Warrior's Heart: Gifts of the Ancients, Book 1 Read online

  He lowered her into the water then jumped down in beside her. He set off away from the boat and toward the distant shore with a steady, strong pace, but she soon fell behind. He stopped to tread water, reaching for her.

  She clutched his shoulders as they rode the swells several miles offshore. The boat was growing distant, but it wasn’t far enough away to make him comfortable yet. Even worse, they were stuck out here in the middle of the ocean. She’d managed to paddle after him this far, but she was no Olympian by any stretch of the imagination.

  “I’m sorry, Hal. I’m slowing you down. I told you I’m not a great swimmer.”

  “Not to worry, sweetheart. I think I’ve got an ace up my sleeve.”

  He held her loosely, helping her tread water and conserve her strength. She was already shivering in the cold water. Luckily the summer sun had warmed it a bit and they could last for a while. At least for the time it would take to get back to the island—he hoped.

  “I can’t imagine what you have in mind, but I’ve trusted you this far.”

  He smiled at her. “That’s the spirit. One of the reasons my unit has been working together on Plum Island is so that the doctors can keep an eye on us while we train our new abilities under top secret conditions. One of the things we’ve been working on is a form of telepathy. Several of my guys can communicate with each other, and we’re working on getting all of us up to speed, if possible.”

  “You can talk mind to mind with them? Holy crap.”

  “Well, actually,” he looked sheepish for a short moment, “I can’t do it with any of the guys yet. I’ve had some success with higher level animals.”

  Her attention was caught by a group of dorsal fins approaching rapidly from behind him.

  “You mean like sharks? I hope you mean you can talk sharks out of eating us.” Her eyes widened in alarm as the fins made straight for them.

  He turned his head and chuckled. “No, sweetheart, they’re not sharks. They’re dolphins. That’s what I mean by higher level. Dolphins, Cas. Air-breathing, fast-swimming, intelligent dolphins. They’re coming to help us. I called them.”

  Her gaze shot back to him, and she finally acknowledged the fierce blue light shining from his eyes. Her shoulders relaxed a bit. The fins did indeed belong to pretty, playful dolphins who, even as she watched, leapt up for a breath of air.

  “I’m going to stay in communication with them and ask them to tow us to shore. They like to swim deep and can hold their breath much longer than we can. I’ll ask them to stay near the surface and pop up when I ask them to, so we can breathe. They like to play games and this is a new one for them.”

  The biggest dolphin of the group was closing in on them, peeping out of the water on one side to look at them with one of his eyes before moving closer. He seemed interested in them and cautiously friendly, which was exactly the way she was feeling.

  “Are you sure this is going to work?” Some of her fear must have shown in her voice because he pulled her close for a quick kiss, squeezing her tight for a moment.

  “It’s worth a try, right? Give them a minute to check us out. I’ll tell you when to grab on. These are wild dolphins so this could be a little tricky at first. Wait for my signal, okay?”

  “You’re in charge, Hal. I trust you.”

  Those three little words meant so much to him in that moment. He wished he could stop and tell her how much her trust meant. This woman had followed him into peril and without any training or preparation, had weathered the storm like a real trouper. She was his match in every way, and if they lived through this, he was going to ask her to make their relationship permanent and let fate decide how long they might have together.

  He knew he would never be happy again without her, so he might as well risk everything. He wanted it all with her. Marriage, a home in the suburbs that she could decorate in pale yellow and white, maybe even some kids, and a white picket fence. The whole nine yards—or as much of it as he could manage given the twists and turns fate had taken in his life recently.

  “I love you, Cas.”

  He hadn’t planned to blurt it like that. It just came out. Oh, he’d said he loved her before, but never directly like this. The look on her face was his reward though, for his impulsive actions. Her luminous eyes filled with tears of joy.

  “I love you too.”

  His heart expanded and would have burst, except one of the dolphins chose that moment to head-butt Casey hard in the back. She squealed and dug her fingers into Hal’s shoulders.

  “Ow! I thought you said these guys were friendly.”

  He laughed, kissing her. His heart overflowed. There was work to do and he had to focus, but he needed a kiss first. He always needed Casey’s kisses. He backed off when the dolphins circled, reminding them of their presence.

  “That was just a love tap. Don’t forget that guy outweighs you at least three times over and is mostly muscle. He didn’t mean to hurt you. He’s communicating curiosity and fun.”

  “That is so cool,” she breathed.

  He let her go, letting her tread water on her own while he worked with the dolphin that approached him.

  “It’s about to get even cooler.” His focus was on the dolphin and his friend that was coming up alongside Casey at his request. They seemed to want to play with them, and he bathed their intelligent minds with thanks and caution about staying near the surface. They seemed to agree readily and were eager to set out for their new adventure with this odd human who could somehow speak with them.

  “What’s he doing?”

  Casey’s voice was rising in a bit of surprised fear as the dolphin’s buddy sidled up next to her, peeping one eye out of the water to spy her.

