Dual Release

by Tara Nina

  Also Gavin had to be at her side during the birth. His facial expression when Ericka mentioned this was priceless. It was a mixture of shock and apprehension that morphed into a tinge of excitement he’d tried to hide. May could still see it in her head and it made her smile. Even though he’d protested, stating men of his time did no such thing, he’d given in to his wife’s request. As easily as he’d relented, May suspected he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  May sighed, grateful the contraction passed, and Ericka released the vise-grip hold to her hand. Unfortunately part of her request didn’t look as if it were going to happen. This baby wasn’t going to wait to return to MacKinnon land before making its appearance. And worse, it didn’t look like Gavin would be witnessing the miracle of the birth of their newest family member.

  From the devastation she’d seen on the TV, she feared he wasn’t going to see his child now or ever. She desperately tried to cling to a sliver of hope that she was wrong, that the images flashing in her brain of the blast site were not as bad as they appeared. She struggled to remain positive for Ericka’s sake. For the baby’s sake.

  Fate interfered. Not fate. May cringed. Brother Leod played a wicked hand and might have actually succeeded in killing the brothers where he’d failed so miserably before. May tried to contain the thoughts of hopelessness that all were lost. She kept a brave face for Ericka and gave her as good a smile as she could muster.

  “There’s been no new word as yet.”

  Mary looked up from under the sheet between Ericka’s bended knees. “The babe’s in perfect position. I know you’ve been holding back, resisting the urge to push, but it’s time. This babe’s ready.”

  “I don’t want to push,” Ericka cried. “Not without Gavin.”

  “If’n it be time to push, then ye push. Ye can’t be keeping mi wee one to yourself and not share,” a male voice announced happily from the doorway. Three heads simultaneously turned in its direction. Ericka squealed in delight as a dirt-covered Gavin hurried to her bedside. “No let it be said this MacKinnon let ye down.”

  “Nay,” Ericka mimicked his brogue, “never.”

  Their lips locked in a kiss as tears streamed down May’s cheeks. She hated to interrupt but she desperately needed to know. She touched his shoulder. Gavin lifted from the kiss but didn’t release the hug he had around his wife and met May’s gaze.

  “The others?”

  “Are safe,” Gavin informed her. “Jameson left with the twins. The sun be on the horizon. He be taking them and the young ladies to the hotel. The oth—” His sentence was stopped short when his wife dug her nails into his upper arms and groaned as a contraction hit. Immediately his attention fell to her. “Breathe, m’gaol—my love. Breathe.” He kissed her brow and held her until the pain subsided.

  “I hate to break this up but you are a dirty mess, Mr. MacKinnon,” Mary stated with a shake of her head. Her thick Scottish brogue was undeniable. “This is supposed to be a clean environment for the baby’s sake.”

  “Aye.” He nodded, pulling himself away from Ericka. May pointed him to the private bathroom. He stared straight at Ericka as he spoke. “I shall only be a moment, m’gaol.” Then he disappeared to the sound of running water from the sink.

  Reassured that Ericka was okay, May took a moment and went into the hall. She walked to the far end and stood near the window, looking out into the early-morning sky. Gavin’s appearance was a miracle. His timing couldn’t have been any better. Smiling, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Jameson. He answered on the first ring.

  “I’ve been expecting your call,” he stated. His tone was filled with happiness. “Your present is almost safe and sound at the hotel. We’ll be there within a few minutes. They should be inside before the sun rises.”

  “Thank you, Jameson.” May smiled into the phone, even though she knew he couldn’t see it. “How are the young ladies?”

  “Jenny and Cait are both fine. Cait’s a bit worse for wear, covered in dirt, but alive. I think after a hot bath, a good meal and a decent sleep both shall be feeling better and more able to relate what happened in greater detail. They’re exhausted.”

  “I bet they are. Please let them know how grateful we are for their help.”

  “Already have,” Jameson replied. “Several times.”

  “How are the others?” She heard him take a hesitant breath and her stomach dropped. Something was wrong.

