Just Believe (9 page)

"Have a nice flight, laddie," one said,
his voice heavy with the accent of Cork.

Gaelen had always hated fairies from
Cork. Now he had a reason.

"Traitors," he muttered.

"That depends on your perspective,
boyo," the merc replied.

With a swing, the two brutes let Gaelen
fly out into empty space. He hung, suspended, between earth and sky
for just an instant. Then he felt gravity grab him.

Could he do it? He'd never heard of a
fairy squooshing in midair.

Better make up your mind, Gaelen. The
ground is getting closer all the time.

With a gasp, he drew a breath
and...

Squa-oooosh.

* * * *

Annabelle stared out the window,
replaying the scene with Gaelen Riley in her mind. She couldn't
shake the idea she'd met him before. He'd known Daddy, of course,
but Annabelle knew if she'd been introduced to him somewhere, she'd
have remembered. But his golden hair, his blue eyes, his large
hands... Where had she seen him before? Maybe next time she saw him
she'd remember.

As though by her command, he flashed
before her eyes.

Outside.

Falling toward the ground.

"No!" She pressed her face against the
window, straining to see his downward plummet. The only thing she
could make out was another firefly heading away from the building.
"Oh, my God! Erin, wake up!"

"What?" Erin muttered
sleepily.

"It's Dr. Riley! Lucas's brother. He
fell off the roof." Annabelle was already out the door and into the
hallway. She ran to the elevator and had to punch at the button a
couple of times because her hands were shaking.

"Come on, come on."

The doors slid open and she jumped in,
stabbing a finger at the button for the lobby floor. The elevator
took forever. She squeezed through the doors as they cracked open
and ran toward the guard's desk.

"Hurry, come on. A man just fell from
the roof." She gulped a breath and continued toward the front door.
"Come on!" she yelled over her shoulder.

The paunchy guard left his coffee and
followed her out.

Annabelle tried to orient herself,
finally figuring out Erin's room was on the front of the huge
edifice. She gazed up, counted eleven floors and could make out the
face of a young woman that she knew was Erin at a
window.

"Right here. He fell right over here."
Her stomach twisted in apprehension as she approached the site
where she expected to find the mess that was left of handsome
Gaelen Riley.

"Who fell?" The guard had his
flashlight out and was walking around the boxwoods and young
dogwood trees at the foundation of the building. He flashed the
light out away from the building and toward the street. "There's no
one here, lady."

"But I saw..." She had seen him,
falling, arms and legs flailing, a look of supreme terror on his
face. "He fell from the roof."

The guard came up to her and sniffed.
"No liquor."

Annabelle bristled. "Of course not. I'm
not drunk." Annabelle tried to catch her temper and speak calmly.
"Look, I was on the eleventh floor--"

"Oh," the guard nodded, "the eleventh
floor. I see." He took her elbow and gently led her back to the
front of the hospital. "Come with me, and I'll see you get back to
the eleventh floor."

"No! I'm not crazy." Annabelle jerked
her arm away from his grip and ran toward the street. "I'm telling
you, there's a dead man out here somewhere." She glanced around.
"People don't take a bounce when they hit, do they?"

"I don't think so," the guard said.
"Come on, miss. Let's go in."

Allowing the guard to lead her,
Annabelle turned back toward the hospital and raised her eyes to
look toward the roof. She followed the line from the roof past
Erin's window.

Then she stopped, turning all the way
around.

Was she crazy?

"I'm sorry," she said to the guard. "I
must have been dreaming. My sister is up there, and I was sitting
with her. I guess I'm more tired than I thought."

"Sure," the guard replied, not
unkindly. "You go back to your sister's room and try to get some
rest. Maybe they'll bring in a cot for you if you ask."

"Thank you, I will." Annabelle followed
the guard uneasily back into the hospital, but couldn't resist one
last glance at the spot where Gaelen Riley should have
splattered.

* * * *

Gaelen took a perch in one of the
ancient oaks lining the street while his heart slowed down. He'd
never try that again. Breathing deeply, he watched Annabelle Tinker
run out of the hospital and dash into the bushes.

Is she really worried about me? A smile
spread across his face, and he was unreasonably pleased by the
prospect of Annabelle Tinker-with her warm brown eyes and long,
dark hair, and those hand-filling curves--being concerned for his
safety.

Whoa. Put Annabelle Tinker out of your
mind, Gaelen. She's human and off-limits to the likes of
you.

But Annabelle...

Could she be the same girl? It had been
over fifteen years ago, and he hadn't seen her clearly, being
somewhat preoccupied with his own situation. He had been still
reeling after going from the arms of the incomparable Carly
O'Malley--a totally exhilarating experience, if memory served--to
freezing his wings off in an ammonia sea on Jupiter. He'd forced
himself back to Earth, but needed a place to rest. He'd limped to a
tool shed before going home to face the old man.

The pre-adolescent girl who'd found him
there--her warm brown eyes widening with shock at his nakedness,
but sparkling at the sight of his wings--had brought him water and
bandages and promised milk and cookies before a booming bass voice
called her in for the night.

Of course, it was the same girl. Though
Jumbo Tinker had not been a close friend, Gaelen knew his house was
in the same neighborhood and that he had two daughters.

Gaelen frowned when the guard took her
elbow and pulled her toward the front of the hospital. The wave of
possessiveness washing over him was totally inappropriate. He
squashed it.

At that moment, Gaelen knew how he
could get to Lucas. And to Erin.

And he hated himself for it.

* * * *

Annabelle rode up in the elevator,
purposely emptying her mind of any thoughts at all. She was tired.
That's all it was.

