The Morrigan: Damaged Deities (29 page)

He had pretty much decided the last candidate was his choice—a hard-edged, middle-aged father of four with a head for business, a sense of fairness, and a penchant for hard work.  Kade would have hired him on the spot, had he not had one more interview sitting outside his office.

The next guy was the former foreman’s nephew.  The appointment was nothing but a favor to the man who had devoted fifteen years to the plant, regardless of the countless times he and Kade had bumped heads.

Kade pressed the call button on his phone, his executive assistant, Mary answering.

“Send him in, please,” he requested, the question full of fatigue. 

Tension barely eased as he unfastened the very top button of his dress shirt behind the knot of his tie.  Of course the action recalled the memory of Morrie’s industrious, little hands ripping his tie off before she bared her beautiful body to him.  Kade shook himself, but the images remained put.

He shouldn’t be allowing himself to fall so hard.  He’d done that once before, a long time ago and it had ended poorly. 

Understatement, thought Kade.

But Morrie was nothing like his former flame.  The wee thing was quiet and serious and, in her own way, sweet.  He never knew what to expect from her. 

Completely unlike the blood-thirsty harpy who’d ripped out his heart and drained him of his soul and would have pissed on his remains if she’d had a cock to do so.

Fucking bitch.

Morrie, though temperamental and bold, showed compassion and empathy—both traits the last hag had lacked.  Severely.

In fact, the little American had been the first woman to completely free Kade of his former lover’s haunts.  She was healing him of his old wounds, one deep cut at a time. 

It was why he couldn’t get enough of her and would continue to shamelessly pursue her, no matter how hard to get she tried to play.

The door opened with Mary standing back to allow a large bloke with strawberry blonde hair and shiny, red cheeks by. 

“Angus Duff, sir,” Mary announced, her tone cold and professional.  But her gaze trailed after the lad and she couldn’t hide the slight sneer of disapproval.

The younger Duff’s suit looked expensive, but was rumpled, his tie loose.  He obviously didn’t understand the gravity of first impressions.

Kade stood and offered his hand. “Welcome, lad.”

Returning the gesture with a rather limp handshake—that alone would have cost him the job had Kade thought he’d had a chance—the man sat in one of the facing armchairs, slumping into it.

Throwing a glance at Mary standing in the doorway, Kade gave her a slight nod of dismissal and held his tie out of the way as he sat back down.

“So tell me about yerself,” he said, leaning back and silently observing the lad with an expert analysis he had been born with. 

No matter who he encountered, in moments he knew their character.  It was a trait that had always served him well, no matter what his pursuits were.

“Well, um, you know,” the boy waved his hands lazily, his eyes dull and disinterested. “I’m Ronan’s nephew.”

“Aye, I know,” Kade smiled like a waiting beast. “But that does no’ qualify ye for the job.  What position do ye currently hold?”

“Huh?” Duff’s brow furrowed deeply.  It took every ounce of patience Kade possessed to remain professional.

“What do ye do for a living, lad?”

“Oh, I manage my pop’s store.”

“And what does that entail?”

Duff sat up, yanking on his slacks and cleared his throat. 

“Well, uh…I make sure the employees are doin’ their jobs.  I make sure things run smooth and if anyone has any trouble, I set em straight.”

“I see.  What kind of turnover do ye have?” At the utter confusion on the kid’s face, Kade furthered, “How many people quit or do ye fire?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t really know, my pop handles that part.”

Maybe he hadn’t expected an actual interview.  Maybe he had thought this would be a light chat about the weather or sports.  Either way, it was clear he wouldn’t change Kade’s mind about the other candidate and so he was just wasting Kade’s time.

“Aye, well,” Kade stood, extending his hand again. “I thank ye for yer time.  However, we’ll be goin’ with someone else for the job.”

Ignoring Kade’s hand, Duff remained seated, still wearing wrinkles of confusion.

“Someone else?” he asked. “But my uncle was the foreman.”

Kade dropped his hand and straightened up, shoving his hands in his pants pockets. “That does no’ qualify ye for the position.”

“Maybe I should talk tae someone else,” Duff puffed up his chest, drinking in his own bravado and self-importance. “Yer brother, maybe.”

“My brother does not own the company, I do,” Kade said, his voice taking on a lethal warning, his gaze steady but leveled on the lad. “Now ye best go, before I make ye.”

The oaf finally stood up, his face blotching red with anger. “My pa will hear o’ this! So will my uncle.”

“Tell yer uncle,” Kade shrugged. “I doona give a shite.”

Now the fool was crimson, his cheeks and forehead shining with sweat.  He looked like he was ready to brawl. 

Kade wouldn’t fight the idiot; he could kill him.  But he also wouldn’t tolerate any trouble-making.

“Like I’d want to work for yer family o’ freaks, anyway,” Duff seethed, turning to walk away.

In a flash Kade was on him, had him turned around and pinned to the door, his shirt front balled in an angry fist.  The fool’s face had turned from red to purple, his lips sputtering in breaths he couldn’t catch as Kade held onto his throat, held him inches above the floor.

