Just Believe (8 page)

Gaelen Riley stood by the bed. As he
bent to take Erin's hand in both his own, very large hands, the
warm light burnished his wheat-gold hair. Funny, Annabelle had
never though blond men appealing before.

"And he told me of you." Dr. Riley
smiled. "If I'd known he wasn't exaggerating about your beauty, I'd
have made it my business to meet you sooner."

Blushing prettily, Erin turned to draw
Annabelle into the conversation.

"This is my sister,
Annabelle."

He started to turn toward her, then
froze for an instant before completing the motion. "Annabelle?" he
said, even as his sky blue eyes twinkled.

Annabelle started working up a fine
head of steam. Imagine a grown man thinking her name was
funny.

Then she suddenly realized his eyes as
he studied her were filled, not with humor, but confusion,
then...speculation? And ... fear? No, that was
ridiculous.

Their gazes locked and a bolt of
recognition struck Annabelle right in her heart. I know him, she
thought. Yet she knew she'd never met the man before. She tried to
put off the familiarity to the fact that she'd heard his voice the
day before on Lucas's answering machine. Even as she formed the
thought, she dismissed it. She knew him from somewhere else. But
where?

Dr. Riley seemed to be having the same
reaction. In the deepening silence, his eyes mapped her face,
seeking. He tipped his head and squinted. Then his eyes moved down.
Her entire body warmed under his examination.

Erin cleared her throat, reminding them
they were not alone.

* * * *

Gaelen recovered first. "A delight,
Miss Tinker," he said, breaking his gaze from hers
reluctantly.

It couldn't be. He shook the eeriness
of recognition from his head. It couldn't be the same
girl.

But she did have the same warm brown
eyes, the same long, chocolate brown hair hanging softly over her
shoulders. However, everything else had changed. No longer was she
long-legged in the gangly way of a filly. No, sir, there were
curves and...

He snapped himself out of his
stupor.

"I'm sorry, Miss Tinker. I don't mean
to stare, but..." He struggled for words. "I have the overwhelming
feeling we've met before. Were you a student at the
university?"

"No," she said, her voice weak, as
though she, too, were affected by their meeting. "I went to St.
Mary's in Raleigh."

"An excellent school."

"But I grew up in Chapel Hill. Our
father was an assistant athletic director at the
university."

Realization dawned. Of course, that's
where he must have seen her, at some university gathering. "Jumbo
Tinker?" At her nod, he forced a sad smile. "Let me offer my
condolences. He was a fine man and I was pleased to know
him."

"Thank you," she whispered.

Thank Bridget. Being Jumbo Tinker's
daughter explained a great many things, not only her familiarity,
but also the feyness he'd sensed about her. In the few seconds of
their silent communion, she'd scared the hell out of
him.

In self-defense, Gaelen turned back to
Erin, relieved the mystery of Annabelle Tinker had been
explained.

"I had expected to run into Lucas. Has
he been here?"

Erin's wide eyes darted to her sister.
Her mouth worked as though she was trying out different answers.
Gaelen followed her pleading glance at Annabelle. He watched the
colors radiating from her. Her aura glowed cool blue, fading and
recharging as a copper-red. He hid his smile. She was about to
lie.

"He was here, but he had to leave,"
Annabelle's hurried explanation cut Erin off.

She knows where he is, but she doesn't
want to tell me. Why?

"Did I just miss him, then?" He turned
back to Erin. "Too bad, for I haven't seen Lucas for awhile. The
reports of your experience have me somewhat uneasy about him." He
weighed his words. "Erin, is Lucas all right?"

"Of course," Erin said, her voice a
little too loud. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"Well," Gaelen said with a little
chuckle, "the story is all over town that he disappeared. Poof."
All humor vanished from his voice. "Did he truly leave you out by
the lake alone?"

