The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles)

by C. D. Hersh

  In a flash, one of the attackers yanked LJ to her feet. He jerked the baby from her arms and retreated behind another shifter. LJ charged after him, suddenly stopping.

  She backed away from the rogues, clutching her abdomen. A red stain spread over LJ’s shirt.

  “No!” Fiona screamed. She rushed outside running toward the baby and LJ. As she passed Mike, he slashed the last man attacking him. Then he grabbed her, lifting her into the air.

  “Let me go,” she screamed as she tried to kick free.

  A loud bellow roared above the battle sounds, as Falhman ordered his men to retreat.

  Mike spun around, Fiona still in his grip. The rogues left standing backed away from Rhys and his team. Falhman and his Rhys mimic stood several feet apart, panting and warily circling each other.

  The rogue who’d captured LJ’s son ran toward the two Falhmans. “I got him, sir,” he said proudly.

  Both men held out their hands for the child.

  “Sir?” the shifter asked, swinging the child from side to side.

  She held her breath, praying the rogue would chose the fake Falhman, whichever one he was, because she couldn’t tell. One of the Falhmans grabbed the child.

  “Crap,” Mike whispered into Fiona’s ear. “He’s the real one.”

  “LJ’s dead and Falhman’s got one of the boys,” she whispered, trying to keep the sob out of her voice. “Got any bright ideas about how to get out now?”

  “Working on it.” He moved sideways giving her a glimpse of the lake. Eli, Donaline, Alexi, and Baron were in the boat, ready to flee.

  “Let Fiona go,” Falhman ordered.

  Mike released her, silently urging her to remain close to him. She backed up until she touched his chest. She didn’t need persuasion.

  Falhman shifted Hugh Jr. to his hip and held out his hand toward Fiona. “Come, my dear. I do believe it’s time we left now. It appears this battle is at a stalemate, and my son has not won . . . again.” He paused and directed a glare at his mimic counterpart. “No need to hide it anymore, Rhys. I guessed the moment I saw Eli that you were behind this attack.”

  Rhys’ mimic melted into his own form, returning Falhman’s glare with one of his own that could have started a fire, had Falhman been flammable and not immune to the brimstone of Hell. “I will never be your son.”

  Falhman motioned for Fiona.

  Mike grabbed her and held the tip of his gun to her temple. “The lady stays with us. Unless you want to make an exchange for the kid.”

  Fiona stiffened. What kind of game was he playing, anyway? Was he desperate enough to keep his promise to Hugh that he’d sacrifice her? Rage boiled in her throat. “You son of a—”

  “Tsk, tsk. Such language,” Mike said. He pressed the gun tighter to her head. “What’s your answer, Falhman? The kid or the lady?”

  Several seconds passed as Falhman studied her and the child. Finally he spoke. “While I’ve been thinking of the pleasures we might share, my darling, in the big scheme of things, you will not be as useful to me as my son, Drystan.” He backed toward the house, his hand around the child’s neck. “Don’t try to stop us. My son may be important to me, but, as you well know—” He grinned wickedly at Rhys. “—like all my sons, he is expendable.” When he reached the door, he released the child’s neck and waved, shouting, “Check. Your king is in jeopardy. Let the games begin.”

  As soon as Falhman had cleared the door, Mike released her. Fiona whirled and slugged him. He grabbed her fist before she could swing again.

  “Hey! I was just protecting you.”

  “What if he’d wanted a trade?”

  “He wouldn’t,” Rhys said. “Falhman only deals in what profits Falhman. Compared to a son with the bloodline of two powerful shifter families, you are merely a diversion.”

  The sound of a helicopter caused them to turn toward the house. “Are you going after them as your hawk?” Fiona asked.

  Rhys shook his head. “They’d shoot me the second they saw me. Can you get the front gates open so you can bring the car around the back?” he asked Mike.

  “I think so. Why?”

  “We need tae take LJ’s body tae Robbie O’Connor,” Eli said.

  “Who’s he?” Mike asked.

  “The mortician for the shifters. He’ll make sure LJ ’twill be taken care ’o. Mary Kate will show ye the way.”

  “What about Falhman’s men?” Mike asked, indicating the dead bodies scattered around the lawn.

  “’Tis the devil’s chore tae clean up his own mess. Now ye, Mary Kate, and Fiona hurry, afore they get here.”

  Fiona stopped her brother as he started for the boat. “What did he mean by ‘Let the games begin’?”

  “War,” Rhys said. “A war he will draw our children into.”

  The minute Falhman entered the helicopter he dialed his second-in-command.

  “Plans have changed,” he yelled into the phone over the noise of the chopper. “Tell my presidential candidate mimics I want them to hold off until the election. They need to replace the newly elected president as well as the vice-president.”

  “Will do, sir,” his underling said.

  “I’m sending you a new recruit from Scotland. Ewan. Use him to continue the takeover of the Cleveland Mafia. Then eliminate him. He failed me. I took care of the Mafia’s man Benny. Replace him with a good mimic and keep me informed.”

  “Will do, sir. When will you return?”