  “He’s letting you know he’s there, and he wants to get a look at you. Just move slowly and let him investigate you.” He stroked his hand over the dolphin he was working with. “Get ready now. Stroke his side. Let him feel your hands on his skin. When I tell you, take a deep breath and grab hold of his dorsal fin down near the base and hang on. They’ll take us down a few feet under the surface since we can move a lot faster that way. They’ll come up for air when we need it.”

  He watched carefully while she stroked the dolphin at her side.

  “If you need to breathe before they surface, just let go and push for the top. You won’t be that far beneath the surface, and I’ll come get you. Don’t worry. I’ll keep track of you. If this doesn’t work, we’ll figure out another way to get to shore.”

  She sent him a brave smile, and he had to hand it to her. She was obviously scared. It touched him that she was willing to trust him with her life. That meant more to him than he could say. Even the men in his unit took some time before they formed such a deep bond through combat. This beautiful woman, untrained, untried was willing to trust him with everything that was her. If he thought about it too long it would bring him to tears, he knew.

  So he focused on the task at hand. The dolphins were surprisingly easy to communicate with. Each time he used his new talent, it seemed to get a little easier and he was glad. These friendly, intelligent creatures might be the only chance they had at making it to shore in one piece. Sure, he could probably swim it, but he wouldn’t leave Casey behind no matter what. He loved her too much.

  “Are you ready, Cas?” He sent her a quick look to assess her readiness. She looked cautiously apprehensive, and the dolphins were raring to go. Now was the moment.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She smiled for him through her chattering teeth. He could see she was very cold, but it couldn’t be helped.

  “On three.” He counted them down, simultaneously communicating mentally with the sea creatures. He prompted her to take a deep breath and hold it right before they submerged, and then the dolphins were off and swimming.

  It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. The huge dolphins cut through the water faster than he would have believed, staying reassuringly close to the surface. The big male that let him hang on for
the ride communicated its enjoyment of this new game and asked how Hal liked it.

  He answered honestly with his joy and it seemed to please the dolphin, who moved a little faster after his friend. The rest of the pod swam alongside them, flanking and guarding below, before and behind in a protective move that made him wonder again at the intelligence of these masters of the ocean.

  He signaled for a breath, and the dolphins rose to the surface. He took quick stock of their location and was amazed by how much distance they’d covered.

  “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m good. That was incredible.”

  Her enthusiasm brought a smile to his face. He shared her excited awe at their once in a lifetime experience.

  “Ready for another go?”

  She nodded, and they repeated the procedure of taking a deep breath and diving beneath the surface with their new dolphin friends. In less than an hour, they were approaching Plum Island’s rugged coast. The beach here was rockier than the groomed sand of Jones Beach or Fire Island. The dolphins were able to take them pretty close before they had to say goodbye. Hal gave him their thanks and promise to return any favor he could should they need him. He didn’t know how he could keep that promise, but his newly spooky friend Jeff had made him realize that sometimes the most improbable things really did come to pass.

  He took Cas in his arms, towing her the rest of the way in to shore. He faced the strong currents near the beach for her. She was beat both physically and mentally. She’d been through the wringer today, and he was amazed by her stamina and fortitude. Still, he enjoyed using his newly acquired strength to bring her the rest of the way onto the beach.

  He knew once he set foot on dry land they’d be setting off all kinds of perimeter alarms, and that was a good thing. His friends were on the island. They’d help him get her to a dry, safe place.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jeff found them on the beach and signaled the rest of the unit to come help. Rick showed up first, laying his hands on Casey first, then on Hal to check if they were okay. Several anxious men waited for his pronouncement.

  “They’re okay, just worn out.”

  “Even the captain?” one of the men asked with surprise in his voice.

  Rick nodded. “Even the captain. Although his lady’s temperature is somewhat lower than it should be. Let’s get them inside and into something warm.”

  Several men lifted Hal in their strong arms while Rick took Casey, Jeff following closely behind. This woman was too important to their captain and therefore too important to them, to let anything happen to her.

  They took them to the mostly empty barracks where they’d all been staying, and Rick shooed out everyone but Jeff, who wouldn’t leave Casey’s side for some reason. All of them had learned not to question Jeff’s newly weird ways.

  The guy had been spooky before. Now he was downright scary. He knew things about the future, and they weren’t always good things.

  Making a quick decision, Rick decided to treat Hal first. He knew the captain would want to be awake to watch over his woman, and even though Rick was a medical doctor, he didn’t feel right stripping her out of her wet clothes when just a quick application of his newly acquired healing talent would revive the captain.

  “How is she?”

  Rick smiled, realizing that Hal’s first words would be concern for his lady.

  “She’s resting. Her body temp is a little low. I’m going to take care of that. I figured you’d want to help.”

  The mischievous smile he spared for Hal was wasted as their captain stumble out of his bunk, caring only that he reach his woman’s side.

