The Order of Brigid's Cross - The Wild Hunt (Book 1): The Wild Hunt (23 page)

“So, how are you going to persuade Adrian to meet with us
without making him suspicious?” Pete asked, sitting next to Sean in the
cruiser.

His eyes focused on the road ahead of him, Sean didn’t
answer.

“Don’t have a clue, do you?” Pete asked.

“Yeah.
I got nothing,” Sean said.

“Well, good,” Pete replied, nodding. “At least we know what
our weaknesses are.”

Sean grinned. “Yeah, that’s a good way to look at it,” he
said.

An incoming call on Sean’s cell phone halted their
conversation as he reached forward and pressed the hands-free button on the
cruiser to have the call go through the radio. “O’Reilly here,” he said.

“Hey, Irish, it’s Adrian.” Adrian’s voice slipped through
the car’s speaker.

Pete lifted his eyebrows in surprise and shook his head.

“Hey, Skinny, how’s it going?” Sean asked.

“Good. It’s going good,” he replied. “Hey, you remember that
case earlier in the week?”

“The one with the kid at the hospital?”
Sean asked.

“Yeah, that one,” Adrian answered.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Well, I got some information that a friend of yours is
helping the kid out,” Adrian said. “Pete O’Bryan is representing him.”

“Why does he need representation?” Sean asked, trying to get
more information from Adrian. “He was just a witness, right?”

There was a long pause and a heavy sigh. “Yeah, well, it
looks like he might have had more to do with the crime than we initially
thought.”

“You’re pulling my leg, right?” Sean asked. “That kid isn’t
a gang-banger, much less a murderer. What the hell is going on, Adrian?”

“Can we meet?” Adrian asked, lowering his voice to a
whisper. “I
gotta
talk to you.”

“Yeah, we can meet,” Sean replied. “When and where?”

There was a pause. Then Adrian’s lowered voice came over the
speaker again. “I can be at Slainte in twenty,” he said. “Can you be there?”

“Yeah, I can,” Sean answered. “There’s a backroom where we
can meet privately. Robby will bring you there, and I’ll come in the back so no
one will see us together.”

“Yeah, that’d be good,” he replied. “Thanks, Sean.”

“No problem,” Sean said. “I’ll see you there.”

Sean disconnected the phone and turned to Pete. “See, I had
a plan all along,” he said.

“I’d say it was the luck of the Irish,” Pete replied,
sitting back as Sean accelerated with sirens blasting towards Slainte, “but I’m
Irish, too, and I never have the kind of luck you do.”

“Well, let’s see how long this O’Reilly luck holds out when
we meet with Adrian,” Sean said.

Sean cut the sirens a couple blocks away from the restaurant
in order to avoid drawing attention.
 
He
turned into an alley a block away from the restaurant and glided past garbage
cans and garages until he reached his destination.
 
Pulling into the back of the restaurant, he
parked the cruiser discreetly behind some dumpsters.

“It’s not going to work,” Pete said as Sean put the car into
park.

“What?” Sean asked.

“Even the smell of the dumpsters isn’t going to help the
inside of your car,” he replied, reaching over and picking up an old
styrofoam
drink container from between the seats. “Do you
ever clean this thing out?”

“Nope, it adds to the ambiance of the vehicle,” Sean replied
with a grin. “Besides, no one ever asks to borrow my cruiser, so it’s an added
bonus.”

He slid out of the car, grabbed Pete’s wheelchair and walked
over to the passenger side. Pete pushed the door open and studied the area
before he maneuvered himself into the chair. “Do you think we’re good?” his
voice softer and more intense.

“Hell, Pete,” Sean whispered back, also scanning the back
lot. “I have no idea what we’re fighting. So, keep your weapon close and
ready.”

Pete patted his pocket and nodded. “Good idea. But I think I
would still feel better if I had something like holy water at my disposal.”

Sean reached in his jacket, pulled out a small capped vial
and handed it to Pete.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Pete asked, staring at the small
bottle.

“Nope,” Sean said, shaking his head definitively. “And I’ve
got garlic in my other pocket, just in case.”

Pete shook his head and pushed his wheelchair forward.
“What? Just in case they want Alfredo?” he asked.

“I’m more of a garlic bread kind of guy,” Sean replied,
matching his pace to Pete’s chair. “Hey, I did want to say thanks.”

Pete stopped and looked up at Sean.
“For
what?”

