Embrace the Highland Warrior

by Anita Clenney

  Cody headed to the room where they’d moved Jamie. If he was awake, Cody needed to ask him some questions about the attack. Perhaps they could clear the air as well. They weren’t at each other’s throats anymore, but Cody owed the man an apology. At one time Jamie had been a friend, and now he was sacrificing his life to protect Shay. He’d broken the rules and gotten involved with her, but Cody had too.

  Jamie’s door was cracked. He lay on his back. Shay lay beside him, holding his hand. Cody’s heart felt like a block of wood. Had seeing Jamie injured made her realize that she still loved him? She’d cared enough to almost marry him. She had spent far more time in Jamie’s bed than his, and Jamie hadn’t gotten her pregnant and left her to carry and bury a baby alone. Cody turned and headed to his room, weary to the bone.

  ***

  Shay was headed for the shower when she heard a knock. She threw on a robe and opened the door.

  Cody stood outside. She hadn’t seen him since Jamie was hurt. It was pathetic how badly she wanted to run into his arms and feel his heart beating safe and sound against hers, but the warriors were swamped, trying to keep the place surrounded and trying to find Malek and the vampires. She noticed his face, pale and tight.

  “Cody, what’s wrong? Is it Jamie?” She had just left him minutes earlier.

  His jaw clenched. “Jamie’s fine,” he said, his voice rough. “I heard you come in and wanted to see if you were okay.”

  “I’m good. I was just going to take a shower.”

  “Okay, then.” He looked her over once, cold as a stranger, and turned to leave.

  “Wait. What on earth’s wrong with you? One minute you’re telling me I’m your mate, the next you’re acting like a robot.”

  He stepped inside and closed the door. “I don’t share my women.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  It was like she flipped a switch. The ice in his face melted and bitterness gushed out. “I saw you with him.”

  “Who?”

  “Jamie.”

  Oh no. “If you mean—”

  “I saw you in bed with him.” He looked almost as angry as he had when he and Jamie fought at Cody’s house.

  “I wasn’t—”

  “Are you denying it?”

  “No, but… it wasn’t like that.”

  “What was it like, then? Tell me that. What do you call it when a man and a woman are snuggled together in bed? Friends? Not in my book.”

  “We weren’t snuggling, and he was freezing. Don’t look at me like that. He needed body heat and a little comfort from a friend. I was fully clothed on top of the covers. I shouldn’t have done it, but I felt sorry for him. He is my friend, Cody. He’ll always be my friend, but I’m not in love with him.”

  Cody’s jaw worked. “Damn. I don’t know what to think. You say you don’t love him, but seems every time I turn around, you have your hands on him.”

  “It was no more than being a nurse.”

  “I don’t know any nurses who crawl into bed with their patients to warm them up.”

  “You know what I mean.” Shay moved closer and touched Cody’s arm. “I’m sorry. It was a stupid decision, but nothing happened. I swear it. I love Jamie, but not like that. Not like I love you.”

  His expression and body went completely still. “You love me?”

  In all their lovemaking, she’d never said the words. Maybe because she was afraid. Those words carried commitment, expectation. Shay untied her robe, letting it fall. “Come here, and I’ll show you how much.”

  After they were finally sated with love, they slept. The darkness crept in, shadows twisting and writhing in her head, dark and light, evil and good. She felt him beckoning her as she dreamed. Her skin was hot, the scratch on her arm throbbed.

  “Come to me.” He waited in the trees. She couldn’t see him, yet she knew his face. Pale, long hair, black as midnight. He smiled and she gasped at his beauty.

