Embrace the Highland Warrior (5 page)

“Maybe I’d rather you didn’t,” Cody said, brushing against her. “I like how you smell.” His voice was low, laced with something so hot it sent a jolt through her nether regions.

She took a step back. “What are you doing?”

“Damn it, I don’t know. I’ll be downstairs.” He picked up the tray and left without looking at her.

She had to get out of here. Maybe she could go to Leesburg and wait for Renee. A couple of days with her might take the edge off whatever this thing was with Cody. It was ridiculous. He was gorgeous, but she had been around plenty of gorgeous men. They never affected her this way.

After Shay made the bed, she called Mr. Ellis and left a message, giving him the bad news about his table, and then she called Lucy to see if everything was okay with the house. Lucy Bell was ninety, the closest thing Shay had to family in Scotland. The old woman had lost her husband a few years before. She and Shay looked out for each other. Shay had just gotten to the attic, when Cody appeared.

“Thought I’d find you up here,” he muttered. “You don’t listen very well.”

“Then stop giving orders.” She dug through a stack of boxes. “I don’t think I’ll find anything. Oh, remember this?” She pulled out her Tinker Bell costume. Nina had made it for her in first grade.

“I remember. You drove me crazy trying to get me to help you practice for the play.”

“I don’t know what you had against Peter Pan,” Shay said, putting the outfit back.

“He wore tights.”

“So did Robin Hood. I don’t hear you complaining about him.”

“His bow made up for the girly clothes. You used to be good with a bow.”

“I haven’t shot one in years,” Shay said. “I probably couldn’t hit the barn.” Underneath the Tinker Bell outfit was Shay’s graduation gown. She brushed her finger over the red material. That was the worst year of her life.

“I have a friend who could help, but I’m afraid he’d give you more than just tips.” Cody helped her check the rest of the attic, but there weren’t any clothes.

Her cell phone rang. It was the airline informing her that her luggage had been delivered.

She hung up. “I guess I’m going to Leesburg. The airline delivered my luggage there.”

“Leesburg?”

“I thought that’s where I would be staying.”

“Can’t you buy new stuff? I thought women looked for any excuse to shop.”

“I have plenty of clothes in my suitcase. No need to waste money.”

“I’d rather you didn’t go.”

“Why not?”

“You might feel fine now, but Leesburg is a two-hour drive. That’s four hours working the accelerator and brake on a sprained ankle. Not one of your better ideas.”

“I’ll manage.”

“No, you won’t.”

“I’m going,” Shay said.

He sighed. “Come on, then.”

“I didn’t ask you to come.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“You’re bossier than I remember.”

“Too bad. Let’s get this over with.”

“I’m going to shower first. Do I need your permission to do that?”

“Not unless you need my help.”

Shay shoved past him and tromped down the stairs. She stumbled only once, and he grabbed her before she could fall.

“Stubborn,” he muttered.

“Tyrant.”

Shay showered and dressed in the same clothes. Cody pulled the truck around so she wouldn’t have to walk across to his house.

“You look like you’re going to your execution,” Shay said.

“If Renee sees me, it might be.”

“You two used to get along.”

“It’s a long story.”

“Care to explain?”

“No.”

He didn’t explain about Renee, but they talked as they rode, catching up on things from the past nine years, avoiding the touchy topics like fake parents and lies and letters and other things that couldn’t be mentioned, which was like tiptoeing around the Grand Canyon. They grabbed a late lunch from a drive-through and arrived at the shop late afternoon.

“Her car isn’t here,” Shay said. “This is odd. She was expecting me.” She pulled the key from her purse. “Are you coming in?”

He grimaced and got out.

Shay’s luggage was sitting outside the back door, where she had instructed the airline to leave it. “Let’s try the apartment first.”

“She hasn’t been here for a few days,” Cody said, after they looked around the apartment.

“How do you know, Sherlock?”

Cody opened the refrigerator. “Observe, Watson. The milk’s almost full, but past its expiration date. We passed a neighbor pulling his trash can off the street. Trash must have been picked up yesterday.” He sniffed. “Hers hasn’t been put out. I noticed mail sticking out of the mailbox outside too.”

“It looks like she just walked off. Why would she do that when she knew I was coming?”

“Did she have business that could have called her away?”

“She travels a lot, and she’s always meeting up with some new hot guy and taking off.”

“How about you?” Cody asked quietly. “Do you ever run off with some new hot guy?”

“No. That’s Renee’s thing, not mine.” Shay couldn’t even commit to a decent, honest, hot guy who wanted to marry her. What would she do with a new one? “She kept complaining about a new client who’s kept her busy. She didn’t like him.”

Cody stopped to look at a coat hanging on a rack by the door. He frowned. “You got a phone number for him?”

“No, the client database is separate for the shop in Scotland and this one.”

“What about her parents? Where are they?”

“Florida. They left right before I moved in with Renee. I’ll try them.”

“Let’s check her workroom, and then we can check the store. I’d like to see her files.”

“It isn’t locked,” Shay said as she opened the door.

Cody looked at pieces lying haphazardly around Renee’s workroom, mostly chairs and cans of varnish, brushes, and paint. “Looks like the place was trashed.”

“It always looks like this. The store’s neat, but this place is a mess. What are you doing?”

Cody had bent and was touching something on the floor. “Nothing.”

As she turned away, she saw him sniff his finger. What was he looking for? He moved about the room, padding lightly from spot to spot, stopping occasionally to examine something. His expression was intent, fully focused. There was something about the way he moved, a gracefulness that surrounded all those muscles, that left her in awe. He’d always had it, even when he was young. She’d tried to emulate it, but never got it right. “On to the shop?” she asked.

