She sighed. Already a delicious lassitude seemed to be creeping up on her. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to sleep,” she said, turning on her side and punching her pillow.
Within two minutes, she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, she woke still wrapped in Mac’s arms. His even breathing told her that he still slumbered.
Easing from the bed, she tried not to wake him, creeping across the room to the bathroom, where after she’d completed her morning toilet, she turned the shower on hot and jumped in.
Did she feel any differently? A little stiff and sore, perhaps. But in a way, she was now a woman in every sense of the word instead of an untouched girl.
Perhaps foolishly, she’d always thought she’d feel completely different. More…womanly, somehow.
Her body tingled as she thought of the way he’d loved her.
Her mate. She savored the words, if only to herself. Though Mac thought they were only pretending, eventually she hoped he’d realize the truth himself rather than her having to tell him.
Once she’d showered and dried off, she emerged from the bathroom to find Mac awake. She went to him and kissed his cheek. “The bathroom’s all yours,” she said.
He didn’t move. “We should talk about last night,” he began.
“I’d rather not.” Giving him a nervous smile, she crossed to her suitcase and opened it. “At least not this morning. I have too much on my mind as it is.”
He didn’t push the issue, for which she was grateful. Wrapping the sheet around his lower half, he crossed to the bathroom without commenting, though she could tell from the grim set of his mouth that he wasn’t happy.
After the door closed, she sighed and forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand—getting ready for the big meeting. Not only would she get to see the rest of the family she’d been estranged from for the past twelve years, but she’d learn what exactly they planned to do about the abductions and how they were going to get her sister and Ian’s sister back.
Unaccountably nervous, she changed clothes three times before finally settling on an outfit. She’d rejected jeans as too casual, a skirt and blouse as too dressy. Finally, she settled on a cream pair of slacks, a button-down cotton shirt and a pair of kitten heels. She took extra time with her long hair, using a flat iron to coax it into perfect straight, choppy lines.
And, though she normally wore only mascara and lip balm, she put on makeup—foundation, eye shadow, blush and lipstick. When she’d finished and she glanced at herself in the mirror, the glamorous woman staring back at her was almost unrecognizable.
Clichéd as it sounded, no longer a girl, but a woman.
She wondered if others could tell she was no longer an innocent. She really didn’t look any different, but inside she felt worldly, womanly and experienced. Also, she wanted more. She wanted to do it again, as soon as possible, and more than once. How Mac would laugh if he knew.
As if thinking about him had summoned him, the bathroom door opened. As she turned to face him, on the verge of asking his opinion of her outfit, he let out a low whistle. She smiled, belatedly remembering the sort of mind-connection thing they had going.
But Mac didn’t appear to have picked up on that particular sexual direction of her thoughts. Instead, he stared at her with an odd mixture of awe and, strangely enough, fear.
“You clean up well,” he drawled.
Despite her nervousness, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks.” She eyed his khakis and navy polo shirt. “You look nice, too.”
He laughed. “Try to sound like you mean it, why don’t you? I’m aware I look like a bodyguard or personal trainer in these clothes. I did that on purpose so I’d blend into the background.”
Smart man. Her smile widened.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
Rechecking her makeup and her jewelry—large dangling earrings and an assortment of pretty bracelets—she rubbed a bit of lotion on her hands. “Almost. I don’t know why I’m so weirded out about this. It’s just my family, after all.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you.”
Biting her lip, she nodded.
“I will be with you, won’t I?” he asked, eyes narrowed. “You did clear that with your mother, didn’t you?”
“Uh, not exactly. The subject never came up.”
He rolled his eyes. “So what are we going to do now?”
“Wing it.” She sounded more confident than she felt, which for some strange reason helped. “Play it by ear,” she continued. “I’m sure it will all work out.”
“I’m not,” he grumbled. “But since I don’t have a choice in the matter, we’d probably better get going.”
Leaving the room, they walked side by side to the elevator. Once inside, he slid in the card key that Ian had given her the night before. The doors closed and they began their ascent to the top floor.
To calm herself, Kelly took in a deep breath, then exhaled. She did this again, trying to clear the clutter from her mind. When they reached their floor and the elevator stopped, she blinked, realizing Mac had been watching her, amusement glittering in his eyes.
All of that vanished the moment they stepped out into the packed hallway. Elbow to elbow, the throngs of people reminded her of a queue waiting to get into a sold-out rock concert.
Unreal.
Immediately, Mac took her arm. “Recognize anyone?” he asked, low-voiced.
“None of these people look even remotely familiar,” she said, stunned and shocked and more than a little uneasy.
It was impossible to push through the crowd. While they waited, she continued to scan the faces of the people closest to them.
Still nothing. She shook her head, meeting Mac’s gaze. “I don’t understand.”
“Is it possible they’re distant family members?”
“I guess they’d have to be, but honestly, our family isn’t this large. There has to be over a hundred people in the hallway alone. It’s full from one end to another.”
As he was about to reply, she spotted Ian, his shock of red hair a foot above most of the other heads.
