Blind Loyalty by M J Marlow (ebook reader wifi .txt) 📕

bandage it. She went down without argument after that and Winbourne made his way downstairs to the master suite. Joanna drove to the Aerie in the morning instead of to school. She had a feeling that she needed to do this so she didn’t say a word to her father or anyone else about where she was going. She knew she was probably chasing ghosts but she needed to be assured of that suddenly. She entered Braxton’s office and he looked up and nodded to her. No smile. That meant something bad was happening. “I should have called first,” she said softly. “I’ll come back another time…” “No, Joey,” Braxton called her back. “This has to do with you. So you might as well stay to hear it.” The door opened and Adam stepped inside. He saw his daughter and frowned. “She came here of her own volition,” he said to Adam. “I did not call her.” “You should be in school, Joey,” Adam said stiffly “You could wait to hear this news.” “It’s Saturday, Father. Tryouts.” Joanna told her father. “If the news is as bad as I fear, you might want to protect me from it.” She saw him frown and wished she could take it back, but instead she plunged on. “I have a very bad feeling that James Leighton is not as dead as we all hoped he was.” She saw them both looking at her now. “Because if he is, then it was his twin standing outside of our kitchen at two a.m.” “You saw Leighton?” Braxton hissed. “Did he say anything?” “He just stood there and smiled,” Joanna replied. “Like he always did when he knew he was winning.” She shivered. “Damn him! I broke one of our good glasses and cut my arm open because of him.” “You cut your arm open?” Adam was on her, looking. “Grandfather took care of it for me,” Joanna told him. “I was in a state of shock. I was just standing there in the bathroom watching it bleed when he found me.” She winced as Adam checked her over. “I guess I landed on the glass I broke when I fainted.” She bit her lip as she heard herself admitting she had fainted. “I’m not much of a soldier, am I?” “You’re just sixteen, Joey,” Adam said as he put the bandage back down. “You need to go to the Infirmary and have Carla put in some stitches, but your Grandfather did a good job cleaning it out.” She nodded and left the office, knowing that tone of voice. The minute she closed the door, he was on the Commander. “I don’t care what you have to do, sir. Lock her in a cell, if you have to; but she is not out front on this!” “You would do that to your own daughter, Jeffries?” Braxton asked with some amusement. “In a heartbeat, sir,” Adam nodded. “She’s been through hell and back twice this past year. I’d prefer she not have to face him again.” There was a knock on the door and Braxton called out. Adam watched in amazement as three identical looking young men stepped into the room and stood at attention. “Major Jeffries,” Braxton smiled as he indicated the young men. “Allow me to introduce you to the Ursanov triplets: Stefan, Mikhael, and Dmitri. They have all received exactly the same education and training and are all equally proficient in the kind of skills needed to act as Joey’s shadows.” “And how are you going to get her to accept them?” Adam asked his commander. He liked this idea immensely and wondered why he hadn’t thought of it. “Stefan and Mikhael will be joining the Cheer Squad as replacements for Aidan Murphy and George Jensen. Dmitri will join the football team. Their class schedules assure that at least one of them will be in one of Joanna’s classes.” He smiled at Adam’s look of shock. “Your father-in-law has already agreed to take them in as Foreign Exchange students since you have that empty room now that your twins are away at college?” “I assume they will arrive at our home later today?” Adam smiled at the wolf-eyed triplets. They were sharp edged and dangerous. Braxton nodded. “And they will understand that my daughter is off limits to any flirtations. Because if I find any of them with their hands on my child, I will break their necks.” He left the office then and went to find Joanna. Carla was just finishing the stitches up. He looked it over and nodded. The woman did good work. He took Joanna to his Jeep and they stood there for several minutes in silence. He was disturbed that she had not taken a moment to speak to him about this before she had come here on her own. But he could see she was already disturbed enough. “I’m sorry, Father,” she said as she laid her hand on his arm. “I should have let you know I wanted to speak to the Commander. I could have ridden in with you instead of coming alone.” She fell silent again and then she smiled. “The Commander has a good idea with the triplets but he might have chosen ones that weren’t quite so intense.” “You saw them?” “I saw them,” Joanna nodded. “I’m not supposed to know they’re agents, am I?” She looked at her father. “Coming in as foreign exchange students?” “You are far too sharp for your own good, young lady,” Adam hugged her to him. “Since you’re already aware of them, perhaps we should let you take them to school with you today to the tryouts. You can introduce them around.” Joanna nodded and Adam went back into the complex. He came back ten minutes later with Stefan, Mikhael and Dmitri in tow. Joanna looked them over and saw the differences right away. A slight scar over the left eyebrow was Stefan. The slight alteration