“Wow,” Barb replied. “I don’t know when my life got this bizarre.”
“Welcome to my world,” he laughed, opening the large wooden doors to the church.
Barb was immediately in awe of the place with its well-worn wooden pews, most likely hundreds of years old. Each window was alive with sunlight filtering through elaborate stained glass designs that served as window panes. It was beautiful, more beautiful than she had expected given it’s rather austere outward appearance as it sat solemnly in one corner of the surrounding cemetery.
“This place is incredible,” she replied.
“Yes. It’s one of the less impressive churches here too. When we get this nonsense sorted out, I will take you to see some of the really large old churches. They make this place look like an evangelical tent.”
“Something to look forward to,” she said with a smile.
Josh leaned down to kiss her on the cheek just as a minister approached them from the opposite direction. He was smiling and looking at each of them thoughtfully, spreading his hands in welcome as he spoke to them.
“Are you here to plan a wedding?” he asked, catching them both off guard.
“Oh, um, no,” Josh standard, seeming suddenly awkward.
Barb laughed and shook her head from side to side, causing the minister to realize his mistake and chuckle along with her. He was a kindly looking old man, with only a few strands of white hair remaining on his head, but plenty of them in his salt and pepper beard. His hands and nose were speckled with brown freckles, giving him an almost boyish appearance despite his age.
“I see. I apologize for my mistake. What can I do for you then?”
“Father, I understand that you live down the road from where they have been digging for remains up on the edge of the mountain nearby,” Josh told him.
“Yes. I am curious as to what they have found, but it has been very hush hush,” he replied, a puzzled expression on his face.
“We all are. The problem is that someone was even more curious about it. They have stolen the remains that have been found so far.”
“Oh, my. I guess that explains all the extra activity up there before they began to pull up stakes and leave.”
“Leave?” Josh replied.
Now, it was he and Barb who looked puzzled. Why would Albert pull up stake and leave like that?
“Yes. This morning, there were people all over the place, but this afternoon when I came down to the church, it appeared everyone was gone, even the tents and caravans.”
“You said that there were people all over the place this morning. Did you see anyone removing a large canvas or container out of there?”
“No. I suppose they could have done so before I got up, but they would have been doing so in the dark, as I was up before the sun had risen to tend to my flock, the wool variety, not the two legged variety. I have quite a farm to tend to when I’m not praying for folks’ immortal souls.”
“I understand. Did you see anything else that you thought was odd?”
“No, not that I can think of.”
“I see. Thank you for talking to us for a moment, Father. I’ll let you get back to your work here,” Josh told him.
“No problem, son. If I can be of any further service, all you have to do is ask.”
Josh and Barb left the church, walking quickly back to the car. Barb had no doubt that he was thinking the same thing she was. Opening her door to let her in, he waited while she took a seat and closed it behind her. Once he was behind the wheel, she turned to him again, speaking quietly.
“Are we going to the site?”
“Where else?” he replied.
Pulling up to the dig site, they both marveled at how quiet it had become. The only sign of life there was the horse that stood grazing in the area behind the old cabin by the road. Everything was gone, just as the minister had said. Walking quietly up the path that had been tramped down by those who had attended the site, they saw that the hole had indeed caved in. They stood wondering what was going on when a voice behind them caused them to jump.
“You’re on private property,” the gruff voice informed them.
“Actually, we’re on abandoned property that someone is in the process of claiming,” Josh corrected the man, standing his ground, though he moved protectively in front of Barb.
“That someone would be me and as far as anyone is concerned, it is already mine.”
“We were just leaving,” Josh told him.
“Best that you do,” the man replied.
His tone was dry, intimidating. It was obvious that he wanted them out of here fast, but why? This property had been a hive of activity for weeks now, but suddenly it was completely quiet. Barb wondered what she was missing once again.
“The man that was digging here, do you know where he went?” she asked.
Josh shot her a look that said she shouldn’t be asking questions, but she ignored him. She’d had enough of this ridiculous situation hanging over her head in one way or another and it was going to come to a stop.
“No. He didn’t tell me. What’s it to you?”
“He hired me to come here. He owes me money,” she replied. It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. She was due funds that she doubted she would ever see at this point.
“You aren’t the only one,” the man replied.
His guard seemed to have dropped a bit, a result of having found some common ground she was guessing. If he owed them both money, then helping her out might mean he would get his too.
“He didn’t pay you up front?” she asked.
“He paid me half up front and told me the other half would be paid once he was done with the dig. Instead, he finished up digging and just cleared out. I came down to ask what was happening and he told me the dig was off, that he didn’t find what he had hoped for and wouldn’t be making any further payment.”
“Did they remove anything from the site other than their equipment?” Josh asked.
“No, nothing that I could see. I didn’t even know they were done until I walked down here to see how they were progressing and saw them packing up their things.”
“What time was that?” Josh continued.
