Cindy hung onto her seat as the boat pulled up to dock outside the lighthouse. It was a white structure that stood about fifty feet high. She had a lurid fascination with anything historical and loved learning about old buildings in particular. Kay would have loved this place too. A wave of worry came over her. Hopefully, this trip would turn up some answers.
“Have a nice time seeing that old lighthouse,” said her shuttle buddy as they stepped off the boat. Cindy smiled back at the other woman then noticed a nice looking man with sandy blonde hair striding forward. He had to be the blonde’s date for the morning.
“Thanks, you have a good day too.”
The other woman looked back at Cindy over her shoulder and gave her a wink before joining up with the guy. Cindy took the sight of him in at a glance. He was very handsome. She could see why the woman was so taken with him but something about him gave her the creeps and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
She had a weird feeling that she should drag the woman away from him or warn her or something, but that was stupid. It was just that he almost looked too perfect. Like a beach series Ken doll. He wasn’t rugged enough and he was way too blonde.
Right. Of course, that was it, she chided herself. Too blonde, sheez! Hopefully the lighthouse would take her mind off the sexy dark haired stranger once and for all.
Shading her eyes with her hand, Cindy walked under a group of trees. Her purse had slipped off her shoulder so she took a moment to right it. She wore a black baby doll camisole top and jean shorts. The top was a favorite – her boobs looked great in it without being slutty. Her only complaint was that her purse strap wouldn’t stay put. After she resettled it, she started toward the museum ready for a day of island detective work.
She’d almost made it to the front steps when a shock of electrical current shot through her and stopped her in her tracks. She recognized that feeling. Frantic butterfly wings started beating in her stomach and she turned around slowly to find her madman standing about ten feet away. He looked odd, pale maybe, under the sun. But he had that same feral look from before that freaked her out at the same time it sent a wicked thrill through her middle.
“We have unfinished business, cara mía,” he said as he stalked toward her.
His eyes gleamed like a predator’s and Cindy froze as he closed the distance between them, helpless to move. Her breath caught in her throat. Finally, she retreated backward in a flurry of steps. How had he managed to follow her here?
Suddenly the heel of her sandal bumped into something hard, jarring her and it was too late to stop her momentum. Gasping in panic, she stumbled and started to fall. Then two huge hands grabbed her around the waist and she yelped in surprise. The guy’s attempt at snatching her out of the air threw him off balance as well though and they both went crashing to the ground. A split second later, she landed in the dirt with a thud and the weight of a very large man on top of her.
Blinking, she looked skyward as she tried to drag air into her lungs. He weighed a ton and he wasn’t moving. Either he was as stunned by the fall as she was or he was dead, in which case, she had no hope of moving him off of her without help. Her mind flashed to the headlines that would make. “Woman Squished to Death by Fallen Gorgeous Muscle Bound Stalker” they read. What a way to go!
Finally, he pulled himself up to his elbows and she sucked a great gulping breath of air into her tortured lungs. The dark haired man looked down at her with a strange expression of surprise. Cindy wondered why she’d thought he’d looked pale a moment ago. It must have been a trick of the morning sun. Right now he looked hale enough to devour her in one bite!
Panicked, she started kicking and squirming underneath him.
“Get. Off. Me!” She yelled.
“Hold still!” he growled at her, “I’m trying to.”
With that, he pushed up to his feet and pulled her off the ground in the same movement.
Cindy stood there and stared at him, trying to figure out if she should thank him, rail at him or run screaming for help. She yanked her hand out of his and started picking the bark mulch out of her hair while she decided. He stumbled backward when she let go of his hand but righted himself then looked at her, his blue eyes wide as if accusing her of pushing him. She didn’t take time to wonder what that was all about.
“Who the heck are you and what are you doing following me around?” She shouted at him. “Do you make a habit of pitching unsuspecting women into flower beds or what?”
That sounded a little weak, as good old fashioned railings went but maybe she was doing better than she thought because the handsome stranger’s face began to look wan again and he staggered. Who knew, perhaps he’d started the day off with a few cocktails. Nothing like drinking your breakfast, weirdo. She narrowed her eyes at him.
He didn’t smell like alcohol though. His scent lingered in her nostrils from when he’d been on top of her. He smelled more like something delicious. Exotic spices and leather.
“I’m sorry your clumsiness landed you in a heap, miss. I was trying to catch you but your flailing drug me down with you instead.”
He shrugged and splayed his hands open. She looked at them, disregarding the fact that his apology was slathered in insults. For some reason, her insides went all melty looking at his hands, imagining them smoothing over her skin.
Then he spoke again.
“As damsels in distress go, you are a bit difficult.”
That killed it.
“Well…if you hadn’t been prowling around and leaping out at me at every turn, I wouldn’t have freaked out and tripped!”
How dare he point out she’d bumbled her one shot at being a, quote, “damsel in distress.”
“People tend to flail,” she waved her arms gracelessly for emphasis, “when maniacs are chasing them. What are you doing stalking around everywhere, stalking me all the time, you s-s-stalker?”
