Embrace the Highland Warrior (15 page)

“And traitors.” Brodie glanced at Sorcha.

“Are you accusing me of being a traitor?” Sorcha asked, rising to her feet, hands on hips.

Brodie crossed his arms over his chest. “Angus did look right at you when he said it. Now, I’m not saying I believe it. I’d slit your throat if I thought you were betraying our clan.” Brodie’s expression was grave, without his usual good-natured smile. Duncan tensed, eyes narrowed, as Brodie continued. “But I’d like to know why he looked at you when he said it.”

Sorcha looked as if she might morph into a dragon and roast Brodie in his chair, but her shoulders dropped, and she sat down. “So would I,” she said. “So would I.”

“No one’s accusing anybody of anything,” Duncan said. “Who knows what was in Angus’s head? He was always wrapped up in some mystery. Sometimes he saw clues that weren’t there.”

Anna came back in carrying her purse and a duffel bag. “Can someone give me a ride to the car rental?”

Lachlan dropped his fork. “I will.” He wolfed down a piece of bacon, scraped and rinsed the plate he had just refilled, and loaded it in the dishwasher. “Ready?”

“I’ll check on the time vault while I’m in New York,” Anna said.

“Faelan’s time vault is still there?” Shay asked. Talk about an antique! She’d love to see it.

“No. He sent his back, but he found another one in the cellar of my chapel,” Bree said. “We thought Angus brought it, but it’s not his, either. We can’t send it back without the warrior’s talisman.”

“You don’t know where it came from?” Shay asked.

“We have no idea,” Sorcha said. “There weren’t any other warriors in the area, that we know of.”

“We don’t even know how long it’s been there,” Brodie said.

“What about that warrior from Canada who was supposed to help Sorcha?” Ronan asked. “Did anyone ever locate him?”

“Yes. He had an accident on the way. Attacked by two vam…” Anna paused and glanced at Shay. “He never got there, so he didn’t bring the time vault.”

“There’s a key to the house hidden on the back porch,” Bree said. “Feel free to stay there if you need some time alone.”

Anna gave Bree a quick hug. “Thanks.”

“Is she okay?” Shay asked, after Anna and Lachlan left.

Sorcha looked troubled. “She and Angus were close. If she hadn’t been busy, she would’ve been with him. She blames herself for his death.” Sorcha stood. “I’m going to work out my sword arm. I need a partner.” She tugged Brodie’s ear. “How about you?”

“I’d like nothing better than put you on your backside, but I’ve got some things to do,” Brodie said, slapping her hand away.

“Maybe Sorcha could show me that trick where you guys flip through the air—” Bree started.

“No!” Faelan said. “You need to rest. You have a bloody concussion.”

“I’ll rest later. I want to practice with the dagger.”

He sighed. “Ten minutes, then will you lie down?” He added softly, “Please?”

“Okay,” she said, giving him a quick kiss.

“I’ll take you on, Sorcha.” Duncan rose to his feet, standing a full head taller than Sorcha. His gaze was shuttered, but whatever was behind it ran hot.

Shay saw a look of near panic cross Sorcha’s pretty face. She tilted her head. “All right, big boy. After we clear the table, you can show me what you’ve got.” She carried dirty dishes to the sink, her face flushed. She peered out the window. “Cody, there’s a man with the kinkiest hair I’ve ever seen getting out of a truck in your driveway.”

“Back in a second.” Cody opened the door and jogged across the field.

***

“Got her all done,” Darrell said, rubbing his hands over the top of his head, making it look like he’d been electrocuted.

“What’d you find?” Cody asked, looking the truck over. There were scrapes in the paint and the hood was bent where the tree had caught. He’d have it fixed later.

“Brake line was cut.”

Cody’s stomach dropped. “You’re sure?”

“Sure as my hair’s naturally curly. You got any enemies? If you don’t, you’d better start looking for one.” A car rolled up behind them. “There’s my ride. Gotta go.” He patted Cody’s truck on the hood. “She’s good as new, except for that dent.”

