Embrace the Highland Warrior

“If you and Ronan don’t stop calling Faelan that,” Duncan said, “you’re gonna wish you were in a time vault. So what’s Shay’s story, and why is Cody so worked up about her?”

Anna flipped open her notebook. “Her real name is Dana Michelle Rodgers. Her father was a warrior, Edward Rodgers, a warrior from the Connor clan. When Shay was a baby, she was almost killed in a car accident in Scotland. The mother died, but Shay survived. An old man rescued her. The clan thought she had been marked by a demon. They didn’t know if she was the target or if it was just revenge, so they faked her death, changed her identity, and moved her to America in the middle of the night, sending Cody’s father, Ewan MacBain and his whole family to protect her.”

“Ewan MacBain?” Brodie said. “I’ve heard of him.”

“And the woman who raised her?” Sorcha asked.

“Ewan’s wife’s half sister, Nina. Her husband was a friend of Ewan’s.”

“So Shay never knew her father was a warrior?” Sorcha asked.

Anna shook her head. “They decided it was more important to hide her than to reveal her past. They figured if she survived her childhood, they’d tell her. This is where it gets confusing. Just as they were ready to tell her, Shay moved to Lake Placid with her best friend, Renee, and refused to have anything to do with the clan. It’s not common knowledge, but I’ve heard rumors that Cody almost walked away from his duty.”

“I can’t imagine a warrior as powerful as Cody refusing his duty. Must be a story there,” Sorcha said.

Anna closed her notebook. “A few years after college, she went to live in Scotland.”

“They let her go?” Duncan asked.

“The demon her father had been hunting at the time disappeared. Right before Cody was about to tell Shay who she was, they found out the demon was dead. The clan thought she was safe,” Anna said.

“And out of the blue, she’s in danger again,” Brodie said.

“And her friend in Leesburg somehow gets her hands on our book and sends it to Shay’s ex-boyfriend. Is anyone else disturbed by this?” Sorcha added.

“I’ve been disturbed for the past month,” Brodie said. “Vampires and demons, and now we’ve got to ask who in his right mind would go up against the Mighty Faelan and Cody MacBain.”

***

Malek reached through the shattered window and felt for the baby’s pulse. None. A smile crept over his lips. Her face was plump, cherubic, eyes closed as if asleep. The fire hadn’t reached her yet, but it would soon. Perhaps it was the frustration that had been building for the better part of two centuries that caused him to run one long claw down the tiny shoulder, bared by a flowered sundress.

A large owl swooped down, landing in the crooked branches of a pine, as Malek watched the letter fill with blood. Destroying her would eliminate his enemy before he was even born. He stepped back from the flames so his human skin wouldn’t sear, while the owl watched with round, unblinking eyes. Malek let out a roar of triumph. The job was done. All he needed now was the book.

The ping of shovel on metal brought Malek back to the present.

The halfling in the grave raised his head and grinned, showing long, yellow teeth. “We found it, Master.”

Malek kicked dirt off his shoe and ran his finger over the name etched under the angel’s wing as the men positioned the ropes. Had he been tricked? Had he spent the past twenty-six years deceived by mere humans? If he was right about the contents of the grave, Shay Logan and Cody MacBain must be killed without delay. The night breeze ruffled his hair, irritating him. “Hurry.”

The men stood on each side and slowly raised the tiny casket. Moonlight glinted off the white lid.

“Move!” He shoved them aside, grabbed the shovel, and wedged in under the lid, prying it open. He looked at the satin trim and tiny pillow. No body. His claws extended, bones stretched, and skin thickened. “No,” he roared, as the others ran for cover. “No!”

***

Cody brushed a strand of hair from Shay’s forehead. His neck tingled, like it always did when she was near. He touched her lips, remembering the agony of those few moments he feared she was dead. He couldn’t live without her. He was deceiving himself if he believed otherwise, yet he couldn’t force her to love him.

There was also Jamie to worry about, and what Shay had said after the accident. Maybe he misheard. Jamie hadn’t mentioned it, and Cody hadn’t had the guts to ask. If Jamie had gotten Shay pregnant and abandoned her, Cody would kill him. Or was that why Jamie was here? Had he just found out Shay carried his child? That might give him cause to stalk her.

“She needs rest,” the sullen nurse said, refilling Shay’s pitcher of water.

Shay and Bree had been checked out at the hospital and released, both suffering from concussions. Cody had gotten Marcas to find the closest clan nurse to make sure the women followed orders, but looking at her dour face, he regretted it. The woman had the bedside manner of a goat.

“Ba…” Shay turned her head, her fingers gripping the sheet over her stomach. “Baby.”