Embrace the Highland Warrior (26 page)

“And face Coira’s wrath when she wakes up to an empty pantry and all these people to feed?” Shane shook his head. “Not me.”

“Chicken,” Niall said.

“You’re on your own. I’ve got to get Shay to bed,” Cody said.

Niall grinned, and Shane’s eyes twinkled. “Aye? Well, have at it then,” the burly warrior said. Shay heard them chuckling as she and Cody left.

“Sorry,” Cody said as he walked her to her room. “That didn’t come out right. Although…” he grinned.

“Don’t you have work to do?”

“Aye, I reckon I do.”

“You have more of a brogue. Is that what happens when you put on a kilt? I haven’t seen you in one since you were thirteen.”

“Want to see me out of it?” he asked.

“Aye, I reckon I do.”

“I’ll be back in a bit.” He kissed her gently, with such feeling that she wondered how she could have ever hated the man, how she could have lived for nine years without him.

“Promise?” she asked, holding on to his kilt belt, reluctant to let him go.

“I promise. I’ll never leave you.”

***

Lucy Bell climbed the steps to Shay’s porch. She was glad to help Shay. Such a delightful girl, but with such deep-rooted pain behind her smile. She didn’t talk about it, and Lucy didn’t ask. Some things were too painful to relive. Lucy retrieved the hidden key and stepped inside. A tearing noise came from Shay’s bedroom. Surely she hadn’t come back and forgotten to call. Lucy tiptoed toward the bedroom and peeked inside. Furniture was upturned, and books lay scattered across the floor. A man leaned over the shredded mattress. He looked up at her and smiled, and she could see he wasn’t a man at all. She didn’t have time to register another thought before the thing flew across the bed at her.

***

Someone tapped on Shay’s door. It was her sister.
Her
sister.
Shay rolled the words around in her head, amazed at the thrill.

“Hey,” Bree said. “I wanted to see how you’re feeling.”

“Just tired. Come in. I wondered what you were doing, besides trying to eavesdrop on top-secret Council meetings.”

Bree plopped down in a chair. “Cody told you?”

Shay grinned and sat in the chair beside hers. “If I’d been awake, I would have joined you.”

“I couldn’t hear a thing, but Faelan told me the Council is worried. They’re not happy with Cody for telling you, but they aren’t going to punish him. Not this time. I found out what they did to him before. I made Faelan tell me. They branded Cody’s arm.”

“They branded him for telling me the truth?”

“Calm down. It isn’t really a punishment, but a reminder. They branded a small sword on the inside of his wrist as a reminder of what’s at stake.”

The mark Cody had called a scar. “I think that’s barbarous,” Shay said, clenching her fists.

“So do I, but we have to remember that the entire world is at stake here. They take this stuff seriously. They could also remove his warrior status. Even though he’s retired, it would still be a big deal.” Bree settled back in the chair, resting her hands over her still-flat stomach. “Faelan said if they had, every warrior there would’ve told the Council where to stuff their robes. They all stood up in support of Cody.” Bree studied Shay. “Seems like you two have worked things out.”

“I guess so.”

“Why do you seem so worried, then?”

“I did something stupid. I told Cody something I shouldn’t have, just like you’re worried about distracting Faelan. There was another reason that I ran away all those years ago. Right before Cody told me who I really was, something else happened…” Shay licked her lips and stared out the French doors. She had opened the curtain so she could see the night. There was something compelling, almost seductive about it lately. “I’d just turned eighteen, and Cody was home for a few days. He was hardly ever there, off fighting demons, I guess. We were in the hayloft one night, looking for something, and one thing led to another.” Shay sighed. “Nina came into the barn right after we’d finished. She didn’t know what we did, but it was just awful, scrambling to get dressed, afraid she would hear. Cody and I didn’t even have a chance to talk about it. He tried, later that night, but I was so embarrassed, thinking we’d committed incest or something, that I wouldn’t talk to him. He tried so hard, but I couldn’t even look at him. He finally caught me out on the back porch when Nina was gone. That’s when he told me about my past. He was frustrated, and I guess it slipped. When I left, it wasn’t just because they lied to me, that my best friend had deceived me. I wanted to get away from Cody because of what happened in the hayloft.” She had never confessed this much to anyone, not even Renee.