“Sorry I couldn’t get over to pick it up. Things got a little hectic here.”

“No problem. I’ll deliver anytime. You guys always go to the top of the list. If it weren’t for you, my sister Clarisse would be dead. I still don’t know how you found the rat hole that scumbag boyfriend of hers was holding her in. Even the FBI couldn’t find any sign of him.”

The scumbag boyfriend wasn’t hard to track. His human form couldn’t hide his scent. Halflings couldn’t shift, not like powerful demons, but some learned to project an illusion. The demon form was still there, as was the scent, usually. Humans weren’t sensitive enough to detect it. “Luck,” Cody told Darrell.

“Tell Lachlan that Clarisse said hi. She wanted to come, but she had to work.”

Clarisse had been after Lach since she first laid eyes on him. Darrell left, and Cody crawled under the truck with a flashlight, not convinced until he saw with his own eyes that the line had been repaired. Shay and Bree could have died. This was the second time she almost died in an automobile crash, which made him wonder if the accident was meant for him or her.

He opened the truck door to look for Shay’s cell phone and saw a glint of something shiny under the seat. It was a necklace. A cross. The chain had broken. Cody turned it over and saw the emblem on the back. Edward’s family crest. The necklace wasn’t a talisman. Edward’s talisman was safe in the cellar, but this had belonged to him. How had Shay gotten it? The clan had agreed she wasn’t to have anything that could be traced back to her father.

***

“Nice setup,” Duncan said, looking over the weapons, high-tech computer equipment, camera monitors, and gym in the Bat Cave. “Got a training room too. So this is how they kept their secrets.”

Cody, who had rejoined the group, glanced at Shay and then looked away. It still bothered her that they lied, but she could understand why they thought it necessary.

“Are you okay?” Faelan asked Bree. She stood next to Shay, running her hands over the wooden box.

I’m fine,” Bree said, frowning. She opened the box. A heavy piece of metal hung from a leather cord.

“That’s a talisman, isn’t it?” Shay asked.

“It was your father’s,” Cody said.

Her father’s. A real flesh-and-blood man. Had he loved her? Tried to protect her? Held her and tossed her into the air? Shay picked up the box, and a thought, a memory, something familiar, flashed in her head. She felt strong arms holding her, heard a deep laugh and a woman’s gentler one and then softer arms reaching for her and the smell of perfume. Was it a real memory or a desperate attempt to connect with the man and woman who gave her life?

A door slammed at the top of the stairs. “Jamie,” Sorcha purred, facing the door. “You’re back.”

Jamie stood at the top of the stairs, clothes rumpled, hair mussed, anger radiating off him like a fog. “What the hell did you do to me, MacBain?”

“Wasn’t me,” Cody said.

“You saying you didn’t drug me?”

“No, Nina and Matilda did,” Cody said. “Had you in a wheelbarrow trying to load you into the car.”

Jamie’s handsome face went slack. “What for?”

“They were matchmaking and wanted you out of the way.” Cody didn’t go into detail, but Jamie got the point. “Must have seen the rose you gave Shay.”

“I didn’t give her a rose,” Jamie said.

Cody’s puzzled look turned to alarm. “If you didn’t give it to her, who did?”

“Her aunt, maybe,” Duncan suggested.

Shay shook her head. “Nina never sends roses.”

“You don’t think…” Bree didn’t finish her sentence.

“The stalker?” Shay asked.

“Where did you find the rose?” Jamie asked.

“On my pillow last night.”

“That means he got in again,” Cody said. “Damn it. Must have been while we were in Luray.”

“How’s he getting past the locks and security system?” Ronan asked.

“Guess they’re not good enough,” Cody said.

