by Anne Manning
Gaelen glanced at the furious Erin.
"She looks fairly calm now," he offered.
"Does she?" Annabelle smiled at her sister. "Wait until they bring her dinner. I've seen her throw her supper at the wall rather than eat something she doesn't like."
"Miss Tinker, I fear you do Erin an injustice. She certainly doesn't give the impression of a spoiled brat."
"Thank you, Gaelen," Erin said.
"Isn't what I've said true, Erin?" Annabelle asked, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. "Maybe the truth isn't so bad as I'd thought. What is it? Did you just have a nightmare in a drunken stupor?"
"No!"
"Drug-induced hallucinations?" Annabelle's warm husky voice carried just the right touch of horror.
"No!"
"Well, what?"
Erin's mouth opened, then snapped shut. Gaelen knew she was testing and discarding answers, and he could tell exactly when she decided Annabelle's story was the most innocent one they could come up with on the spur of the moment to even begin to explain the situation.
"I'm so embarrassed," Erin said. "I acted like a fool, and now I'm stuck here like a nut case."
"So, you don't know where he is?"
"Uh-umm." Annabelle shook her head.
Erin just looked away.
Gaelen's mouth twitched with the urge to smile. If he'd had time--and if Annabelle Tinker hadn't been human...
"Well, then. I suppose I'll have to call his apartment and check on him. When he drops by, would you pass on that I'd like to see him? There's a minor family matter I need to discuss with him. Meantime-" He raised Erin's hand and lightly kissed the back. "I've enjoyed meeting you, Erin." Turning to Annabelle, he waited for her to offer her hand for a courtesy shake and was unaccountably disappointed when she didn't. "I've also enjoyed meeting you, Miss Tinker. I hope we meet again."
Annabelle gave him a noncommittal tip of the head and a wan smile.
Neither woman spoke as he left the room.
The door clicked shut behind him.
"Why didn't you tell him Lucas was waiting in your car?" Erin asked.
"I don't know. I just didn't think it would be a good idea."
Erin smiled. "You do believe in Lucas, don't you?"
Believe?
Daddy had always said, "You've got to believe in something, Annabelle."
"Annabelle, what's wrong?" Erin asked, her voice heavy with worry. "You're not going crazy, too, are you?"
"You're not crazy, Erin, and neither am I," she replied, pushing the too tall and too gorgeous Gaelen Riley out of her mind. He'd be great fodder for some nice dreams, but a man who looked like him wouldn't glance twice at a homely duck like her. She gently tucked Erin's covers around her. "Now, you get some sleep. Since it appears aliens didn't take Lucas, we'll try to get you sprung tomorrow."
"All right, I'll try." Erin snuggled down in the bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "Gaelen is very handsome, isn't he? He reminds me of your man in the tool shed, don't you think?"
As she acknowledged the truth of Erin's statement, Annabelle wished she'd never shared that particular fantasy with her sister.
* * * *
Gaelen wandered down the long hallway, looking for a stairwell where he could squoosh and get back on Lucas's trail. He'd been in that room, all right. Gaelen had smelled the fairy dust.
A shot of apprehension nailed him. Where had it come from, though? Fairy dust was only produced by a squooshed fairy. Had Lucas been stupid enough to unsquoosh in the presence of two human women? One witness could be discounted; two would be more likely to be believed.
"Well, Gaelen. How nice to see you."
Gaelen froze and sighed. Of all the...
"Hello, Linette." He turned and lowered his gaze to meet the green eyes of Linette Duncan. "I hadn't thought to run into you here. I thought you'd moved on."
"I had my residency to finish. My life can't be arranged just to avoid an old lover."
Gaelen laughed at her attempt to wound him.
"What do you want, Linette? I have business to attend to."
"Yes, I know. Find him yet?"
"Who?" Gaelen asked.
"Don't be coy, Gaelen. Your brother, the one who left poor Miss Tinker screaming and hysterical."
Linette's eyes showed no sympathy for "poor Miss Tinker." Not that Gaelen was surprised. After all, pixies were more selfish and self-centered than fairies were.