Cody nodded. Shay opened the back door, and they stepped inside.

“Nice,” Cody said, admiring an old sword on a shelf.

“We carry everything from furniture and tapestries to weapons and jewelry. If it’s old, we’re interested,” Shay said, closing a table drawer.

“I’ve got a friend you should meet,” he muttered.

They stepped farther into the shop, and the hair on Shay’s neck rose.

“Wait. Let me go first.” Cody put a hand over his chest and eased inside, not touching anything. He moved like a predator, eyes narrowed, scanning the shadows.

“The guy who broke in my shop smashed a table too.”

“You didn’t tell me that. Was anything else damaged?”

“Not that I know. The police didn’t mention anything. I wonder if it’s the same guy.”

“Who was he? A local guy?”

“I don’t know him. He had a strange name. Franklin or something. He claims it’s a mistake.”

“They all do.” Cody eased past the broken furniture. “We’ll call the police in Scotland. There must be some connection if the only things he messed with are the tables.”

“Maybe someone’s trying to hurt my business.”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “This does feel personal, but I think it’s something else. Look at that table over there.” He pointed to a small end table. “It’s a simple design, one drawer, and it’s opened, just like the one near the back door. He’s looking for something.”

“What could he be looking for in both Leesburg and Scotland? We need to call the cops.”

“Quiet.” Cody tilted his head, listening. “Stay here. I want to look around outside.”

“No. I want to come.”

“I’ll just be a minute.”

He left, and the shadows crept into Shay’s mind, the footsteps, and evil whispers. Statues that moved. She started toward the sword, when a noise sounded in the back. She scurried toward the door Cody had left cracked. She slipped outside and saw him crouched near the side of the shop. Had he spotted someone? She crept up behind him and touched his back. He whirled, and she leapt back as the tip of his dagger pointed at her throat.

“Damn it!” he whispered harshly. Four ravens shot up from the trees.

“Ravens. Just birds,” she said, touching her neck. That blade had almost cut her throat.

“Do you ever listen? What are you doing out here?”

“I heard something. Those ravens, I guess.”

Cody watched the birds soar away before turning back to the trees. “Let’s go. I don’t like the feel of this place.”

“Where did you get that dagger?” He didn’t have his Glock.

“I always carry it.”

She looked him over. “Where?”

“In my boot.” He always wore boots. “Don’t ever sneak up on me. I could’ve cut your throat.”

He ushered her to the truck, then made a quick search for Renee’s laptop, which held all her files, and locked up.

“Did you find her laptop?” Shay asked.

“No. Did she have any enemies?” he asked, after he loaded Shay’s luggage.

“Not that I know of, but there’s something I haven’t told you. The burglar in Scotland wasn’t exactly a burglar or a vandal. Well, he might have been those too, but he’s really more of a stalker.”

Cody’s face went slack with surprise and then tightened in anger. “A stalker? You’ve had a stalker this whole time, and you didn’t tell me? What were you thinking? I’m a war… a PI, for God’s sake.”

“Stop yelling at me! The police arrested him. I thought it was over. I didn’t see any point in mentioning it. But he must have trashed this place first.”

Cody drummed his fingers on the wheel. “No wonder you freaked out at the lake. How long has this been going on?”

“About three weeks. I felt like someone was watching me, saw shadows, then the night I left Scotland, I’d gone to my shop, when I saw him coming after me. I ran inside, and there was a table I’d just gotten for an American client, all smashed up on the floor. I called the police, but before I could get out of the shop, I heard footsteps. I hid behind an armoire. He was so close I could’ve touched him. Another few seconds, and he would’ve had me. Something scared him off. I talked to the police between flights, and they told me they arrested him.”

“Was there anything special about your table?” Cody asked.

“It wasn’t valuable. My client wanted something unusual. Renee had just gotten these two matching tables, at an auction, I think. They sounded perfect, but Mr. Ellis wanted only one. Renee shipped it from Leesburg. Another client took the other one. Renee was fixing some scratches on it. I didn’t see it in her workroom. Maybe it’s been delivered.”

“We need to find out where she got those tables,” Cody said.

“I don’t even know where she is.”

“We’ll find her.” He put his hand on her leg. At first it just laid there, then he started rubbing slowly. She knew he did it without thinking, distracted by the new puzzle. She wondered if she should say something or just enjoy the warmth until he realized what he was doing. His hand slid inside her thigh, and she saw a mark on his inner wrist. She tried to see what it was—another tattoo?—but the rubbing was starting to heat more than her legs.

“What’s that mark on your wrist?” she asked.

Cody jerked his hand back, frowning. “Nothing.”

It looked like a sword. He was still hiding things from her, but wasn’t she doing the same? “What do you have against Renee?”

He stared straight ahead, and she thought he was going to ignore the question, but then he spoke. “I tried to see you.”

“After I left?” she asked. What did this have to do with Renee?

“Aye. You weren’t home.”

“When?”

He glanced at her once, and Shay could see the memories replaying in his eyes. “April third, a few months after you left.”

Shay felt the air freeze, too sharp to pull into her lungs. She swallowed. “I was at a funeral.”

“I’m sorry,” Cody said. “I guess it was bad timing on my part.”

Shay bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying and nodded. When the tension in her throat eased, she said, “I’m surprised Renee wasn’t at the house.” She had gotten ill and couldn’t attend.

“She was.” Cody’s voice was flat. “She tried to throw me out.”

Shay swung around to look at him. “Renee?”

“She planted herself in the doorway and said you weren’t there.” Cody’s hands clenched the steering wheel. “I didn’t believe her, so I picked her up, set her aside, and went in anyway.”