastic!” the man exclaimed after quickly reading it. “Let's see what the expert thinks.” He passed the piece of paper to Jamie Stuyvesant, the expert in forgeries.

“I need a sample of Ardan's handwriting for comparison just to be absolutely sure this isn’t someone's idea of a very bad joke,” the young man said as he carefully examined the letter. “Oh, gods, Theodore, look! Isn't this the guy who...”

“Yes, indeed, it's his name. The guy who’s wanted dead by the FSB, half of the MI5, and even some hotshots from the CIA,” the team's secret service liaison said. “I'm sorry, Alasdair, but it looks like Ardan landed in pretty big trouble.” He turned to the redhead.

“Would you care to detail a little? My husband mentioned something about his rescuer needing help but offered very little details.”

Theodore, Earl Dunvale, the Special Ones' secret services liaison, was about to answer when the sound of happy giggles turned everyone's attention to the group of four young children, two redheads and two with raven-black hair, who were running in Alasdair's direction, accompanied by two adults none of the team members except Daniel recognized on the spot.

The little red-haired kids stopped right in front of Alasdair, hugging his knees and then raising their little arms in the air, eyes shining with happiness. The redhead picked them up and proudly introduced little Paisley and Axel to The Special Ones, who greeted them with enthusiasm. Paisley lived up to her reputation of kissy monster, covering everyone's faces with sticky kisses, to their delight.

The two black-haired children got the same attention and treatment, especially after the team members recognized Peyton in the person of the younger adult accompanying them. Theodore remembered how much the images the talented photographer captured helped the Special Ones to decapitate the espionage network Alexander Kane created.

Clearing his throat, Daniel discreetly pointed to the older adult, making the others gasp in shock when he mentioned his name. The man standing there, smiling, eyes shining with paternal affection, had nothing in common with the stern, reserved, almost cold Fabian Bloom they remembered from the period his son Martin Cornelius was part of the team.

The Special Ones were even more shocked when Alasdair told them about how the man helped Ardan escape from Alexander Kane's claws and establish The Base. Smiling, Peyton confirmed their friend's words, and, after hugging everyone, took the little children and dropped them to kindergarten.

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