“I don’t know, a bit after lunch I guess. The locals they had hired were all gone already and it was just a bunch of goons in suits putting things on trucks and in vans to leave. When the old man told me he wasn’t going to pay me, I got mad and took a swing at him, but some ugly guy with no neck blocked the punch and shoved me down. He told me not to get back up if I knew what was good for me.”
“The security team was packing things?” Josh asked, seemingly more of an observation to himself than a question to the man.
“If that is who those big hairy knuckled bastards in suits were, then yeah,” the man replied.
Josh and Barb thanked the man, assuring them that they would let him know if they found Albert and knew how he could get the rest of his money back. They moved on to some of the other neighbors to the site, each telling them the same thing. All anyone saw was the increased activity that morning and then everyone leaving. Barb saw that the trail was quickly growing cold, but it seemed that Josh had other ideas.
“Dragons took those bones,” he said flatly.
“What?” she replied, not sure she had heard him correctly.
“I don’t know who or why, but one of the other clans took them,” he said.
“What makes you say that?”
“No one saw something as large as a dragon skeleton being removed? No one would have broken something like that down to hide its removal. It would have been too damaging to the remains. It would have been taken out carefully, in one big piece. By the time anyone was up and moving about this morning, those guards had been knocked out and the remains taken. The only answer for that to have been accomplished so quickly without being seen is that they didn’t come off the site by conventional means.”
“They went straight up in the air, int
o the darkness.”
Barb could hardly believe what she was hearing. It was dragons, after all, but if not Josh’s clan, then who? Had some other clan learned about what was happening and taken it on themselves to remove the evidence of their existence? It was the only reason she could think of for this, but it still didn’t explain why Albert had made such a hasty retreat.
“Let’s go find your employer,” Josh told her.
“I don’t know where to look,” she said.
“I do. Ireland is a relatively small island. There are only so many places he could have gone before getting on his way back home.”
Sure enough, after a few phone calls to friends and associates, Barb and Josh were on their way to a small bed and breakfast in Dublin where Albert had checked in to wait on a flight out the next day. He wasn’t going to be pleased to see them, but hopefully they might finally get some answers. They were both surprised when they arrived to find him downstairs in the lobby of the large house, having a cup of tea as if there was nothing wrong. The look on his face when he saw them said otherwise, though.
“Why are you here?” he said nervously.
“Because you owe us some answers,” Josh told him.
“I owe you answers? You’ve got to be kidding me,” Albert replied.
“Listen, your people come down and lean on me to stop digging. When I refused, they came in during the night and knocked out my security staff and took everything. I don’t think I owe you a damn thing,” he hissed at Josh before turning toward Barb. “And you? How could you involve yourself with something like this? I would have never thought you capable of it.”
“What are you talking about? Neither me, Barb or anyone we know had anything to do with this,” Josh barked back at him.
Albert stood and walked over to him, stopping practically nose to nose with him before speaking through clenched teeth.
“I know what you are. I know what you can do. You send someone to threaten me and take what’s mine? Fine, but to threaten my family, my friends? You’ve got what you want now, so leave me alone.”
“Wait a minute. What are you talking about? Who threatened you? What was his name? What did he look like?” Josh growled.
Barb could tell he was angry. It was becoming more apparent that dragons had done this and she wondered if he still thought it was another clan or if he was perhaps considering he didn’t know Aaron as well as he thought. She said nothing, waiting to see what happened before rushing to judgment again. Albert seemed to sense his indignation, as well, and backed up, speaking in a calmer manner, defeat apparent in his tone.
“He didn’t tell me his name. I was up early this morning and was happy to see that the rain had stopped. I made my way over to the dig area to survey the damage. I could see, even with just a flashlight that the site had caved in on itself, and I was upset that I would have to redig so much of the area. I heard a noise from over by the tent where the main skeleton was waiting for transport later in the morning and walked over to see what was happening.”
“And what did you see?” Josh asked.
“I wasn’t sure, at first. It was large, impossibly large for an animal and as I got closer, I could feel its hot breath on me. I dropped my flashlight and it went out. Then I heard a voice talking to me from nearby. He told me that I could walk away from what I had just seen, what I had learned here and live out the rest of my life in peace or I could cause a stink about it and watch everyone I loved die horrible deaths.”
“Did you get a look at the man at all?”
“No. It was dark when he was talking to me. I tried to ask questions, but he didn’t respond. I felt a flourish of wind around me and saw his silhouette as he shifted back into a dragon and took off, with the canvas containing the skeleton clinched in his mouth it appeared. When I got to my flashlight and got it back on, I saw my guards lying all around. I thought they were dead, but found pulses on all of them.”
“If you left because you were threatened, why did you send your goon after us?” Barb asked.
“Goon? What goon?” Albert asked earnestly.
“Banfield,” Josh told him.
“I didn’t send Banfield. When I found all the guards, I went to wake him in his caravan to help me. He was angry and told me he would get to the bottom of this. I told him no, that it was over, so he must have gone off on his own. I was too terrified to do anything but what the man said, pack up and leave.”