  “Don’t know. It’s become a bit hot in Cleveland. I need to get away until things cool down. If anything goes wrong while I’m gone, I’m holding you responsible. You know what that means.”

  Even over the noise of the chopper, Falhman heard the man gulp.

  “Yes, sir. You have my word.”

  “Good. I’ll be in touch.” Then he dialed Ewan. “New orders,” he said when the Scottish rogue answered. “Forget Rhys and Alexi Temple. I have more interesting plans for them.”

  “And the mither LJ?” Ewan asked.

  “Dead. I’m sending you the name of my second-in-command. I want you to work with him while I’m gone.”

  “Yes, sir,” Ewan said. “Ye can count on me.”

  “Good.”

  “Where to, sir?” Pete asked as the helicopter lifted from the compound hangar.

  “Canada.” Falhman turned to the rogue manning the helicopter gun. “If they try to follow us, shoot them.”

  “You don’t want I should just kill them now, boss, before they shoot us?” the man asked as he aimed the gun at the ground. “I could pick ‘em off real easy.”

  “They won’t shoot and risk the child’s life. Besides, what fun would there be in that?” Falhman asked. “No. I want them to squirm knowing I, too, have a powerful child.” He stroked Drystan’s soft hair. “We’re going to have such fun, little one. I’ll teach you things that would curl your mother’s toes, while she’s lying in her grave.

  “When your training is done, even Chance won’t be able to stand against you. Then, together, we’ll take down Eli McCraigen and his band of despicable shifters. After that, the world is ours for the taking.”

  Falhman’s face lifted toward the sky and he laughed, the sound degenerating into a howl. His shifters joined the chorus, adding their yowls to the cacophony. The noise set Drystan crying, his wails joining in the dissonance.

  Falhman stopped howling, beaming instead at the child in his arms. “Yowl, little jackal, yowl. Daddy is going to make you into one big, bad boy.” Then he rejoined his underlings in their animalist yelping.

  Eli and his cohorts had better watch out. Things were going to be very different now that he had a son of his own.

  Chapter 43

  They buried LJ in the Riverside Cemetery. Across from him, Mike noticed
Alexi’s unrest as they stood beside the gaping hole where LJ would be lowered to her final resting place. On his right, Fiona stood close enough he could touch her, yet he still couldn’t. She had finally forgiven him for bargaining with her against Falhman but nothing else was settled.

  “Doesn’t Alexi like graveyards?” he whispered to Mary Kate, who stood on his left.

  “She was buried here,” Mary Kate replied.

  Shock must have registered on his face, because Mary Kate quickly amended her statement. “Not her, but everyone thought it was her.” She pointed across the grass. “I think her grave was over there.”

  “Must be weird standing so close to your own burial site,” Mike said.

  “Aye. We’re lucky there aren’t more of us going in the ground today.”

  Mike glanced around at the sober-faced funeral attendees. All people who barely knew LJ, from what he understood. Had he died in the fight, there would probably be no one attending his funeral either, except for the people gathered around LJ’s grave, and maybe George. The kind of job he held, and the life he’d chosen, didn’t allow for many friends. The one true friend he’d had—Hugh—had blown himself up trying to protect the woman they buried today.

  Guilt stabbed him. He’d failed—again—in rescuing someone in need. Mike lowered his chin and scrubbed at his forehead trying to gain control of emotions that threatened to overtake him.

  “Ye can’t blame yerself, Butch.” Mary Kate gently touched his arm.

  “She’s right, Mike,” Fiona said. “You did everything you could to save her. LJ’s own rash actions caused her death.”

  “It was my obligation,” Mike said. “My duty. I failed them.”

  Fiona leaned into his shoulder. Her touch obviously meant to comfort him did the opposite, sending a shiver up his spine. Did either of the women notice?

  “I know if she had stayed with Donaline in the boat, things would have been different,” Fiona said.

  “The fight was turning in our favor,” Mary Kate added. “Those attacking the Keeper had no chance of winning. With Falhman afraid to shoot, we’d have won hands down. LJ, not ye, is to blame for what happened. She was a headstrong, rash woman. The Keeper should have tied her in the attic like he threatened.”

  Mike’s gaze cut between the two women. Women who had professed feelings for him. Women who’d want to soothe his raging guilt. Or were they being truthful? Did LJ’s rash actions cause her death and not his blasted curse on altruistic motives?

  “What you say makes sense, but I don’t know.”

  “Time,” Fiona said. “Give it time.”

  The funeral director intoned some words of comfort. Then Eli threw a handful of dirt on the casket as they lowered it into the grave.

  The sound of the muddy clods hitting the lid reverberated in Mike’s chest. He wasn’t sure time would heal the pain he felt over the failure.

  The others slowly moved away. Fiona tossed the rose she held into the grave. Turning, she stared at him with eyes filled with sadness.

  Mike’s heart swelled with love. He couldn’t let the darkness in his soul keep him from the woman he loved. Somehow, he had to find a way to move past all of this. For their sakes.

  Fiona started to leave and he stopped her.

  “We need to talk.”