“Ian!” She waved, jumping up and down in an effort to make him notice her. “Over here.”
She needn’t have worried. He made a beeline for her, pulling her in for a quick hug.
“Lass, I’ve been trying to find you,” he said, not even looking at Mac. “We’re trying to gather our family all in one area.”
“I don’t understand.” She clutched at his arm. “What do you mean, seat our family together? Who are all these people?”
Frowning, he glanced from her to Mac and back again. “I’m sorry, I thought I made myself clear. This meeting isn’t just our family or even any one family.”
“Then who…?”
“All the Tearlachs in the world are here today.” Ian waved his hand at the assembled crowd.
“All of them?” Kelly’s eyes widened.
“Pretty much,” he said cheerfully. “Oh, there were a few holdouts, I’m sure, but we’ve got nearly a thousand people here today.”
“Where did you find a meeting room to hold that many?” Mac asked.
Staring at him, Ian hesitated. After a moment, he answered, “Good question. Actually, the hotel doesn’t have any place this big, so we’re going to the Bass Performance Hall. We know someone who works there and can get us all in for a few hours, gratis.”
“Then why are we here?” Kelly gestured at the crowd. She’d never liked crowds and since living on her remote ranch, she was completely unaccustomed to being so closed in.
“We had to coordinate everything. We’re trying to have everyone go in a group with their own people. Since it’s in walking distance, we are all going to head over there in a few minutes.”
Since he’d looked only at Kelly when he spoke, she took Mac’s arm. “Ian, Mac is coming with me. Wherever I go, he goes.”
A muscle worked in Ian’s jaw. “That’s not p
ossible,” he said. “I’m sorry, but the organizer of this thing was very specific. Tearlachs only. No one else is to be allowed inside.”
Chapter 10
Mac wasn’t surprised. Actually, he’d expected as much. As Kelly opened her mouth to argue, he nodded curtly at Ian and pulled her away.
“Let’s go,” he said, with a look warning Ian not to follow.
“Wait,” Ian began.
“She’ll meet you over there,” Mac interrupted, steering Kelly back toward the elevator and punching the button. Miraculously, the doors immediately opened.
Stepping inside and pulling her with him, he punched their floor number. He waited until the doors closed again, and then he released her.
“Why’d you do that?” She glared at him, eyes spitting fire. “I’m sure all Ian needed was a bit of convincing.”
“He doesn’t matter. Ian’s not the one in charge here.”
She didn’t back down. “Then who is?”
He gave her a grim smile. “I was hoping you could tell me that. It’s your shindig.”
“I have no idea. Do you want me to call Ian?”
“Not yet. We’ll figure something out.”
They reached their floor. Stepping out first, Mac cleared the hallway, then motioned for her to join him.
“Stop doing that,” she said tiredly.
“Doing what?” he asked, though he suspected he knew.
“Acting like my bodyguard. You’re not.”
He let that bit of foolishness go, aware that arguing over the small things would be a waste of both time and energy. “I need to know something. If there are all these unfamiliar Tearlachs here to attend this thing, I should be able to walk right in. After all, how is anyone going to know whether I’m one or not?”
Now Kelly lowered her face, staring at her feet. “They’ll know,” she told him.
“How?” Crossing his arms, he wondered why she wouldn’t look at him. “Kelly? How can you tell?”
When she did raise her face to meet his gaze, her look was guarded. “We just can. I can’t explain it. When we meet another of our own kind, we can tell.”
He glanced around them, overly conscious that they were standing in a hotel hallway, completely exposed. So far, the area was still remarkably empty, except for the maid’s cart down at one end. “Is it something in the aura?”
“Sort of.” Sounding utterly miserable, she began walking down the hall toward their room, leaving him to follow her.
He caught up to her and took her arm. “Explain. Please.”
“I can’t, not really. It’s not something that’s actually visible or anything you’d be able to duplicate. We just know. It’s more like a click of recognition when we look in another Tearlach’s eyes.”
Frustrated, he released her. “I don’t understand.”
She said simply, “I know.”
At the door to their room, he inserted the card key. “Then explain it to me.”
Opening the door, she turned to face him. “I—”
Before she could finish, a loud crash sounded and the building shook. Then the fire alarms went off and a mechanical voice came over the intercom. “Please evacuate the building immediately.”
Kelly froze. “What the…?”
“I’m sure this has nothing to do with your meeting,” he lied, not wanting her to panic. “Let’s just go to the stairwell calmly and make our way outside.”
She shook her head. “That’s what whoever is behind this wants us to do, so they can capture us.”
“If that’s the case, we’ll be ready for them.” He indicated her gun, still holstered securely at her side. “Are you sure you don’t have a spare one of those that I could carry?”
“No, I don’t.” Crossing the room to him, she took his arm. “Mac, remember how I told you that sometimes I know things? This is one of those times. We should not go to the stairwell.”
Impatient now, he stared at her. “Then how do you propose we get out? Hotel elevators always go on lockdown when the fire alarms activate.”
“We don’t. We don’t leave. We stay put.”
Insane. But yet… Eyeing her, he considered.