“This dragon. You said you had a flashlight at first. Did you see it? If you can’t describe the man, can you at least describe the dragon?”
“Not well. I only saw a portion of it. It was so big. So beautiful, but terrifying. I’ll never forget that moment,” he said almost wistfully.
“What color was it?” Josh pushed.
“Red, blood red,” Albert replied.
Josh and Barb both looked at one another. Could one of the McCords have done this after all? Barb shuddered to think that Amy might be married to someone so devious, but she just couldn’t picture Owen doing such a thing. Though she didn’t know Connor as well, she couldn’t see him doing it either. Still, they worked for Aaron and perhaps had to do as they were told.
“Solid red or did he have more orange in him than red?” Josh asked.
“Neither. He was a dark red color with a single patch of white on his chest. There might have been more on his sides or back. I couldn’t see those, but those were the colors I saw in the light before I lost it.”
“This patch of white. Did it look like an apple?” Josh asked.
“Yes! Now that you mention it, it did appear a bit round with a little streak or two at the top, like an apple.”
“Okay, Albert. I’d like to tell you that I can fix this for you, but I can’t. What I can do is keep you safe from the person that did it. I need something from you, though.”
“And what might that be?” Albert asked doubtfully.
“Do not do anything to harm Barb’s career. Not one word of this that affects her in a negative light. You do that for me and I will make sure no one you know is harmed in any way by this, ever.”
“You know who did this? Then we can call the authorities, we can report them and get my remains back!” Albert replied.
“No, Albert, we can’t. Don’t you get it? You’ve stumbled on something much bigger than you anticipated. It can’t go any further than it already has.”
“Will you at least tell me the truth? The whole story?”
Barb knew Albert well enough to know that the truth was what really mattered to him. It wasn’t recognition or money, it was knowledge and he wanted to know the full story of what he had found and what he had seen.
“I will tell you what you need to know,” Barb told him, “but not today. We have to take care of this situation right away. Just know that when I get home, I will be in touch and I will tell you what you want to know. I trust you to keep the secrets that must be maintained. I know you are just like me, you just seek the answers.”
“Yes,” he said, seeming somewhat relieved.
Josh looked at her disapprovingly, but she didn’t care. This was her call, just as whatever he had planned past this would be his.
CHAPTER 16
“You know who did this?” Barb asked as they traveled back toward Mullaghbawn, traveling through it and up into the mountains a little farther to one side.
“Yes. The iDragon,” he replied.
“Excuse me?” she laughed.
“I’m serious. That’s what they call him, because of the apple shaped white spot on his chest. You know, like the apple software signal.”
“No, I get it. It just sounds . . . well, absurd.”
“It’s just a nickname. His real name is Jones Holloway. He’s the last in a long line of dragon shifters that have mostly died out. He’s filthy rich, can have anything he wants.”
“Why would he want Tandy’s bones?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. He’s eccentric, so perhaps he wants them just be
cause he can get them. Maybe he just enjoyed the thrill of taking them. I don’t know.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“You are going to drop me off in front of his estate and I’m going to go in there and get Tandy back. She’s coming back home with me.”
“Why not just let him keep her?”
“Because she is not property, Barb. She was once my friend in school. I remember her and she was loved by everyone at home. That was her downfall, attracting the wrong sort. Aiden falling in love with her and not being able to have her was her downfall. In all honesty, he might have done her a favor in taking her before she became so sick that she had no quality of life. That’s not for me to say, but she didn’t deserve to die a brutal death either. I’m going to get her home and when I’ve got her back, I’m going to go dig up Patrick and take him home, as well.”
“I understand, but I’m going in with you.”
“No, you aren’t. This is no place for you. Jones is violent, unpredictable. He doesn’t play fair and will not hesitate to come after you to throw me off my game. I won’t have you used as a pawn in a war that isn’t yours to wage.”
“Then we should go back to the village, get others to help you. You shouldn’t go in there alone.”
“Dragons don’t gang up on one another, Barb. At least not those with any moral compass. I will be fine. I’ve been trained well.”
“Josh, please . . .”
“No. No negativity. Listen, just in case things don’t go well, I need for you to do something for me.”
“What is that,” she managed to croak out, even though her mouth felt as dry as the Sahara.
“First of all, get yourself to safety. Get back home. Then, get a message to my brother and tell him what happened to me. If I can’t do the job, he will make sure it is finished. If I can’t get Tandy and Patrick home, someone else will and they will keep coming until they do.”
“Josh . . .,” she began to say again, but he put a finger up to her mouth.
“No. No more words. No pleas. Just believe in me and know that I care deeply for you,” he said as they pulled into a large rounded driveway in front of a magnificent estate home that made the White House look like a shack.
Desired by a Dragon: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Exiled Dragons Book 3) Page 11