  “About what? You’ve said it all. You hate shifters, liars, deception, and you hate me.” She tried to move around him.

  He wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t let you go.”

  “You can’t stop me.” She pushed against his chest.

  He kissed her. The pressure of her hands on top of his pounding heart lessened. Encouraged by her response, he slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss. Heat shot from their lips to the core of his being as he pressed her closer. His hands roamed over her body, showing her exactly how he felt about her. When he finally released her, Fiona gasped for breath.

  “I haven’t been totally truthful with you, Fiona. I am the marrying kind, now that I’ve met you. I love you.”

  He searched her eyes. They overflowed with love. They also brimmed with uncertainty.

  He kissed her again, pouring all the passion he had into the kiss. He wanted to leave no doubt about his feelings.

  “Do you believe me now?”

  “I want to but−”

  “You’ve opened my heart to love. Restored the humanity I’d lost fighting wars. I don’t want to go back to the person you pulled your gun on the first time we met.”

  “But you hate shifters.” Confusion filled her voice as she arched away.

  He drew her in tighter, determined not to let her get away again. “Not the one I’m holding in my arms.”

  “But what about−”

  “Trust me. We’ll work it out.”

  Chapter 44

  Six Months Later

  “Are you certain this is what you want?” Kyle asked as he held out the check to Fiona.

  “Positive. Mike and I are going as far away from Cleveland as we can get. Maybe buy a deserted island somewhere in the Caribbean.” Where there would be no shifters. After the year she’d been through, she couldn’t get away fast enough. “I want to escape from everything and everyone.”

  Kyle gave her an obvious mock hurt expression and slapped his palm on his chest. “And here I thought you really liked me.”

  “I do, and you’ve been great, considering everything I put you through. All the secrets, the lies, and half-truths. Yet you forgave me for it all.”

  “Hey, you saved my family’s company. Probably my life, considering OmniWorld wanted to kill me.”

  She reached for the check, and he yanked it away. “I can’t make you change your mind? Tempt you to stay here, marry me for real, and run our companies together?”

  She plucked the check from him. “You’ll do fine without me, and so will WK Shipping under your management. When we’ve settled somewhere, I’ll send a bank address where you can deposit my stock interest.”

  “Seriously, Fi, if you ever want to leave this guy, just call me.”

  Fiona smiled at Kyle. “Thanks, but I think I’ll stick with him.” She moved into Kyle’s personal space and gave him a hug.

  Behind her, Mike growled, obviously displeased at her show of affection. Kyle returned her hug in spite of Mike’s macho objections.

  “Take care, Kyle.”

  “You, too, Fi.”

  As she and Mike left Kyle’s office, Mike wrapped his arm around her waist. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  “Easy for you to say. You’re not leaving a place that has been your home all your life.” She stopped and faced him. “Did Rhys tell you how he and Eli fixed everything?”

  “No.”

  “They convinced the Port Authority to drop my case. OmniWorld, after giving back the companies they forced out of business, seems to have just disappeared off the face of the earth. Even the Cleveland cops have cleaned up their act. Who has the kind of power to make entire organizations bend to their wishes?”

  “Besides Falhman?” Mike asked with an arch of his eyebrow. “Considering who, or should I say what, we’ve been dealing with the past few months, I think it might be best to not ask too many questions.” He urged her forward. “Curiosity killed the cat, Fiona. Probably a few more animals—if you get my drift. We’re better off not knowing.”

  He lifted her left hand where his engagement ring rested next to her Turning Stone ring, which she now wore on her middle finger. “Are you going to take your brother’s advice and throw this in the ocean?”

  She rubbed the magic ring with her thumb. “I know it’s brought me a lot of heartache, but it’s all I have left of my mother, now that I’ve turned WK Shipping over to Kyle. I don’t think I can part with it. At least not yet.”r />
  “Promise me one thing then.”

  “What?”

  “Destroy the pages of your mother’s journal with the inscription written on them. I don’t want our children finding the incantation after we’re dead. You reading the incantation caused enough shifter trouble to last a lifetime.”

  “Hey, it wasn’t all me. Rhys and Falhman played a big part. Not to mention your involvement with shifters as well.”

  Hurt filled his face, and she regretted adding him to the list. Losing both LJ and the baby had nearly destroyed him. He’d failed Hugh. Not something he was likely to forget, even though she knew he’d been trying.

  “I promise.” She gave him a half smile, her heart filled with unease. She knew they had not seen the end of the shifter problems. Rhys had warned her. She pulled Mike to a stop, and searched his face. “If there is a war, like Rhys predicted, he might ask us to help him. What will you do if he does?”

  Mike held her hand, rotating it until the two rings on her left hand faced him. He touched the diamond on the engagement ring. “This ring means I love you, and I will protect you with every ounce of my being.” Then he touched the Turning Stone ring. “I don’t like what this ring represents. The magic. The evil that has sprung from it. But I’m a soldier, and fighting wrong is part of who I am. So . . .”

  She held her breath waiting for him to complete his sentence. She knew he loved and accepted her human side, but he hadn’t fully accepted the shifter world, at least he hadn’t told her so.