  ***

  Cody brushed a strand of hair from Shay’s face and kissed her neck, but she didn’t wake. Her brow wrinkled and she muttered something under her breath. Her face was pale, drawn, as if she fought troubled dreams. Or had he just worn her out? His stomach rumbled. He needed food after all the energy he expended. His legs and hips felt heavy as lead, but his heart soared. Shay loved him. He had no doubts now. If he didn’t stop thinking about it, he’d have to put on a sporran just to get to the kitchen. He and Shay had gone from the bed to the shower and back to the bed again, from desperate to languid, both trying to make up for nine lost years. He felt a stab of sadness again, thinking about the baby he and Shay lost, the pain she suffered alone, but focusing too much on grief or pleasure could affect his ability to keep Shay safe. He should probably sleep in his own room tonight. He climbed out of bed and put on his kilt. He started to pull up her covers and saw the mark on her arm. It looked red. He’d get Coira to check it.

  He headed to the kitchen and met Duncan. “Anybody seen Matilda? She’s missing again.”

  Coira stopped wiping the kitchen table. “Bloody hell.” She slapped her hand over her mouth and then frantically crossed herself.

  “It’s all right, Coira. Matilda could make a saint curse.” Cody sighed. “Nina hasn’t seen her?”

  “She’s the one who alerted us.”

  “She’s probably out terrorizing the guards,” Ronan said. “She asked one of them if this was some kind of gigolo operation.”

  Cody grimaced. “We’ve got to get her out of here before she destroys thousands of years of secrecy.”

  “I saw her headed toward the library earlier,” Coira said. “Her and that giant cat.”

  “The library? Damn it. The secret passages.” Cody hurried down the hall with Duncan and Ronan behind him. The hidden door stood open.

  “Blimey,” Duncan said. “Might as well start offering tours.”

  Cody stuck his head inside. “Matilda? I hear something,” he said to the others. “Anybody got a flashlight?”

  “Here.” Ronan pulled one from his sporran and turned it on. The three men entered the stone passage, following the narrow beam of light.

  “That way,” Cody said. “Matilda?”

  They heard running, and a second later, Matilda flew into Cody’s arms. “Oh, thank heaven.” Her hair stood on end, covered by cobwebs. Red lipstick was smeared across her cheek. “I got lost. I couldn’t figure out which way I came in. I don’t know what to do. I think I killed a man.”

  “You killed a man down here?” Ronan asked, glancing at the others.

  “Over there, around that corner. But I don’t think he was a man. I saw this shadow and thought it was one of you. I called out, and he leapt at me. He hissed. I’ve never heard a man hiss.”

  “You sure it wasn’t the cat?” Duncan asked.

  “No, I was holding the cat, only because it was dark, and my flashlight was dying,” she said, defensively.

  Cody moved toward the corner where Matilda pointed. “Nothing here.”

  “How did you kill him?” Ronan asked, eyeing Matilda doubtfully.

  “Holy water.”

  “Where the hell did you get holy water?” Duncan asked.

  “Well, I was clutching my bottle of water to my chest. I carry one with me so I don’t get dehydrated. The doctor said I need to stay hydrated. And I got lost, like I told you, and I started praying somebody would find me, and since I was holding the water, I guess the praying must have blessed it. Or it might have been the cat.”

  “The cat blessed the water?” Duncan asked, scratching his head.

  “No. Killed the man. When he hissed at me, the cat hissed back and jumped at him.”

  Cody caught Ronan and Duncan’s worried gazes.

  “Then I threw my water bottle at him.” Matilda held her heart. “I think I might faint.”

  “Come on, Matilda,” Duncan said. “I’ll take you up. Ronan and Cody will check it out. I’m sure it was just a shadow.”

  “I’ve never seen a sh
adow with red eyes.”

  “It couldn’t be,” Ronan said, his voice somber, as Duncan led Matilda away. “Maybe she’s insane.”

  “She’s not normal, but she’s as sharp as your sword.”

  “What the hell did she see, then?”

  Cody aimed his light along the walls. “Damn.”

  “What is it?” Ronan joined him, his gaze on the beam of light on the floor. A bottle of water lay in a pile of dust.

  Cody felt the blood rush from his head. A vampire. “They got inside. They know she’s here.”

  Ronan looked as if he’d turned to stone. “Alert the guards. I’ll look down here.”

  Cody whirled and ran back to the castle. He opened the hidden door and burst into the library, where half the house had gathered around Matilda.

