The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles)

by C. D. Hersh

  “I will not be left out of my son’s rescue.” Steely determination blazed from her eyes, and her mouth set in a strong, firm line.

  Fiona knew the look, and the accompanying emotions. She would go or die trying. “Eli, we can’t deny her. What if she promises to stay out of the actual rescue effort? Since you don’t have special powers or training,” she added when LJ glared at her. “I know if I were in her place I’d want to be there.”

  “’Tis too big a risk,” Eli said.

  “Which is hers to take,” Fiona replied. When Eli didn’t consent, she added, “Wouldn’t you rather she be where we could keep an eye on her? Left to her own devices she could get into trouble, or maybe even snatched by rogues should they discover our plan.” She tapped her chest. “I’m a perfect example of what can go wrong when someone goes against common sense. Look at the trouble I got in when Rhys left me to fend for myself.”

  A pained expression flashed over her brother’s face. Guilt pricked Fiona, and she shoved it aside. If blaming Rhys got results that helped LJ, then making the comparison was worth it.

  Alexi joined in on LJ’s behalf. “She’s a mother, Eli, and only doing what any mother would.”

  Eli addressed Mary Kate. “Are ye going tae side with the other women folk?”

  Mary Kate shrugged. “I’ve no opinion on the rights of motherhood, and likely never will have.” She glared at Fiona and Mike. “Do what ye think best, Keeper.”

  “Donaline?” Eli asked.

  “’Twould be hard for her tae go, but harder tae stay. The roe is swift enough without setting the dogs on her.”

  Eli raised his eyebrows at Donaline when she quoted a proverb at him.

  “Well, yer always quoting tae us. I figured ye’d get the drift better, Keeper. We can keep an eye on her. Sae, I say aye.”

  Eli faced Rhys. “Am I the solitary voice in this?”

  “Looks like it, old man. Besides, having his mother there might keep Hugh Jr. quiet when we grab the boys.”

  “I dinna ken aboot that, but I’ll concede tae the majority. Only because I can see the lassie doing something rash should I make her stay here.” He pinned LJ with a firm stare. “But ye willnae have any part o’ the actual rescue. Understood?” When she didn’t answer, Eli added, “’Tis this way, or I tie ye in the attic ’til we return.”

  The tone of his voice and the fierce expression on his face left no doubt in Fiona’s mind Eli wouldn’t hesitate to carry through on his threat.

  Apparently, LJ thought so, for she crossed her arms over her chest and grumped, “Fine.”

  “Guid. Now that ’tis settled, here’s what I thought we could do.”

  “Wait,” Fiona said. “I have to have your promise you’ll take care of my Port Authority problems and OmniWorld’s takeovers of mine and Kyle’s companies.”

  “Have ye nae been listening, lassie? We’ll fix yer problems. All o’ them. Dinna worry. I’ve people everywhere, including in high places ye’ve only imagined.”

  High places? She’d forgotten about the political mimics. “Like congress?”

  “And higher.”

  “So does Falhman.” She turned to Rhys. “I forgot to tell you, those shifter congressmen who came to the engagement party were not invited by Kyle’s family. Falhman must have told them about the party. For what reason, I don’t know.”

  A dark shadow passed over Rhys, Alexi, and Eli’s faces as they glanced at each other. “Has Falhman said anything about them to you?” Rhys asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Well, ’tis a problem fer another day,” Eli said in a dismissive tone. “We have mair than enough tae deal with planning the rescue o’ the laddies. All else ’twill get its due in time.”

  “Aren’t you worried about what they might be doing?” Fiona asked.

  “Aye, but when it comes tae rogues, every straw ’tis a thorn at night. And where one cow breaks the fence, a dozen leap it.”

  That didn’t sound good. She hoped the dozen to follow wouldn’t be jumping into her pasture.

  Chapter 40

  After a week of waiting for Falhman to contact Fiona, so they could put their plan into action, everyone was on edge. Fiona’s sleep had been fitful, filled with erotic dreams about Mike. In spite of how they had parted, before they both risked their lives, she desperately wanted to repair the relationship.

