The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles) (25 page)

Chapter 37

“I’m hungry,” Alexi said, glancing at her watch.

Without dropping his binoculars, Rhys replied, “Go hawk and catch a mouse or something. I saw some vole’s yellow urine trails in the dirt when we landed.”

In fact, he’d seen a lot of them. His ultraviolet hawk vision revealed more about the landscape than he’d ever dreamed possible. If he’d had this talent in Iraq he’d have been a thousand times more accurate as a sniper.

Alexi made a gagging sound and jerked the binoculars from him. “I’d rather starve. How much longer do you think they’ll be in there?”

“As long as it takes.” He retrieved the binoculars and continued studying the landscape. “This is one of the strangest houses I’ve ever seen. There are no doors. Just ground-to-ceiling windows.”

“It could be similar to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello home where the windows open from the bottom and you walk out through the lower half of the sash. Or the glass might be a passive solar thing. Maybe it doesn’t open at all. Perhaps there’s only a single entrance at the rear and front. Could make the house more secure.”

“Also difficult to escape in a hurry.” Rhys tucked the binoculars into his vest pocket. “Time for reconnaissance.”

He lifted his shoulders, stretching them out to the side and willed his body into his animal ego. Bone, sinew, flesh, and fabric shrank into feathers. Alexi followed his lead, and together they flew above the treetops, soaring over the white, winding house. Rhys banked, making a wide circle around the building. On the lakeside, not a single door was visible. Corridors of glass connected cubicle-shaped buildings that also appeared to have no means of entry or exit. A large reflecting pond with a wooden bridge stretched across the water sat on the opposite side of the lawn across from the tree line where they’d hidden. As he flew around to the front of the building, shifter tingles rushed over him, ruffling his feathers from the tip of his head to his tail.

Rhys squawked and flapped his wings, rising higher. When Alexi didn’t follow immediately, he called again, until he had her attention. As she rose to his level, Rhys surveyed the scene below. A man and a woman sat on a hedge-encircled stone patio in front of the glass windows. Rhys zeroed in on them with his hawk vision.

Fiona and Falhman.

Neither one seemed to sense his and Alexi’s presence in the sky. Rhys circled above them, lifted on the air currents. Alexi copied his movements. As Falhman leaned forward and held Fiona’s hand in his, Rhys’ gullet jostled. The man was getting awfully friendly with his sister. Too friendly for Rhys’ taste. The question was whether or not she was encouraging his attentions or even enjoying them.

Rhys honed in on Falhman. From the depths of the space-hole blackness of Falhman’s aura, a brilliant red spiked then faded, reabsorbed in the hellish pit of the rogue’s black aura. Rhys had seen that same shade of red when Alexi looked at him in a passionate moment.

If he could have stopped mid-air, Rhys would have as the revelation hit him. Falhman was exhibiting emotions? Feelings for his sister? How could that be? The man had no love for anyone but himself. But love wasn’t something you could fake, at least not in your aura.

Fear gripped Rhys’ heart. If Fiona wasn’t in danger from Falhman before, she certainly was now. Falhman had already tried to take Alexi from him. Then he’d gone after his brother. His son. Now his sister. Was the devil planning to take away everyone Rhys loved?

He switched his focus to Fiona. Fear radiated from her, dark, muddy gray spiking into her now-brilliant green aura. He studied her, his hawk vision revealing ultraviolet colors he could not have seen with his human eyes. Something had changed since he last scanned his sister. The blackness in her aura had lessened. Bits of soft blue and gold pierced through the darkness in her aura, pinpoints of brilliance. Rhys took heart from this bird’s-eye discovery and prayed Falhman did not see what his hawk eyes had. Fiona was searching for the truth. Listening to the higher calling of her conscience. She could be saved, and he would see that she was.

Rhys cawed to Alexi, communicating for her to continue their survey of the property. He would stay and watch over his sister until Alexi returned.

Mike rescued her, and not a minute too soon. Falhman, however, did not seem pleased at the interruption.

“You told me to remind you when it was time to go,” Mike said as he strode through the door Pete opened to the patio. Looking directly at Falhman, Mike smiled openly and tapped his watch. “She’s got a thing with the future mother-in-law. Have you met the woman? She’s a dictator when it comes to this wedding stuff. Not a woman I’d want to cross.”

Falhman stood and yanked down the vest of his three-piece suit, irritation evident in the motion. Pete touched Mike’s sleeve and jerked his head toward the entry.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Holding his palms out toward Falhman, Mike backed away. “As soon as you’re ready, sir. Miss Kayler.”

