Ronan’s mouth twitched. He reached over and picked a couple of pieces of hay out of Shay’s hair.
“Well, for one thing, Cody’s shirt’s on inside out, and you both look like scarecrows with leaky stuffing,” Lachlan said, but he looked pleased.
“I don’t care how my shirt’s on,” Cody said. “Why is everyone in the bloody barn?”
Jamie stuck his head in the door, saw everyone, and frowned. “Is Shay okay?”
“No,” Bree said, her voice trembling. “He’s coming for her. The demon, he knows she’s alive.”
Cody’s eyes narrowed. “Which demon?”
“The one who marked her.”
The fine hairs on Shay’s arms lifted. Tension radiated from each warrior’s body.
“Are you sure?” Cody asked. “You said sometimes the dreams get mixed up.”
Bree twisted her ring. “No. He’s the one who dug up the empty grave.”
“So where do the vampires come in?” Brodie asked.
“They both want her,” Bree said. “The vampires and the demons.”
Cody put a protective arm around Shay. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” Bree said, “but it’s connected to the
“But the vampires have the book,” Shay said.
“The demons probably don’t know that,” Cody said, grimly. “I don’t know why the vampires still want you.”
“It’s a tug of war between the vampires and demons, and Shay’s the rope,” Brodie said.
“What did the demon look like?”
Bree closed her eyes. “I saw his human form. Neat, sophisticated. Auburn hair with a silver streak.”
There was a chorus of hard-drawn breaths.
“What?” The word exploded out of Cody’s mouth.
“That’s… bloody hell,” Jamie said.
Duncan took a step closer to Sorcha, and even Faelan looked stunned.
Cody pushed aside Shay’s shirt collar and looked at the scar on her shoulder. “M,” he whispered. “Malek.”
Chapter 13
Shay’s legs shook. “Isn’t Malek one of those demons Faelan saw?”
“Aye,” Cody said.
Brodie crossed himself. “Why would an ancient demon be after Shay?”
Bree sank onto a bale of hay near the barn door. Faelan scooped her up in his arms. “Put me down,” she said.
“I will not. You keep passing out. You won’t listen to common sense. I’m taking matters into my own hands.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“Bed, and by God, you’ll stay there if I have to sit on you. I’ve lost everything in my life. I won’t lose you.”
“Marcas, find out how soon the jet can get here,” Cody said.
Marcas made a quick call and reported that it would be morning.
“We leave at sunrise,” Cody said. “All of us. If the jet isn’t there, we’ll take a commercial flight. Set up a barrier. I want the house surrounded. Not a mouse gets through.”
***
Shay tried to sleep, but the dreams wouldn’t stop. Ellis coming after her with the scalpel, his blood spraying from his throat, Renee’s vacant eyes, and the vampires trying to kill Cody. Maybe if she saw him it would settle her nerves. He’d looked hurt when she insisted on sleeping alone. He was trying hard not to pressure her, even though she’d seen the hunger banked in his eyes, but she was afraid. The last thing she wanted was to have him distracted. She had already blown it and told him about the baby. While it was a huge relief to share her secret with him, now she worried for his safety more than ever. It had taken her years to deal with the loss. How could he focus on fighting demons and vampires, when something so traumatic had been thrown at him with no warning?
She eased of bed and crept outside.
Faelan sat in the hall, inspecting a dagger. “Are you all right, lass?”
Shay nodded, feeling her face flush. She considered and discarded the pretense of going for a glass of water and headed straight for Cody’s room. He was stretched out in the middle of the bed, clothes folded on the floor. The sheet was crumpled around his waist, one leg sticking out from under the covers. His battle marks rose and fell with soothing steadiness. He stirred, and the sheet dropped lower. Shay was too tired to care whether or not he wore underwear. She hugged her arms around her body, shivering, as she moved closer to the bed. She should leave. She didn’t want him distracted, but she needed to touch him. She started to turn, and his eyes flew open.
