Bojan, p.1
Bojan, page 1
Books in This Series:
Radar, Book 1
Legend, Book 2
Bojan, Book 3
Langdon, Book 4
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
About Langdon
Author’s Note
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
Haunted by a painful and unimaginable past, Bojan sought refuge in his work to keep the memories—and Lacy—at bay. But, when she raises the alarm over Bullard’s family, Bojan is forced to step into the fray. Bullard is particularly wary of these “special” skills, except for those of Terk’s team. Plus ignoring the offer of these skills can be dangerous—especially when a threat involves his family.
Lacy is helping the heavily pregnant Leia in the medical clinic, yet can’t ignore the danger she sees. But triggering an alarm requires Terk’s special brand of help, who then tags Bojan to step up and to handle it. Lacy had no idea Bojan would return to her in the near future. Maybe in some distant future? So finding him in the kitchen one morning is unexpected. Still, now is the time for assistance. She just doesn’t know what help Bojan can offer. Or is prepared to offer …
Particularly as things go from bad to worse.
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Prologue
As Legend and Blair drove up to Guardian headquarters, she stared and gasped. “Oh my God, it really is a castle, isn’t it?”
Legend laughed. “Not only a castle, it’s a massive castle.” He looked somewhat excited himself. “They’re still trying to work their way through all the logistics of updating it.”
She frowned at him and asked, “It does have indoor plumbing though, right?”
He grinned. “It does, indeed, have indoor plumbing. In fact, I understand the bathrooms have been massively updated and a few other things as well. … So, some tolerance and patience will be required, but that will work both ways. We’ll need to make a ton of adjustments, and so will they.”
She nodded, as she got out. “It’s so huge.”
“It is, and they own acres and acres here, so lots of ground for you to explore. You can take Larry out for walks and all kinds of adventures.” He grabbed his bags, and she grabbed hers, and they started for the front door.
Before they ever had a chance to reach for it, Larry came barreling out, with all the exuberance a ten-year-old could manage. He threw himself first into her arms and then into Legend’s. “There you are,” he screamed.
She laughed, the three of them in a three-way hug, as she kissed Larry on the cheek. “Sounds like you’re having a blast.”
“Oh my gosh, it’s amazing. Can we stay here? Can we stay?”
“Well, I’m not positive about that, but we’ll see.”
He looked up at her beseechingly. “Please, there’s so much I can learn. You have no idea.”
“Yeah, that’s just because Clary is here.”
“Well, that too,” he agreed, with a big grin. He threw his arms around her neck and hugged her close. “I’m really happy that you guys are together too. It’ll be almost like a real family.”
“It is a real family,” she stated. “No matter what it seemed like before, this is the real deal.”
He looked from one to the other and got choked up. “You promise?”
“I promise,” Legend vowed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and then around Larry’s. “Now, shall we go in and talk to the rest of the team?”
“Yeah, you don’t even know who’s all here,” Larry added, “and you won’t believe all the baby bumps.” He looked at her and asked, “Have you got a baby in there yet?”
She flushed. “No, I hope not,” she replied, embarrassed.
“Well, I wouldn’t give it very long,” Larry declared, “because you will be if you stay here.”
“Why is that?”
As they walked inside behind him, they saw several of the women coming out of the kitchen with plates of food, only to stop and look at the newcomers. Blair saw the baby bumps, then she looked back at Legend. “What the hell?” she whispered.
“I have no idea,” he muttered. He turned to Terkel, and there stood Brody. “Funny how nobody mentioned that aspect,” he said to Brody.
Brody laughed. “Well, we’re trying to work on that aspect,” he replied, “so we’ll give you some pointers now that you’re here. However, at the moment, you’re the only couple who isn’t in the family way.” Then he stopped, chuckled, and asked, “Or are you?”
She glared at him. “I better not be.”
He shrugged. “We all thought we weren’t either, but it’s apparently a hazard of this kind of energy.”
“Okay, that’s definitely a little disconcerting.” Blair walked farther inside and was introduced to the group of people here. Some she knew of and some she didn’t, but the first one to greet her was Clary.
Clary walked over, gave her a gentle hug, and said, “So glad to have you here. Larry has been an absolute treat to have around.”
At that, Blair laughed. “And he tells me there’s so much he can still learn that he definitely needs to stay.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re staying then, isn’t it?” Clary teased.
Blair smiled. “Well, at least for a while.”
“Nope, no at least for a while nonsense,” Terkel replied, as he assessed her with one quick clean look and nodded. “You’ll do just fine.”
She stared at him. “And you are?”
He grinned. “Terkel, grand master of this insane household.”
She nodded. “Nice to meet you. I’m glad to know that you’re an actual person and not just a voice in my head.”
At that, everybody burst out laughing.
“Yeah,” Terk confirmed. “I’m definitely a voice in your head. I am also a real person, and we will all, at one time or another, be voices in your head.”
Another woman walked up and added, “One of the first things we’ll show you is how to get some privacy and peace and quiet around this place. In the meantime, we have an apartment for you.”