“Cheeky,” Falhman said. “I don’t see what you see in him as security.”

“He swings a mean sword and shoots true. Enough for me.” Fiona rose. “I am sorry, but I do need to go. Thanks for taking care of the Mafia thing, and for any help you can give me on the Port Authority matter.”

Falhman’s face remained in a scowl. Fiona reached out and squeezed his arm. “Can we meet later?”

“Do you want to, my dear?”

“Yes.”

The answer must have had enough truth in it to please Falhman, because he smiled broadly.

She wanted to return and find some excuse to roam the supposedly cat-filled hall. She had a lot of questions and Falhman’s home held many of the answers.

“Can I call you when I’m free?” she asked, hoping he would provide her with a number they could track.

“Not the way this works, my dear.”

Not the answer she wanted, but it would have to do. She rose, and Falhman dropped behind her as she moved toward the door, his hand resting lightly on her waist.

She pretended Mike touched her, not Falhman. She twisted toward him and flashed a brilliant smile. The ploy worked. The rogue kingpin returned her smile with one she thought truly genuine.

When they reached the entrance hallway, Falhman bent and whispered, “I’ll be in touch.”

She dipped her head, pretending shyness. “I’ll be waiting.” Then she headed toward Pete and Mike standing across the entry, forcing herself to move with calmness and precision.

The twenty steps across the marble floor were torture. She longed to sprint away to safety. Instead, she kept her eyes pinned on Mike, forcing loving thoughts through her head in hopes of fooling Falhman should he scan her. Thank God Rhys trusted her and believed she would work with them. If he hadn’t he wouldn’t have told her the trick to masking her aura. Falhman would have seen her deceit the second he looked at her today. She smiled at her cleverness.

When she heard a door close behind her, she stole a glance. Falhman no longer stood in the entry. Fiona increased her pace, not bothering to stop when she reached Pete and Mike.

“Get me home as fast as you can, Pete. I’m late, and Mother Morrison will kill me.”

But she’d have to stand in line. Because if Falhman discovered what she now planned, he’d be her executioner.

Rhys and Alexi joined Mike and Fiona as soon as Falhman’s helicopter had left the airport.

“Are you okay, sis?” Rhys asked.

“Fine. Why?”

“I saw you and Falhman on the patio. I think his interest in you goes a bit farther than you might suspect. In my opinion, he’s not just after your company.”

Fiona frowned. How had Rhys figured out Falhman’s romantic intentions? “I didn’t sense your presence. Where were you?”

“In the sky. Too far away for either you or Falhman to sense, but I could see what he was feeling. He probably knows you can’t read auras, and he wasn’t guarding his emotions. He’s falling in love with you, Fiona. We can use it to our advantage.” She scowled at him, and Rhys hastened to add, “If you’re okay with it.”

Mike shot her an annoyed expression. “Is there anyone who isn’t in love with you?”

Yeah. You.
She chose not to voice her opinion. Instead she faced Mike and replied in a snarky tone, “I’m exquisitely beautiful. What man wouldn’t love me?”

“He’s dangerous,” Alexi said. “Have you encouraged him?”

Fiona stared at the ground. “A bit, maybe. To get information I needed.” She looked at Alexi. “We all do it. Right? Use our sexuality to advance our causes.”

“Not me,” Alexi said, “and certainly not with dangerous men.”

Fiona shrugged. “I don’t think it’s me he sees, anyway. He’s enamored of my mother. He remembers how she took her tea and ate her danish.”

“That’s creepy,” Alexi said.

“We need to tell Eli,” Rhys said. “Just to be safe, we need to keep Fiona away from him.” He addressed Mike. “What did you find out about the security system?”

“I lucked out. The pilot, Pete, is also the head of security for Falhman. I managed to get him to show me some of the system under the pretense of wanting to install it in Fiona’s home. He was under the impression since she’d been to Falhman’s before, and he allowed her own security to come with her today, discussing the system was okay. Our Marine Corps bond didn’t hurt.”

“Bond?” Fiona said. “Mike had the man chatted up the wahzoo before we barely left the ground. I’m surprised he didn’t set the alarms off for you.”

Mike grinned. “He did.”

Rhys clapped him on the back. “Way to go. Did he also show you the doors?”

“No. When he opened the door to where Falhman and Fiona were sitting, Pete blocked my view.”

Fiona grinned, pleased she had something to contribute. “I know how to open the doors . . . and how to shut the alarms off at the door.”

“How?” Mike asked.

“Falhman showed me. Well, not showed. But he didn’t hide the procedure from me, like Pete did with you.” She faced Rhys. “Falhman trusts me. We should play on his trust, not keep me from him. He wants to see me again.”