“A few weeks after I left, I realized I was wrong. What we did wasn’t incest. He wasn’t my brother, just the hot guy who happened to live next door. I tried to call him, but a woman answered. I thought it was a girlfriend. Then I found out I was pregnant.”

“Oh, Shay.” Bree took her hand and squeezed it.

Shay remembered staring at the pregnancy strip in disbelief. “I was scared, but I thought he had a right to know, so I wrote to him. Twice, asking him to call me. Begging. But he never called, never wrote back. I assumed he was still angry with me for running away, or that for him, what happened between us was just a moment of teenage lust.” Shay swallowed with the memory. “I hated him after that, and I blamed him for what happened next.”

“You lost the baby,” Bree said softly.

Shay nodded. She didn’t want to go into detail, since Bree was pregnant. “But it was all a mistake. I hated him for nothing. He never got the letters. Remember when Renee called, she said something about letters? She was supposed to mail them.”

“Oh no, she didn’t—”

“I spent years hating him, but he never even got the letters. He had no idea. He even came after me, left in the middle of hunting an assigned demon to try to find me. Renee told him I didn’t want to see him. I know she thought she was trying to help, but she ruined everything, and I can’t be angry with her, because she’s dead. And it’s my fault she’s dead. I didn’t plan to tell him until this was over, but it slipped out.”

“What did he do?”

“He was devastated. Heartbroken. Guilty. I think the kidnapping took his mind off it, but I’m still afraid for him.”

“Then comfort him, don’t hold anything back. If he already knows and he senses you’re withdrawn, it’ll make things worse.” Bree patted Shay’s hand. “He’ll be okay. A lot of warriors are here to help. You know it’s weird, we’re both strangers here, but this is our home too. Our father was part of this clan.”

“I’m torn between awe and anger,” Shay said. “I wish they’d told me before, but I understand why they didn’t. For the same reason I didn’t tell Cody about the baby after I came back. I guess we always try to protect those we love. Have you talked to your mother yet?”

“No. I’m still too mad at her.” Bree leaned forward. “I just can’t grasp it. I was so much like my father—Robert. We did everything together. I had this incredible connection with him. Orla, ha, that’s more understandable. We never had anything in common. I loved her, but we were totally different.”

“Can you remember anything about your real mother, Layla?”

“No, I was young when she died.”

Bree was only a few months older than Shay. She longed to know how her father managed to have children by two different women in such a short span of time. It didn’t sound very noble, but she had to believe there was more to the story.

“Do you think your grandmother knew you weren’t Robert’s child?”

“I don’t know. She went to see him just before he died. She seemed different when she came back. I wonder if he confided in her then. When I get home, I’m going to see if I can find Layla’s things. Grandma never threw anything away. Layla may have kept a journal. Most of the women in our family do.” Bree touched the tiny pearl bracelet on her wrist. “I think this was hers. My mother, Orla—I don’t even know what to call her anymore—she gave me this before the wedding. She said I needed something that belonged to my mother. I’d never seen Orla wear it before.”

“I know you’re angry, Bree, but Orla loves you. She was really hurt when she left. If I had confronted my feelings back then, I would have realized Cody never got the letters. We wasted a lot of time. Talk to your mom. Listen to her side of things. Don’t waste time being angry.” The irony didn’t escape Shay, that she was defending someone who had perpetrated a lifetime of lies.

“I know. I just need some time.”

“Don’t take too long. You can’t get any of it back.”

“You’re right,” Bree said, idly rubbing Edward’s cross.

Shay felt the talisman, warm against her skin, and wondered how Edward had felt having little girls so close in age, but from different mothers. Did the women know about each other? “You’re welcome to share this talisman.”

Bree smiled. “Keep it. That way we each have a piece of him.” She patted Edward’s necklace. “Later, maybe we’ll trade.”

“You said your grandmother gave you the necklace?”

“She did. The night my father died.”

More often than not, Bree still referred to Robert as her father. He raised her from the time she was small, like Nina had raised Shay. Wasn’t that what a father, or an aunt, did?

“I got locked in Faelan’s crypt,” Bree continued. “I’d always been scared of that crypt. I think Grandma thought the necklace would comfort me after the ordeal and help keep the nightmares away. I had terrible dreams growing up, about death and destruction and monsters.”

