“Duncan Connor. He must be your brother’s what, great-great-grandson? He was born in 1983, so he should have a year or so left as a warrior.”
“You’ve done it. You’ve found my clan.” Wrapping both arms around her shoulders, he kissed her cheek.
“And there’s a Sean Connor. There’s a phone number listed for him.”
“We can call.”
“We shouldn’t drop the news over the phone. I know it seems like days for you, but it’s been over a century and a half. The stories may have been lost.”
A muscle ticked at the corner of his mouth, and he nodded.
Bree knew his greatest worry wasn’t that there wouldn’t be warriors to help him, but that his clan had forgotten him. “I’ll call and say I have news of a relative, and we’ll fly there tonight. We need to get out of here anyway. Between the archeologists, the demons, and Peter, it’ll be impossible to keep you hidden.”
“What about your mother?”
“I’ll tell her something’s come up, and I’m going to meet your family. She’ll think we’re… well, it can’t be helped.” She’d be so excited about her misconceptions she wouldn’t mind.
“She’ll think we’re considering marriage.”
Bree enjoyed a brief daydream; her in a wedding dress, gliding down the aisle to join a dark-haired man…
“Does she like me, or is she desperate?”
Her daydream screeched to a halt. “Desperate? Don’t you think I can get a husband?”
“It’s just that a lot of people are trying to marry you off. I guess they figure you need a husband to keep you out of trouble.”
“That’s a chauvinistic thing to say.”
He grinned. “It’d bloody well take a jailer, not a husband.” The phone rang before she could throw out a sarcastic comment. “You’re going to answer it?” he asked, as she picked it up.
“It’s probably Peter. If I don’t answer, he’s going to show up at the door again.” Faelan had given her the note Peter left. Bree scrambled for an excuse to give him, but it was Jared.
“Can I come by? I need to talk to you.”
“I was just leaving. What’s wrong?”
“My backers are pulling out. Any chance you’ve made a decision about moving the dig? It’s probably too late anyway,” he said, voice weary.
She hated seeing Jared distressed after all he’d done for her. Maybe he was the one her grandmother wanted her to help, not Faelan. It was her idea to let Jared dig. Bree had met him here. She’d showed up at her grandmother’s, on the run from Russell, and interrupted Jared and her grandmother discussing excavating. Both of them had taken one look at Bree and known she was in trouble. Jared offered to track Russell down and tell him to leave Bree alone. She refused, but she and Jared had been friends ever since.
“I’ll let you move the dig if you can wait until I get back. I’m leaving town for a few days.” She couldn’t have Jared and his men here until Druan was no longer a threat. “You think it might help keep your funding?”
Faelan stood with his arms crossed over his chest, listening. With him, there was no such thing as a private conversation.
“It’ll have to do,” Jared said. “Thank you. This is a sudden trip. Where are you going?”
“I have some friends in Scotland who want me to look over some old documents.” Faelan lifted one sexy brow, and Bree tugged at her necklace, distressed at how easily lies were dripping off her tongue. “I’ve always wanted to visit Scotland,” she said, diluting the lie with truth. “We… I’m leaving tonight.” The chain snapped, and the necklace fell to the floor.
“After that murder, I’d feel better if you weren’t there. I caught one of my new guys snooping around. And someone broke into the trailer and stole a shovel and some clothes.”
She hoped Druan hadn’t planted one of his henchmen on Jared’s crew. She could warn him, but that might put him in more danger. Jared would barge out and confront the man.
“I won’t be around for a couple of days myself,” Jared said, “but I’ll check on the house when I get back.”
“You’re leaving, too?” She hoped he was. This place was too dangerous.
“My uncle is taking me to meet the backers, to see if I can get them to change their minds. The possibility of expanding the dig might do the trick.”
“What was that about?” Faelan demanded after she hung up.
“He wants to move the dig closer to the house.”
“I heard. He’s already too close.”
“I’m trying to hold him off until Druan is out of the way.”
“I should meet Jared,” Faelan said, frowning.
“He’s leaving for a couple of days. I’ll introduce you when we get back. I can say you’re Cousin Reggie.” She picked up the necklace, looking at the broken clasp. She hoped there’d be an earth left to dig in.
***
The trembling man watched as skin stretched and thickened, nose flattening, forehead bulging. The stench of sulfur filled the air as the man transformed into a monster.