"What do you know about this? And what concern is it of yours anyway?"
"The fate of the pixie realm is tied to yours. If the fairies are discovered, how long do you think we'll survive? And I enjoy my life in this world. My leadership has ordered me to keep the girl here to capture Lucas."
Gaelen looked over her head at the large lads behind her. Both wore the white of hospital orderlies, but he recognized what they were immediately.
"That why you have two fairy mercenaries patrolling the hallways?"
She smiled. "It takes a fairy to catch a fairy." Her smile faded, replaced by a cold, steely stare. "Stay out of my way, Gaelen. I won't let you botch this."
"Why would I try? I want to find Lucas as much as anybody does. He's-" He bit his tongue. He'd almost told Linette the truth about Lucas's wounds. The less information she had, the better. "As far as staying out of the way, Linette, I'll give you the same warning. The Council of One Hundred has given me time to try to find Lucas and bring him and the girl to New Jersey. We'll take care of the situation."
"The Pixie Confederacy isn't all that sure of your ability to handle the situation, Gaelen. And since I have my orders, yours are no concern of mine."
"I'm warning you, Linette."
"Save your warning for somebody who needs it. Boys, take him."
Before Gaelen could react, the two burly fairy mercenaries in Linette's employ grabbed Gaelen and scooped him up, one arm and one leg each.
"To the roof," Linette ordered.
"Linette, there's no need for this pointless violence. You're not being objective."
She ignored him, leading the way to the stairwell and up the remaining flights of stairs to the roof of the hospital. Gaelen struggled, but the mercs were too strong for him to escape. They carried him across the helipad on top of the hospital, not stopping until they reached the edge of the roof.
With a chill, he realized what she planned.
"Now, Linette, you can't be serious. Come on, honey, you know our relationship was going nowhere. It was over. Can't you just be happy for-"
"You are the most arrogant man!" She peeked over the edge. "Do you think I'd drop you to your death just for breaking up with me? No, dear Gaelen. My only concern is the survival of all our people." She smiled thinly. "Over you go." She stepped back to give the mercs room to toss him over.
"Have a nice flight, laddie," one said, his voice heavy with the accent of Cork.
Gaelen had always hated fairies from Cork. Now he had a reason.
"Traitors," he muttered.
"That depends on your perspective, boyo," the merc replied.
With a swing, the two brutes let Gaelen fly out into empty space. He hung, suspended, between earth and sky for just an instant. Then he felt gravity grab him.
Could he do it? He'd never heard of a fairy squooshing in midair.
Better make up your mind, Gaelen. The ground is getting closer all the time.
With a gasp, he drew a breath and...
Squa-oooosh.
* * * *
Annabelle stared out the window, replaying the scene with Gaelen Riley in her mind. She couldn't shake the idea she'd met him before. He'd known Daddy, of course, but Annabelle knew if she'd been introduced to him somewhere, she'd have remembered. But his golden hair, his blue eyes, his large hands... Where had she seen him before? Maybe next time she saw him she'd remember.
As though by her command, he flashed before her eyes.
Outside.
Falling toward the ground.
"No!" She press
ed her face against the window, straining to see his downward plummet. The only thing she could make out was another firefly heading away from the building. "Oh, my God! Erin, wake up!"
"What?" Erin muttered sleepily.
"It's Dr. Riley! Lucas's brother. He fell off the roof." Annabelle was already out the door and into the hallway. She ran to the elevator and had to punch at the button a couple of times because her hands were shaking.
"Come on, come on."
The doors slid open and she jumped in, stabbing a finger at the button for the lobby floor. The elevator took forever. She squeezed through the doors as they cracked open and ran toward the guard's desk.
"Hurry, come on. A man just fell from the roof." She gulped a breath and continued toward the front door. "Come on!" she yelled over her shoulder.
The paunchy guard left his coffee and followed her out.
Annabelle tried to orient herself, finally figuring out Erin's room was on the front of the huge edifice. She gazed up, counted eleven floors and could make out the face of a young woman that she knew was Erin at a window.