Sean shrugged. “You know, for getting into this crazy thing
with me,” he replied. “I mean, this is a lot more dangerous than what I
initially thought when I called you.
 
And,
quite frankly, this is
batshit
crazy.”

Pete continued pushing his chair forward. “No more crazy
than running back into the line of fire in the
Shahi-Kot
Valley to rescue a friend who was hit by RPG shrapnel. I should have died that
day.”

Placing a hand on Pete’s shoulder, Sean smiled. “No big
deal. You would have done the same for me.”

Pete looked up over his shoulder. “I have realized, in the
past few days, that you tend to run towards danger,” he replied with his own
smile. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to run away?”

Shaking his head, Sean chuckled. “You know, I never did
learn that lesson, did I?”

“And that’s why I stay around,” Pete replied. “To try and
keep your butt out of trouble.”

Sean sighed. “Well,” he said as they traveled up the ramp to
the loading dock at the back of Slainte. “You need to work harder.”

Adrian shook his head when he entered the small back room
and saw Pete sitting next to Sean at the table. “Yeah, I
shoulda
known,” he said with a wry shake of his head. “I thought we were friends. I
thought I could trust you.”

“Sit down,” Sean said, his voice sharp. “And we’ll talk
about trust.”

Adrian sat on a wooden chair, his bulking mass almost too
much for the piece of furniture. “Yeah, go on,” he taunted. “You tell me about
trust.”

“Do you even know who you’re dealing with?” Sean asked.
“Have you even seen those things you are setting loose on those kids?
 
Adrian, what’s happened to you?
 
You used to be all about saving the kids in
the gangs, not slaughtering them.”

Shaking his head, Adrian leaned forward. “What are you
talking about?” he asked. “I didn’t slaughter any kids. That criminal you’ve
been hiding is responsible for those deaths.”

Sean searched Adrian’s eyes and was more than a little
disturbed to see that Adrian was serious about his accusations.
 
“Okay, do me a favor, for old time’s sake,”
he said.
“Deal?”

Adrian nodded his head curtly.
“Fine.”

“Okay, think back to the night at the hospital, the night
you called me,” Sean said. “And think like a cop. What do you remember about
that night?”

Adrian leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath,
lifting his eyes to the ceiling for a moment as he searched his memory. “Okay,
I got called in because there had been a gang fight,” he started.

“Who made the call?” Pete asked.

Adrian shrugged. “It was dispatch.”

Pete shook his head. “No, it wasn’t,” he said. “Dispatch
didn’t call you that night. I checked. You went to the hospital on your own.”

Leaning forward, Adrian shook his head. “What?” he asked. “Then
why in the hell would I go to the hospital in the middle of the night?”

“That’s a good question,” Sean inserted. “And why did you
know about the second fight and what was happening on the ground before any
squad cars got there?”

Adrian looked from Pete to Sean. “I didn’t—”

“Yeah, you did,” Sean interrupted.
“Because
I was there at the park when it went down.
And you called me before any
other cars reached the park.”

Burying his head in his hands for a moment, Adrian was
silent. “Sean, you’re wrong. You’ve got to be messing with me.”

“Adrian, you worked with me for two years,” Sean replied,
his voice gentle. “Have I ever lied to you?”

Looking up and meeting Sean’s eyes, Adrian slowly shook his
head. “No. No, you haven’t,” he said.

“And that’s why you called him the first night,” Pete said.
“There was something inside you, deep inside
you, that
wanted the truth to be out there.
 
That’s
why you called the only man you knew you could trust.”

Staring at Sean again, Adrian shook his head. “Damn, I don’t
even remember calling you,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m not surprised,” Sean replied. “So, now, think
back to that night. What do you actually remember?”

He leaned back again, linking his hands together and resting
his head in the palms as he gazed up to the ceiling. “Okay, okay, I remember
watching the clock at my apartment,” he said slowly. “It was like I had an
appointment. Then, at ten o’clock, I got up, got into my car and drove to the
park.” He looked at Sean with confusion in his eyes. “I didn’t get a call. How
the hell did I know to go to the park?”

“Yeah, we’ll get there in a minute,” Sean said. “But you
need to keep remembering.”

“I drove down the street and saw the kid,” he continued.
“Jamal. He was huddled in a doorway across the street from the park. His hands
were cut real bad, and he looked pretty beat up. He was scared to death,
babbling about monsters.”