Terkel, getting to business right away, stated, “We also have another job, although this one is a little different.”
“Aren’t they all?” somebody quipped. “I’m Gage, by the way,” he told Legend and Blair. Gage sat down with a cup of coffee and asked Terk, “What’s going on?”
“Bullard called. He has a woman who’s apparently got some psychic ability, and, at the same time, he says that his wife is in trouble.”
At that, another woman came up to Terk and wrapped her arms around him, saying, “In that case, you know what to do. We owe him …”
Terkel nodded. “Yeah, I just have to come up with somebody to go help Bullard.” Terk looked around at all the people gathered in the room.
“I’m not doing anything at the moment,” said one man, leaning against the wall.
At that, Blair turned and recognized Riff. “You seem to be nowhere and everywhere,” she said.
He nodded, giving her a lazy smile. “Yeah, that’s me.” Riff looked over at Terkel. “Bojan is already in Africa.”
Terkel’s gaze sharpened, and then he almost zoned out, right in front of them. Soon he nodded. “That would work perfectly,” he said in a very soft whisper.
“You want to contact Bojan, or will I?” Riff asked.
“It’ll have to be me,” Terkel said, “but you might want to contact Bojan and tell him that I’ll be calling.”
“You think that’ll make a bit of difference? He already knows.”
“Yeah, he knows, but it might be easier if he knows that it’s coming from you first.”
At that, Riff laughed. “Okay, and what’s the time frame on this deal for Bullard?”
“Well, how quickly can you get over there?”
“I can be there early in the morning, probably,” Riff estimated. He glanced at Terkel and all the others. “Unless somebody else wants to go.”
“No, this one’s all about you,” Terk noted.
“It won’t be all about me. It’ll be about Bojan,” Riff stated.
“And Lacy,” Terkel added.
At that, Riff’s gaze narrowed. “Lacy?”
“Yeah, the psychic who’s been warning Terkel,” Gage confirmed.
“The university student in med school in Africa who has been working with Leia,” Terk added.
Riff nodded. “Lacy and Bojan.”
“Perfect,” Terkel said. “Tell Bojan I want to talk with him, and soon.”
And, with that, Riff nodded. “I’ll go grab my bag.”
Chapter 1
Bojan Anton looked down at the phone ringing in his hand and winced. “Damn it, Terkel,” he muttered to the empty air around him. “I don’t want to talk to you.” He just let it ring. When it rang a second time, he reluctantly went to answer it. This time it was a completely different number. He answered it with a smile on his face. “Hey, Riff. What’s up?”
“Do you really think Terkel doesn’t know when you’re avoiding him?”
“Well, shit, it would really be nice if he wasn’t in my face all the time.”
“Maybe not,” Bojan admitted, “but I just came off a pretty shitty job, and I’m looking for some downtime. I’m not necessarily keen on running off to rescue somebody else right away.”
“I hear you,” Riff replied, “but I think you will want to deal with this one.”
“Oh, I doubt it,” he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. His energy was at an all-new low. “You guys, everybody in this business is always ready to jump right in, but … I’m totally okay to miss a few.”
At that, Riff’s tone turned sober. “Maybe, but this time Lacy is involved.”
Bojan sucked in his breath. His heart stopped for a long moment, before racing ahead, all signs of weariness dropping away instantly. “Well, shit.”
“What’s that?” Riff asked, with a chuckle. “Still want to sit this one out?”
“Back off,” Bojan warned in exasperation, irritated, an almost instant reaction when Lacy came up in conversations.
Riff started to laugh. “God, I forgot what kind of a crazy relationship the two of you have.”
“We don’t have a relationship,” Bojan snapped.
“On again, off again, on again and guess what? … Off again,” he sang off key.
“Really?” Bojan glared at his phone. “You just called me to mock me?”
“Hey, if it works, hell yeah.”
“You haven’t explained what she’s doing in this case. How is she involved, and how bad is it?”
“No, I haven’t, and I’m not sure I should at this point,” Riff acknowledged, with a snort. “As I recall, the last time you got into a mess with her, you threatened to send her to Timbuktu or someplace.”
“I should have,” he muttered. “Instead I just walked away.” But, try as he might, he couldn’t hide the odd note in his tone, and Riff heard it. Riff didn’t miss much.
“Yeah? Well, guess what? This time you can get redemption.”
“I’m not looking for redemption,” he bit off, “and definitely not with her.”
“Not a case of believing you or not,” Riff stated, a smile evident in his tone, “because I can see some of the energy floating around the two of you, just as well as you can.”
“You don’t have to look,” Bojan spat, again glaring at the phone. “It used to be that people stayed out of each other’s way and definitely out of their faces.”
“That’s true enough, until we got into trouble anyway.”
“Oh, yeah? You were more trouble than I expected you to be out there, so why would you even be trying to get other people into trouble?”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t lost sight of my goal either,” Riff declared, sounding irritated, enough that it made Bojan smile.