"Right here. He fell right over here." Her stomach twisted in apprehension as she approached the site where she expected to find the mess that was left of handsome Gaelen Riley.
"Who fell?" The guard had his flashlight out and was walking around the boxwoods and young dogwood trees at the foundation of the building. He flashed the light out away from the building and toward the street. "There's no one here, lady."
"But I saw..." She had seen him, falling, arms and legs flailing, a look of supreme terror on his face. "He fell from the roof."
The guard came up to her and sniffed. "No liquor."
Annabelle bristled. "Of course not. I'm not drunk." Annabelle tried to catch her temper and speak calmly. "Look, I was on the eleventh floor--"
"Oh," the guard nodded, "the eleventh floor. I see." He took her elbow and gently led her back to the front of the hospital. "Come with me, and I'll see you get back to the eleventh floor."
"No! I'm not crazy." Annabelle jerked her arm away from his grip and ran toward the street. "I'm telling you, there's a dead man out here somewhere." She glanced around. "People don't take a bounce when they hit, do they?"
"I don't think so," the guard said. "Come on, miss. Let's go in."
Allowing the guard to lead her, Annabelle turned back toward the hospital and raised her eyes to look toward the roof. She followed the line from the roof past Erin's window.
Then she stopped, turning all the way around.
Was she crazy?
"I'm sorry," she said to the guard. "I must have been dreaming. My sister is up there, and I was sitting with her. I guess I'm more tired than I thought."
"Sure," the guard replied, not unkindly. "You go back to your sister's room and try to get some rest. Maybe they'll bring in a cot for you if you ask."
"Thank you, I will." Annabelle followed the guard uneasily back into the hospital, but couldn't resist one last glance at the spot where Gaelen Riley should have splattered.
* * * *
Gaelen took a perch in one of the ancient oaks lining the street while his heart slowed down. He'd never try that again. Breathing deeply, he watched Annabelle Tinker run out of the hospital and dash into the bushes.
Is she really worried about me? A smile spread across his face, and he was unreasonably pleased by the prospect of Annabelle Tinker-with her warm brown eyes and long, dark hair, and those hand-filling curves--being concerned for his safety.
Whoa. Put Annabelle Tinker out of your mind, Gaelen. She's human and off-limits to the likes of you.
But Annabelle...
Could she be the same girl? It had been over fifteen years ago, and he hadn't seen her clearly, being somewhat preoccupied with his own situation. He had been still reeling after going from the arms of the incomparable Carly O'Malley--a totally exhilarating experience, if memory served--to freezing his wings off in an ammonia sea on Jupiter. He'd forced himself back to Earth, but needed a place to rest. He'd limped to a tool shed before going home to face the old man.
The pre-adolescent girl who'd found him there--her warm brown eyes widening with shock at his nakedness, but sparkling at the sight of his wings--had brought him water and bandages and promised milk and cookies before a booming bass voice called her in for the night.
Of course, it was the same girl. Though Jumbo Tinker had not been a close friend, Gaelen knew his house was in the same neighborhood and that he had two daughters.
Gaelen frowned when the guard took her elbow and pulled her toward the front of the hospital. The wave of possessiveness washing over him was totally inappropriate. He squashed it.
At that moment, Gaelen knew how he could get to Lucas. And to Erin.
And he hated himself for it.
* * * *
Annabelle rode up in the elevator, purposely emptying her mind of any thoughts at all. She was tired. That's all it was.
But why would she imagine Gaelen Riley flying past Erin's window?
"Ms. Tinker?" Dr. Duncan's voice stirred her from her musing. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, thank you. I'm fine. But I think I need some sleep. Would it be possible to have a cot moved into Erin's room?"
"No, I'm afraid not. It's against the policy of this ward. In fact, I shouldn't have allowed you to stay last night. Someone should have shooed you out of here hours ago," the doctor replied with a smile. "Would you like to have someone drive you home?"
"No, thank you. I'm fine. I'll just look in on Erin."
Dr. Duncan stepped in front of her. "Erin is sleeping. I put your bag and coat at the front desk. Come, I'll walk you to the elevator."
