Celtic Dragons

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Moira glared at Ronan, not at all appreciating him pointing out what she already knew. The truth was that she hadn’t. Grady had set off all of her buzzers from the very beginning, and she had been tense around him. He had frustrated her, irritated her, and inspired her one too many times to roll her eyes. And somehow in the midst of all of that, she had forgotten to put up her protective wall. Maybe, subconsciously, she’d thought she didn’t need it, given her initial reaction to him. But she had needed it, and now that he was past it, she wished more than ever that she could erect it again and keep him safely in his place.

  Because he wasn’t in his place. His reaction the night before had cut her deeply and made her feel rejected on more levels than she knew she had. Maybe he had thought that he was ready to accept who she was, but he clearly wasn’t. What had hurt the most was his flippant reference to the incredible night they had spent together, flying through the air, not speaking but not needing to. She had shared the most important thing in her world with him, and he had pushed her away.

  It hurt, and it shouldn’t have, because she should never have let him get that close.

  “I don’t see what this has to do with combatting a vengeful group of shifters,” Moira said, looking steadily at Ronan. “Do you have any instructions regarding them?”

  He smiled at her. “Yes. Get Eamon and Kean started on research. Take Siobhan with you down to the place where you encountered them and see if you can find any clues that might tell us more about them or where they might be located. And Moira…talk to Grady.”

  “Ronan, honestly…”

  He held up a hand, and she fell silent. “Maybe it’s not a coincidence that as I have been trying to figure out other ways for us to reproduce; Kean fell in love with a human who accepted him. Maybe it’s also not a coincidence that you feel the way you do about Grady.”

  “I don’t feel anything about him!” Moira said, though even she could hear the ring of falseness in her words.

  Ronan chuckled and hugged her. “Stubborn woman. Just go talk to him—you have to in order to get access to our point of investigation.” He pulled back from her and looked down into her eyes. “Besides, he’s a target as well, and he’s not nearly as well-armed as you are. If he killed a shifter, they’re going to come after him. You need to be glued to his side, Moira.”

  That was something she couldn’t argue with. Even minutes after she had stormed out of Grady’s apartment the night before, she had felt guilty, knowing that his life was even more at risk than hers was. He had no way to defend himself against the shifters if they came for him, and surely they had the means to come for him. She had spent the sleepless night in his building’s parking lot, watching for any sign of trouble. And even now, she had Kean stationed near Grady’s building, watching. Confused as she was about the man, she was certain that if anything happened to him, it was something she would never get over.

  “I’ll take care of it,” she told Ronan, sighing a bit as she headed for his office door. “I’ll stay in touch, okay?”

  “Okay,” he agreed, sitting back down at his desk.

  He returned to what he had been doing on his computer screen, and for just a moment, Moira stood and watched him. He looked more tired than she had ever seen him, the weight of his responsibility clearly heavy on his shoulders. She hated that this case she had stumbled her way into was only going to add to that burden, and she made a quiet internal promise to herself to try to make his life easier in any way she could.

  That was why, as she left his office and walked down the hall, she allowed herself to consider the implication of what he’d said to her about Grady. Was it possible that Grady was supposed to be her own Dhara? When Kean had found Dhara, he’d said he just knew that there was something different about her, and when he decided to tell her who and what he was, he didn’t doubt himself.

  Moira had never before believed she could enjoy sharing the secret parts of her life with someone not part of her clan, and though telling Grady hadn’t been her choice, directly, opening up that part of her life to him had been…

  Well, it had been nice.

  She hadn’t felt alone anymore…even though she’d never realized she’d felt alone in the first place.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Grady

  He hadn’t slept a wink.

  Even if he’d been able to put from his mind his new reality as the target of a supernatural heavyweight, who would undoubtedly want blood for blood, and trust that he was safe in his own bed—which he couldn’t—he wouldn’t have been able to get the stricken expression on Moira’s face out of his head anytime soon.

  He’d wanted to call her the moment she left and beg her to come back and plead with her to understand that he had just panicked and said things that he didn’t really mean. He’d wanted to tell her that there was something between them that shouldn’t be ignored and that it didn’t matter if his entire world had been turned on its side in a matter of days—he would gladly accept that if it meant getting to be part of her life.

  Now, as he stood on the balcony of his apartment, having sent the car away empty when it arrived to pick him up for the office, he wasn’t sure what to do next. Calling Moira might only backfire. Going to work might expose him directly to the person out to kill him. He wasn’t a man who liked inaction—he couldn’t have become as successful as he was if he just sat around and did nothing.

  But he was out of his element. Shapeshifting into bats and snakes? He couldn’t put that in a boardroom and dominate it or lead a brainstorming team on press tactics to combat it.

  His cell phone rang, and he grabbed it from his pocket, anxious to see if it was Moira calling. He didn’t know what he’d say, but just the opportunity to say something was a start. But his heart sank when he saw his sister’s name on the screen.

  “Abby…I’ve never been so disappointed to talk to you.”

  “Good morning, brother. I see you’ve started the day cheerfully. I’m calling from your office…where you should be. What gives?”