“Yeah, and what about Angela?” Bojan asked. “I highly doubt she’s giving you any rope, … unless it’s enough to hang yourself.”
“Well, she’s still there unfortunately,” Riff grumbled. “She’s trying hard to get over to Terkel’s place, but I don’t think he has any idea how his life will change if she succeeds.”
“Why the hell is she going to Terkel’s?” Bojan asked, mildly interested. That made no sense.
At that, Riff paused. “I guess you don’t know about all the changes in Terk’s world, huh?”
Such a thread of mystery filled Riff’s tone that Bojan perked up. “Don’t know anything about it,” he stated. “I deliberately went dark. Remember?”
“Yeah, I remember. I also remember it didn’t do you much good, since we’re all still calling you.”
“And you can damn-well stop it,” Bojan declared. “Do you not know the meaning of ‘get lost’?”
“I do.”
At that, Bojan hung up on his friend. Then he glared down at the phone because Riff hadn’t told him what the hell Lacy had gotten involved in nor about the changes to Terk’s situation. Bojan groaned at that because, as much as he could try to convince himself that none of it mattered, it sure as hell did. It mattered a lot. But, worst of all, he knew that Riff would just sit there and would wait for Bojan to call back. Furious at having to give in, Bojan called Riff back. “Okay, all bullshit aside, what the hell is Lacy involved in?”
“Do you know Bullard?”
“Only by reputation,” Bojan replied. “Why?”
“Somehow she managed to tell him that his wife’s life is in danger.”
“Wife? Bullard’s married?” Shock filled Bojan’s tone. “Did something happen to Levi?”
At that, Riff sighed. “Now see? Everybody knew about that aspect of Bullard’s life, so why the hell we’re keeping you out of the loop, I don’t know.”
“I’d rather be kept out of the loop completely than just get bits and pieces.”
“To answer one question, Levi is fine, and he and Ice are still very happily married. Bullard found somebody for himself, after narrowly surviving an attempt on his life.” Riff went on to share some of the details.
“Man, I didn’t hear about any of that,” Bojan admitted. “Sounds like he’s damn lucky to be alive.”
“The woman who rescued him saved him in other ways too,” Riff added.
“Well, shit,” Bojan muttered. “Seems I should get myself ditched on a deserted island, huh?”
“You and me both, buddy,” Riff replied.
“No, you just need to stop running from Angela,” Bojan suggested, with a laugh.
“I’m not running anywhere. That woman is a barracuda.”
“No, she isn’t. You just won’t listen.”
“I’m not listening. I’m doing everything I can to find whoever murdered her sister, and nobody wants that more than me, but I can’t do what I can’t do.”
“I hear you on that,” Bojan agreed, as he eased back on the teasing. “You still haven’t explained what the hell Lacy is up to.”
“I did tell you part of it. So, back to Bullard. Now that he’s gone through so much, he is absolutely petrified of losing his wife, who is also pregnant, which was a huge shock for them.”
“Damn,” he said in amazement. “Who would have thought Bullard would ever get to that point?”
“Yeah, well, it’s kind of like Levi and Ice—and, if you don’t know what’s happened to Terkel, that’s a whole story in itself.”
“Don’t even start if you will try and tell me that Terkel has found a partner and is having a family,” Bojan barked. “I just won’t believe you, so don’t waste your time.” At that, Bojan started to laugh, but the lack of a response from Riff revealed something Bojan wasn’t ready to comprehend. He stared down at the phone. “Shit, really?”
“Yeah, really, but that’s not my story to tell, and it’s just as bad, if not worse than Bullard’s. However, at the end of the day, Terk also came out of it with a partner.”
“Holy shit.” At that, Bojan stared around at the empty hotel room he’d taken refuge in for the last few days, just to rest after his last job. “Is that what we have to do now to find someone special? We have to damn-near die?”
“Well, if that was all it took, we would both have partners already.”
“Yeah, that’s true enough.” Bojan groaned. “So, what the hell am I supposed to do with this information?”
“Bullard seems to think that Lacy is right. I’m pretty sure Bullard’s contacted Terkel to check it out, and, as you already know, Lacy is somewhat accurate. She has a knack for sniffing out trouble.”
“Somewhat accurate is right.” Bojan snorted. “That also means, for the rest of the time, she’s not accurate at all.”
“Still, I wonder,” Riff replied. “Anyway, the bottom line is that, because of her warning, Bullard—who has men all over the place, with teams everywhere—is shorthanded and is looking for extra help to keep his wife safe, plus to keep Lacy safe as well.”
“What? Why keep Lacy safe?” Bojan asked in confusion, “I’m sure she dropped her bomb and blissfully set off into the middle of nowhere to do her thing again.”
“You really do have a problem with her, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t have a problem with her. That would mean that I care, and I really don’t give a damn.”
“Then why did you call me back to find out what’s going on with her?”
“Cut the games,” Bojan snapped, his voice harsh. “Or the next time I hang up, that will be it.”