to the upper lip was Mikhael. The brother with the flawless face was Dmitri. They were all astounded when she pointed them out immediately. “Your daughter,” Stefan said to Adam in his heavily accented English, “has a very keen eye, Major. She is only sixteen?” “She is going to be formidable when she becomes a woman,” Mikhael said with respect in his tone. “I’m standing right here, gentlemen,” Joanna snapped. They all looked at her and she had the impression of wolves and winter and vast forests. “If you’re ready, we have to get moving. If we’re late for tryouts, Glory will have my head.” She kissed her father on the cheek. “See you for dinner?” Adam nodded. “I hear it’s your turn to cook. So Chinese take-out or pizza?” “You have no respect for your old father, girl,” Adam laughed and chucked her under the chin. “For your information, I am actually cooking tonight. Steaks. In honor of our house-guests.” “I’ll buy some Pepto-bismol on the way home.” Joanna teased him. “Get on with you, girl,” Adam shook his head and grinned. “You’ll be late.” He watched her bounce off with the three Russians in tow and hoped to God Braxton knew what he was doing. “Joey!” Glory was launching into her tirade at how late she was when she froze. She saw the three young men following in Joanna’s wake and her eyes widened. “Where did you pick these handsome things up, Joey?” “They’re foreign exchange students, Glory,” Joanna replied. “They’re staying at the Castle. Stefan, Mikhael and Dmitri Ursanov from Moscow. This is Glory Danvers, the co-captain for the Cheer Squad. Dmitri, the football team is meeting outside.” She smiled at Glory. “Do you think you can keep them company while I show Dmitri where to go?” “No problem,” Glory smiled like a cat looking at plump pigeons. “Don’t be too long. It is your routine we’re using for our first game, Captain Joey.” Joanna froze and looked at her in shock. “It was unanimous, Joey. You are the new co-captain of the squad.” Joanna shook her head and started to protest, but Dmitri pulled her outside. He had never met a girl who would argue about being given such an honor. This Joanna was something of an enigma to him. She pulled her arm free and led him out to the football field. The coach smiled as he introduced Dmitri to him and looked the boy over. He was lean and wiry, perfect running back material. He asked Dmitri if he had ever played football before and the boy told him he had played soccer, rugby, basketball, and baseball, but had not had the honor of learning American style football. “Leave him here with us, Joey,” the coach smiled. “I have a feeling we can use him on the team.” Joanna went back inside and stood back as Stefan and Mikhael went through a gymnastics run side by side in perfect unison. Aidan would have loved to have seen that, she thought as she watched. She thought of her friend now and realized she missed him. He was at MIT this year. Her brothers were at Harvard and Princeton. All her protectors gone on to higher education, she sighed. Well, she had three new protectors now. She looked at the Russians and wondered if there was any force on earth that would budge those three if they chose to make a stand. She felt safe for the first time in several months. “Well,” Glory came to stand next to her, “I can see those two are prime samples of manhood. Either one of them appears to be up to your level of performance, Joey.” She saw Joey staring off into space. “But they’re not Aidan, are they?” “What?” Joanna blinked and looked at the smirking girl. “Did I miss a smart comment?” “You’re missing Aidan,” Glory repeated. Joanna couldn’t deny it. “I know how you feel. I actually miss your big lug of a brother and that’s not usual for me. Sarah?” She beckoned Joanna’s cousin over. “Joey is up for either of the Russian wolves, so do you prefer one over the other?” “Mikhael is a bit slower than his brother,” Sarah told them. “You didn’t see it?” Glory and Joanna shook their heads. “Just a fraction of a second but I spotted it.” She looked at the pair. “I think you should run each of them with Joey and see who moves best with her.” “You up for it, Joey?” Glory asked her co-captain. Joanna nodded and began to warm up. When she was ready she moved into position with Stefan. He smiled at her and bowed his head. Then they moved out side by side and in perfect unison. When it was over Joey had a feeling he was playing with her. He was holding himself back for some reason and she did not like it. She ran through it with Mikhael and Sarah was right, he was just a fraction slower, but it was because he was holding back as well. “You’re not doing me any favors by holding back,” she said to them both when they were done. “I could use either of you as a partner and it would work, but I am annoyed at you both. Tell me why I should let either of you partner me when neither of you have enough respect for me to go full tilt.” “You saw that?” Stefan choked in amazement. “I saw it in you,” Joanna nodded, “when we were moving together. My cousin saw it in Mikhael when you two were moving together.” She looked at Mikhael. “She’s the auburn-haired girl talking to Glory. Whoever I don’t choose gets to partner her.” She saw his eyes light up. “I warn you now, she already has a boyfriend she is quite devoted to. You pull anything while you’re here and I will have the Commander yank you out of here so fast your