Somewhere I'll Find You (12 page)

After a satisfying crack, Paige heard a sharp curse
,
followed by
footsteps that
were rapidly approaching her.  Glass shattered around her as
a shoulder rammed into her chest
, driving the breath from her and slamming her to the floor
. 
She hit the concrete hard enough to make her see stars, but it wasn’t enough of a blow to render her completely senseless; she could still hear the sound of the figure’s swift passage as he thundered up the stairs and fled into the night by way of the kitchen door.

“Paige?”  She could only sigh in relief at the sound of Michael’s voice.  “Paige, answer me damn it!”

“I’m fine.”  Moving to her feet, she clenched her teeth against the pain in her ribs
.  “Whoever that was, they’re
gone.”

As Michael threw the proper switches, the cellar flared into view, leaving Paige blinded momentarily.  When her eyes adjusted at last, Paige saw Michael leaning against the fuse box.  His shirt hung in dusty tatters and one of the cuffs was splashed with a red hue that she suspected was
not
wine.

“You’re an idiot,” she sputtered
,
while anger and relief battled each other.  “A complete and utter idiot.  And you’re injured
,
to boot.”
 
So now I have to take care of you
, she finished silently, seething.

“Not anything serious,” he replied shortly while he shoved away from the wall.  “The
blood isn’t
mine.”

Looking about at the shattered glass and the wine that pooled along the floor
, Paige’s
hold on her emotions let go entirely and her eyes flared with fury.
  “I’ve had nothing but problems eve
r since you arrived at the door!” she snapped, bunching her hands into fists.
 
“
First, I’m shot at; now someone breaks into my home.  What are you, a human magnet for trouble?”

Michael’s eyes were hard and cold.  “We can discuss that later.  Right now I want a change of clothes because
,
like it or not, until this is settled, I’m sticking to you like flypaper.”

“You’re
not
staying here.”

“No,” he agreed
,
while he began hauling her up the stairs.  “And neither are you.
”

And neither was the spirit that watched so carefully.

He drove well but fast.  Paige found her eyes drawn often to those strong hands on the wheel
as they eased
her restored Cord along bumpy roads and past sand dunes.
  It had taken Paige a long while and a good deal of money to restore that roadster to its original condition. 
It’s just my luck that I parked closer than he did.  Damn me and damn him too!

“You wouldn’t happen to have any idea where we’re going, do you?”  She asked crossly, trying to find something other than the precarious state of her automobile on which to focus.

A short laugh exploded from Michael, his hands easing around the Cord’s wheel.  “Let’s just say that
Serena should never be trusted with national security.  She’s told me all about your cottage.
  That’s where we’re going – but do tell me if I take a wrong turn.
”
 
Not that I will.  I remember the address from the dossier Miles gave me, and I’m certain I can get there.

“I see.  Remind me to wring her neck the next time that I see her.  That is
,
if
I ever see her again,
”
she added gl
oomi
ly.

“You will.”  There was an assurance in his voice that he was far from feeling.  His plans had taken an unexpected turn, one that he wasn’t certain how to deal with.  The dossier that Miles had given him was only a shadow compared to the flesh and blood woman sitting next to him.  “You seem to have pretty good instincts,” he offered, trying to break the silence that lingered between them.

A slight shrug of her slender shoulders was her only response.

“Want to talk about it?”  He tried to soften his voice, hoping to elect some sort of reaction from her.

“I’d rather not.”

“Do you often have unexplained visitors rummaging through your home?”

She turned away from the view outside the passenger window.  “Not until you appeared on my doorstep.”

“Look, I’m trying to get a grip on what happened back there.  A little help from you would be appreciated, Angel.”

Made indignant by his easy familiarity
, she half turned to him, only to whip her head back towards the window barely a half-second later. 
“Must you keep calling me that?”