"Yes, but, he--"

"What Erin is trying to say, Dr.
Riley," Annabelle broke in, "is she and Lucas had a little tiff,
and yes, in his anger, Lucas did leave her for a time, but it was a
misunderstanding only. Right, Erin?"

She gave Erin such an exaggerated,
wide-eyed you'd-better-go-along-with-me look Gaelen almost laughed
out loud.

"Oh! Oh, yes." Erin nodded furiously.
"Right."

"Then how did you end up in the
psychiatric ward of University Hospital?" Gaelen asked, thinking
he'd painted the two ladies into a corner.

Erin gulped and looked to Annabelle for
help. Gaelen followed her gaze. Annabelle's eyes sparkled and she
put on a smile. Silver had replaced copper-red, creativity
replacing deceit.

Oh, this one is quick. He waited in
delicious anticipation of what she'd come up with. He wasn't
disappointed.

"Erin is rather spoiled, you see."
Annabelle raised a warning eyebrow to Erin who was about to protest
this slander. "When Lucas wouldn't agree to marry her immediately,
she pushed him out of the car and locked the doors and refused to
let him back in. Lucas went to get help to open the car. Erin
worked herself up to such a state that her screams and crying
brought the police. When they couldn't get anything out of her,
they brought her here."

Out of the corner of his eye, Gaelen
saw Erin's eyebrows knit together in silent, impotent
rage.

It was such a bravura performance
Gaelen had trouble playing along. But Annabelle wasn't
finished.

"She'll throw a tantrum over nothing,
and this time poor Lucas was on the receiving end."

Gaelen glanced at the furious
Erin.

"She looks fairly calm now," he
offered.

"Does she?" Annabelle smiled at her
sister. "Wait until they bring her dinner. I've seen her throw her
supper at the wall rather than eat something she doesn't
like."

"Miss Tinker, I fear you do Erin an
injustice. She certainly doesn't give the impression of a spoiled
brat."

"Thank you, Gaelen," Erin
said.

"Isn't what I've said true, Erin?"
Annabelle asked, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. "Maybe the
truth isn't so bad as I'd thought. What is it? Did you just have a
nightmare in a drunken stupor?"

"No!"

"Drug-induced hallucinations?"
Annabelle's warm husky voice carried just the right touch of
horror.

"No!"

"Well, what?"

Erin's mouth opened, then snapped shut.
Gaelen knew she was testing and discarding answers, and he could
tell exactly when she decided Annabelle's story was the most
innocent one they could come up with on the spur of the moment to
even begin to explain the situation.

"I'm so embarrassed," Erin said. "I
acted like a fool, and now I'm stuck here like a nut
case."

"So, you don't know where he
is?"

"Uh-umm." Annabelle shook her
head.

Erin just looked away.

Gaelen's mouth twitched with the urge
to smile. If he'd had time--and if Annabelle Tinker hadn't been
human...

"Well, then. I suppose I'll have to
call his apartment and check on him. When he drops by, would you
pass on that I'd like to see him? There's a minor family matter I
need to discuss with him. Meantime-" He raised Erin's hand and
lightly kissed the back. "I've enjoyed meeting you, Erin." Turning
to Annabelle, he waited for her to offer her hand for a courtesy
shake and was unaccountably disappointed when she didn't. "I've
also enjoyed meeting you, Miss Tinker. I hope we meet
again."

Annabelle gave him a noncommittal tip
of the head and a wan smile.

Neither woman spoke as he left the
room.

The door clicked shut behind
him.

"Why didn't you tell him Lucas was
waiting in your car?" Erin asked.

"I don't know. I just didn't think it
would be a good idea."

Erin smiled. "You do believe in Lucas,
don't you?"

Believe?

Daddy had always said, "You've got to
believe in something, Annabelle."

"Annabelle, what's wrong?" Erin asked,
her voice heavy with worry. "You're not going crazy, too, are
you?"

