Embrace the Highland Warrior

year ago. She tried to set him up with her daughter when he was in Scotland last month, but I wasn’t having any of that. The girl wasn’t right for him at all.”

“He was in Scotland?”

“Yes. She had a necklace stolen. He went to help her find it.”

“When?”

“Oh, three or four weeks ago. Turned out her neighbor’s son had stolen the necklace for his girlfriend. Cody’s the best PI around. You can ask anybody. I’m surprised he didn’t stop by to see you. He was asking about you. Remember how close you two were? Two peas in a pod.”

Shay hung up, dazed. Cody had been in Scotland recently, just about the time she acquired a stalker.

***

Malek stared at the empty drawer where the book had been hidden. He could still feel the texture of the yellowed pages, see the faded ink. It had taken him centuries to learn of the book’s existence and even longer to find it. It had fallen in his hands like manna from hell and disappeared just as fast. He was sure the girl had stolen it. Shay Logan’s friend. He’d hired her so he could spy on Shay, and all the while, they had been spying on him, plotting to steal the book. A surge of anger thickened his bones and made his skin stretch. He had to find the book, and he had to find Shay. If she was the one, the mother of his enemy, she must be destroyed before she could breed. The doorbell jingled, startling him. He shifted back to human form, checking his appearance in the antique mirror on his office wall: auburn hair, silver streak, immaculate as always, suit, perfect. Shaping his lips into a smile, he opened the door with a manicured hand and stepped into the front room of his antique shop. His human heart stilled.

The man in the doorway had long, raven hair, and a face so beautiful queens had thrown themselves at his feet, but Malek knew what lurked inside was far from beautiful. Tristol’s eyes turned red as blood. “Where is my book?” he hissed.

***

The scent of fear drifted to Tristol, making his mouth water. He watched Malek’s face tighten, his shoulders tense as he tried to control the shift. It was too late. Malek’s human clothes and skin fell away, leaving a thick, gray hide, long arms and fingers tipped with lethal claws. Tristol sneered. Nearly a thousand years in this dimension, and still Malek couldn’t control the veneer of sophistication he wore as his disguise.

“What book?” Malek asked, trembling.

Tristol moved toward him, feet barely touching the floor. “The one you stole from my lieutenant as soon as my back was turned.”

“I don’t know what book you’re talking about.” Without the human shell, Malek’s voice was guttural, harsh. “Maybe Druan took it.”

Blame the dead demon, Tristol thought, but he remained silent. He had his methods of obtaining information. “I’ll be watching.” Tristol withdrew from Malek’s office, rang the shop doorbell, but didn’t leave. He shifted to mist and rose, slithering along the ceiling, then hovered outside Malek’s office.

Malek pulled out his cell phone. “Have you found Shay Logan? She’s left Scotland? Then find her. And find the book, or I’ll have you destroyed.”

Malek had stolen the book and lost it. Rage stirred inside Tristol, but he reined it in. He hadn’t lived this long to be undone by anger or one pathetic demon. Certainly not a human female. He had time, enough to make Malek wish he had never lived, and he had the name of the thief. Shay Logan.

Chapter 3

After an hour of tossing, Cody climbed out of the guest bed and put on his jeans. He moved quietly down the hall and slipped through the open door of Shay’s bedroom. She lay curled on her side, her breasts rising and falling in an even rhythm. How many times over the years would he have given his sword arm to be this close to her? He touched the lock of hair spread across her pillow and brought his fingers to his lips. The sight of her braless in his T-shirt made him long to crawl into bed with her. He cursed himself as soon as the thought crossed his groin. It would be wise to leave before he did something he would regret. He noticed a lump under the covers beside her. He lifted the edge and saw the candlestick in her hand. A weapon? What did she expect him to do? Molest her? Then he saw the black and white picture carefully taped underneath. He studied it for a minute, then rubbed his hands through his hair. His chest felt hollow. What had they done to her? He reached down and tucked in her covers, letting his thumb stray across her cheek. Sighing, he walked to the sofa, sat down, and watched her sleep.

***

The light was so bright the man seemed to glow. She tried to look at his face, but it made her eyes hurt, so she concentrated on his deep, melodic voice, attempting to understand his words. He was speaking to someone, another man, she thought, but she couldn’t see him clearly either. A baby began to wail, and then she heard the glowing man say, “Take her back. It’s not time.”

Shay woke with a gasp, heart hammering against her ribs, arm stinging. She looked around the room, half expecting to see the glowing man. Cody sat on the sofa, head slumped to one side, asleep. His hair was messy, as if he’d been running his hands through it, the way he did when he was thinking. In the hours since she arrived, she hadn’t had an opportunity to really look at him. She eased out of bed and moved closer. There were shadows under his eyes, but his face was relaxed. A hint of beard darkened his jaw. She watched the subtle movements of his body as he drew and released each breath, making his tattoos move. The grip on her heart tightened. For months after she left, she dreamed of him every night and woke crying with his scent still in her head, as if he were in the room with her. She’d spent the last nine years thinking he betrayed her. He’d spent them thinking she had done the same to him. Granted, he lied about her past, but he believed he was protecting her, as they all had. She forgave Nina