The only light came from an old security system mounted near the ceiling. It illuminated the eyes of the fiberglass creatures positioned around the room. Every sort of prop was stored in the building, but it seemed all the strange, big-eyed ones had ended up on the second floor.
Luther heard a thump and then another.
They’re knocking through the door downstairs.
Another thump and then a crash that told him the door had been breached.
I need a weapon.
Luther began moving through the room looking for something he could use. He found a cache of swords behind a suit of armor. Not real, but stiff enough to do some damage.
Not bad.
It wasn’t like he was going to find any guns. A half-assed sword would have to do.
Luther picked the heaviest one and swung it back and forth. It had been a while since he’d partaken in any swordplay as well. He and Sean used to practice with swords from the sets, but not for years. They’d gotten older and lazier. No real reason to keep up their sword skills in modern America. Neither one of them wanted to go back to medieval times, and both had joked they’d only move forward through time. The chances that Star-Wars-like lightsabres became the norm in the future was highly unlikely.
“Like riding a bike,” he mumbled to himself.
Time wore on as the noises downstairs betrayed his pursuers’ growing impatience. They couldn’t find him and hadn’t noticed the door to the second floor yet.
A movement caught his eye and Luther turned as the door leading to the outside began to open.
How? He’d checked and that door had been locked.
They’d just breached the downstairs door. He hadn’t heard them try the second floor outside entrance.
Then, he heard a rough voice call his name from downstairs.
That has to be the little one. This must be Rune.
Luther crept forward to hide behind the door as it opened.
A nose appeared, followed by a forehead and a patch of white hair.
Luther had been about to come around the edge with his sword to stick his visitor in the gut when something struck him.
White hair?
Rune didn’t have white hair.
Luther reached around the door and grabbed the visitor by the chest to jerk him into the room.
He felt the tip of a gun poke into the soft spot beneath his chin where his jaw bone split.
Chapter Twenty-One
Broch and Catriona leaned against her truck as the EMTs carried a body bag from the warehouse. All Catriona wanted to do was go home, but they needed to wait for the police to finish questioning them.
Konrad wandered over to them.
“The publicity—”
Catriona shook her head. “Don’t get excited about the press. A woman and one of your fake troopers died, Konrad.”
“Mebbe a ninja,” muttered Broch.
“Hopefully not.” Catriona had already resolved to tell the troopers she stabbed the ninja so they wouldn’t look too deeply into Broch’s identity. They’d made him a fake I.D. but it wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny. But if she was going to confess to stabbing someone, she didn’t want to be held responsible for his death, too.
Konrad wrinkled his nose. “You’re right. Sorry.”
“I’m sure you’re still going to be fired.”
“You think? This was really Mason’s fault. Not mine.”
“I dunno. Bad decisions were made. Really bad decisions.”
“What if the movie does well?”
Catriona sighed. “There’s a chance the studio won’t remember how stupid your stunt was if ticket sales triple.”
Konrad grinned. “That’s what I’m thinking. I mean, it’s not my fault the kid was crazy.”
“The families of the deceased might not see it that way.”
“Shit. That reminds me. I have to call my lawyer.”
“And your insurance,” called Catriona as Konrad headed toward his trailer without another word.
“Whit an eejit,” muttered Broch.
“Welcome to Hollywood.”
“Ah wish ahd come back tae Scootlund instead o’ this devilish place.”
“But then you wouldn’t have met me.”
Broch put an arm around Catriona and her body filled with warmth, as if someone had poured a soothing elixir over her aches and pains. She snuggled against him.
This is nice.
“True. Ah tak’ it back.”
“You’re like some kind of natural aspirin,” she mumbled.
“Eh?”
“Nothing.”
Catriona spotted a police officer approaching and she stepped forward to shake his hand, slipping out from under Broch’s arm as she moved. Instantly, her body ached again.
So weird.
After an interview that seemed longer than their time in the maze, they were cleared to leave.
Catriona tried Sean for a third time as they walked to the Jeep but got no answer. “Let’s get back to Sean’s. I can’t reach him.”
“He’s mebbe asleep.”
“Probably.” Catriona yawned. “Lucky guy.”
They drove the twenty minutes back to Sean’s house in exhausted silence. Once back, Catriona went immediately to Sean’s bedroom and rapped lightly on the door.
“Sean?”
She poked her head in.
The bed was empty. She opened the door more fully and stepped in to check the en-suite bathroom. He wasn’t there.
“Sean?” she called down the hallway.
“Nae in his kip?” asked Broch.
“No.”
She heard the patio slider open as she checked the spare room and living room. By the time she’d reentered the kitchen, Broch had returned from outside.
“He’s nae outside.”
“Oh, duh, his car.”
Catriona jogged to the door that led to the garage and flipped on the light.