  “Padon has a few minor injuries, bumps, cuts and bruises. Struan has a possible dislocated shoulder. Izzy thinks Ian has a broken arm and ankle from their initial assessments. Apparently if it weren’t for Donnell’s quick thinking, they’d all be dead. But I don’t have the full story as yet.”

  She released the breath she’d been holding, expecting far worse news. “Are they receiving medical attention in the emergency room?”

  “Not at the moment.” He hesitated and May immediately thought the worst. “The scenic pilot dropped the girls and took off. It was too much for him to handle. Izzy said he freaked when he saw the devastation and wanted no part of it. Charles is en route back to the site to retrieve the others. As soon as Gavin was informed Ericka was in labor, the brothers united against him and made him be on the first trip. Due to time constraints, the twins had no choice but to be on board as well. The sun plays against them right now. Ian and Struan refused medical attention at the site. Ian suggested they stay hidden until the helicopter returns. It would be too much to have to explain why they were there in the first place.”

  “How’s the helicopter not being noticed?” She couldn’t imagine it would land and take off without someone seeing it.

  “May, there’s so much going on there right now. Besides, there are several medevac helicopters coming and going it’s probably assumed to be one of those.”

  From what she’d seen on the news, that was definitely a possibility. “How’d they get out?”

  “Through a tunnel connecting the bunker to another bunker. Seems our infamous Brother Leod didn’t make many fans with the community members when he and his band of misfits overtook their home. The community never shared all the details of the compound with them.” He paused then stated quickly, “We’re at the hotel. I’m going to get everyone settled and fed, then I’ll return to the hospital as soon as possible.”

  “Okay. Jameson,” May said on a tired whisper, “I love you.”

  “I love you too, May.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Showered and well fed, Jenny and Cait sat on their beds dressed in new pajamas from the hotel gift shop. They had been given the room with two double beds connected to May’s suite. The twins were in statue form in the sitting room and its doorway was in direct eyesight of Jenny and Cait’s room. If anyone tried to enter it, they’d know, especially since Belvedere had taken to guarding that door. His bark would surely wake them. They doubted anyone would enter the suite today, since Jameson had requested total privacy from the hotel management before he left for the hospital.

  “I’m so glad you’re safe,” Jenny said. “It had to be scary down there when it collapsed.”

  Cait shrugged. “I won’t lie. I was scared, but the brothers gave me no chance to think about it.”

  “How’d they find the escape tunnel so fast?” Jenny snuggled deeper into the covers as she lay on her side facing Cait.

  “We had help. One of the three men guarding us was just a kid, a teenager. Donnell knocked his uncle out when we tricked them into opening the cell door they had us captive in. I tackled the kid but the third guy disappeared. We knew he didn’t go out the door we came in, so when you let Gavin know about the possibility they were lining the exit with explosives, it didn’t take much to convince the kid to tell us.” She grinned as if something she thought of tickled her.

  “What?” Jenny questioned, rising onto her elbow.

  She shook her head as she replied, “I have to admit that kid’s got a lot of moxie. He stood his ground, stared Donnell ri
ght in the eye and made one demand in exchange for the exit’s location.”

  “What was that?”

  “We had to take him and his uncle with us.”

  “That’s only fair,” Jenny stated, a little taken aback that they would have left the pair to be buried alive.

  “Oh, we had no intention of leaving them. But someone had to carry his uncle since he wasn’t exactly coherent enough to walk straight. Seems Donnell flattened him pretty hard.”

  “Is that how Ian got hurt? Carrying the guy out?” Concern filled Jenny’s tone. She’d hated leaving the injured men behind but the brothers were insistent that they go on the helicopter with the twins and Gavin.

  “Noooo.” Cait drew the word out, then continued, “Padon carried the uncle. The kid led the way into the escape tunnel, followed by Gavin and the rest of us. Ian brought up the rear. He shut the door behind us at the same time the explosion occurred. The force pushed the door back in on him, sending him flying into Struan, who actually broke his fall. The way Ian landed on him caused Struan’s shoulder dislocation. But neither of them hesitated. They immediately sprang upright and helped each other get the hell out of there.”