“You must have been terrified,” Shay said.

“At first. I screamed and clawed the door, and then I heard a voice. It was my shiny man. He used to come to me in dreams, I think to counter the nightmares. He told me I had something important to find. Then, in the crypt, he told me my father was dead, but he had sent me another protector, and he showed me a man’s eyes. Faelan’s eyes. I saw them just as plain as I can see yours now. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I was so sure the necklace had kept the nightmares away and that someone would take it from me, that I hid it under a loose floorboard, where Faelan found it. It was only after I saw some sketches I’d drawn as a kid that the memories started to come back. I think Michael blocked them until it was time.”

“Michael?”

Bree’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Who’s behind all this, the warriors, the battles, the book. Think
warrior
angel
.”

“You mean Michael the Archangel? He’s your shiny man—” Shay gasped.

“What is it?” Bree asked.

“I think I’ve seen him too.”

Chapter 15

Tristol stepped deeper into the woods. He could feel her drawing closer to him, but it wasn’t working quickly enough. If she didn’t come to him soon, he would have to go inside and take her. If he was spotted, he’d have to kill everyone there, and he wasn’t ready to kill the warriors yet. He needed them to get rid of Malek first. He certainly didn’t want Shay killed. If she was Edward’s daughter, she was too valuable. Tristol waited until the moon shone full, and then he faded into a mist as black as his hair and vanished into the night.

***

Cody tried to work the stiffness out of his shoulders as he climbed the stairs. He needed a shower, and his head felt like a grenade had gone off behind his eyes. The guards were in place, Sam was still trying to locate Ellis’s boss, and the warriors were using every contact and weapon they had, trying to find some trace of Malek. Sean was contacting other clans to see if anyone had spotted the demon. Bree was looking into Edward Rodgers’s past to see what the demon might be after Shay, the book, or both.

He started to his room to shower first, changed his mind, and decided to see if she wanted to conserve water. As soon as he touched the doorknob, the hairs on his arm rose. His body went from tired to alert in an instant. He could feel the danger like a thick layer of fog. He didn’t bother knocking. Her bed was empty and the doors to the balcony were open. Shay stood at the ledge, staring into the night.

“Shay? What are you doing out here?” The night air was chilly, but she wore only a thin nightgown.

She didn’t answer. Usually her hearing was almost as keen as his.

Cody stepped through the doors, but she didn’t turn. “Are you okay? Shay?” He grabbed her arm. “Shay!”

She turned, her face blank, eyes vacant, and then she blinked. “Cody?” She looked at him, puzzled, then saw where she was and hugged her arms to her chest.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked.

She opened her mouth, her expression blank again. “I don’t know.”

“Have you ever sleepwalked?”

“No, not until tonight.”

He would have to watch her closer. Couldn’t have her wandering about the castle at night. “Come on, you’re freezing.” He felt chilled himself, but it wasn’t from the Scottish night air.

They walked into the room together.

“I was dreaming… but I can’t remember what it was about.” She ran her hand over the silver candlestick on the bedside table. “Thank you for bringing it,” she said.

“You’re welcome.” He didn’t know how long she’d had the picture taped to the bottom of the candlestick, but it gnawed at his stomach knowing the clan had stolen her history and her name. He couldn’t imagine finding out his life was a lie. Was he soothing his own guilt by bringing her parents’ picture to Scotland and letting her keep her father’s talisman, which he could see outlined under her gown? He could see more than the talisman through the thin material. “Would you like something to drink? A cup of tea?”

“No, thank you.” She tilted her head. “But I would like to have you, sir.”

His body warmed. “Aye, my lady. At your service.” He grinned and dropped his kilt.

***

Shay touched the imprint on Cody’s pillow. Still warm. Her head was clear of nightmares for once. If she had them, she didn’t remember. After a quick shower—they’d showered once last night, but sweated profusely afterwards—she dressed and went downstairs. The smell of food drew her toward the kitchen. A white-haired man met her in the corridor. His eyes crinkled at the sight of her.

“Ah, there you are,” he said, sticking out his hand. “I’m Sean Connor, Faelan’s great-great-nephew. Coira’s in the kitchen. She’s been dying to meet you. Another body to fatten up. But don’t tell her I said so. Come along, now.” He took Shay’s arm, as if he had known her all her life. “She’s been cooking for two hours, but she won’t hear of hiring a cook—Look who I’ve found,” he said to the red-haired woman bustling around the kitchen.