Rhys shook his head. “No.”

She braced her hands on her hips. “You’re not the boss of me, Rhys. If I want to see Falhman, I will.”

“Too dangerous,” Mike said. “You should listen to your brother.”

Fiona’s gaze swung around the group. “I need to get in there. I heard something in the hallway like a child’s cry.”

Rhys and Alexi’s gazes snapped to her.

“Pete said it was cats yowling,” Mike said.

“Did it sound like cats to you?” Fiona asked.

Mike shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“It wasn’t cats. It was a kid. I found a child’s toy on the patio tucked behind a flowerpot.” She pinned her brother with a stare. “There are children, or at least a child, in the complex. They may not be yours, but I think I should check.”

“No. Alexi and I will go. If the children are playing on one of the patios, we can survey from the air.”

The words were barely out of his mouth before Alexi ran for the cover of a dumpster tucked against an airport building.

“Let Eli know what happened. We’ll meet you at Fiona’s house.” Then he bolted for the same dumpster. In less than a minute, two hawks flew into the sky, wings flapping furiously as they headed along the coastline of the lake.

Fiona watched until they were nearly out of sight, then she faced Mike. “There’s no guarantee the children will be outside. He should have let me go. I have access to the interior of the house.”

“You heard your brother. Falhman is dangerous.” He hooked his arm in hers and led her toward the parking lot where they’d left the car. “Besides, you’ve got an appointment with your future mother-in-law.”

“After we see Eli.” She’d rather face the Keeper of the Stone than Mother Morrison and her endless wedding plans.

Chapter 38

The flight to Falhman’s house, straight along the lake shoreline, with no circuitous circles, took Rhys and Alexi half the time it had earlier. When they arrived at the estate, they perched in the same trees they landed in before.

Rhys sent out feelers for nearby shifters, using not only his enhanced vision, but his enhanced shifter senses. Upon determining the grounds were clear, he floated to the grass near one of the patios. When no shifter tingles ruffled his feathers, he did a mini dance and Alexi joined him. Together they investigated the flowerpots, searching for the toy Fiona mentioned. On the fourth patio they searched they found a yellow octagonal toy. Alexi grabbed it in her beak and flew off. Rhys then peered into the corridor, searching for any clue of the children.

Opposite the glass wall another corridor intersected the hall. A door opened. Rhys scuttled for cover behind the flowerpot as a woman pushing a baby carriage exited a room. Shifter tingles raced over Rhys. He checked the distance to the woman. More than thirty feet. Most likely, she couldn’t sense him, especially through the glass. To his knowledge, he was the only shifter who had that ability. He checked her aura. Blinking red and green. A low-life rogue who wouldn’t see his aura even shifted as a hawk. He ventured out from behind the flowerpot. As he did, a child’s head popped over the pram edge. Then another.

The first child gesticulated wildly, babbling as he stared at the window where Rhys’ hawk ego sat. Rhys pressed closer to the glass.

He’d recognize that face anywhere. Baron!

Afraid Baron would draw attention to him, Rhys flew off the patio, his heart breaking as he rose. He met Alexi mid-air and guided her to the copse of trees at the edge of the lawn, landing on the ground in the shelter of some low bushes. As soon as he could, he shifted into human persona. Alexi followed his lead.

Gripping Alexi’s arm tightly, to keep her from running off, he told her the news. “They’re here. I saw Baron!”

She tried to break loose, joy flooding her face. “Let’s get them!”

He threw his arms around her, keeping her from bounding out of the bushes. “We need a plan.”

She glared at his restraining hug.

“Promise me you won’t go all Amazon and rush to their rescue, and I’ll let go.”

“Fine. Fine.” She stared at him, eyes blazing.

“What?”

“Get your feathered butt in gear and let’s get home and make plans. I want my son!”

So did he. Rhys willed his body into a hawk and flew skyward. As he winged his way toward the lakeshore, every fiber in his being urged him to return to Falhman’s estate, storm the house, and take the children. But he knew a rash plan would be futile. Rescuing the children would require careful strategy, precision, and deadly risk.

“You’re certain it was Baron?” Fiona asked for the third time.

“I know my own son.” Rhys shot her an irritated expression. “What is your problem? You were the one who said you thought the children were there. Now you’re acting as if you don’t want to rescue them.”

“That’s not it at all. I just think we should wait a bit. If we go in too soon, Falhman won’t have time to fix things.”

“Things?” Rhys asked.

“The Mafia shootings. Clearing Mike’s name. Stuff like that.”