“Yeah, sounds like a real killer to me,” Pete inserted.

Oblivious to Pete’s comment, Adrian continued. “I helped him
into my car. I knew he needed to be at the hospital.”

“Why didn’t you wait for an ambulance?” Pete asked.

“
‘Cause
I knew no ambulances were
going to be dispatched,” he answered automatically.

“And how would you know that,” Sean asked, “if
if
dispatch never called you about the incident?”?” Sean
asked quickly, not giving Adrian a chance to think.

“
‘Cause
there wasn’t supposed to be survivors,” Adrian said, his eyes widening as the
words slipped from his mouth. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

“Have you noticed that you’re forgetting things lately?”
Pete asked. “Like you can’t remember why you were standing up next to your desk
or why you are suddenly in the break room?”

Adrian paused for a moment and then slowly shook his head.
“Yeah.
Yeah, that seems to be happening a lot lately,” he
admitted. “I thought it was just work stress.”

“How about having the feeling that you’re losing time?” Sean
inserted. “Like you look up at the clock and wonder where the time went.”

“Yeah, that’s been happening a lot too,” Adrian said. “But I
don’t dwell on it. I mean, that’s normal, right?”

“Was it normal a couple of months ago?” Pete asked.

“No,” Adrian said softly, his jaw tensing. “No it wasn’t.”
He looked over and met Sean’s eyes. “Irish, I don’t like this. I don’t like
this at all. What’s going on? What’s happening to me?”

“You’re being played,” Sean replied. “Someone’s messing with
your mind.”

“Like Manchurian candidate or sleeper agent stuff?” Adrian
asked.

Sean nodded. “Yeah, something like that,” he said. “But from
what I understand, these guys are real good at what they do.”

“How do I get this to stop?” Adrian asked.

“I’m not the guy who can help you, but I know one who
can.
 
Do you trust me?” Sean asked.

Adrian shrugged. “Yeah, well, it seems like you’re the only
one I really trust,” he said.

“Yeah, so leave your cruiser here, and let’s take a ride,
okay?” Sean asked.

“Yeah, okay,” he said, pulling out his cell phone. “Can I
make a call first?”

“No!” shouted Pete and Sean at the same time.

Adrian looked at the phone in his hand and dropped it on the
table as if it had suddenly stung him. Then he looked up at Sean and Pete. “Why
doesn’t one of you take my phone,” he said, “just so I don’t do anything
stupid.”

Pete reached across the picked it up. “I’d like to make a
list of incoming and outgoing calls if you don’t mind,” he said.

Adrian shook his head. “No, I don’t mind,” he replied. “I
think it’d be good for all of us to figure this out.”

Gillian looked up from the microscope in front of her on the
stainless steel table in the large laboratory located on the first floor of the
old church.
 
She sighed softly and
absently pushed her long, auburn hair away from her face. She knew she needed
to focus on the project in front of her, but she had too many thoughts rushing
through her mind to concentrate.
 
She
turned her head slightly, secretly watching Ian working at the next table, and
another soft sigh escaped her lips.
 
He
was such a paradox: the mind of a genius in the body of an athlete and all that
wrapped around a person who genuinely cared about others. No wonder she was
madly, hopelessly in love with him.
 

Rolling her chair soundlessly back, she stood and quietly
stole across the room to stand behind him.
 
Slipping her arms around his waist, she leaned against him, breathing in
his unique, male scent.

“Well, hello there,” Ian murmured, his face still pressed
close to the microscope. “I’ll be with you in just a moment.”

She watched him adjust the setting on the microscope, his
long, masculine fingers slowly stroking the metal dials until he was satisfied,
and she felt a corresponding shiver in her body.

“Cold?” he asked, still concentrating on the specimen under
the glass.

She grinned and shook her head against his back. “No, not at
all,” she replied.

Finally, he lifted his head and turned around in her
embrace, pulling her even closer. “And to what do I owe this wonderful
distraction?” he asked, looking down at her upturned face.

She inhaled deeply and then smiled at him. “Nothing, except
I love you,” she said.

Watching her face, examining every nuance, like the
researcher he was, she was not surprised to see the doubt in his eyes. But the
initial doubt was replaced by a soft smile and a smoldering heat in his eyes.
“Oh, and I love you is nothing, is it?” he whispered as he slowly lowered his
head towards her. “Perhaps I need to remind you how something it really is.”