  “…and it hissed with these big red eyes, and the cat flew out of my hands… where’s the cat?” she asked, looking around.

  “Did you actually see this… man?” Duncan asked.

  “Well, no. It was shadowed, but when the cat leaped at the man, I heard this terrible screeching sound. I figured it was the holy water melting him.”

  Nina entered the library. “What have you done now, Matilda?” she asked, staring at her cousin’s cobwebbed hair.

  “I killed a man,” Matilda said.

  “You just saw a shadow,” Cody said, motioning for the warriors to join him.

  “Of course it was a shadow,” Nina said, “just like the one you saw back at the house. We’ll make an appointment and have your eyes checked as soon as we get home.”

  “She saw shadows at home?” Lachlan asked, making a rare appearance. Since Matilda’s arrival, he usually slept in one of the cottages and guarded the woods.

  “Out behind the house. Let’s get you to bed, Matilda.” Nina took her cousin’s arm and led her from the room. “You’ve got to stop exploring, or they’re going to throw us out. Oh, has anyone seen Shay?”

  “She’s asleep,” Cody said.

  “I just stopped by her room,” Nina said. “She’s not there, and her room is cold. Someone left the window open.”

  Cody broke into a run, feet pounding down the corridor. He heard the others behind him, but he didn’t stop. He burst through Shay’s door. The room was empty, balcony curtains swaying in the wind. He hurried outside. She wasn’t there, but a ladder rested against the ledge of the balcony. His heart lurched. He scanned the grounds and saw something white moving toward the woods. A dark shadow stood just inside the tree line.

  “No!” Cody leapt from the balcony, springing into a run when his feet touched the ground. He sprinted across the castle grounds. “Stop!” he yelled as Shay moved closer to the trees. “Shay! Stop!”

  He saw a blur of white dart between Shay and the shadow, and the shadow jumped back. Cody ran faster. When he reached her, Shay stood staring into the woods, her body stiff, face unresponsive, like the night on the balcony. The shadow was gone. “Shay?” Cody touched her, but she didn’t move. She looked as if she’d been drugged. Half a dozen warriors ran up behind Cody. “Where the hell are the guards?” Cody asked.

  “There’s one,” Ronan said, running to kneel by the prone form several feet away. “He’s unconscious.”

  “Same here,” Shane called, on the other side.

  “I see another one farther down,” Niall said.

  “This one’s coming ’round,” Ronan said.

  The young warrior jumped to his feet and drew his sword. Ronan fell back, narrowly avoiding losing an ear. The warrior’s gaze darted wildly. “What happened?” He blinked at Shay. “Where’d she come from?”

  “It’s okay,” Ronan told the guard. “Something knocked you out.” Ronan looked at Cody. “I’m going after it.”

  “You can’t go alone,” Cody said, but Ronan was already gone. “Niall, go after him before he gets himself killed.”

  Niall took off after Ronan, lithe as a panther, for all his bulky size.

  Cody kept a hand on Shay, who looked like she might collapse. “Lachlan, get every warrior we have out here. Barricade this place. Someone check the secret passages and the tunnel.”

  Shay shook her head, looking around as wild-eyed as the guard. “Cody? What are you doing? Where are we?” She looked confused. “Where is… he?”

  “Who?” Cody asked.

  She looked toward the woods. “I don’t know,” she said, and her body slumped into a faint. Cody caught her, swinging her up into his arms. He ran with her toward the castle, shouting out to the warriors swarming the place.

  Coira was waiting in the infirmary, readying her medical supplies. “Put her here,” Coira said.

  Cody placed Shay on the bed and stood back as Coira checked Shay’s pulse. “She seemed fine an hour ago.” What the hell was happening?

  “Pulse is slow. What’s this?” Coira asked, looking at the red scratch on Shay’s pale skin. It looked even angrier.

  “She said she scratched it. I was going to get you to look at it.” He leaned down and sniffed. It didn’t smell sulfurous, like a demon scratch, but it probably wouldn’t, since it was several days old. “Is it infected?”