  Mike, however, had deflected every advance she made.

  Mary Kate’s constant, lingering presence with Mike didn’t help matters. Apparently, Mary Kate hadn’t relinquished her obsession with him. Fiona wanted to bash her over the head and knock sense into the woman, but with the upcoming battle, she didn’t think alienating the Amazon warrior would be a good thing. Apparently, neither did Mike. Whenever Fiona mentioned Mary Kate’s clinginess, he brushed it off, telling her she had no say in the matter.

  When she didn’t awaken with a painful, unfulfilled longing, Fiona jerked awake, heart pounding as she dreamt that she, or Mike, or another of the team died trying to rescue the children. That it was a distinct possibility hadn’t escaped anyone’s thoughts.

  LJ, tense as a caged lioness, called Fiona constantly at work, asking if she’d heard from Falhman. Fiona had begun to pray the rogue kingpin would contact her before LJ had a heart attack. Donaline clucked over the distressed woman like a mother hen, to no avail.

  At times, Alexi caught LJ’s stress. One afternoon, Fiona came upon Alexi in a corner of the garden, crying. She told her brother, who had a persuasive talk with the two mothers, and they seemed to calm down. But even his Promised One persuasive powers couldn’t completely defeat the angst of the desperate women who’d lost their sons. Some emotions were too strong to suppress. Motherly love was one of them.

  Even the usually calm Keeper of the Stone seemed tense. Eli drilled them over and over on the rescue plans, including improvisational contingencies until every move became second nature.

  She’d almost given up hope that Falhman would call, when her cell rang at the same time as the alarm clock, jolting her out of another fearful dream. Grabbing the phone she mumbled, “Hello?”

  “Still asleep, my dear?”

  At the sound of Falhman’s voice, Fiona bolted upright, shaking her head to dissipate the sleep cobwebs. “Falhman, you called.” She cringed at the desperate tone in her voice.

  “I’m pleased you missed me, my dear.” She heard the smile in his voice.

  She drew in a deep breath, to calm her shaking insides, grateful he could only hear her and had not taken her desperate tone to mean something other than affection for him. “I did,” she whispered, hoping the breathy tone would also be misconstrued. “Is the helicopter coming for me today?”

  “Do you want it to?” A hint of surprise crept into his voice.

  Fiona jumped on the opening, as Eli instructed her to do. “Yes. I’ve haven’t been able to think about anything but you this past week. When can I see you?”

  “Not today, I’m afraid. I have business in New York.”

  He was going to be away from the compound? How perfect was that? “Will you be gone long?”

  “Only overnight.”

  This might be the best chance they would have. But she and Mike had to get on the inside in order to shut off the alarms. They couldn’t do that if she had no excuse to be at the compound while Falhman was away. Then it hit her.

  She could go with Falhman to New York. Mike could come to the compound as her bodyguard, and instead of leaving when she did, he could slip into the house and turn off the alarms for the team while she occupied Falhman in New York.

  It wasn’t a contingency they planned for. Mike and Rhys would probably skin her alive, but at the moment it seemed the only choice she had.

  “Can I go with you?” She tried to make her
voice both pleading and seductive, hoping Falhman would not be able to resist.

  “Overnight?”

  She swallowed hard upon hearing the implication the single word held when he said it. She tried to answer, but terror stuck her reply to the roof of her mouth.

  “Do you want to spend the night with me, darling?” His words were gentle and encouraging, practically begging her to answer in the affirmative.

  Dear, God. It’s working. He believes me. She fought her fear, fortified by her deception. “Yes, but not in your compound where watchful eyes can see us and gossip. Somewhere else. I’ve always thought a romantic getaway in New York would be wonderful.”

  An uncharacteristic sigh floated over the line. She’d never heard Falhman sigh before. “You’re certain about this?”

  If it was the way to give the team access to the compound without the rogue kingpin in residence, she was positive. “Where are you staying?”

