Regona City: Tempest (BK3)

No Boundaries (final)

Aaron raised his eyebrows at that. "What makes you say so?"

"Because..." Terrell's eyes met Sahara's "I trust her."

His trust had not been misplaced. Alegra had succeeded. How she had managed to get permission only she knew.

The bell jingled again, followed by several footsteps.

Naomi bounded up to Alegra, followed by the other Falcon members.

"Where's daddy?" Naomi asked innocently as she scrambled onto Alegra's lap. "When's he coming back?"

Alegra stroked her hair. "We talked about this, honey," she told her softly.

The twins pulled chairs up next to Sahara, neither speaking a word. Orion hesitated before joining. The others didn't yet know of his background, Sahara hoped to keep it that way. The bell jingled again and Noah walked in, followed by Paige.

"Mister," Arden addressed Jack.

"What would it be?" the older man asked.

The twins exchanged glances.

"Strawberry milk," Noah spoke as he joined the group. "We'll all take a glass."

Jack nodded. He produced the glasses and filled them with the pink liquid before setting one before each person in front of him. He then poured himself one too.

Silence.

Noah was the first to move. "A toast." He lifted his glass.

The others followed his lead, all but Sahara.

"To a great guy," Alegra announced.

"The best," Naomi agreed.

Orion and Paige said nothing as they simply raised their glasses.

"The craziest guy I ever knew," Noah added, "And yet the one I will admire the most until my grave."

Reagan and Arden nodded.

"To Terrell," Alegra said.

"To Terrell," came the response as everyone lifted their glass and then took a swig. All except Sahara. She sat and stared at hers. She couldn't explain what she was feeling. It was as though she were numb all over.

The twins exchanged looks.

Slowly, Sahara lifted the glass. She turned it over in her hand. A familiar grinned face flashed through her mind, green eyes sparkling from a handsome face.

"To Terrell," she whispered as she lifted the glass. However, she barely let it touch her lips before putting it down. She couldn't drink it.

"Sahara..." Alegra's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Are you really going to leave us?"

No reply, just the tightening of a hand on the object Sahara clutched in one hand.

Alegra nodded. She scraped her chair back, shooting a look at the others. One by one they got up and followed her from the café. A nod was given in the direction of Jack who was still cleaning. The gesture was returned.

The bell jingled. The door closed. Sahara didn't move.

Jack put the glass down. "I'll be in the back for a moment."

No move was made to acknowledge this as he disappeared in his kitchen.

Left alone, Sahara's dry eyes turned to the bracelet on her arm. It buzzed with an unfamiliar IHM number, the same one as before. She rejected the call when she saw the flashing light reminding her of a waiting message. Perhaps if you'd watched the message I left you would have seen how horrible I am at apologizing, Terrell's voice echoed in her mind.