His lips brushed against hers gently at first, teasing and
tasting her.
 
She quivered in his arms,
and her lips parted slightly. He slipped his hands up to cradle her head and angled
his head to take full advantage of her mouth, pouring his feelings into the
passion of the kiss. Her world tilted, and her heart raced as her body
responded to him. As a scientific researcher she realized that her body was
reacting normally to sexual stimulus, but as a woman she realized that it was
only one man, this man, who could cause her to have this kind of reaction.

The kiss gentled, and his embraced loosened as he rained
light kisses around her face. “Ah, Gillian, darling,” he whispered. “You are my
life.”

He rested his forehead on hers and held her for a moment.
“My heart would stop beating without you,” he said.

She slipped her hand up and rested it against his chest.
“Aye, I know how you feel,” she replied softly.

“So, why do I see fear in your eyes?” he questioned gently.

She looked up, surprised, and then smiled wryly. “And do you
read minds as well, Professor?”

He smiled down at her and placed a kiss on the tip of her
nose. “Only on rare occasions,” he teased, and then his face sobered. “Tell
me.”

“This,” she said, waving her arms for emphasis. “All of
this. I had no idea things would be so dangerous when I brought you into
this.
 
I thought it would be interesting
research.
 
I thought we’d be studying
another aspect of paranormal activity.
 
I
thought… I thought.”
 
Her voice broke,
and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “If something were to happen to you
because I invited…”

He placed a finger over her lips and shook his head.
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” he said. “And you didn’t invite me in. I
invited myself.”

“But you had no idea what you’d be facing,” she said. “When
I chose this path in Ireland I set things in motion.”

“No, darling, ‘twas fate, that’s all,” he replied. “Sean and
Em set this path a long time ago, a path they’ve been traveling together for
years whether they knew it or not. And we’ve been pulled down the path with
them because this is where we’re supposed to be. It’s no coincidence that I
accepted the fellowship with the University of Chicago and you were hired by
Trinity.”

Laying her head against his chest, finding comfort in the
solid beat of his heart, she thought about his words for a few moments. “We’re
supposed to be here?” she finally whispered.

“Aye,” he replied, kissing the top of her head. “And perhaps
this course was decided before we were even born. We are part of this darling,
and that should give you comfort.
 
We are
in the right place at the right time. We are meant to win.”

She looked up at him, wanting to believe his words. “I’m
afraid,” she finally admitted.

“And you’d be foolish not to be,” he replied. “But we’ve so
much going for us, we have to win.”

“You mean our love?” she asked.

“Well, actually I was referring to my brains and boyish good
looks,” he teased, placing a quick kiss on her forehead. “But, aye, love’s a
good thing, too.”

She slapped her hand against his chest, and he laughed. “You
are such an eejit,” she laughed softly. “But you’re right. Love’s a good thing,
too.”

“Aye,” he said, his eyes turning from teasing to smoldering
once again. “And perhaps we need to get a little more of that good thing.”

He started to lower his head again when the door to the lab
opened.

“Ah, um, well, excuse me,” Father Jack said, coughing into
his hand and turning to face away from the embracing couple. “I apologize for
interrupting.”

Ian and Gillian stepped away from each other. “Ah, no
problem Father,” Ian said. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, actually, I was hoping Gillian could assist me with
some of the protection ideas I have for the front of the church,” he said. “But
I don’t want to interrupt
your
…” he paused for an
uncomfortable moment, “work.”

Ian chuckled. “Actually, your timing is nearly perfect,” he
said, sending Gillian a quick wink. “I think we’ve created an application that
is going to help us discern glamour. I just have to test it out, and I’ll
probably need Em for that.”

“You’ve figured it out?” Gillian asked, surprised.

He smiled at her. “
Aye,
and I would
have mentioned it,” he said, “but we got a little distracted. It needs but a
few tweaks and I’ll be ready to test it.”

Blushing, Gillian turned from Ian and towards Father Jack.
“I would be happy to help you, Father,” she said. “It seems I have become a
distraction.”

“A delightful one,” Ian added.

Father Jack laughed and nodded. “Well, then, let me take you
away from here, and we’ll let Ian continue his work.”

Gillian turned back to Ian for a moment. “I love you,” she
mouthed.

Ian placed his hand over his heart and nodded, watching her
until she left the room. “You are my heart,” he whispered softly to the empty
room. “And I vow with my life that I won’t let anything hurt you.”