“Ye will no’ speak o’ my family, ye hear?  And if I see yer ugly mug or any o’ the rest o’ yer ilk around, I’ll make ye regret it.  Do I make myself clear?”

Duff nodded, but something he saw in Kade’s face had turned him paler than a ghost. 

Real fear haunted his wide eyes and Kade felt a dark and dangerous instinct in him stir. 

That fear could call up something more powerful, something Kade could not control.  And then he would be the one living with regret.

Before it could take over, Kade released the boy, pulled him back to open the door and shoved him out of it.

“No more visitors,” he growled at Mary and slammed the door back shut.  He shoved his shaky hands in his hair and fought to control his breathing. 

It would take some time, but he felt certain he had it under control.  At least for now.

He had intended on going home after the last interview, but Kade felt he needed to calm down before facing Morrie and her stubborn ways.  Instead he would hit the hotel bar and call it an early night and with a fresh head in the morning, tackle the little horse trainer who haunted his dreams.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-
F
IVE

“When to an Irish court of old came men, who flocked from near and far
To hear the ancient tale that told Cuchulain’s deeds in Cualgne’s War.”

Táin Bó Fraich

Best laid plans… 

Or some kind of cliché bullshite like that.

While something akin to a jackhammer pounded away at the inner wall of his skull, Kade groaned and turned away from the bright, evasive light of the morning sun.  Whoever had designed the bedrooms should be shot; the bastard forgot to include curtains. 

Kade wasn’t sure if he’d gotten drunk or slept on screws all night long, but either way his head was killing him.

Last night his few drinks had turned into a few bottles.  He couldn’t remember a time drinking so much.  And he was pretty certain he would never be able to stomach whiskey again.

After that disastrous last interview, Kade had returned to his hotel and made a beeline for the bar.  He clearly remembered talking with the bartender.  He vaguely remembered sending away several young girls looking for something Kade wouldn’t give them because none of them were Morrie. 

He didn’t remember anything after that. 

Not even coming up to his room. 

But apparently he had fallen as naked as the new morning, face-first into bed because that was how he had awoken.  There were just several hours in-between for which he couldn’t account.

Groaning through the pain, Kade stood up and pulled on a pair of pajama pants. 

He stumbled out of his room and into the living room, glancing at the door that had housed Morrie when she accompanied him there not even a week before.  He still planned on making her pay for leaving him to walk home, maybe even tie her up.

Yes, the lovely little lass was definitely getting tied up.  That would keep her from going back to America.

On the kitchen counter, Kade found evidence Hamish had been by the room already, looking out for him with a glass of water, a glass of orange juice, a few aspirin and the morning post set out.

Kade tossed the pills in his mouth and drowned them with the water. 

After emptying the glass, he picked up the orange juice and the post.  Sipping the drink, he flipped through the pages, but what he found on the eighth page turned the orange juice in his mouth sour, foul and he almost couldn’t swallow it.

Kade put both the glass and the paper down, but he still stared at the black and white picture down in the bottom right corner of the spread. 

Not much of the bulky body was visible, covered by a blanket as it rested immobile and straight, a large and imposing mass on the gurney, but Kade recognized the blonde hair and knew the name. 

It wasn’t much of an article, just a mention, but Kade felt as though he’d received the message personally. 

The small headline screamed at him: Local Hardware Store Owner’s Son Found Beaten, Near Death. 

Angus McDuff. 

According to the article, while the lad was in critical condition at the hospital and had not yet regained consciousness, eye witnesses spoke of a strange, large beast—shadow-like and shaped like a horse—that had been seen just before McDuff’s mangled body was found.

Fear gripped Kade like an icy claw. 

How could it be possible?  He was hundreds of miles from the loch…it just couldn’t be possible.  And if somehow so, what did it mean?

He looked down at the glass of orange juice and knew it wouldn’t be enough. 

Grabbing a bottle of Ballantine’s and not bothering to also get a glass, Kade wondered if anything would ever be enough.

I
t had been four days since Morrie had last seen Kade.  Not a word from him in that time. 

Pride kept her from asking of his whereabouts, but the chatty Lorna worked in her favor when she gave up the information unbidden.  Kade had gone back to Edinburg for the week to deal with some staffing issues at a plant they owned. 

And Morrie’s spirit dipped at the thought of not seeing him.

After she had abandoned him at the Seer’s home, she had thought for sure he would have come for her, angry and maybe fucking off that stupid promise of his to not touch her. 

With the new revelation that Morrie had somehow…Gods, it was embarrassing for her to even just think it…but that she had forgotten how to use her powers had left Morrie in a fit of distress. 

Kade could make her forget about her shame.  She needed him to make her forget.

But he had left without so much as a good-bye and she remained to wallow in her torment and frustration. 

No longer caring what freak or monster it may bring, she had tried every free hour alone to conjure up her powers.  To somehow tap back into that well of magic she had so easily wielded long ago. 

Too long ago.  She was fucked.