Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers) (2 page)

She checked the library and the other parts of the mansion, but she couldn’t find him. The Mercedes he’d been driving all month was still in the garage. He changed cars like she changed earrings. She hated to disturb him in his private rooms, but she needed to see the crosses. She walked upstairs to the far end of the third floor where his bedroom and study were located. She knew this because Fergus had once asked her to deliver a document to Nathan. He wasn’t in the study, but the small velvet bag that held the crosses lay on top of his desk. The moment she picked up the bag, she heard gasping from Nathan’s bedroom next door. It sounded like someone was choking. She shoved the bag into her pocket and hurried to his room. She rapped against the heavy wood, but he didn’t answer. The gasping continued.

“Nathan? Are you OK?” Worried, Kendall turned the knob and the door opened. Nathan thrashed on the bed, body straining
as if he had been chained, eyes closed. Kendall hurried to him, leaned down, and touched his arm. “Nathan, wake up!”

His eyes flew open. This close, the amber looked like a flame. She started to jump back, but he grabbed her arm. Trapped, she stared into his eyes, apprehensive, yet mesmerized by the glow. It was beautiful. His head moved closer, and she wasn’t sure if he was going to kiss her or bite her. “Nathan,” she whispered, “let me go.”

“Kendall?” He dropped her arm and quickly sat up.

There was enough light from the hall to see that he had a tattoo on one shoulder. Nathan with a tattoo? That was almost as shocking as his glowing eyes. And it was obvious that he slept naked. She averted her gaze as he pulled the sheet higher.

“I’m sorry you saw that.” He was still breathing hard, but his eyes were normal now.

“I wouldn’t have come in, but I thought you were choking. I’ll leave.”

“Don’t go.” He reached for her but drew his hand back, clutching the sheet instead.

She didn’t leave, but she did take a step away from the bed. “What is it like when it happens? Does it hurt?”

He rubbed his tattooed shoulder as if he were cold. “Some. It feels like an animal is inside, trying to get out.”

“You’re not an animal.”

“Is that one of your hunches?”

The question might have been sarcastic except for the desperate hope in his eyes. She knew Nathan trusted her sixth sense, even more than she did at times. “It’s common sense. You’re not… bad. You’ve never hurt anyone.”

“I did at the castle.”

“That was self-defense. You had to.”

“I think I hurt someone before, when I was a kid. I can’t remember my childhood, but I have this dream. I’m young. There’s a
man with me. He’s injured, bleeding. Dying, then the dream stops. I can’t remember anything before or after. But I feel as if it’s my fault he died.” His British accent wasn’t strong, but it was more pronounced when he was tired.

“I’m sure it wasn’t, if you were just a kid. You don’t know the man?”

“I should, but I don’t. It’s frustrating.”

“You don’t remember anything about your childhood? Your mother, your father?”

“No. My mother died when I was a baby.”

Just like hers. And Adam’s. That might be a clue.

“My father died later,” Nathan said. “I don’t remember him. Sometimes I get glimpses, not even a face, just a feeling.”

She knew that sensation well. “How did he die?” She didn’t want to ask if it had been in a plane crash. Her suspicions felt ridiculous, but Marco had looked right at Nathan and Jake when he said he saw Adam.

“He was in some kind of witness protection program, but he was killed.”

That didn’t sound like Adam. Could Uncle John have been in witness protection? Maybe she should be looking at Jake, not Nathan. “I had no idea.” She was stunned that they were actually discussing it now. She had thought he just didn’t want to talk about it with her. “Fergus has been with you since you were a boy, hasn’t he?”

Nathan nodded. “He’s been like a father to me.”

“It must be hard to not remember anything.” Her memories were wonderful and painful, but they were hers.

The look he gave her was far from the usual serious stare. There was hurt behind his eyes. “It’s empty. But maybe it’s best. I might be forgetting something I wouldn’t want to remember.”

“Cozy,” a hard voice said. Jake stood in the doorway, hands shoved in his pockets, face tight.

“What’re you doing here?” Nathan asked. He started to get up, then looked at his sheet and stopped.

“Not having as much fun as you.”

“We weren’t doing anything.” Nathan scowled. “What do you want?”