  Falhman groaned softly, the sound filled with distress. Fiona’s heart pounded out of her chest. He was going to say no.

  “I really want to do this, Falhman. Please don’t say no.”

  “My dearest darling, I’m immensely pleased. But as much as I want you there, I can’t bring you.”

  As her plan crumbled around her, Fiona’s mind raced for a solution. “When you return, can we leave right away for another trip?”

  He groaned again, his longing evident in the sound. Certain she was close to breaking him, she pressed harder. Thinking of her love for Mike, she put every ounce of emotion she could muster into her plea. “I can’t wait another minute to see you.”

  “When you say it with such eagerness, my darling, how can I deny you? Yes. We’ll go away, wherever you want.”

  “As soon as you come home?”

  “I won’t even get out of the helicopter. You pack your bags and we’ll come get you at the airport.”

  No! That would ruin everything! “Pick me up at the compound, please.”

  “Why?” Suspicion crept into his previously desire-filled voice.

  She cast about for a reason to meet her there, and she remembered the closet of beautiful evening dresses. “Because I want to wear the dress I wore when we had our first dinner, and it’s in the closet at your estate.”

  “I’ll have it sent to you.”

  “Not just that one, but I want to choose a couple more. I want to be beautiful for you. I need to try them on to see which one you might prefer.”

  “The peach one,” he suggested. “It was your mother’s favorite dress.”

  Fiona fought the acid clawing up her throat. He had her mother’s dresses? The man was a psychopath. “Peach is my favorite color,” she lied. “When are you leaving?”

  “Noon. I’ll let my staff know you’ll be coming.” He paused, filling the line with expectancy. When she didn’t say anything, because she didn’t trust her voice, he continued, “You don’t know what this means to me, my darling. I have waited a long time for you to come to me.”

  Shudders racked Fiona, and she clamped her teeth together to keep him from hearing them chatter. No way could he have waited a long time for her. He’d only met her a few months ago. The man was insane. Insanely in love with her dead mother. And she’d just put herself in the same position.

  “You did what?” Mike and Rhys shoved from the breakfast table, exclaiming in unison when she told them she planned an overnight rendezvous with Falhman. In his haste, Mike toppled George’s empty chair to the tile floor. It chattered backward from the force.

  “It’s perfect,” she protested, doing her best to keep her fear from showing. She had to convince them she could do this. “I’ll keep him busy in New York or Paris, or wherever we go. I’ll choose somewhere he can’t return quickly from, and I’ll keep him from answering his phone.”

  Mike growled. “How?”

  “Womanly charm,” she replied, a tad irked he’d pushed her away every time she tried to use it on him. “I do have some, you know.”

  His growl deepened.

  She ignored his anger. “Meanwhile, you all grab the boys. I’ll be away with Falhman. He won’t connect me or Kyle with the plan, so we’re safe as well.”

  Mike looked as if he’d swallowed a gallon of hot sauce and his head was about to blow off. “Not going to happen,” he said between gritted teeth. “You are not going to give yourself to Falhman as a sacrifice. We will find another way.”

  Fiona’s gaze cut around the table. The rest of the team looked as appalled, except for Mary Kate, who sat across from her. The redheaded Amazon studied Fiona as if she were some sort of weird anomaly.

  “It could work,” Mary Kate said. “Especially if he’s as besotted with her as we’ve been led to believe by Rhys. A man in love won’t hurt someone he cares about.”

  She stared pointedly at Mike, who missed the glare. Fiona, however, didn’t.

  “A psychopath will,” Rhys said. “That’s why she’s not going through with it. Our mother spent her life hiding from him. She gave me and our brother away to keep us from the man’s influence. He tried to kill his own sons! Now you’re going to waltz into his arms and let him have his way with you?” He shook his head. “Not as long as I have a breath in my body.”

  “Or mine,” Mike added.

  Mary Kate looked disappointed at Mike’s outburst.

  “Bairns, bairns,” Eli said soothingly. “’Tis nothing to get all riled up aboot. The lassie has a guid plan, sae far as she’d thought it oot.”