Well, at least that got a reaction out of her.
  “It suits you,” he replied dryly.  “It’s said that a demon is nothing more than a fallen angel.  I’m still trying to work out which one you are.  In the meantime, why don’t you fill in the gaps about this cottage that Serena left
out?
”

Turning back to the window, Paige’s thoughts drifted back to the day she had found her second home.  She had been driving aimlessly, allowing the warm day to wash away her pre-wedding jitters. She
should
have been looking forward to her
wedding
, but nagging concerns kept entering her mind.

She had taken a curve too sharply;
downshifting
at the sound of a thump, she had pulled over carefully to the side of the road
,
hoping that she hadn’t damaged the car
.  And, it was then that she had seen
it.

Like a vision from a fairytale, she spied the roof covered with purple flowers.  She was drawn to the cottage just as she had once been to the big mansion.
But if
she had been enchanted by the cottage
’s outer appearance
, its name, acquired after a swift call to the real estate agent listed on the bright, leaning sign on the front lawn,
sold her. 

Seaview
,
the agent had called it.  The name, Paige had thought, was as perfect as the rest of the house.
  It sparked her writer
’
s imagination of seafaring pirates and the sound of the ocean pounding along the shore.
  She had purchased it immediately, disregarding the agent’s warning that the structure had been empty for many years and probably was in need of more than a little handiwork.  It had been one of the most impulsive decisions that
Paige had ever made, and she had yet to regret it.  The cottage had called out to her, she thought, and she had answered it gladly.

It was to the cottage
, rather than the house on Mulholland Drive, to which she had retreated upon
discovering her fiancé’s infidelity with a young starlet.  In
the
broken-hearted
weeks that followed,
Paige had focused on
shutting out all t
hought of Richard from her mind; all of her emotions
focused
instead
on restoring and decorating the house,
drawing her inspiration from
unexplainable images that came without warning.  By the time the house was once more habitable, she had a
beautiful little
retreat
… that
she shared with no one.

That is
,
until now. 
She was
too tired to argue with him, t
o
o weary to
point out
,
once again
,
that his presence wasn’t welcome. Instead, Paige focused on the panorama that flew past her.

Finally,
at Paige’s muttered direction,
Michael turned into a drive next to a cottage with cedar-lined bay windows.  It was a fanciful home trimmed with spring flowers that burst into froths of color up the walk.

“I would have thought that the mansion would be enough,” he murmured.

“I needed a place where I could breathe
…
and be
alone
.  A place where I could work in peace.
”  Silently
,
she tugged the keys from her purse before walking to the brightly painted red door.
“Welcome to
Seaview
,” she grumbled
, moving inside
.  “It’s stil
l in need of repair in some spo
ts, so watch your step.”

To Michael’s surprise, it was not the rustic cabin
of his imaginings
.  There were paintings on the walls, with thick carpets on the floor. Running his hand along a polished rail, Michael stepped down a short set of stairs leading to the living room.  With an ease he was far from feeling, he moved to the fireplace, setting the kindling to blaze.
 
Perhaps it’s because I’m tired, but …
He shook his head. 
I know this place …

He couldn’t shake the feeling of
d
éjà vu
as he moved about the room, his mind drifting with sensations that coiled around him like a mist.

“Are there any kind of alarm systems that I should know of?”
he questioned casually.

“There’s never been a need,
”
she muttered, dropping her purse on to a low table near the door.

“It’s the twenty-first century.  Nowhere is safe anymore.” 

To Paige’s ears, i
t sounded as if he’d had personal experience with the fact, but that was absurd.  He didn’t look like a man who thought about anything more serious than where he’d find the next night
’s bed partner. 
Apparently, looks can be d
eceiving, to use the old saw …

She shivered.
Michael’s emotions were so palpable
that they
stopped her in her t
racks.  Senses other than her eyes told her
that
he
was a man who wou
ld always get what he wanted.  He was a
ma
n comfortable with who he was;
o
ne with power, one comfortable with using it over others.  But now, he was off-balance, bewildered by the torrent of events he was having trouble understanding.  She jumped when he finally broke the silence between them.