How long had he been plotting that particular move? Probably since that first morning when he’d walked into the office and realized he was going to have share his space with her. If he’d asked her over lunch, she would’ve figured he was only making polite conversation. But no, he’d pounced when she’d least expected it, trying to startle her into revealing some mysterious deep, dark secret.
And he was right. She definitely had one.
Darn the man anyway. She’d just started to like Grey and now she didn’t know how to act around him. Was he that suspicious of everyone, or was it just her? And if it was her, what had she done to set off alarms? She’d have to be more careful.
Inside, she went in search of Kerry, ostensibly to see if she had anything in particular for Piper to do. It was cowardly and Piper knew she was really just postponing the inevitable. She’d have to face Grey eventually.
Kerry was mumbling to herself and shuffling through a stack of files at her makeshift desk in the dining room. She looked up and smiled when Piper walked in. “Hey, there. Seriously, I cannot wait until our offices are done. Keeping track of stuff in this mess is almost impossible.”
Piper understood her frustration. “Would it be better if I worked out here and you shared the office with Grey?”
“No, that’s okay. I just misplaced something—again. So how did your test go?” It was just like Kerry to remember something Piper had only mentioned in passing the week before.
She held up her crossed fingers. “I’d say I aced it, but I don’t want to jinx anything. The teacher promised to have the grades posted by the end of the week, so I’ll be on pins and needles until then.”
“Any luck finding my husband mentioned anywhere?” Kerry asked in a low voice, her smile wicked.
“Not so far, but I’ll keep looking,” Piper whispered back.
“Too bad they didn’t have cameras back when he was a young man. Thanks to Judith’s memories, I know exactly what he looked like as a Viking warrior. It’s enough to make a woman swoon.” Kerry fanned herself with her hand, laughing the whole time.
The new Dame’s ability to accept all the weirdness that had become part of her everyday life was one of things Piper liked most about her. After all, how many women had to deal with a husband who had a thousand years under his belt before they’d even met?
“I still think he should write a book. You know, something like My Life in the Long Boats and Beyond.”
Kerry added her own suggestion. “Better yet, How to Pillage for Profit!”
“Okay, you two.” Ranulf appeared in the doorway, glaring at his unrepentant wife and then at Piper. Despite the frown, his eyes were twinkling.
“A word to the wise, Piper. I have enough trouble with Kerry wanting me to teach her Old Norse and sword fighting. I don’t need you encouraging her.”
“Yes, sir. Of course, sir.” She couldn’t resist tweaking him a little bit more. “So I guess that means interviewing you and posting it on Youtube is out of the question?”
He stared up at the ceiling as if seeking divine intervention. “I swear, sacking a village was less trouble than dealing with the two of you when you get together.”
“Hey!” Piper said, holding her hand up in protest. “At least I wasn’t the one who wanted to drag you on Antiques Roadshow to see what a thousand-year-old Viking was worth. That was your wife!”
Kerry feigned shock. “I just wanted to know how much to insure him for!”
“Very funny.” Ranulf held out a hand to his wife. “It’s time for our morning break. Hughes is bringing tea and scones to our quarters.”
“You go ahead. I’ll be there in a second.” Kerry turned back to Piper. “Is there anything else or are we done here?”
Piper ran her finger down the list of notes Kerry had made earlier. “Yep, looks like everything is caught up for now.”
“Great. Let me know if you run into any problems.”
After Kerry disappeared down the hall, Piper picked up her files. When she turned to head for the office, Grey stood in the hallway. He was staring in the direction of the Thorsens’ private quarters with an odd look on his face.
What was he thinking about so hard? Did he disapprove of the hired help teasing the Dame and her Consort? Or that Kerry and Ranulf took time out of their day to enjoy each other? Somehow, she didn’t think that was it, at least not exactly. He looked almost … envious, as if he’d wanted to join in the banter but wasn’t sure if he’d be welcome.
His expression changed so abruptly when he noticed her that she had to wonder if she’d read his mood correctly after all. Those blue eyes zeroed in on her, knocking all thoughts of Ranulf and Kerry out of her mind. His gaze was like a caress, brushing against her skin and leaving a burning awareness in its wake.
“I want to talk to you about what happened yesterday.” Without waiting for her to respond, he turned the corner, presumably heading to their office.
She did not want to discuss why it was important for her to work for Kerry. She had her reasons, but it was nobody’s business. And she’d tell Grey just that if he tried to force the issue. She could always ask Kerry if she could work at the other half of the dining room table, but that would only bring on more awkward questions. She didn’t want to cause problems just because Grey was doing his job.
Taking a deep breath, she braced herself and walked into the office. She dropped her stuff on the desk and ignored him for a couple of minutes while she settled in. Finally, she ran out of excuses.
“So what’s up?”
Grey closed whatever file he’d been reading before answering. “Sandor and I spent hours tracing down that e-mail you got yesterday. I wanted you to know that we’d both been in your files. It took a while, but Sandor finally managed to find it.”