  Rhys and Mike wheeled around to the Keeper, disbelief at his agreement with her contorting their faces.

  “Thank you, Eli. I’m glad someone sees the wisdom in my plan.”

  “’Twas nae wise, lassie, but considering the circumstances, ye did think well on yer feet. Ye just dinna think it all through. Ye canna give yerself tae the devil. I willnae allow it.”

  Mike and Rhys grunted their approval. Mary Kate frowned at her leader’s assessment.

  Relief and despair filled Fiona. She did not want to give herself to the devil, as they put it, and appreciated Eli’s forbidding it, but they might not get another chance as perfect as this. “It keeps me and Kyle safe and rescues the boys,” she protested. “It will work. I know it.”

  “Yes, it probably would. But the aftermath would not be pleasant. You won’t be able to walk away from Falhman if you do this.” Alexi put her arm over Fiona’s shoulder. “I’m certain we can adapt your plan to keep you and Kyle safe. Right, Eli?”

  The Keeper nodded. “Trust us, lassie. Ye dinna want tae spend the night with the devil. However, yer idea tae get intae the hoose to shop from yer mither’s closet ’twas brilliant. We can use that tae our advantage.”

  “Without letting her go for a sleepover or getting killed by Falhman because she betrayed him?” Rhys asked.

  “That, laddie, will be part o’ yer job. Once we’ve grabbed the wee bairns, ye’ll hafta persuade the rogue henchmen the lassie had nothing tae do with the invasion. ’Twill keep her on the up and up with Falhman.” He addressed Fiona. “And ye, lassie, will hafta convince the devil ye’ve changed yer mind aboot consorting with him—in the sexual way.”

  “How?” she asked. “I’ve already said I would.”

  “After the attack ye’ll be too shooken tae go away with him. Ye’ll need time to get o’er it.”

  “And later? What do I do if he keeps pressing me for a liaison?”

  “Does he know aboot yer mither’s diary?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Then ye tell him what ye found. Once ye’ve exposed yer mither’s real feelings aboot the man, he canna expect ye to bed him. The truth, lassie, shall set ye free.”

  Eli’s gaze swung around the table. “We’ll proceed with the plan as discussed, taking Fiona oot o
’ the equation as much as possible. The less the rogues see her, the less likely Rhys’ persuasion ’twill miss one o’ them.”

  “And what about Kyle? How do we keep him out of the equation?” Fiona asked.

  “I’ll send a security detail to Kyle’s house while we hit Falhman. We can use the Mafia attack as an excuse for the extra security. Kyle doesn’t need to know, and Falhman won’t suspect Kyle’s involvement in the attack,” Mike said.

  “If ye hafta get involved in the attack at Falhman’s, lassie,” Eli said to Fiona, “do it wearing one o’ the dresses, sae it looks like ye accidentally got drawn intae the fray. Dinna be afraid tae sock one o’ us, should ye come upon us. ’Twill add to yer innocence and help keep ye safe from the rogues getting ye.” He rose, indicating the others should. “Now, get ready. We leave in an hour.”

  Chapter 41

  Mary Kate parked the car behind the water tower across the road from the entrance to Falhman’s estate. Rhys and Alexi’s directions to the compound, which they had tracked as hawks, were flawless. She climbed the tower’s ladder, positioning herself on the side of the narrow ledge encircling the round metal structure.

  Using binoculars, she searched the compound grounds for a mark. When she got the signal, she’d transform to her animal ego, scale the wall, and, once inside, mimic shift to her mark’s image.

  Her cue to get ready came over the communications system tucked in her ear.

  “Thanks for bringing us,” Mike said. “Can we take our blindfolds off now? Is Pete around?”

  Mary Kate remembered Mike telling her they had been blindfolded the first time he’d flown Air Falhman with Fiona. Apparently, the rogue kingpin still didn’t trust the woman he loved enough to let her see where he lived, even though he planned to make her his.