“I’ll check on the time vault while I’m in New York,” Anna said.
“Faelan’s time vault is still there?” Shay asked. Talk about an antique! She’d love to see it.
“No. He sent his back, but he found another one in the cellar of my chapel,” Bree said. “We thought Angus brought it, but it’s not his, either. We can’t send it back without the warrior’s talisman.”
“You don’t know where it came from?” Shay asked.
“We have no idea,” Sorcha said. “There weren’t any other warriors in the area, that we know of.”
“We don’t even know how long it’s been there,” Brodie said.
“What about that warrior from Canada who was supposed to help Sorcha?” Ronan asked. “Did anyone ever locate him?”
“Yes. He had an accident on the way. Attacked by two vam…” Anna paused and glanced at Shay. “He never got there, so he didn’t bring the time vault.”
“There’s a key to the house hidden on the back porch,” Bree said. “Feel free to stay there if you need some time alone.”
Anna gave Bree a quick hug. “Thanks.”
“Is she okay?” Shay asked, after Anna and Lachlan left.
Sorcha looked troubled. “She and Angus were close. If she hadn’t been busy, she would’ve been with him. She blames herself for his death.” Sorcha stood. “I’m going to work out my sword arm. I need a partner.” She tugged Brodie’s ear. “How about you?”
“I’d like nothing better than put you on your backside, but I’ve got some things to do,” Brodie said, slapping her hand away.
“Maybe Sorcha could show me that trick where you guys flip through the air—” Bree started.
“No!” Faelan said. “You need to rest. You have a bloody concussion.”
“I’ll rest later. I want to practice with the dagger.”
He sighed. “Ten minutes, then will you lie down?” He added softly, “Please?”
“Okay,” she said, giving him a quick kiss.
“I’ll take you on, Sorcha.” Duncan rose to his feet, standing a full head taller than Sorcha. His gaze was shuttered, but whatever was behind it ran hot.
Shay saw a look of near panic cross Sorcha’s pretty face. She tilted her head. “All right, big boy. After we clear the table, you can show me what you’ve got.” She carried dirty dishes to the sink, her face flushed. She peered out the window. “Cody, there’s a man with the kinkiest hair I’ve ever seen getting out of a truck in your driveway.”
“Back in a second.” Cody opened the door and jogged across the field.
***
“Got her all done,” Darrell said, rubbing his hands over the top of his head, making it look like he’d been electrocuted.
“What’d you find?” Cody asked, looking the truck over. There were scrapes in the paint and the hood was bent where the tree had caught. He’d have it fixed later.
“Brake line was cut.”
Cody’s stomach dropped. “You’re sure?”
“Sure as my hair’s naturally curly. You got any enemies? If you don’t, you’d better start looking for one.” A car rolled up behind them. “There’s my ride. Gotta go.” He patted Cody’s truck on the hood. “She’s good as new, except for that dent.”
“Sorry I couldn’t get over to pick it up. Things got a little hectic here.”
“No problem. I’ll deliver anytime. You guys always go to the top of the list. If it weren’t for you, my sister Clarisse would be dead. I still don’t know how you found the rat hole that scumbag boyfriend of hers was holding her in. Even the FBI couldn’t find any sign of him.”
The scumbag boyfriend wasn’t hard to track. His human form couldn’t hide his scent. Halflings couldn’t shift, not like powerful demons, but some learned to project an illusion. The demon form was still there, as was the scent, usually. Humans weren’t sensitive enough to detect it. “Luck,” Cody told Darrell.
“Tell Lachlan that Clarisse said hi. She wanted to come, but she had to work.”
Clarisse had been after Lach since she first laid eyes on him. Darrell left, and Cody crawled under the truck with a flashlight, not convinced until he saw with his own eyes that the line had been repaired. Shay and Bree could have died. This was the second time she almost died in an automobile crash, which made him wonder if the accident was meant for him or her.
He opened the truck door to look for Shay’s cell phone and saw a glint of something shiny under the seat. It was a necklace. A cross. The chain had broken. Cody turned it over and saw the emblem on the back. Edward’s family crest. The necklace wasn’t a talisman. Edward’s talisman was safe in the cellar, but this had belonged to him. How had Shay gotten it? The clan had agreed she wasn’t to have anything that could be traced back to her father.
***
“Nice setup,” Duncan said, looking over the weapons, high-tech computer equipment, camera monitors, and gym in the Bat Cave. “Got a training room too. So this is how they kept their secrets.”
Cody, who had rejoined the group, glanced at Shay and then looked away. It still bothered her that they lied, but she could understand why they thought it necessary.
“Are you okay?” Faelan asked Bree. She stood next to Shay, running her hands over the wooden box.
I’m fine,” Bree said, frowning. She opened the box. A heavy piece of metal hung from a leather cord.
“That’s a talisman, isn’t it?” Shay asked.
“It was your father’s,” Cody said.
Her father’s. A real flesh-and-blood man. Had he loved her? Tried to protect her? Held her and tossed her into the air? Shay picked up the box, and a thought, a memory, something familiar, flashed in her head. She felt strong arms holding her, heard a deep laugh and a woman’s gentler one and then softer arms reaching for her and the smell of perfume. Was it a real memory or a desperate attempt to connect with the man and woman who gave her life?
A door slammed at the top of the stairs. “Jamie,” Sorcha purred, facing the door. “You’re back.”
Jamie stood at the top of the stairs, clothes rumpled, hair mussed, anger radiating off him like a fog. “What the hell did you do to me, MacBain?”
“Wasn’t me,” Cody said.
“You saying you didn’t drug me?”
“No, Nina and Matilda did,” Cody said. “Had you in a wheelbarrow trying to load you into the car.”
Jamie’s handsome face went slack. “What for?”
“They were matchmaking and wanted you out of the way.” Cody didn’t go into detail, but Jamie got the point. “Must have seen the rose you gave Shay.”
“I didn’t give her a rose,” Jamie said.
Cody’s puzzled look turned to alarm. “If you didn’t give it to her, who did?”
“Her aunt, maybe,” Duncan suggested.
Shay shook her head. “Nina never sends roses.”
“You don’t think…” Bree didn’t finish her sentence.
“The stalker?” Shay asked.
“Where did you find the rose?” Jamie asked.
“On my pillow last night.”
“That means he got in again,” Cody said. “Damn it. Must have been while we were in Luray.”
“How’s he getting past the locks and security system?” Ronan asked.
“Guess they’re not good enough,” Cody said.
***
The servant was on his way to Walmart for a clean change of clothes when he saw the woman leaving her car. At first he thought it was her, because of the blond hair, slim build, and long legs. She’d parked on the side of the store, away from the crowded lot. He watched her walk, a long-limbed sexy gait, and ached to touch, to tease, to cut. Her head was down, focused on something in her purse. He pulled around to the empty space on her driver’s side, and eased his car in to wait.
Chapter 9
“Damnation. The place is surrounded with warriors and a state-of-the-art security system, and still the guy’s getting in,” Faelan said. “What the hell is he? A ghost?”