She’d all but forgotten that weird e-mail. It had been startling at the time, but her worry over Grey digging deeper into her background had shoved it to the back burner. Thank goodness she’d been so careful to keep only work files on the computer.
“And?” she pressed.
Grey’s mouth settled into a deep frown. “From what he could tell, it was sent from my account.”
“What? He didn’t believe that, did he? You were as shocked as I was when you saw it!” It was nothing less than the truth. If he had sent the e-mail, there was no way he would have sicced Sandor on her computer to track it down. Grey looked slightly less grim when she told him so.
“Thank you. I can’t vouch for what Sandor thinks, but I would hope that he’d realize I’m not that dense.”
He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to watch over your shoulder as you check your e-mail this morning. If our prankster has been at it again, I don’t want to miss seeing the message and how the computer reacts to it.”
Heck, no, she didn’t want him that close! But she couldn’t very well tell him that. “Fine, I’ll get it booted up.”
Her computer was top of the line and normally very fast, but with Grey hovering, it seemed as if her system was running on empty.
“Okay, I’m going online now.”
She kept her eyes on the screen, ignoring the soft sound of Grey breathing behind her. The warmth from his body heated the air between them, making her hyperaware of his proximity. There was no physical contact, but it was if he were pressed against her back. She shivered.
“Everything all right?” he asked, bending down so that his head hovered over her right shoulder.
Maybe he was asking about her, but she deliberately chose to act as if he was talking about her e-mail account.
“So far, so good.”
She entered her password and waited for it to load. As usual, she had more than thirty e-mails waiting for her. She quickly scanned the list of addresses for anything out of the ordinary. There it was in the middle of the list.
She pointed at the unfamiliar sender. “I don’t recognize that address.”
“Is it the same as ye
sterday?” His breath tickled her neck as he leaned even closer to read the screen.
“I don’t remember, but it’s similar at least.”
“Okay.” He frowned. “Maybe we should have another pair of eyes to see this. Let me grab Sandor before you open it.”
Grey disappeared down the hallway, returning a moment later with the other Talion. The two men bracketed Piper, hovering over her shoulders. She wished they were overreacting, but they weren’t the kind of men to spook easily.
Grey rested his hand on her shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. “All right, then. Let’s see what we’ve got.”
She clicked on the email and waited for it to open. At first glance the e-mail looked normal. It even started off with “Hi, Piper.” Then it got strange fast. “Please tell Grey hello for me. I bet he’s standing right there.”
She blinked, trying to make sure she was reading it correctly.
Grey’s reaction was succinct. “Bloody hell!”
Sandor leaned in closer. “Son of a bitch, how could he know that?”
“Grey, how—” she started to ask, but then the screen blanked out again just as it had the day before.
She wove her fingers together into a tight fist as the screen slowly came back into focus. Small beads of light sparkled in random patterns. Despite their innocuous appearance her tension ratcheted up second by second as she waited for the other shoe to drop.
Then it did. The sound on her computer shot to full volume as the small bits of light exploded like fireworks on steroids. The sudden noise made her jump back and bump her chair into Grey. When the last burst of light zoomed across the screen, words appeared as if being written by hand.
“The reckoning draws closer. Watch for a little surprise to arrive, which should be any minute now. It’s only a preview of what’s to come, but I’m sure you’ll find it entertaining. I’d be very careful if I were you.”
A bell rang. At first she thought it was part of the e-mail, but then Piper realized it was someone buzzing at the gate, wanting in.
“Grey, someone just pulled up at the front gate.”
“I’ll handle it. You stay here. Sandor, warn Ranulf and Kerry.”
He took off at a dead run with Sandor right on his heels. Ignoring his commands, Piper swept up her cell phone and followed them out.
Grey glared back at her. “Damn it, Piper. Follow orders. I told you to stay back.”
“And I will. But, Grey, the bell rings in the kitchen, too, which means Hughes is probably already on his way out there.” She immediately slowed down, heading for a window that would give her a clear view of the front yard.
Grey burst through the front door and sprinted across the lawn to where Hughes was already reaching out to accept a small box from the delivery man. Son of a bitch, he’d never get to them in time. He lengthened his stride, pumping his arms and leaning forward as if that extra inch or two would make all the difference.
As he reached the driveway, he bellowed, “Hughes! Both of you, freeze!”
His order went unheeded as Hughes stepped back through the gate and the driver put his truck in gear and drove off, his haste in doing so probably spurred on by Grey’s crazed appearance. The butler gave Grey a puzzled look but stayed where he was.
With no time to waste on explanations, Grey jerked the box away from the butler and took off for the closest open area, the Dame’s rose garden.
Once he was safely away from the house, he set the box down and studied it. Even though it was smaller than a shoe box, it could still hold enough explosives to take out the entire neighborhood. That wasn’t going to happen, not on his watch.
It had been awhile since he’d last disarmed explosives, but he’d been trained by the best. He pulled out his pocketknife and knelt down. Easing the blade under the tape, he peeled back the plain brown wrapping. He wadded the paper up and stuck it in his jacket pocket. So far, so good.