  “I don’t think so, just inflamed. Her pupils are normal,” she said, shining a light into Shay’s eyes. “That’s good.” The blood pressure cuff beeped. “Blood pressure is low.”

  “Maybe we should take her to the hospital,” Cody said. They tried to avoid hospitals if possible. It opened the door to too many questions they didn’t want to answer.

  “I think she’ll be okay. Let’s let her rest for a bit. What was that out there, Cody?”

  “All I saw was a shadow with black hair.”

  “You think it was the same thing that attacked Jamie?”

  “I don’t know.” Jamie hadn’t been able to remember much about the attack. “Why didn’t he hurt Shay? He just stood there, like he was waiting for her.”

  “This is unnerving. Those things getting inside the castle wall, even inside the secret passages. I’m starting to wonder if Angus was right about the traitor.”

  She wasn’t the only one wondering it. The castle had two lines of guards around the perimeter. How had this—whatever it was—found the place and gotten through?

  “Go find it, Cody,” Coira said fiercely. “Before this thing finds Shay.”

  Cody bent and pressed a lingering kiss to Shay’s forehead, and stood, his face set tight, prepared for the hunt. He knew what had to be done. He would destroy Malek, at least weaken him, even if it meant his own death. But there was one place he needed to stop first.

  ***

  “Malek? Hell, are you sure?” Cody asked.

  “My memory was cloudy before, but now I’m positive,” Jamie said, his face gray. “How did he find her?”

  “He must have followed us from the airport or from Shay’s house. I suspect the fire was a trap to draw Shay into the open, but if someone followed us, he was invisible. We had another breach earlier. Someone tried to lure Shay outside, but it wasn’t Malek. This guy had black hair.”

  Jamie threw back his covers. “Is she okay? What happened?”

  “Coira’s taking care of her. She’ll be fine.” He couldn’t consider anything else. “The three guards closest to where we found her were unconscious. All they remember is hearing the wind. Next thing they knew they were waking up. The other guards farther away were unaffected, but they didn’t see what was happening. Ronan and Niall are tracking it. I’m headed out now.”

  Jamie swung his feet to the floor and went pale with the effort. “I’ll come with you.”

  “You still need rest.”

  “I’m sick of rest.”

  “You need to heal,” Cody said, putting his hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “You’re lucky to be alive. Not many can say they’ve battled one of the old demons hand-to-hand and lived to tell about it.”

  “You said another warrior was killed before I was attacked. It must have weakened Malek. That’s probably the only reason I’m alive.”


  “Maybe, but you are alive, and you’re a good warrior, and we’ll need you when you’ve recovered.” He hoped Jamie took the words for the apology it was. It wouldn’t make up for his jackass jealous behavior, but it was a start. “We have other warriors coming to help.”

  “I feel like a bloody invalid, lying here while the castle is attacked. Are you sure Shay’s okay?” he asked stiffly. It was still awkward for the two of them to mention her.

  “She’s okay, thanks to that damned cat. It darted between Shay and whoever was in the woods. It might’ve saved her life. Matilda’s too. You don’t know about Matilda. She said she killed a man in the secret passage. We found a pile of dust.”

  “Vampires? Inside the castle!”

  “Must have entered through the tunnel. Matilda thinks the cat attacked whatever she saw. Hell. That cat probably saved all our lives. If the vampire had waited until we were asleep, he could have killed us one by one.”

  “Maybe it’s a vampire-killer cat. So a castle that’s remained a secret for centuries has been breached three times in a matter of days, by a demon and a vampire and who knows what else?”

  “I don’t know what that was outside, but he must be powerful, to knock out three warriors without even touching them. I’m beginning to think the whole underworld has joined forces against us.”

  “What’s next?” Jamie asked. “Werewolves?”

  Cody’s mentor had told him about a creature he saw when he was a kid, a human that changed into an animal. Daniel swore it wasn’t a demon. He spoke of it only once, when he had too much whisky following a hard battle.