There, let him try to talk his way out of that. He just stared at her like she was the crazy one.
Then he shoved a hand through his hair. She watched as it raked its way through the shiny dark stuff that fell all the way to his shoulders and swallowed convulsively. Wow.
Finally, after taking a deep breath in what appeared to be a painful bid for patience, he spoke again.
“I am sorry,” he smiled a crooked all male smile at her. Something deep inside her abdomen clenched at the sight. “It seems we’ve gotten off to a bad start.”
He extended his hand to her in a conciliatory gesture.
“My name is Ronan, not this… other thing you called me.” Then he reached into the waistband of his pants and Cindy’s eyes widened with two parts desire, one part anticipation and one part horror. “You dropped this last night,” he said pulling her crumpled up brochure from his waist. She let out a big breath. “I followed you here.”
She thought about that for a moment then took his proffered hand cautiously.
“I’m Cindy,” she admitted lamely.
She’d thought about giving him a false name but something about this guy made her think twice. He had the air of someone who didn’t put up with falsehoods. He held onto her hand and when she looked up into his face, he had a strange expression, like something had just dawned on him. The contact made her feel giddy again and she tried to pull away but he only gripped her hand tighter.
“Uh, can I have that back?” She asked, looking down at their hands.
He released her and shook his head as if in disbelief. On second thought, maybe he was drunk or possibly on something. Great, she’d be lucky to make it through the day alive.
“I need the piece of jewelry that I dropped last night at the tavern,” he stated bluntly. “You will give it back to me.”
Gone was all his charm from a moment ago and he was back to demanding psycho just like that.
“Tavern?” she stalled. “Do you mean the bar?”
She knew very well where he was referring to, no matter that he’d called it a ‘tavern’ in t
hat drop dead sexy accent of his, but she’d left the necklace back in her room. Since he was already a little unhinged, she didn’t want to set him off by telling him she didn‘t have it on her person. Otherwise, she’d have gladly handed it over right then and there just to get away from his unnerving presence. The air around them was still crackling.
He stared at her. He was onto her and looked like he was fresh out of patience. She huffed out a sigh and looked at the lighthouse. It didn’t appear that anything was going to go as planned today. If there was one thing she hated, it was a carefully laid agenda gone awry. It went against her neat-freak grain. She met his eyes and figured she’d better just come clean and get it over with.
“I don’t have your necklace,” she admitted. His gaze shot to her purse then narrowed accusingly as he brought it back to her.
“It’s in my room at the hotel,” she rushed on to explain. “I’d planned on giving it to the authorities.”
She leveled her eyes right back at him. Two could play at this game. Maybe she could get a confession out of him if he’d stolen the item. It didn’t appear that her efforts at being intimidating were working though if his unfaltering stare said anything.
“We will go and retrieve it at once.” He commanded.
He grabbed her hand in his again and spun her around as if to stomp back down the walkway with her tow. Cindy dug in her heels and pulled back against him.
“Hold it right there mister,” she tried to yank her hand out of his but he held it fast, “I have plans for the day. I have plans for the rest of the week, as a matter of fact. You can’t just go around demanding things of people you don’t even know.” He stopped and looked back at her. “If you hadn’t bumped into me last night and had kept better track of your stuff, you wouldn’t have to be bothering me and ruining my vacation!”
Never mind that her business here had nothing to do with anything resembling a vacation. He didn’t need to know that.
“I bumped into you?” he said, incredulous. “As I recall, it was you who came hurtling across the floor, like a juggernaut, and crashed into me!”
Cindy’s jaw dropped. The nerve of this guy! So far, by his book, he had her pegged as a ‘clumsy’, ‘difficult’, ‘damsel in distress’ that went crashing about in unchecked recklessness.
A couple of tourists walked past them. It was obvious that they were trying their best not to stare at the odd pair arguing in the middle of the sidewalk. Ronan led her to a nearby bench under some trees and pulled her down to sit next to him. Her leg pressed against his rock hard thigh and a zing whipped straight through her body to places untold. She should scoot over, really she should…but she didn’t.
“Listen,” he said, a bit more gently, “I’m not trying to ‘ruin your vacation’, as you put it, I only need to retrieve what is mine and then I will leave you alone.”
He didn’t sound unreasonable, why did a wave of disappointment wash over at the mention of him “leaving her alone?”
She glanced down at his hand still holding hers. If she pulled away this time, she knew he wouldn’t stop her, but she didn’t do that either. It felt… nice to be holding hands with this dark forbidding crazy man on a bench in an unfamiliar place.
What was wrong with her?
She had no idea. But something about this guy compelled her to listen to him. She wasn’t afraid of him, even knowing that she probably should be. Instead, a thrill thrummed through her system every time they touched.
“All right,” she sighed, “we’ll head back to the hotel and get your necklace.”
His eyes brightened and he flashed a heart-stopping grin that nearly undid her.
“Right after I tour this lighthouse,” she added.