  He was sopping wet, but Rick didn’t argue with him. Hal began stripping off Casey’s clothes. She was still unconscious, and Rick knew it was caused by exhaustion from their ordeal. That, and being stuck in the ocean for who knew how long.

  “What happened to you two, captain?” Rick took one side while Hal worked on her other side, fighting with sodden material that didn’t want to come off her.

  “Foreign agents got us. Syrian, or maybe Egyptian, I think. Took us out on a boat several miles into the Atlantic. They threatened to hurt her if I didn’t cooperate.”

  “But you kicked their asses and escaped, right?”

  Hal nodded grimly, wrapping Cas’s bare upper half in a warm blanket before moving to fight with her wet jeans.

  “They’re dead. Unfortunately, there are more where they came from. Two speedboats full. Whatever we stumbled into in ancient Babylon, they want to know about it, and they’re willing to kill to get to us.”

  “We’re hunted then.” Rick’s voice didn’t sound that surprised, just resigned.

  “’Fraid so. I only hope we have the skills to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. And our government is behind us. At least so far.”

  “Speaking of which, they’ve sent us a new team of scientists and specialists to hear our tale of woe and help us figure out exactly what happened.”

  That was good news, Hal realized. It meant that they were not being abandoned by their superiors. His faith had been repaid.

  “How did you get away from them?” Jeff was still there, his voice low and concerned. “I couldn’t see that far ahead, Captain. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you in time.”

  Hal stood after he’d covered Casey’s bare legs, nodding to his team doctor. “Do your thing, Rick.” He turned to face the seer of the group. “Don’t blame yourself, Jeff. You gave me time to prepare and try to evade. That’s more than I would’ve had without your warning. You probably saved her brother’s life. He’s my best friend, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that.”

  Jeff looked oddly touched. He nodded, the blue flare of his eyes eerie in the twilight of the long room.

  He paused on his way out the door to glance back.

  “Take care of your woman, captain. She is important to us. So is the child.”

  “Child?” Hal was shocked, but Jeff kept on walking. “Wait a minute. What child?”

  Rick straightened from Casey’s side, an expression of awe on his face. He looked from his commander to the woman who was now awake and watching them both.

  “Your child, Hal,” he said softly, his own gift flaring in his eyes. “Casey’s pregnant.”

  “Good God.”

  Her whisper brought Hal to his knees beside her. He touched her face gently, watching the shock be replaced by an overwhelming joy that flooded her eyes with tears.

  “You’re happy about having my baby?” He couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. Having a child with Casey had been one of his long-held dreams. Life couldn’t get any better, as far as he was concerned.

  She cried harder and threw herself into his arms, sobbing.

  “Casey, sweetheart, what’s wrong. You are happy, right? Honey, you’re scaring me.”

  She hiccupped, lifting her face to move between his and Rick’s.

  “You don’t understand.” Her voice was ragged with her tears. “I was told I could never have children. I had some medical problems when I was in college, and they had to operate. Rick, are you sure?”

  Both of them stared at the doctor. He beamed back at them.

  “I’m positive. Your child is self-aware and happily growing.” He moved his hand gently down her abdomen, guiding her fingers with his. “Right about here. She’s tiny, but she’s got her mama’s determination.”

  “A little girl?” Hal felt faint. The woman in his arms held his heart in her hands, his life in her smile and the new life of their daughter in her beloved body.

  Rick nodded. “Have no doubts. You will be proud parents in about eight and a half months.” He got up to leave, giving them some privacy.

  “It’s a miracle.” Casey sobbed into his chest, happiness invading every pore of her body.

  “With everything that’s happened to me and my men lately, I definitely believe in those.” He stroked her hair and kissed her cheeks.

  A thought occ
urred to her then. “Do you think what happened to you might’ve had something to do with this?”

  “Only God knows for sure, sweetheart, but I wouldn’t be surprised.” He squeezed his big frame onto the cot, resting her against his chest and hugging her tight. “You will marry me, right?”

  “You’re not asking me now just because of the baby, are you?”

  He tugged her closer. “No, silly. Not just because of the baby. I wanted to ask before, but we were rudely interrupted by a dolphin. Remember when I said I loved you? I wanted to ask you then.”

  “I remember. And Hal,” she whispered, her hands stroking loving circles on his chest. “I wanted you to ask. And I was going to say yes. But you didn’t ask.”

  He sat up a little, frowning down at her. “Just to be clear, I’m asking now, brat. So what’s your answer?”

  “Well, it’s not very romantic,” she teased, pouting. Then her face brightened. “You know I can never say no to you. So I guess my answer is yes.”

  He gave a theatrical sigh of relief and tugged her back into his arms, hugging her close.

  “I love you, squirt.”

  “I love you, Hal. And I always will.”

  About the Author

  To learn more about Bianca D’Arc, please visit www.biancadarc.com. Send an email to Bianca at [email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Bianca! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biancadarc

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