But why would she imagine Gaelen Riley
flying past Erin's window?

"Ms. Tinker?" Dr. Duncan's voice
stirred her from her musing. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm fine. But I think
I need some sleep. Would it be possible to have a cot moved into
Erin's room?"

"No, I'm afraid not. It's against the
policy of this ward. In fact, I shouldn't have allowed you to stay
last night. Someone should have shooed you out of here hours ago,"
the doctor replied with a smile. "Would you like to have someone
drive you home?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine. I'll just
look in on Erin."

Dr. Duncan stepped in front of her.
"Erin is sleeping. I put your bag and coat at the front desk. Come,
I'll walk you to the elevator."

"But--"

"Please, Ms Tinker. There are rules.
You aren't supposed to be here now."

"How did Dr. Riley get up here,
then?"

Dr. Duncan's pixie green eyes widened.
"You saw him? Did Gaelen mention why he'd dropped by?"

"He said he was looking for his
brother. He's concerned that he hasn't seen Lucas in a few
days."

"Really?" Dr. Duncan smiled.

The familiarity with which Dr. Duncan
spoke Gaelen's name stirred up an uneasy and unidentifiably
unattractive feeling. She tried--unsuccessfully--to convince
herself it was curiosity only, and that on Erin's
behalf.

"How well do you, ah, know him...them?
Lucas and his brother?" she asked, using Lucas as an excuse for her
question.

"I don't know Lucas well at all. I've
only met him once or twice. I'm much better acquainted with Gaelen.
We move in the same circles, you see." Dr. Duncan stopped in front
of the nurse's desk, a pensive look on her face, then she reached
behind it and retrieved Annabelle's bag and windbreaker. "Oh, dear,
you should be wearing a heavier coat with the raw blustering wind,"
she said as she handed it over.

The beeper in the doctor's pocket cut
off further conversation.

"Good night, Ms. Tinker. I trust I'll
see you tomorrow?"

Offering a thin smile and quick
handshake, Dr. Duncan left Annabelle by the nurse's station,
turning and marching down the corridor, a destination clearly in
mind. Watching her, an uneasy twinge coursed along Annabelle's
spine. The woman's reaction to Gaelen Riley seemed out-of-place,
though Annabelle had absolutely no explanation for why she felt
that way. Her reporter's mind filing that tidbit away to chew on
later, Annabelle turned her mind to the task at hand.

Lucas Riley was waiting in her
car.

Chapter Six

Lucas jerked awake when Annabelle
tapped on the window. He reached over and popped open the
lock.

"Didn't mean to wake you," she said,
getting in the car.

"No matter," he said, handing over her
keys. "Is Erin all right? I was about to come up to check on
her."

"Good thing you didn't. Your brother
showed up not long after you left." Annabelle started the whiny
engine of her rented import.

Lucas sat up and turned sideways in his
seat, his eyes burning intensely.

"Gaelen was here? What did he
say?"

Backing out of the parking space,
Annabelle twisted around and didn't answer right away. She had
trouble reconciling the urgency in Lucas's voice at the mention of
his brother's name with the charming Dr. Riley who'd introduced
himself in Erin's room.

"He's concerned about you," she finally
answered, easing the car onto the street and heading out of town to
her mother's house.

Lucas puffed out a disbelieving grunt.
"Concerned for himself, you mean," he said, his voice
low.

Driving beyond the bright lights of the
medical center, they rode in silence through the velvet black
night. Though he didn't make a sound, his tension rippled through
the air. Annabelle could almost hear his nerves twanging, the
annoying sound of a rubber band being plucked.

Her own nerves tightened. "What's with
you and your brother?"

"What do you mean?" Lucas didn't turn
toward her as he spoke.

"You seem to be worried about seeing
him."

"Actually, Gaelen isn't the one I'm
most worried about."

"Who then?"

A snort preceded his answer. "I can't
tell you now. Maybe later, if..."

"If what?"

"If I can get myself out of the trouble
I've made for myself and Erin." His head dropped back against the
back of the seat.

"You've got my attention, Lucas. Tell
me." When he didn't speak, she added, "You've just said my sister
is in trouble. You're going to tell me what's going on. And don't
give me any more nonsense about it being dangerous for me to
know."

With a deep sigh, Lucas said, "When I
can, I will. There're some things I need to find out first." His
eyes closed and he turned toward the window.

Annabelle let him rest, deciding to
pursue the issue when she had him in the house.

"Here we are," she announced, pulling
the parking brake.

Lucas sat up and looked around. "Do you
think we can get me in without your mother seeing me?"

"Let me check," Annabelle said, opening
her door and getting out. She hurried up the walk and pulled out
her house key. Unlocking the door slowly, she listened for any
sound showing her mother was still up and about. After finding her
sleeping soundly, Annabelle went back to the front door and waved
Lucas in.

He passed her and headed straight for
the basement stairs.

"Where are you going?" she
asked.

"I'm going to hide out in the rec room.
There's a couch down there, right?" he whispered.

"Yes," Annabelle answered, following
him down the stairs. She hadn't expected him to settle in. "How
long are you thinking of staying?" All she needed was for her
mother to wake up and find this guy here. Annabelle wasn't in the
mood for a hysterical scene right now.

"Just until I can figure a way out of
this." He dropped onto the beat-up plaid sofa, stretching his long
legs. A grimace twisted his face and a grunt of discomfort ground
from his throat.

"What's wrong, Lucas? Are you hurt?"
Annabelle knelt in front of him and laid her hand on his
knee.

Lucas squinted at her. "Just a little.
I fear I injured my shoulder a bit, tore something."