His face fell and he went back to glowering at her.
“I’m not putting up with any more interruptions to my day,” she told him.
His eyes darkened and she thought he was going to put up a fight for sure. But then he glanced up at the museum and nodded.
“I will accompany you,” he said. Then his hard gaze was back on her. “But I’m not letting you out of my sight, so don’t get any ideas. I’m weary of wandering around this town trying to track you down, so if you wish to sight see, I will be your chaperone for the day.”
Chaperone? She started to argue but then he pulled her off of the bench and started walking toward the lighthouse with her.
Chapter Twelve
Time Keeper’s Headquarters
A big damn mess! That’s what this whole situation was turning into. Shep sat in his office under Shepard’s and punched a series of numbers into his safe phone. Now more than ever, the Time Keepers needed to keep focused on the goals of their organization, serve their goddess and shield the one who could control the Tides. That was their main purpose dating back centuries to the first cataclysm, but Shep was having a hell of a time reminding this generation’s members of that.
He didn’t have that problem himself. He was reminded on a daily basis by that sweet treasure that was both blessing and curse rolled into one. It was what he’d been trained his whole life to protect, whether he had the support of his team or not, he would keep his commitment to the goddess he served and her descendants.
A ringtone sounded on the other end of the line once, twice…
“This is Agent Six.”
“Six, Commander here,” Shep said, “I’m calling for a full report. You left things…open ended the last time we spoke.”
“Things got a little hairy, sir.”
“Aura, is she…”
“She’s fine sir.”
He knew there was more to the story but he had to get all the pertinent information from his agent before he delved any deeper.
“Did you meet with Harbinger? Does it look like the pearl is in the area?”
“I haven’t been able to locate it yet sir and, yeah, I met him─ the pompous a…”
“Keep looking,” Shep said, dismissing the end of her thought, “Eagle Eye said we’d find it there.”
“I’m on it sir, I’ll search Harbinger’s base while everyone is gone today.”
“You were able to obtain clearance?”
There was a note of surprise in his voice.
“Through my own methods, yes. I’ll be able to look around without anyone here butting in.”
“Be careful Six. You know I appreciate your talents but others might take offense to what they consider to be criminal activities.”
“Don’t worry about me commander; I know how to handle the locals.”
“All the same, your main concern is Aura’s safety. If Eagle Eye is right about the pearl being found, you’ll have to get it and Aura back to safety as quickly as possible. Once she’s reunited with the pearl she’ll be powerful but, until she finds a protector, she’ll be vulnerable. That’s where Harbinger comes in, so don’t piss him off.”
There was a weighted silence.
“I know the legend as well as any other Keeper. I’ll do what needs to be done boss.”
“Good to hear Six.”
Another pause stretched out. Shep had some bad news for one of his best agents and he hated to compromise her mission but he had to tell her all the same.
“Six”
“Commander”
They spoke at the same time.
“I heard that Flew the Coop was sited,” he heard her hopeful intake of breath and it wrenched his gut to go on, “about a month ago. She was seen down there…with an other.”
He didn’t want to get too descriptive. From what he’d heard, the being that had taken the woman in question was not of a benevolent race.
“But there’s still a chance that she’s out there?”
Six’s voice broke. It pained Shep to hear it, but he knew if he coddled her now it would break her.
“I’m sorry Six, whatever it was, vanished into thin air with her and the report said she didn’t appear to be willing. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
&
nbsp; He waited for a response. When there was none, he thought it best to end the conversation.
“Now’s the time to focus on your assignment…then get home Six.”
“Copy that sir. Over.”
The line went dead and Shep blew out a hard breath. The Keepers were facing some rocky trails ahead as was Aura, poor kid. She’d been under the protection of the Keepers her whole life even though she didn’t know it – knew nothing about them. She was sheltered by everyone she trusted to the point that she was totally unprepared for what was about to happen. If the prophecy was correct. A pretty big if. The oracle could be wrong about everything.
He hoped they were all wrong, something he’d never admit to anyone. It was hard, living a life of conflict between duty and love. He’d taken over command of the Keepers because he knew no one else was up to the task. No one else had so much at stake. He’d lost his wife Mara twenty-four years ago because of negligence in leadership. He cast his gaze upward then shook his head. That mistake wouldn’t be repeated. Aura’s future might be fated but he’d be damned if he’d step aside and leave her to the whim of the gods.
Time to get moving, he pocketed the safe phone that he used only for Keepers business. The best place to keep an eye on the otherworld was The Mountain.
Chapter Thirteen
The Keys
At the museum’s receiving desk, they were told that today was a free day, and though they had missed the first guided tour, they were welcome to explore the lighthouse on their own. Ronan started to lead Cindy through to the bottom floor but she dug her heals into the ground. He turned his head back and glared at her in ─ was that question or irritation? She decided she didn’t care which. He was lucky she was letting him tag along at all.
“Before we head in,” she directed these words to the docent that had just welcomed them, “would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions?”
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