"But--"
"Please, Ms Tinker. There are rules. You aren't supposed to be here now."
"How did Dr. Riley get up here, then?"
Dr. Duncan's pixie green eyes widened. "You saw him? Did Gaelen mention why he'd dropped by?"
"He said he was looking for his brother. He's concerned that he hasn't seen Lucas in a few days."
"Really?" Dr. Duncan smiled.
The familiarity with which Dr. Duncan spoke Gaelen's name stirred up an uneasy and unidentifiably unattractive feeling. She tried--unsuccessfully--to convince herself it was curiosity only, and that on Erin's behalf.
"How well do you, ah, know him...them? Lucas and his brother?" she asked, using Lucas as an excuse for her question.
"I don't know Lucas well at all. I've only met him once or twice. I'm much better acquainted with Gaelen. We move in the same circles, you see." Dr. Duncan stopped in front of the nurse's desk, a pensive look on her face, then she reached behind it and retrieved Annabelle's bag and windbreaker. "Oh, dear, you should be wearing a heavier coat with the raw blustering wind," she said as she handed it over.
The beeper in the doctor's pocket cut off further conversation.
"Good night, Ms. Tinker. I trust I'll see you tomorrow?"
Offering a thin smile and quick handshake, Dr. Duncan left Annabelle by the nurse's station, turning and marching down the corridor, a destination clearly in mind. Watching her, an uneasy twinge coursed along Annabelle's spine. The woman's reaction to Gaelen Riley seemed out-of-place, though Annabelle had absolutely no explanation for why she felt that way. Her reporter's mind filing that tidbit away to chew on later, Annabelle turned her mind to the task at hand.
Lucas Riley was waiting in her car.
Chapter Six
Lucas jerked awake when Annabelle tapped on the window. He reached over and popped open the lock.
"Didn't mean to wake you," she said, getting in the car.
"No matter," he said, handing over her keys. "Is Erin all right? I was about to come up to check on her."
"Good thing you didn't. Your brother showed up not long after you left." Annabelle started the whiny engine of her rented import.
Lucas sat up and turned sideways in his seat, his eyes burning intensely.
"Gaelen was here? What did he say?"
<
br /> Backing out of the parking space, Annabelle twisted around and didn't answer right away. She had trouble reconciling the urgency in Lucas's voice at the mention of his brother's name with the charming Dr. Riley who'd introduced himself in Erin's room.
"He's concerned about you," she finally answered, easing the car onto the street and heading out of town to her mother's house.
Lucas puffed out a disbelieving grunt. "Concerned for himself, you mean," he said, his voice low.
Driving beyond the bright lights of the medical center, they rode in silence through the velvet black night. Though he didn't make a sound, his tension rippled through the air. Annabelle could almost hear his nerves twanging, the annoying sound of a rubber band being plucked.
Her own nerves tightened. "What's with you and your brother?"
"What do you mean?" Lucas didn't turn toward her as he spoke.
"You seem to be worried about seeing him."
"Actually, Gaelen isn't the one I'm most worried about."
"Who then?"
A snort preceded his answer. "I can't tell you now. Maybe later, if..."
"If what?"
"If I can get myself out of the trouble I've made for myself and Erin." His head dropped back against the back of the seat.
"You've got my attention, Lucas. Tell me." When he didn't speak, she added, "You've just said my sister is in trouble. You're going to tell me what's going on. And don't give me any more nonsense about it being dangerous for me to know."
With a deep sigh, Lucas said, "When I can, I will. There're some things I need to find out first." His eyes closed and he turned toward the window.
Annabelle let him rest, deciding to pursue the issue when she had him in the house.
"Here we are," she announced, pulling the parking brake.
Lucas sat up and looked around. "Do you think we can get me in without your mother seeing me?"
"Let me check," Annabelle said, opening her door and getting out. She hurried up the walk and pulled out her house key. Unlocking the door slowly, she listened for any sound showing her mother was still up and about. After finding her sleeping soundly, Annabelle went back to the front door and waved Lucas in.