***

The servant was on his way to Walmart for a clean change of clothes when he saw the woman leaving her car. At first he thought it was
her
, because of the blond hair, slim build, and long legs. She’d parked on the side of the store, away from the crowded lot. He watched her walk, a long-limbed sexy gait, and ached to touch, to tease, to cut. Her head was down, focused on something in her purse. He pulled around to the empty space on her driver’s side, and eased his car in to wait.

Chapter 9

“Damnation. The place is surrounded with warriors and a state-of-the-art security system, and still the guy’s getting in,” Faelan said. “What the hell is he? A ghost?”

“But why would he come back here after the book was taken from Jamie’s?” Duncan asked.

“Maybe there’s more than one person looking for it,” Cody said. “Might as well throw this bit in the mix. The mechanic said the brake line on the truck was cut. It wasn’t an accident.”

“You mean someone tried to kill you?” Shay’s legs felt weak. She leaned against the cabinet for support. Maybe Bree was right about Cody being in danger too. Was it because of Shay?

“This doesn’t make sense,” Sorcha said. “First someone’s after Shay, and now they try to kill Cody. Any bomb or death threats we don’t know about?”

“I don’t think this is about just Cody or Shay,” Bree said. “It’s about them both. Someone is trying to keep them apart, and he’s willing to kill them to do it.”

“Don’t even look at me,” Jamie said to Cody.

“I didn’t say anything,” Cody said.

Jamie gave him a surly look. “You were thinking it though. You know damn well I didn’t have anything to do with this.”

Cody scowled but didn’t say anything.

“I don’t know who the target was,” Faelan said, his face so hard he looked as if he were made of stone, “but that bastard could’ve killed my wife. I’ll hunt him to the ends of the earth.”

“Get in line,” Cody said. He plowed his hands through his hair. “I think we should move her to Scotland.”

“What’s in Scotland?” Shay asked.

Cody studied her face, his expression worried. “Connor Castle.”

“You have a castle?”

“It’s been the seat of our clan for generations,” Duncan said. “You should be safe there. Its walls have never been breached.”

“Not that we know,” Sorcha added. “There’s the nasty little problem that an identical castle exists in New York, and no one knows how it got there. And Druan had his demons follow Angus to Scotland. Let’s hope they didn’t get close enough to see where the castle is.”

“Ronan thinks he killed them all,” Faelan said.

“You have a castle in New York too?” Shay asked.

“It was Druan’s,” Bree said. “The clan is using it as a second base.”

“She’ll be protected in Scotland, and I can meet with the Council,” Cody said. Thick silence filled the room.

The first to speak was Bree. “What do you think they’ll do?”

“What can they do? I’m retired,” Cody said.

“They can still make your life hell,” Duncan added quietly.

“If they punish him,” Ronan said, “they’ll have to go through me.”

The others nodded. Even Jamie looked troubled, and he probably wanted Cody out of the picture at least as much as Cody wanted him gone.

Maybe the danger Bree sensed surrounding Cody was from his own clan. But it was still Shay’s fault.

“We’ll have to find out when the jet can get here,” Cody said.

“You have a jet?” Shay asked.

“The clan does,” he said.

Did they have a country tucked away somewhere?

“I’m going to Nina’s to check the locks and cameras again, see if there’s a malfunction in the equipment.”

“I’ll take a look,” Ronan said. “Come on, Mighty Faelan. I’ll teach you a thing or two about modern locks.”

“Good. Then I can keep you away from my wife,” Faelan said.

“You come too, Shay.” Cody brushed his fingers along her lower back, sending a sizzle up her spine. “I want to know exactly what you saw.”

Shay glanced back as she left the basement. The other warriors paired off and were filing into the area that had mats on the floor. Weapons appeared from pockets and boots, swords and daggers that looked like fancy pocket knives, until the blade was released by a small catch. They were the product of years of innovation, according to Bree, so warriors could move about without being arrested by the people they were trying to save. Shay wished she could get her hands on one.

The group crossed to Nina’s house, and Shay recounted how she had interrupted the intruder. Then she went to get her luggage while the men studied the locks.