“She’s awake,” the woman said, beaming. “We’ve been worried about you, sleeping so much, and you haven’t eaten a bite. We’ll fix that. You have to keep up your strength with the way things move around here. Sit, I’ll fix you a plate.” She scurried over and came back with a heaping plate, silverware, and a napkin.

“What’d I tell you?” Sean whispered.

“Thank you,” Shay said, charmed by the couple. “I’ve heard your names, but there have been so many faces to keep track of.” And she had slept a lot since she arrived. “You’re a nurse, aren’t you, Coira?”

“And a bloody good one,” Sean said.

“Thank you for the compliment, but watch your tongue,” she said to Sean. “There’s no excuse for rough language.”

“She’s got a thing about cursing too,” Sean whispered. “Cursing and food. Woman’s obsessed with mouths. Always making us shove food in or walloping us if a rude word slips out.”

“I hear you, dear.”

“And she’s got ears like a warrior,” he said in an exaggerated whisper. “So be warned. Eat in here, if you’d like. The others have eaten and gone or haven’t come down yet.”

“Have you seen Cody?” she asked as Coira filled two more plates. “We have to talk to the police, and then he’s going to take me by my house to get some things.” If there was enough time, she wanted to visit the place where her parents had lived. She had gone to Scotland searching for her roots, never suspecting that she settled so close by.

“Saw Cody earlier,” Sean said. “He’s a good man. I think he was helping Ronan with something. Here’s Marcas. Have you seen your brother, Marcas?”

Marcas kissed Shay on the head and stole a bite of her sausage. “He was headed to his room, I think. I’ve got to run. I’m trying to track down Anna.”

Shay sat at an old wooden table, explaining her story as she ate. Sean and Coira asked questions and sympathized like grandparents. Shay had never had grandparents. Nina tried to cover all the bases; mother, father, grandmother, and aunt, but while she did a good job, Shay secretly longed for grandparents like her friends had, to make cookies for her and take her to the park or the zoo.

Coira refused to let Shay help clean up the dishes, so she explored the castle while waiting for Cody. She roamed halls wider than some of the rooms in her house. Massive rooms and staircases, with stone everywhere, on both floors and walls. It was an antique lover’s dream. Old rugs, ancient tapestries, leather, and antiques everywhere she looked. She rounded a corner and ran into Faelan.

“Whoa, there,” he said, steadying her with one hand. In the other, he held a tray. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. I just ate breakfast. Too much, I think.”

“Coira got hold of you, aye? I just heard the same thing from Bree. No worry of going hungry around here,” he said, smiling.

Cody wasn’t the only one who looked good in a kilt. “Where is Bree?”

“In the library with her nose stuck in a book. Can’t get her out of there.” His eyes lit as he talked. He obviously adored Bree. Would she and Cody be like that?

“Where is the library? I’ll pop in and see her.”

Faelan pointed out a room in the opposite direction and touched Shay’s shoulder. “See if you can get her to rest. She didn’t get much sleep last night. She’s upset over all this. Not about you, lass. She’s glad to have you as a sister, but she feels betrayed. I’m sure you know all about that.”

“She just needs time to sort it out.”

“Aye. Between us, maybe we can help her. I think I’ll like having a sister again, even if by marriage.” His smile was genuine, but she saw the shadow underneath. He lost his real sister when the demon locked him in the time vault.

“I can always use a brother-in-law,” she said, returning his smile.

“And if you need help keeping Cody in line, just let me know, aye?” He patted her head, as he usually did. “Tell Bree I’ll be there in a few minutes with her tea.”

Shay stepped through the archway, and her mouth fell open. “Jiminy Christmas!” The room was huge, two stories tall, with floor-to-ceiling shelves lining the walls and a ledge that ran around the top for access to the upper level.

“Isn’t it grand?” a voice called from somewhere above her head. Bree had one foot and hand on the ladder, stretching out to reach a book.

“Are you trying to give your husband an ulcer?”

“There’s a book, just there.”

“Won’t the ladder move closer?”

“It’s stuck.”

“Come down, and I’ll get it.”