"You're not crazy, Erin, and neither am
I," she replied, pushing the too tall and too gorgeous Gaelen Riley
out of her mind. He'd be great fodder for some nice dreams, but a
man who looked like him wouldn't glance twice at a homely duck like
her. She gently tucked Erin's covers around her. "Now, you get some
sleep. Since it appears aliens didn't take Lucas, we'll try to get
you sprung tomorrow."

"All right, I'll try." Erin snuggled
down in the bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "Gaelen is
very handsome, isn't he? He reminds me of your man in the tool
shed, don't you think?"

As she acknowledged the truth of Erin's
statement, Annabelle wished she'd never shared that particular
fantasy with her sister.

* * * *

Gaelen wandered down the long hallway,
looking for a stairwell where he could squoosh and get back on
Lucas's trail. He'd been in that room, all right. Gaelen had
smelled the fairy dust.

A shot of apprehension nailed him.
Where had it come from, though? Fairy dust was only produced by a
squooshed fairy. Had Lucas been stupid enough to unsquoosh in the
presence of two human women? One witness could be discounted; two
would be more likely to be believed.

"Well, Gaelen. How nice to see
you."

Gaelen froze and sighed. Of all
the...

"Hello, Linette." He turned and lowered
his gaze to meet the green eyes of Linette Duncan. "I hadn't
thought to run into you here. I thought you'd moved on."

"I had my residency to finish. My life
can't be arranged just to avoid an old lover."

Gaelen laughed at her attempt to wound
him.

"What do you want, Linette? I have
business to attend to."

"Yes, I know. Find him yet?"

"Who?" Gaelen asked.

"Don't be coy, Gaelen. Your brother,
the one who left poor Miss Tinker screaming and
hysterical."

Linette's eyes showed no sympathy for
"poor Miss Tinker." Not that Gaelen was surprised. After all,
pixies were more selfish and self-centered than fairies
were.

"What do you know about this? And what
concern is it of yours anyway?"

"The fate of the pixie realm is tied to
yours. If the fairies are discovered, how long do you think we'll
survive? And I enjoy my life in this world. My leadership has
ordered me to keep the girl here to capture Lucas."

Gaelen looked over her head at the
large lads behind her. Both wore the white of hospital orderlies,
but he recognized what they were immediately.

"That why you have two fairy
mercenaries patrolling the hallways?"

She smiled. "It takes a fairy to catch
a fairy." Her smile faded, replaced by a cold, steely stare. "Stay
out of my way, Gaelen. I won't let you botch this."

"Why would I try? I want to find Lucas
as much as anybody does. He's-" He bit his tongue. He'd almost told
Linette the truth about Lucas's wounds. The less information she
had, the better. "As far as staying out of the way, Linette, I'll
give you the same warning. The Council of One Hundred has given me
time to try to find Lucas and bring him and the girl to New Jersey.
We'll take care of the situation."

"The Pixie Confederacy isn't all that
sure of your ability to handle the situation, Gaelen. And since I
have my orders, yours are no concern of mine."

"I'm warning you, Linette."

"Save your warning for somebody who
needs it. Boys, take him."

Before Gaelen could react, the two
burly fairy mercenaries in Linette's employ grabbed Gaelen and
scooped him up, one arm and one leg each.

"To the roof," Linette
ordered.

"Linette, there's no need for this
pointless violence. You're not being objective."

She ignored him, leading the way to the
stairwell and up the remaining flights of stairs to the roof of the
hospital. Gaelen struggled, but the mercs were too strong for him
to escape. They carried him across the helipad on top of the
hospital, not stopping until they reached the edge of the
roof.

With a chill, he realized what she
planned.

"Now, Linette, you can't be serious.
Come on, honey, you know our relationship was going nowhere. It was
over. Can't you just be happy for-"

"You are the most arrogant man!" She
peeked over the edge. "Do you think I'd drop you to your death just
for breaking up with me? No, dear Gaelen. My only concern is the
survival of all our people." She smiled thinly. "Over you go." She
stepped back to give the mercs room to toss him over.