“I’ll take my chances with a jury,” Mike said. “We should get the kids ASAP.”

Fiona almost stomped her foot in frustration. “I don’t want you to take a chance. I want to know he’s fixed it.”
Fixed it all.

Rhys pinned her with a deliberate stare. “Fiona,” he said, drawing out her name. “You’re hiding something.”

Crap! Rhys was scanning her, and she’d forgotten to mask her emotions like he’d shown her.

“Spill,” her brother commanded.

She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a big sigh. “In addition to the Mafia hit, Falhman promised to fix the Port Authority inquiry into the sinking of the
KayFion
. I—we—need him alive.”

“We?” Rhys asked.

“Me and Kyle. We have to get free of OmniWorld. Falhman’s the only one who can make that happen. If you go after the kids, you won’t stop there. You’ll be gunning for Falhman. I can’t afford that. I’ve got too much riding on him helping me.”

“Finally the lassie speaks the truth.” Eli pinned her with a stare this time. “But I’m disappointed ye think we’re merely pork liver.”

“Chopped liver,” Rhys said. “Pork liver isn’t a thing, Eli.”

“Liver, hamburger, haggis. ’Tis nae matter. What ’tis important ’tis yer putting yer faith in the wrong shifter. If ye have a problem ye should come tae family first.” He swept his hand around the group. “And we’re family.”

Fiona pointed at Rhys and Alexi. “They deserted me.” Then she aimed her finger at Eli. “I just met you.” Her gaze cut to Mary Kate. “She’s trying to steal Mike.” Then she indicated LJ. “She’s got no shifter power, just baggage with Falhman. As for him—” Her gaze captured Mike’s. “He hates me. With family like this, who needs enemies? At least Falhman hasn’t failed me.”

“Yet,” Rhys said. “But he will. As soon as he doesn’t get what he wanted.” He moved in close to Fiona. “When I was watching from the sky, I saw what he’s after. Do you want to be his consort? His mistress at his beck and call?”

She shuddered at the image Rhys evoked in her mind.

“I thought not. Then you need to side with us, Fiona. Make up your mind. Who do you really trust? The devil? Or us?” He motioned for the rest of the group to leave the room. “We need to give her some time to think about this.”

Everyone but Mike filed out of the living room. He moved to where she stood and faced her. “I don’t hate you, Fiona. I thought I made it clear when we talked on the pier.”

“All you made clear was you couldn’t be with someone like me. A shifter.”

“I never said that.”

“You couldn’t even say the word shifter. You called me a ‘what’.”

“Yes, I can say it. You’re a shifter. A beautiful shape shifter, who belongs to another man.”

“I don’t
belong
to anyone, Mike. Not my brother. Not Falhman. Not Kyle.”

But she wanted to belong to Mike. Needed to belong to him. Could belong to him. All he had to do was ask. She captured his gaze with hers willing him to say the words she wanted to hear.

His eyes softened and then he looked away.

“All men who love you.” He spiked his fingers through his hair.

She lowered her gaze to the ground, unwilling to let him see the hurt bubbling in her. He called her beautiful, yet he didn’t add his name to the men he thought loved her.
Please say you love me.

“Look,” Mike said, his voice filled with frustration. “I said I wouldn’t interfere with you and Kyle. I never would have slept with you had I known you and he were engaged, and I meant it. But I can’t let you think I hate you.” He hooked his index finger under her chin, raising it until her gaze met his. “It’s obvious you care for Kyle, otherwise you wouldn’t be marrying him. I don’t hate you because you care for him.”

He released her chin and she looked away, her heart aching from his rejection.

“Please, when you think about whose side you’re going to be on, remember you do have people who love you. Not like Falhman loves, to get what he wants from you. But people who really care about you. Rhys and Alexi . . .”

She heard an unspoken something in his tone, and she looked at him. His eyes shone with emotion.

“And me,” he added simply.

Her breath caught as hope swelled in her heart.

“But I won’t poach another man’s territory. I wish you and Kyle the best.”

Mike spun on his heel to leave. She grabbed his arm, whirling him toward her. “Do you really think I’m beautiful?” The second she blurted the sentence she wished it back. Of all the things she could have said and she chose a ninny, narcissistic line.

Mike gave her a patient smile. “Yes, I do. Here.” He skimmed his finger over her cheek and jaw. Then he planted a soft kiss on her lips. “And here.” He gently tapped a spot on her chest over her heart.

Fiona’s pulse raced.