“The building is not on fire.”
She sounded so certain he almost believed her. Even with the alarms still clanging and the mechanical voice repeating the evacuation orders every few seconds.
“Then why? What’s going on?”
Moving away from him restlessly, she shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re waiting in the stairwells, trying to round up as many of the young female Tearlachs as they can.”
He had to make her see reason. “That would be damn near impossible, given the sheer size of the numbers of you coming down the stairs at the same time. You saw how many there were upstairs.”
“They may not all be evacuating. Others share a similar ability to mine. Many of us won’t evacuate.”
As the claxon kept on, he pushed down an instinctive panic. “And you can seriously say with one hundred percent certainty that there is no fire?”
Slowly, she nodded. “Please, Mac, let’s just wait it out.”
“Fine. Though I don’t like this, not at all.” He began to pace the perimeter of the small room.
Five long minutes later and the smoke alarms stopped blaring. Whether that was because they’d fixed the problem or the fire had disabled them, he couldn’t say.
“Trust me,” she said softly. “I’m never wrong when it comes to listening to my inner voice.”
“That must be nice.” He couldn’t help but mock her. “To never have uncertainty in anything you do.”
She bit her lip, looking stricken. “If you only knew…”
“If I only knew what?”
As she stared at him, not answering, a voice came over the loudspeakers and gave the all clear for guests to return to their rooms.
Her frown cleared. “See? I told you. There was no fire. It was a false alarm.”
“Then what was the purpose?”
“Who knows?” She shrugged. “A distraction, most likely. But from what, I don’t know. Whether the leaders of this group wanted to try and grab someone or something, I can’t say. I don’t even know if they’ve succeeded, though I guess they’ll tell us in the meeting.”
“Assuming I can get into the meeting.”
Glancing at her watch, she gave him a confident smile. “First, we need to pick up a pair of cheap sunglasses so no one can look into your eyes.”
Stunned, he nodded. “You’re right. Why didn’t I think of that?”
Clearly pleased, her smile widened. “With the sunglasses, I think if we go to the convention center right about now, while everyone is still unsettled from the fire alarm, you shouldn’t have a problem getting in. No one is paying attention to anything else but themselves right now.”
“Is that one of your premonitions?” he asked wryly.
“No.” Her smile never wavered as she took his arm. “Just a hunch.”
Her hunch turned out to be right. To his relief, they breezed past the various clusters of talking people without anyone questioning them. Even those who appeared to be sort of standing sentry at the entrance doors barely glanced their way. From what he could overhear, everyone was worried about the explosion and/or fire at the hotel minutes earlier.
They made their way outside and though the morning air felt warm, he knew from past experience this heat was nothing compared to what would come. He’d once had an assignment in Wichita Falls, Texas, during August. After that, he’d sworn never to come near the state in the summertime again.
Once inside the convention center, they took their seats quietly, choosing a spot in the back, away from the main flow of foot traffic and, most important, in the shadows near the exit. He wanted to be able to make a quick getaway if something bad happened. As a further precaution, he also kept his sunglasses on, though that made it slightly difficult to see.
This entire scenario so reminded him of his tim
e in the Protectors Academy that he felt really at home.
Kelly couldn’t stop fidgeting. She twirled her hair on her finger, kept checking in her purse, pulling out her cell phone, checking the screen and replacing it, and shifted in her seat.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, low-voiced.
“I don’t have a good feeling,” she said. “In fact, I have a terrible feeling. But this time, I must be wrong. Otherwise there wouldn’t be such a huge crowd.”
“Maybe not everyone shares your gift.”
She gave him a doubtful smile and said nothing.
Side by side, they watched as the auditorium filled up with people. Glancing around him, he searched row by row. Kelly had been right. There were no children present.
Still, the size of the crowd blew his mind. Surprised, Mac watched as row after row filtered in. Group after group, sometimes in clusters of ten, others as little as two or three. The sheer number of attendees forced him to revise his estimate of the total number of Tearlachs here from the hundreds well into the thousands.
Unreal. In a way, he could understand Kelly’s unease. With such numbers, one preemptive strike could wipe out most of the Tearlach population. Though he imagined they had to be aware of this and were prepared, he couldn’t help but wish the Protectors could have been notified so they could at the very least act as guards.
These people, the Tearlachs, needed protection. After all, he was not one of them and he’d gotten in way too easily. Who knew who else might have done the same, and for what nefarious purposes?
Nefarious. He rolled the old-fashioned word around in his mind, wondering where that’d come from. Just this entire situation, with blood debts and mysterious mind reading that supposedly wasn’t, was enough to creep out most men. Not to mention the way Kelly kept hinting about a binding, just because they’d spoken words of protection.
He supposed she wasn’t ready to discuss that right now and, the truth of the matter was, neither was he.
Honestly, he was willing to let all that weird woo-woo stuff go if he could just locate his children and hold them in his arms. It had been far too long since he’d seen their trusting little blue eyes gazing into his, or their joy-filled smiles as they ran to him for hugs.
Pack 11 - Wolf Whisperer Page 13