Lifting the lid might trigger the bomb, if that’s even what it was. Ignoring the pounding of his heart, he worked one corner up enough to get a peek inside. His blood ran hot and then ice cold. Dear god, the digital readout showed the countdown was almost over!
He was dimly away of Piper yelling. “Grey, get away from there. Now!”
He dropped the lid and back pedaled away from the package. Piper had been smart enough to keep her distance. As he retreated, he threw up his hands, using every scrap of energy he could muster to build a barrier around the bomb.
“Everybody, get to the other side of the house! That thing’s going to blow!”
Before he could seal the barrier completely, thunder rolled and the earth rippled beneath his feet. The blast of air flung him upward, tossing him arse over teakettle across the yard.
He slammed into the corner of the house, the impact of the brick exterior rattling his bones and stealing his breath. His last thought as the darkness swallowed him was: Bugger it, this is really going to hurt.
Chapter 5
Piper’s ears wouldn’t stop ringing—or maybe it was all the sirens pouring into the neighborhood. Police officers swarmed through the gate and over the Dame’s lawn and driveway. Either way, Piper’s head hurt, and she had to shove her hands under her arms to control their shaking.
Ranulf stood nearby with his arms wrapped around Kerry, and the three kids were huddled together, looking a little lost and a whole lot scared. Poor Hughes was being seen to by one of the paramedics. Realizing how close he’d come to being blown to smithereens had understandably left him badly shaken.
After talking to Sean and the other two kids briefly, Sandor moved closer to Piper. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as if ready to leap into action if only someone could tell him what to do.
He glanced at her before turning back to watch the police. Neither of them could stop looking at the blackened circle in the rose garden. A couple of bushes were damaged, but probably not enough to kill them. It was a stupid thing to be worried about, but thinking about the flowers helped to keep Piper’s mind off of Greyhill Danby.
From where she stood, all she could see were his feet, and they weren’t moving. At all. Paramedics hovered over him, talking in worried voices and performing first aid. He hadn’t been killed by the explosion. That’s all she knew, and she was terrified for him.
What kind of bastard shipped a bomb? If the delivery truck had been any slower arriving, it could have gone off in heavy traffic. Who knew how many people would have died as collateral damage? Or Hughes—what if he’d still been holding the box? God, she couldn’t bear thinking about it, or how half the time she was the one who accepted deliveries. She wiped the tears streaming down her face with the back of her hand.
“Here.” Sandor shoved his handkerchief into her hand. “Are you all right? You weren’t hurt, were you?”
“No. Just rattled by the explosion. Grey warned us in time to avoid any fallout.” She shivered. “I hope he’s all right.”
“We all do.” Sandor settled his leather jacket around Piper’s shoulders.
Then, after checking to see that no one was close by he leaned in close and whispered, “Talions are hard to kill, Piper. Once Kerry can get near him without all these outsiders around, she’ll be able to jump-start the healing process.”
Kerry’s ability to heal was something Piper had only heard about. She wanted to believe that it would help Grey, but he had to stay alive for any kind of healing to take place. And he hadn’t moved in a long, long time.
The clatter of metal on the asphalt jolted her from her thoughts. Two EMTs were making their way across the yard with a gurney. Either Grey was stable enough to transport or—no, she wasn’t going to go there. With her heart in her throat, she watched the medics gently lift Grey onto the stretcher. It was difficult to read their expressions. Did they always look that grim when working over a patient?
As they started wheeling Grey back in her direction, she finally got a good look at him. The right side of his face was bruised and s
wollen, and he had a neck brace on. They had him on oxygen, too. Surely that meant he was breathing. Didn’t it?
“Sandor, Grey shouldn’t be alone. I’m going to the hospital with him.”
“Have the police taken your statement yet?”
“No, and I’d rather not talk to them at all.” But she’d have to. There’d be no getting around it.
Sandor pulled out his keys. “Take these and go out the back. My sedan is parked down the hill.”
She handed him his jacket in exchange. “Thanks.”
“Don’t worry. The cops have more than enough to keep them busy, so they probably won’t notice you’re gone for a while. If they ask, I’ll tell them why you left. I can always take you down to the station to make a formal statement later.”
Once again he checked to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard. “I’d rather go over things with you first anyway, just to get everyone’s stories straight. Tell Grey somebody will be by to check on him when things get wrapped up here.”
“I will. Thanks.”
She made her way to the front door, trying not to draw any attention. Once inside, she picked up her pack and hurried out the back. Just as she slipped through the gate, she spied Lena Wilson getting out of a car and waited for her to cross the street.
The blonde headed right for her. “What’s going on, Piper? Is everyone all right?”
She kept it short. “Someone sent a bomb to the house. Grey Danby was seriously hurt and has been taken to the hospital. Hughes was a bit shaken up, but everyone else is all right. Sandor and the kids were inside with Kerry and Ranulf when the explosion went off, and the house wasn’t damaged.”
Lena seemed to take it all in stride, although her relief that the kids and Sandor were all right was palpable. “Where are you off to now?”
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