When she came downstairs, she heard muffled voices coming from the walls. She turned in a circle, trying to locate the sound, when the wall under the stairs opened, and Cody stepped out. Shay gaped as Faelan and Ronan followed. She could see stairs inside leading to a hole. Cody pushed something, and the panel slid closed.

“What’s that?”

Cody’s jaw ticked. “Uh… a tunnel.”

“A tunnel? There’s a tunnel under Nina’s house?”

“It connects to our basement.”

“How long has it been here?”

“A while,” Cody said, not meeting her eyes.

“How long?” Shay ground out.

Ronan and Faelan glanced at each other and took a discreet step back.

“Come on now, Shay—”

“How long has there been a damned tunnel under my house?”

“Since you were a baby. We had to have quick access to and from the house,” Cody said.

Shay backed away, standing stiff against the opposite wall. She remembered waking up to go to the bathroom one night when she was about six. She heard a noise and peered over the banister. Cody’s father was standing near the stairs, and then he vanished. She thought it odd, but forgot about it in the morning. It shouldn’t hurt, but they were
her
stairs. What else had they hidden from her? “Damn you, Cody MacBain!” Shay whirled and stalked out. Her suitcase caught the edge of the door and fell. Shay kicked it aside and kept walking.

She heard Cody curse behind her as she stormed across the porch.

“Shay, wait.” He took her arm and stepped quickly in front of her, bringing her face-to-face with the outline of the talisman under his shirt. “We couldn’t tell you. Any more than we could tell you the other stuff.”

“You told them,” she said, jerking her thumb toward Faelan and Ronan, standing in the doorway.

“I didn’t think to tell you after you came back. I’ve been more worried about keeping you safe than telling you every secret this house has.”

“That’s the point. It’s
my
house. I should’ve already known.” She and Cody had gotten into all kinds of trouble together. Why hadn’t he told her about this?

“Come on, I’ll show you now.” Cody took her hand and led her inside. He pushed what appeared to be a knot in the wood, and a panel slid back. She followed the narrow stairs down to a concrete tunnel roughly ten feet tall and ten feet wide with dim lights mounted on the walls.

“I can’t believe you kept this from me,” Shay said, her voice echoing in the confined space. “You know I love tunnels.”

“He meant no harm, lass,” Faelan said behind them. “You ought to trust him. The man pulled me from my wedding, at risk to his own life and limb—from my wife—to protect you.” He passed them, kilt swirling around his knees, looking exactly like what he was, a warrior who stepped out of the nineteenth century, except for the Eddie Bauer suitcase in his hand.

Ronan moved past and brushed a knuckle under her chin. “It’s hard to understand, but they did it for you.” He jogged to catch up with Faelan.

“Maybe I don’t want protecting,” Shay yelled at Ronan’s and Faelan’s retreating backs, her voice sounding as if it came from a jar.

Ronan turned around, walking backward. “If you knew what was out there, you’d appreciate what they’ve risked for you.” His face was as grim as his voice.

She knew he was right. A demon like the one who may be after her had stolen Faelan’s life, causing him to be yanked out of his own time and thrown into the future. He lost everything. Parents, brothers, his sister. This was bigger than just her hurt feelings.

Cody put one hand on her shoulder. “Can we get past this, Shay? Can you forgive me, forgive us? We had good intentions. Maybe we screwed up, but you and I can’t keep hitting this issue every time we talk.”

“I know you meant well, but stop protecting me.”

He stepped closer, his body brushing hers. “I’ll never stop protecting you. It’s in my blood. I understand your frustration, but it’s far more important to me to keep you safe than to worry if I’ve pointed out every little security detail that you might not be aware of.”

“One more surprise, and I’m leaving,” she said.

Even in the dim light she saw a flash of fear in his eyes.