“Hank’s looking for you. He said it’s important. Looked like the veins in his neck might explode.”

“Bloody hell. I’m late. I need to get dressed.” He slid to the edge of the bed.

“I’m going to my apartment,” Kendall said. “I haven’t been since we got back.”

“Fine,” Nathan said, starting to rise.

Jake took Kendall’s arm and pulled her from the room. He shut the door firmly behind them. “Now I know why you’ve been avoiding me. You’re in bed with the boss.”

Kendall slapped his arm. “Sometimes I want to hit you.”

“You just did.”

“I want to hit you harder. There’s nothing going on between Nathan and me, and if there were, it’s none of your business.”

“You slept with me. Maybe it’s a guy thing, but that feels like it makes it my business.”

“You make it sound as if we had sex. I slept in your bed out of necessity, not choice.” Kendall stalked off toward her room without looking back. She was going to go home and get away from men for a while. Good-looking ones, mysterious ones, evil ones. She was tired of them all.

She was surprised Nathan hadn’t told her not to leave since he’d been so insistent that they stay here until now. After all, as he kept reminding her when they’d first returned from Italy and
she insisted she needed to go home, the Reaper was still alive, and he still wanted the Spear of Destiny, and there had been several attempts to kill or kidnap her.

As she drove the winding road toward Charlottesville, she kept thinking about her conversation with Nathan. They’d never talked about their childhoods, and now that they had, she felt even more connected to him. But how could he be Adam if his father was in a witness protection program? Uncle John hadn’t been in a program. Had he? She had been just a kid. They wouldn’t have told her if he had. But Adam would have told her. Maybe Adam hadn’t known. Or maybe she was an idiot and Nathan had absolutely no connection to Adam. Marco was just an old man with a wandering mind.

She stopped at the ATM to get cash and then found a sporting goods store to replace her flashlight and thermal blanket. When she got out of the car to go inside, she felt the bag in her pocket. The crosses. She had forgotten about them. Occasionally, she took objects home to study, but Nathan always knew beforehand. She stuck the crosses in her purse. When she got back to the mansion she would return them. In the meantime, this was a perfect opportunity to see if she could discover the secrets they were hiding.

After fighting traffic and getting stuck behind an accident, she drove toward her apartment, which was in a nice, upscale area. Not as upscale as Nathan’s estate in Albemarle County. He was hiding in a place where everyone had money. Old money, new money, inherited money, but money, and lots of it. His mansion and gated entrance didn’t stand out so much among all the fancy horse farms and vineyards.

Kendall parked her Volkswagen in front of her brick, Tudor-style building. It was nice and quiet. Most of the tenants were old. Kendall was rarely here except to sleep or pick up a change
of clothing. More often than not, she ended up staying at the mansion.

She grabbed her purse, which held the leather pouch, and got out of the car. A large black SUV crept into a parking place farther up the street. She couldn’t see the driver through the tinted window, but she’d bet money he was one of Nathan’s guards. She had mixed feelings about that. It was nice, but irritating. Especially now. She and Nathan had a deep trust when it came to relics and responsibility. She felt guilty knowing he was watching out for her when she’d just borrowed something valuable without permission. Clutching her purse close to her side, she hurried up the sidewalk. If she was lucky, she could find out what she needed to know and get the bag back before Nathan discovered it missing.

“Hey there.”

Kendall looked up, surprised to see her good-looking neighbor standing on the sidewalk in front of her. “Todd. You startled me.”

“You look like you’re in a hurry.”

Kendall pressed her purse closer to her side. “I’ve got some work I need to catch up on.”

“You haven’t been around lately.”

“I was traveling… for work.”

“So, no fun?”

Hmmm. Ghosts, killer statues, a deadly race with a madman to find the Spear of Destiny.
“Just the usual.”

“What’d you say you did again?”

She’d told Todd as little as possible about her job. She hadn’t known him long, and Nathan had strict confidentiality clauses for his employees. “I catalog antiques for a private collector.” That was the public version.

“Antiques are cool. Maybe I could see his collection sometime.”

When hell froze over. “He’s not very social. Kind of a recluse.”

“Old geezer, huh?”

“Right. What’re you doing?”

“Looking for you. How about that rain check? You promised you’d make up for our interrupted date.”