  Grady stepped back from his balcony, immediately on edge. “You’re at the office? Abby…I’d rather you weren’t there.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because it’s not the best environment right now. That’s why I’m working from home today.”

  There was a pause over the line. “Grady, what’s going on? You never miss work. What’s happened?”

  “I’ve got someone looking for revenge,” he said vaguely. “It’s a business thing. I have it completely handled, but it’s not the right place for you to be right now. I don’t want you brought into the middle of it.”

  “Okay…”Abby said slowly. “Well, FYI, your usual car pulled up a few minutes ago and nobody got out, so everyone here is wondering what’s going on. If it’s not a good place for people to be, then why haven’t you sent everyone home for the day?”

  He didn’t know how to answer her questions without going into detail, and he wasn’t about to put her in the middle of things—not just because of her safety but because he wouldn’t betray Moira that way. He had promised her that he would keep her secret, and he would.

  “It’s not dangerous for them,” Grady said, hoping that he was right in that assessment. “It’s more of a personal grudge, and because you’re closer to me than just an employee …just don’t be there. Okay? Come to the apartment if you need to see me.”

  “Okay, well—shit!”

  Grady stopped in his tracks. “What? Abby—what happened?”

  “Shit, Grady! What the hell is happening here?”

  “I don’t know!” he shouted. “Tell me—what is it, Abby?”

  “The car you were supposed to arrive in—” her voice was breathless and strained at the same time. “It was parked on the street. I—I was looking out the window. It exploded in flames, Grady.” Her voice shook, then broke. “Oh my God. You could have been in there…you could have …”

  “Abigail.” He kept his own voice firm and
in control despite the sick feeling in his stomach. “Get out of that building. Now.”

  “Okay. Okay. People are running everywhere, Grady. It’s …it’s …oh my God.”

  He was back in his house, pulling on his shoes and trying to find his keys while still keeping the phone to his ear. As he talked to Abigail, he could feel his phone buzzing with notification after notification, no doubt texts and calls from frantic employees to tell him what was happening. He didn’t even have time to consider how easily he could have been in that car—not with the situation at hand.

  “Abigail, go home and stay there. Let me hear you say it. Promise.”

  “I promise.”

  “Tell Jason to find a guard to take you. Right now, Abby. I can’t be worrying about you while I deal with this.”

  “Jason is here. I’m telling him.”

  “Good—tell him I’m on my way too.”

  Grady hung up the phone, shoving it into the pocket of his jeans as he hurried toward the door, yanking it open.

  “Oh!” Moira took a step back in surprise, dropping the hand that she had lifted to knock. “Uh, hi. What’s wrong?”

  “Come on.” Grady didn’t waste any time, closing the door behind him and taking her by the arm to steer her toward the elevator. He was thrilled to see her, but he didn’t have time to stand there and explain. Conversations would have to take place on the move.

  “Come on, where?” Moira asked, letting him guide her into the elevator but looking at him like he was crazy at the same time. “What’s going on?”

  As the doors closed, Grady pushed her up against the wall and kissed her hard, his hands tangling in her hair. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for what I said,” he told her, kissing her again and again as she held onto his arms, steadying herself. “I was completely freaked out last night, and it got the best of me. I think you’re amazing. I think what you are is amazing. I don’t know what to do with it or about it yet, but I’ll figure it out, and I loved every minute of sharing it with you that night that we flew together.”

  He kissed down her throat, taking her soft gasps as encouragement.

  “Please don’t stay mad at me,” he murmured, brushing his lips along her collar bone. “I need you—and not just because someone blew up my car when it parked at my office.”

  “Grady…” she sighed, her head tilted back as she enjoyed his kisses. Then her eyes flew open. “Wait, what did you just say? Your car blew up?”

  He nodded, straightening and looking down at her. “Yeah. Abigail was on the phone with me when it happened.”

  The elevator doors opened, and Grady grabbed her hand, pulling her out with him and hurrying them both toward the parking lot. Moira kept up with him, but she kept starting questions without finishing them, the whole way.

  “Your car—did it? How—I mean, when—but, why—”

  Opening the passenger-side door of the royal-blue Lexus he owned personally but rarely used, he nudged her inside. “I’ll explain on the way.”

  Once he closed her door, he rounded the car, jumped into the driver’s side, and started up the engine. He pulled out onto the main road without even looking, his hand on his horn to warn oncoming traffic to make way for him. The way his parking lot was located, he had to cross four busy lanes of traffic to make an immediate left turn, and on the best of days it could take ages to make his way across all four lanes. He didn’t have time to wait around for Boston drivers to let him through.

  “Oh my God!” Moira gasped, gripping her seat. “Grady!”

  “It’s fine,” he assured her, sticking his hand out his window as he rolled it down, waving off the oncoming car as he cut into the lane. “I’ve done this before.”

  “What is happening?” she asked, slightly calmer as he finally settled in the fourth lane. “Your car blew up?”