“But you don’t think you’re beautiful. That’s why you keep aligning yourself with ugly people, like Falhman. Trust in yourself, Fiona. Listen to your heart. Follow your instincts. They’re telling you the right thing to do.”

He walked away, then paused halfway to the door and swiveled toward her. “We’ll be waiting for you. I hope you make the right decision.”

As he spun on his heel, she called his name. “I have a confession to make to you.” Mike wheeled around and stared at her. “I don’t love Kyle.” The words rushed from her, then hung expectantly in the air.

After a couple of seconds, which seemed an eternity, Mike asked, “Then why are you marrying him?”

“A business arrangement meant to save our companies from OmniWorld.”

“Kyle knows?”

“Yeah, but I think he’s taking it more seriously than I am.”

“Do his parents?”

Fiona shook her head. “They don’t know. But Falhman does. It’s partly his, and OmniWorld’s, idea. At first I was to marry the CEO, inherit when he died, and turn it all over to OmniWorld in exchange for keeping them out of my company.”

A horrified expression crossed Mike’s face. “Died? As in murdered died?”

“But I couldn’t,” she rushed to say, afraid Mike would think her a monster for even considering OmniWorld’s plan. “I talked them out of the death part, offering to give them company secrets I got from a job I’d take as a shifter.”

Mike’s horror deepened. “You’ve been spying as a shifter? Committing industrial espionage?”

“No. But it was part of the plan—in exchange for them not killing Kyle or his family. We’d dismantle Morrison Shipping bit by bit between my shifter spying and pillow talk with my husband.”

“Thank God for small favors.”

“Then I approached Kyle about double-crossing OmniWorld.”

“The first decent thing I’ve heard you do.”

Mike’s reproach stung, but she determined to continue her confession. “We arranged to get married, figure out who’s behind the OmniWorld takeover, double-cross OmniWorld, and in doing so safeguard our companies.”

“Why didn’t you tell us when you first told Rhys about your involvement with OmniWorld?”

“I don’t know. I wanted to keep Kyle out of it. We thought the fewer who knew the less chance the plan would go wrong. I knew Rhys would blow a gasket if he knew. I was stupid. Take your pick.”

“You were stupid. Stupidity covers it all.” He ran his hands over his head, down to his neck, and squeezed as if he had a giant pain. “Is there anything else you’re hiding, Fiona? I don’t care how small, you need to tell me. Now.”

“Just one thing.”

He moved in closer and gripped her arms.

“The night when we made love . . .”

His hands tightened. She stared deep into his eyes. They swirled with uncertainty and something else she couldn’t identify. She nearly changed her mind about the rest of her confession. What if everything she’d told him had pushed him beyond the point where he could ever love her?

“That wonderful, glorious night.”

His gaze relaxed. “Yes?” he said softly.

She took heart from his expression and the expectant tone of his voice. “I told you I wasn’t the marrying kind. I lied. I could be, with the right man. And it’s not Kyle.”

His grip on her arms eased, his thumbs brushing soft circles on her bare flesh. “He’s not?”

She shook her head, then tipped her face down. His finger gently raised her chin until her gaze met his.

“If not Kyle, then who could you marry?”

His eyes danced, and she knew he’d guessed. She closed her eyes and leaned toward him expectantly, waiting for the brush of his lips on hers. Nothing happened. She opened her eyes and looked at him. The light in his eyes matched the smile on his face.

Crap
. He was going to make her say the words.

“Who could you marry, Fiona?”

The sound of her name on his lips nearly made her swoon. His voice held the same quavering need it had when he’d ordered her to undress for him in the moonlight.

“You, Mike,” she whispered. “I could marry you.”

The words were barely out of her mouth, and Mike pinned her to the wall, crushing his body against hers. His lips covered hers, hungry and demanding.

Fiona wrapped her legs around his thighs, and Mike boosted her onto his waist, her skirt sliding up her legs. He slipped his hand under the fabric, his fingers reaching for more secret parts. Fiona gasped and thrust herself tightly against him.

A loud throat clearing jerked her out of her lascivious stupor. Mike lowered her to the floor. She shoved her skirt to a respectable length.

“Sorry to bother you,” Alexi said, “but we were wondering what was keeping Mike.” She stared directly at the raised, damp bulge at the front of his pants. “I think we should give you a few more minutes.” She jerked her thumb toward the foyer, indicating he should leave. “I’ll tell them you’re in the bathroom while you go change. I hope you’ve got another pair of khakis.”

Mike yanked his shirttail out and headed out of the room. When he’d gone, Alexi approached Fiona, concern clouding her face.

“Now I know why you said Mary Kate was trying to steal Mike. Or is it the other way around?”