“Oh, the date.” That seemed like eons ago, not days. “Sure. Let me check my schedule and I’ll get back to you.”

“Don’t take too long. I’ve missed you.” He gave her a sexy smile. He was a handsome devil with dark hair and eyes so dark blue they looked black. She couldn’t help the quick mental comparison to Jake and Nathan, and wondered with disgust why all of a sudden she was drowning in handsome men. She’d learned the hard way—romance never worked out for her.

“How about next week?”

Todd gave her a long, promising look. “How about this weekend?”

“This weekend. That might work. I’ll check my schedule.” She smiled and hurried toward her door. If the SUV was one of Nathan’s guards, he would want to know all about Todd. Knowing Nathan, he probably already knew what hospital Todd was born in.

Todd was still watching as she closed her door. She locked up and rushed to the kitchen table. Sliding onto a chair, she opened her bag and pulled out the leather pouch. Carefully, she removed the crosses and laid them on the table. All three were similar, but there were slight differences. She picked up Raphael’s and ran her fingers over the worn silver. She felt something building and closed her eyes in anticipation. She wasn’t expecting the roar. She jumped, and the cross flew out of her hands. She reached for it, but another hand got there first. A sexy, male hand with a scar at the base of the thumb.

“Stealing from the boss?”

Kendall stood, pulse racing. Jake held the cross in his fingers, the rest of him looking just as sexy, even with that sullen jaw. He was still pissed at her because of this morning. “How did you get in here?”

“It wasn’t easy. Nathan has you locked up tighter than some of his treasures.” His gaze swept the room. “Cozy place. I could get used to this.”

“Don’t.” She reached for the cross, but he pulled back.

“Does Nathan know you have these?”

“I’m studying them.”

“Guess that’s a no.”

“I didn’t mean to take them from the mansion. I forgot they were in my pocket. And I’m going to return them. I just wanted to study them in private,” she said, emphasizing the word
private
.

“Who were you talking to?”

“Todd. My neighbor.”

“Todd.” Jake made a grunting sound. “Where’s he live?”

“The apartment across from mine.”

Grunt again. “He looked
friendly
.”

“He is.”

“How friendly?”

Kendall shook her head. “You break into my apartment and you’re grilling me about my neighbors?”

“I don’t like him.”

“You don’t know him. Did you make a noise a few minutes ago?”

“Like a burp?”

“Like a roar.”

“No.”

“I could have sworn…”

“What kind of roar? Tarzan? Bigfoot?”

“Bigfoot.”

“I’ve seen ghosts and electric statues, why not a Sasquatch? Next we’ll have unicorns and elves.”

“I must have imagined it.” Had she also imagined it last night?

“Another one of your
feelings
?”

“Maybe. Give me the cross?”

He pulled it back. “What’s in it for me?” His expression didn’t have that carefree Jake look. Definitely still pissed.

“You get to keep your private parts intact.”

He scowled and handed her the cross. “There’s really nothing between you and Nathan?”

“I told you no. I went to his study and heard a noise. I thought he was choking. He was dreaming, I guess. His eyes were changing.”

“And you went inside? What if he’d hurt you?”

“He’s not dangerous.”

“Conjure up the guys he’s killed and tell them.”

“That was self-defense. And he was protecting us.”

“So now he’s a superhero?” Jake grunted. “Then why have you been avoiding me?”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Busy, my ass.”

“I’ve been sitting with Marco as much as I can.” The old man had been unconscious most of the time, only waking for a minute or two at a time.

“You know what I think?” His eyes were steady, maybe even hopeful.

“What do you think?”

“That you’re afraid.”

“Of you? Ha!”

“Of yourself.” Jake moved closer, not stopping until he was so close she could feel his body. “You’re afraid you’ll lose control and slip into my bed.”

She rolled her eyes and backed away so he couldn’t sense her pulse quicken.

He closed the gap between them and lowered his head until his face was just inches away. Steel-gray eyes stared into hers, making her stomach flip. “Admit it. You miss having me in your bed.”

She took another step back and put her hand on his chest to keep him away. He put his hand over hers, trapping it over his heart. She could feel it beating against her fingertips. “I have no idea why you think I’m avoiding you.”