  He nodded, glancing over her as he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, antsy for the red arrow to turn green. “Yeah. It came to pick me up this morning at the usual time, but I decided not to go into the office. Just couldn’t get my head around starting a workday. I hung back but sent the driver on. He works there, so he went to the building and parked …then minutes later, I guess …”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah.” Grady’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I’ve known him for a long time. His name is Barat. I don’t know if he’s hurt…or alive…”

  She touched his arm as the light turned green, and he whipped around to do a U-turn. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s them, isn’t it?”

  “The shifters? Unless you have some other enemy you’re not telling me about …yeah.” She pressed his shoulder. “Probably. I’m sorry.”

  “I thought they were supernatural. Why didn’t they do some sort of supernatural shit? Blowing up a car? Isn’t that very pedestrian for a shifter?”

  Moira shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t know how they think—not yet. But from the perspective of a shifter, if I was going to take someone out, I wouldn’t necessarily do it in dragon form if that risked exposing me. To use shifting power to transform into something large enough to harm you …well, they can’t do that without drawing attention.”

  Grady nodded. “Guess I don’t think like a shifter very well.”

  “They also require energy to shift,” Moira continued. “And maybe, if Darren is acting alone, yesterday’s shifts took it out of him. I don’t know what the recovery period is.”

  “But we know he tried to kill me.”

  Moira nodded again, her hand resting against his leg. “I’m sorry, Grady. I should have been there. I…I know that there are bigger things at work at the moment, but I’m sorry too. I should never have walked out on you last night and left you vulnerable to attack. I did stay in the parking lot all night, and I thought that…well, I had Kean watching you this morning, but he must have…”

  She trailed off, and Grady looked over at her, frowning. “What? You just thought of something.”

  “Yeah. Where’s Kean? He was guarding.”

  Grady stopped at another red light, meeting her eyes as the car stilled. “Are you thinking he’s in danger?”

  “I don’t know,” Moira said, reaching for her phone. “I need to call him.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Moira

  She knew what Kean was going to say before she even asked him the question, because she knew her friend and she knew what shifters were capable of. But she still had to make the call.

  “Hey,” Kean said, picking up on the first ring, his voice hushed. “All’s good here.”

  Moira sighed, leaning her head back against the seat of Grady’s car as he pulled into a parking spot near his workplace, chaos all around them. “Meaning you have Grady in sight?”

  “Yep. No issues. He went for a coffee this morning, which took a million years, and now he’s in the library. I’m sitting at one of the computers upfront, and I can see him reading different book jackets. I thought you said he was a workaholic.”

  “Grady is with me, Kean.” Moira rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the tension that had settled there. Beside her, Grady was hurrying out of the car, ready to go see what had happened to his driver and to anyone else who might have been hurt. She let him go ahead, not wanting to have to break the news to him just yet. “One of the shifters has taken on Grady’s form to distract you. They knew that we were watching for them, I guess. The car that was meant to pick Grady up for work just blew up in front of his office building. Luckily, he had decided not to take it into the office.”

  Kean swore under his breath. “So I’m looking at one of them right now?”

  “Sounds like it.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Confront him,” Moira said, after taking just a second to think. “We need information on them. We need to figure out where they’re based. Before this morning, we could have negotiated a way out of this situation, but not now. Not after they tried to kill Grady. They’re obvious
ly not using their abilities for good—they’re using them to steal and kill people off. We’re taking them out—however many there are.”

  After her speech, there was just silence on the phone, and Moira started to ask if she had lost him. But then Kean’s whispered voice returned. “He just walked past me. He’s leaving the library, probably to take me on the next phase of the wild goose chase.”

  “Careful. He’ll get word that the car failed.”

  “Got it. I’m going to follow him and see where he takes me—if I get a chance, I’ll confront him.”

  “Be careful,” Moira urged. “And keep me posted. I’ve got to run.”

  Hanging up her phone, she sent a quick update text to Ronan, then got out of the car, heading in the direction Grady had gone. As she approached the front of his building, smoke still billowed from the destroyed car. News cameras were in place, making sure that the media outlets were getting the firsthand story, police cars circled the area, and an ambulance was waiting, making Moira nervous that Grady’s worst fears about his driver were true.

  She found him talking to Jason, his assistant, and walked up, touching his arm. He jolted at first, but when he turned and saw that it was her, he put his arm around her, hugging her to him. “Barat is going to be okay. He’s hurt, but it’s not too bad.”

  Moira hugged him back hard, amazed at how familiar his body felt wrapped around hers. “I’m glad,” she said earnestly. “That’s really good, Grady.”

  He dropped a kiss on her hair, and Moira caught Jason looking between the two of them with some skepticism. She couldn’t think about that now though. There were far more important things than how people felt about Grady showing her affection. She stepped back, but kept her hand on his. “I need to tell you something.”

  Nodding, Grady followed her a few steps away from anyone else, waving off three different people who tried to come up and talk to him. “What? Did you get ahold of Kean?”

  She nodded, then jumped in, knowing there was no way to ease him into what she had to say. “One of the shifters is currently in…your shape. He…or she, I guess…is posing as you.”