“Where’s Jamie?”
Duncan gave Sorcha a dark look but didn’t respond.
“Jamie’s sleeping. Matilda drugged him,” Lachlan said, forcing Cody to awkwardly explain that the women had been making a misguided matchmaking attempt and thought Jamie was in the way. He didn’t mention that it was to clear the way for him, but every eye was on the two of them.
“Maybe we need to recruit Matilda, if she can neutralize a warrior like Jamie,” Brodie said. “Have her slip the demons a sleeping pill.”
“Isn’t Jamie your boyfriend?” Sorcha asked.
“No,” Cody blurted out before Shay could shake her head.
“He used to be,” Lachlan said.
Cody frowned. “Anyone else think it’s odd how he watches Shay?”
Lachlan snorted, while Faelan and Ronan grinned.
“I find it interesting that Jamie wormed his way in here, claiming this table was shipped to him, when it’s obvious he’s obsessed with her,” Cody said.
“Are you saying Jamie could be her stalker?” Sorcha asked, slathering a blueberry muffin with butter. Shay doubted Sorcha worried about getting fat. Slaying demons probably melted off calories. “I thought the guy was blond.”
“I’m not accusing him, but we’ve got a mess of trouble and no one to blame. We shouldn’t rule out anyone.”
“He was injured,” Shay said. “You think he did that to himself?”
Cody shrugged. “Could have, if necessary.”
Lachlan broke off a piece of bacon and slipped it under the table. There was a soft
“Have you got that cat under there?” Cody asked.
Shay lifted the edge if the tablecloth. The cat was sitting at Lachlan’s feet. “I thought you were going to call the Petersons.”
“I did. It’s not theirs,” Lachlan said. “Ronan’s going to take him to Montana if you don’t want him.”
“Go ahead,” Shay said to Ronan. She couldn’t take care of herself, much less a cat.
Sorcha raised an eyebrow at Ronan. “What are you going to do with a cat? You’re never home.”
“I’ll put him in the barn. I have someone watching the place.” He smiled at Shay. “Or we could share joint custody.”
“You’re not sharing anything with Shay,” Cody said. “Cat or otherwise.”
Ronan settled back in his chair, not bothering to hide his grin.
“You see what I have to put up with?” Faelan said to Cody.
“You live in Montana?” Shay asked Ronan.
Ronan nodded. “For now.”
“That’s where he goes when he gets sick of demons. And humans,” Brodie said. “He owns a mountain. It’s so isolated I doubt a demon could find it.”
“Think we could train the cat to be a guard cat?” Lachlan asked and then grew serious. “Whoever broke in, and it wasn’t Jamie, he knew how to avoid the cameras and get past the alarm.” That led to a discussion of the recent events with Shay’s stalker in Scotland and here.
“You think Jamie’s and Shay’s intruders are the same?” Duncan asked.
Lachlan swallowed his bite of egg and biscuit. “Shay’s was blond, but we thought there might have been another one in the woods. Jamie said there were three of them at his house, but he saw only two clearly, both brown-haired, average height, slim. Said they moved fast, hit him before he could even reach for his dagger.”
“Must have been some bad-ass demons,” Marcas said. “Jamie’s quick. He could take three humans blindfolded. Should’ve been able to take three demons.”
“You think my stalker is a demon?” Shay asked, eyes wide with alarm.
Cody shrugged. “I don’t know, but that intruder I fought seemed too strong and too fast for a human.”
“This probably has something to do with your father,” Anna said. “He believed someone was after him. Maybe that same someone wants you.”
“He’s definitely interested in your tables,” Sorcha added.
“They had to be after the book,” Cody said. “The only thing the intruder messed with at Nina’s was a bookshelf. He must have called his buddies and headed to Jamie’s after that.”
“So how did they know the book was inside the table?” Lachlan asked.
Faelan gave Bree a worried glance. “We know Russell stole the book and took it to Druan’s castle. Maybe we missed a demon who was working with Druan.”
“How could Renee be involved in all this?” Shay asked.
“Did she know anyone named Russell?” Brodie asked.