  “Ohmygod.” Jenny’s eyes widened.

  “Those men have the biggest, baddest sets of balls I’ve ever known. None of the MacKinnons let the dust clear before they forced everyone to shake the dirt off and move. No one knew how badly Ian and Struan were hurt until we reached the connecting bunker on the opposite side of the compound. That’s when Gavin was able to reconnect with Charles, let him know our location.”

  “Then Gavin contacted me,” Jenny said. “I was never so glad to hear from someone before in my life. I’d made my way to the compound and with the confusion, no one noticed me. I was searching for Dour and you.” She sat up, swung her legs off the bed, stood and pounced on Cait’s bed. Cait sat up just in time to be hugged. “I thought I’d lost my best friend.”

  “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Cait teased.

  “I don’t want to get rid of you,” Jenny protested. “Who else would I have to go with on these crazy adventures?”

  “Crazy adventures, huh,” she replied, lifting her eyes toward the sitting room door.

  Jenny followed her stare. “In that room is someone awesome,” she whispered.

  “A pair of awesome someones,” Cait corrected as she agreed.

  “Cait,” Jenny said, turning her gaze back to her best friend, “I think I’ve fallen in love with a man who has a major issue with the sun.”

  She burst out laughing, causing Jenny to laugh right along with her. “I think it’s more than an issue,” she replied in between gasps of air, calming her laughter. “It’s called a curse.” She cleared her throat and held Jenny’s hand. “Go figure. You and I finally find us a pair of lovable men and they turn out to be gargoyles.”

  They burst into laughter again. Cait slid over and Jenny lay beside her. They laughed themselves into total exhaustion amid a flood of hysterical tears.

  “So what do we do about it?” Jenny questioned once she could speak.

  “We use every resource we have available and find the cure to the curse.”

  *

  “Do you think we should tell them?” Ericka asked, looking down into the garden from her and Gavin’s bedroom window. He moved to stand beside her.

  Dour and Donnell were in statue form exactly where they’d shifted earlier that morning. Cait and Jenny were sitting on a blanket in between the frozen pair, sharing a picnic lunch. Jenny was tapping on a laptop. Cait was thumbing through a stack of books about curses she’d borrowed from Castle MacKinnon’s library.

  “Nay,” he replied. “Ye know the rules. From the looks of what we’ve seen the past few nights, it won’t be long before mi youngest brathairs admit the truth of their hearts to that fine pair of lassies.” He held his six-week-old son in his arms.

  Ericka crossed her arms and turned to face him. Her eyebrow arched as he met her gaze. “You know you don’t have to pick him up every time he cries. You’re spoiling him.”

  “I no be spoiling young Brady. I be protecting him from having nightmares as he sleeps.” Gavin puffed his chest and grinned.

  Ericka shook her head and smiled back at him. “You’re impossible. We need to go downstairs to help with the final details for May’s wedding. And Brady needs his nap.” She patted her breasts and Gavin’s eyes widened with passionate heat. “Trust me, his tummy is full, so that should give us a few good hours to accomplish something.”

  Gently he tucked Brady in his crib then gathered Ericka into a hug. “Do we have time to make another?” He wagged his eyebrows and Ericka giggled.

  “We always have time for that.”

  Gavin lifted her and headed straight for the bed. “May will have to wait a wee bit more.”

  “Only a wee bit?” Ericka teased.

  “Have I ever failed to please ye?” His voice deepened.

  “Nay, m’gaol, never.”

  *

  Cait and Jenny sat in the second row from the front beside Donnell and Dour. The garden was well lit with strings of bright lights everywhere and candles all around the altar. Charles acted as Jameson’s best man. May’s niece Ericka stood as matron of honor. Gavin sat in the front row holding Brady, who was dressed in a miniature kilt that matched his father’s and a cute little white dress shirt.

  Izzy’s father, Angus MacDonell, acted as officiant for the wedding ceremony. He not only owned the local pub, Grant’s Tavern, he was recently elected town mayor, which gave him the legal right to perform civil services. He stood under the arch of wildflowers and lavender with the groom, who looked tremendously happy to be waiting on his forthcoming bride. Cait couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful look of anticipation on his face. She cut a sideways glance at Donnell and sighed.