When the door at the end of the passageway opened, the silence of the tunnel echoed with the clamor of fighting. Walking into the Bat Cave was like stepping into a gladiator ring. Sweat-slicked bodies, plus the clash of swords mingled with grunts, yells, and laughter. The men had removed their shirts, and even Sorcha had stripped down to a tank top. Off to the side, Shay saw the small room with monitors. “How long have the monitors been here?”

Cody’s jaw clamped. “Longer than the tunnel. Let’s go practice. You can take your anger out on me, aye? Let’s see what you remember.”

She nodded absently and followed Cody into the practice area. While she emptied her pockets, Cody took a small sword from the wall.

Shay gave it an apprehensive stare. “It’s been a while since I’ve used a sword.”

He moved behind her, clasping his large hand over hers, demonstrating. “It’ll come back to you. Remember, not too tight. Feel the weight, the balance, as if it’s part of your arm.”

What she felt was Cody’s body so close she could smell the soap he used in the shower, and his skin, warm and masculine, made her think of what they’d done last night, what they hadn’t done, and what she wanted to do. It took several minutes to focus on the sword she held. After a few practice swings, the weapon started to feel more comfortable in her hand.

“That’s better,” he said, nodding. “Feel the sword’s power.”

He backed away and slid a larger sword from the case on the wall. Facing her, he lifted the blade, body poised for attack. “What are you going to do?”

She gripped her sword, shifting slightly from foot to foot, watching his eyes. She lunged, but he stepped aside so quickly she almost fell. She caught herself and turned.

Several feet away, Sorcha sparred with Duncan, both faces intense, unreadable. Shay watched Sorcha execute a strike as powerful as a man’s. Sorcha wouldn’t have run away from a stalker, but Sorcha was a warrior, trained for battle, not a woman who’d learned some self-defense moves when she was a kid.

Cody’s sword sliced through the air and stopped, the tip pointed over Shay’s heart. She gasped.

“Pay attention,” Cody barked. “Getting distracted is the fastest way to die. Be aware of your surroundings, but don’t forget I’m in front of you holding a sword. Now, attack like I showed you. Remember when we were teenagers.”

She’d thought it was just a cool game back then. No one had told her the fate of the world was at stake. She blocked out the yells and clashing metal and focused on Cody. His face, his hazel eyes, the set of his jaw, solid and strong. He stood so still she wondered how he could be breathing. She steadied her own breathing, stared into his eyes, and felt strength pouring over her like metal, clothing her in armor. She lunged. Her sword met his, a shriek of metal, the jolt jarring her shoulder, but she held on to her blade. She felt strong, powerful, the way she hadn’t felt the past month. She jumped back, gripped the sword tighter, and lunged again. Cody whirled aside, moving quickly behind her, his blade at her throat before she even struck with her sword. She could feel the heat of his body, the cold metal at her neck. Her heart pounded so hard she was sure everyone could hear.

“What now?” His voice was soft at her ear. He wasn’t even out of breath. Even though she was angry at him for keeping the tunnel a secret, she wanted to lean into him and feel his strength. What was wrong with her?

She saw Jamie stop and look at them, pausing long enough for Ronan to knock his sword from his hand, and she felt some of her training return.
Get
clear
of
the
weapon.
Shay brought her elbow back into Cody’s ribs, and his blade relaxed enough for her to shove his arm aside and spin to face him.

He grinned, baring his nicked bottom tooth, and moved like a streak of light. Shay’s whole body rattled as he struck the sword from her hand. She stumbled backward, reaching out to grab hold of him. They both fell, but he twisted at the last second, and she landed on top of him.

“We seem destined to do this,” he said, eyes darkening.

Shay’s eyes locked on his, and she forgot about swords and warriors. She remembered his hands on her, hers on him—

“Feel like a real workout?” Jamie stood above them, his eyes boring through Cody.

Cody put Shay aside and stood. “If you think you’re up to it.”

“I am, but looks like you didn’t get your beauty rest.”

Cody gave Jamie an evil grin. “Hard to do with Shay talking in her sleep.”