“I’ve almost got it.” She stretched farther, perilously unbalanced.

“Faelan will kill you if he sees you up there.”

“Why do you think I’m trying to hurry?” Bree turned to grin at Shay, and her foot slipped.

“Damnation!” Faelan stood frozen in the doorway. The color drained from his face. He ran for the ladder, curses blazing from his lips.

“Don’t curse at me in Gaelic,” Bree said, regaining her footing but still reaching for the book.

“What are ye trying to do? Kill yerself?”

“You can judge his temper by his accent,” Bree said calmly, finally grasping the book. Gripping it to her chest, she started down the ladder. Faelan plucked her off, ranting at her. When she was safely on the ground, he pulled her into his arms and crushed her in a hug.

“Did you bring my tea?” she asked, voice muffled against his shoulder.

“You daft woman, what am I going to do with you?”

Shay left them hugging and went to see what was taking Cody so long. She tapped on the door.

It opened, revealing a woman dressed in a no-nonsense dark suit and crisp white shirt, but her face and body looked like a model’s. Short blond hair accented her striking face.

“Sam,” Cody called from the bathroom. “Did I hear the door?”

Shay gaped at the woman. “You’re Sam?” she said, backing away.

“Yes.” She turned as Cody called again.

“Sam—” He stepped into view, a towel wrapped low on lean hips. His eyes met Shay’s. He started to say something, but Shay turned and hurried to her room. She bolted the door and sagged against it, feeling her breakfast climbing up her throat.

“Shay?” Cody banged on the door. When she didn’t answer, he tried the knob. “Open the door, Shay.”

After a few moments, she picked herself up and cracked the door. He stared at her. “Can I come in?”

She didn’t answer, but turned and walked toward the balcony, trying to calm her thoughts.

He followed her, still wrapped in a towel. “That was Sam.”

“I figured it was when you called her
Sam
.” She hadn’t realized Sam was a woman, a drop-dead gorgeous woman.

“She got here last night.”

Shay still didn’t say anything.

“Shay, look at me.” Cody turned her so she faced him, while he gripped the towel with the other hand. “You don’t think there’s anything going on between Sam and me, do you?”

“She’s in your bedroom while you’re wearing a towel. What should I think?”

“She came to get some papers. I was in the shower.”

“If you say so. What business is it of mine, anyway?”

“What business… what the hell does that mean? How can you say that after what we’ve done? After what you told me. And this.” He thumped the tattoo on his neck. “I swear you’re the most stubborn, infuriating woman I know. That’s why cavemen dragged women around by their hair.” He followed by digging a hand in her hair and kissing her, hard, demanding, and possessive. She struggled for a minute before her lips betrayed her. The kiss softened, and he lifted his head until they were separated by an inch. “Do you think I could kiss you like that if I wanted Sam?”

“You’ve seen her! How could you not want her?”

“Women!” Cody growled and kissed her again. “Listen to your heart; your head’s obviously screwed up. There’s nothing between Sam and me.”

“Never?”

He groaned. “How do women always know the one wrong question to ask? Once. A couple of years ago.” He leaned back, forcing Shay to look at him. “You have my word. Come on. I’ll introduce you, and then we’ll go to the police station and get some things from your house.”

Sam was nice, but Shay was still stewing over the matter, even after they left the police station. There was no evidence against Shay, so they couldn’t hold her, but they did ask her not to leave Scotland for the time being.

“You’ve known Sam how long?” Shay asked as they drove to her house.

“A few years.”

Great. “She’s married?”

“No.”

“Boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Lesbian?”

“No.” His responses were dry.

“She’s beautiful.”

“She is that.” Cody gave Shay an exasperated look. “Don’t make something out of it. We have other things to focus on, like a nearly thousand-year-old demon.”

“So it’s fine if you and Jamie go at each other like rabid wolves,” Shay said, although they were being civil now. “But I’m not allowed to say anything when some gorgeous woman shows up who you’ve slept with?”

“That’s different. You almost married the guy. I slept with Sam once. Once. How many times did you sleep with Jamie—” Cody growled. “Don’t answer that.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been an ass, but it was hell watching him near you, knowing you were mine. I probably didn’t react well when I found out he’d been keeping a lot more than his eyes on you—” He sighed. “Can we not talk about this?”