  Each of the MacKinnon brothers looked dapper in the family’s traditional kilts. But as far as she was concerned, Donnell was the handsomest. She kept catching herself staring at him dressed in full ancient regalia right down to the leather boots on his feet. His bright-red hair was pulled back in a tie at his nape. And every time he looked at her with those drop-dead-sexy green eyes, she wanted to jump his bones and kiss each and every freckle on his body, including the ones on his cock.

  God, she loved this man but for some reason hadn’t told him. The words just wouldn’t exit her lips. They seemed lodged in her throat. Several times she’d wanted to tell him, to hear him say it back, but stopped. What if he didn’t feel the same way? Would her saying it first end their relationship? When he caught her staring, she quickly darted her eyes forward. For now, she intended to be happy with the time she shared with Donnell. There was no way she was going to let a little thing like three words ruin her chances with him.

  Or end the possibility of her ever having sex with him again. With the wedding being set for exactly one hour after dusk so the twins could participate, they’d barely had time for a quickie before having to be dressed and in their seats for the ceremony. Just thinking about him fucking her up against the wall in the shower had her wet, willing and ready for another go. Cait took a moment to control her lust. It wasn’t easy with the object of her desire sitting so close to her their thighs touched, and each time he moved he seemed to brush some part of her. Intentional or not, it was killing her.

  In an attempt to think of something other than sex, she turned her focus to the people gathered for the wedding. Izzy and Ian sat in front of them. Ian had a cast on his forearm and wore a walking brace on his leg, which hadn’t been broken but had a severely strained Achilles tendon and suffered bone bruising. She’d seen a picture of Izzy with short, spiked white hair but liked her current look better. Her hair was shoulder-length and its natural deep-auburn tone made her green eyes stand out. Ian had his dark hair pulled back and tied with a leather strap. Apparently he liked Izzy’s longer length as well, because he kept his arm relaxed on her chair back and his fingers toyed with her hair si
nce they’d taken their seats. Cait smiled at the affectionate touch.

  In a row to the right of the center aisle sat Struan and Caledonia. This woman had the strangest color blue eyes she’d ever seen and her jet-black hair was kept in a braid that landed below her waist. Struan sat close to her. His hair was also tied back in a ponytail but this was the first time Cait noticed the streaks of red highlights in his otherwise dark hair. Behind them sat Padon and Lynn. Now, they were an adorable pair as far as she was concerned. He was tall and large with dark-auburn hair and she was short and robust in stature with a smile that never faded. Her bright-blue eyes seemed to twinkle when she looked at Padon.

  The brothers were close-knit but for some reason refused to share the secret to ending the curse. Four of them were free and lived a normal life, or as normal as possible for men born hundreds of years ago, cursed and awakened to live in a totally different world. For the past six weeks, she and Jenny had done everything possible to coax the answer from any of them without success. Akira’s words of advice on the matter taunted her thoughts daily. The answer ye seek lies within one’s heart.

  What the hell did that mean? She tried not to linger on it as she smiled from one person to the other as she scanned the intimate gathering.

  There were only a few others in attendance. Margaret and Ned, the married couple who worked as the housekeeper and the handyman/groundskeeper. Margaret wanted to make all the food for the reception, but May insisted she relax and enjoy the wedding and had everything catered. That had been an interesting conversation to overhear, but May won in the end. Cait smiled remembering the gentle way May convinced the older woman she wanted her included in the festivities as her friend.

  Izzy’s best friends Nessia MacKay and Colin Campbell sat side by side and were an obvious couple, though they pretended not to be. Cait shook her head at that one. Caledonia’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kavanaugh, and her two closest friends, the O’Reilly brothers, Abel and Percy, sat together. Friends of Lynn and Padon, Travis Shain and Fin MacIntyre, along with Fin’s grandfather, Thicket MacIntyre, sat in the last row of chairs.