Embrace the Highland Warrior (16 page)

Jamie’s eyes narrowed, and his hand clenched around his sword. “After a year, I got used to it.”

“Shay, move back.” Cody pulled his shirt over his head and flung it behind him.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Shay said.

“Move!” Cody and Jamie yelled at the same time. The men circled each other, faces fierce, bodies taut. Cody lunged, and Jamie met his sword. Shay’s heart pounded sickeningly as their swords flashed and feet darted, the movements so quick she found herself as mesmerized as she was horrified. The power they exuded was overwhelming. She’d never seen anything like it, except in the movies.

Everyone else in the room stopped, swords hanging from their hands as they watched the two men. Cody’s sword slashed across Jamie’s stomach, leaving a streak of red.

“Someone stop them,” Shay yelled.

“Enough,” Faelan roared. He wedged himself between Cody and Jamie while Ronan and Duncan held them back. “Leave something for the enemy to fight.”

Cody wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He and Jamie were both panting, chests heaving.

Jamie held his hand over the cut on his stomach, his eyes furious.

“Come on, Jamie. You need a bandage.” Shay picked up her cell phone and stuck it in her pocket, keeping it close in case Renee called. Shay led Jamie up the stairs to the bathroom on the first floor. She found the first aid kit and looked at the wound. It was low on his stomach, almost touching his belt. She reached for his buckle and started to undo it, but caught herself. She didn’t have that right anymore. She felt his gaze burning into the top of her head. “Unbuckle your belt,” she said. She backed up. “Maybe you should bandage it.”

“You’ll do a better job of it than me.” Jamie unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans enough to push them clear of the cut. He leaned against the sink as she knelt and cleaned the wound.

“Sorry,” she said, when he flinched.

“It’s okay,” he said, his voice strained.

“It doesn’t look as bad as it was before.”

“Warriors heal quickly.”

He held his belt clear while she applied gauze and taped it in place. She was so close to him she could feel her breath on her fingers as she worked. She heard Jamie groan. Shay looked up and saw his eyes darkening with passion, and he was getting hard.

“All done,” she said, jumping to her feet.

His hand touched her arm, sliding up to cradle her face. “Are you sure there’s no chance for us?” he asked, searching her eyes. There was longing and sadness in his. “After this is over, maybe if we go away, take a vacation.”

“I’m not right for you, Jamie. What about destiny and those mate marks?” He didn’t have one, unless it was hidden underneath his tattoos. She’d seen every other part of him.

“It doesn’t happen to everyone. My mother wasn’t part of a clan, she was a buffer, so I’ve got mixed blood. I might never get a mate mark. I don’t care, anyway. I know what I want.”

“But you’re a warrior, you must have a mate out there somewhere. She deserves you.”

“I don’t want her,” he said, lowering his head. Before she could stop him, he touched his mouth to hers. His lips were warm, the taste of him comforting. He was everything a man should be. Decent, honorable, strong, and kind. And handsome to boot. Was she insane to pass him up? Another face came into focus, another body. She wouldn’t use Jamie as a substitute.

***

Cody put the sword back on the wall and headed upstairs. He owed Jamie an apology, even though he started the fight. Cody had been an ass from the minute he saw Shay hugging Jamie at his house. It still pissed him off, thinking about Jamie’s hands on her, but Jamie was trying to protect her now, and Cody respected that. He touched his neck. It was time to come clean with her. Tell her what he was holding back. How the hell would she take it? First, he’d take Jamie aside and explain to him, man to man. Cody reached the bathroom door, and the apology on his tongue fizzled and died. Shay was in Jamie’s arms, locked in a kiss.

“What the hell?” He didn’t even recognize his own voice, cold and rusted as steel.

The kissing couple broke apart. Shay turned, her face flushed. Jamie tensed. He still had one hand on Shay’s arm, and his jeans were unzipped. Bloody hell. Was he going to take her right here with the door open?

Cody didn’t think. All he saw was red. He stalked forward and took Shay by the arm. “I need to speak to you… alone,” he ground out, pulling her toward the door. Jamie started after them, but Shay held up her hand. “It’s okay. I’ll talk to you in a few minutes.”

The hell she would. Cody strode down the hall, opened his bedroom door, and pulled her inside. Slamming it shut, he faced her, his chest burning as if his heart were being ripped out, one chamber at a time. “You let him kiss you? After last night? Why?” His voice cracked. “How could you do this to me? Wasn’t it enough that you destroyed me once?”

“Destroyed—” Cody cut off her words with his mouth. He would get Jamie Waters off her lips and out of her head one way or another. He kissed her, his mouth desperate, biting and licking and tasting until her body softened under his. He lifted his head, regretting his actions, but she clutched his shoulders, pulling him back. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d kissed her. How was it that her lips felt so familiar, like he’d been kissing them all his life? An explosion sounded behind Shay’s head. Her teeth bumped his.

“Shay?” It was Jamie.

“I’ll be out in a second,” Shay called. She was breathless, her lips swollen.

“When we’re finished,” Cody added, his voice as ragged as Shay’s.

“I’m leaving,” Jamie said quietly.

Shay scooted past Cody and opened the door. “Jamie, wait.” She smoothed down her hair and ran after him.

Cody’s heart dropped. Was she choosing Jamie? Still? Over his dead body. He took off after them.

Jamie turned. “I’m outta here.”

“Good idea,” Cody said.

Jamie stepped closer, both men bristling like angry bulls. Shay inserted herself between them.

“Get back, Shay!” Cody roared, setting her aside.

“What’s all the yelling about?” Marcas asked, walking toward them. The others were behind him.

“They’re at it again,” Lach said. “I haven’t been back five minutes, and you two are fighting.”

“I say we give them back their swords, and the last one standing gets the woman,” Faelan said, scowling. Bree elbowed him in the ribs. “I’m jesting. I wouldn’t actually let them kill each other.”

“You’re a damned hypocrite,” Jamie said to Cody, eyeing Shay’s swollen lips. “If I’m reading things right, I’d say you overstepped your boundaries a long time ago.”

Frustration and anger rolled into a ball of fire inside Cody. “Hypocrite? I’m not a bloody hypocrite. I have a right to kiss her.”

Jamie balled up his fists. “Says who?”

“Says this,” Cody shouted, pointing at the tattoo on his neck. “It’s a mate mark. For her. She’s mine. She’s always been mine.”

Everyone froze, staring at him. Shay’s mouth worked, but nothing came out. Jamie looked as if he’d been kicked in the stomach. Strangely enough, Duncan didn’t look much better.

“Your mate?” Lach said. “Why didn’t you say something?”

What had he done? Cody started toward Shay, but she took two steps back, bumping the wall. Her cell phone rang. She moved stiff as a zombie, prying it from her pocket. She looked at caller ID. “It’s Renee,” she said, her voice numb. She pushed the button. “Renee, where are you? I’ve been worried—” the blood drained from Shay’s face.

Cody grabbed the phone and put it on speaker.

“Help…” the voice was scratchy, hard to understand.

Shay’s hands trembled as she reached for the phone. “Renee?”

“Help me…” There was panting, as if she was running. “Help me. He’s…”

Shay turned to Cody, her eyes wide with fear. “Renee, where are you?”

Everyone crowded in, listening, as heavy, rasping breaths filled the hallway. “He’s coming. Oh God. Forgive me… the letters. I was wrong. I hid the… No!” she shrieked. “No!”

Shay’s fingers dug into Cody’s arm as they listened to the screams and sickening thuds. There was a loud noise, as if she dropped the phone, and then silence. After a few seconds, they heard even breathing, not Renee’s panting.

Tears trickled down Shay’s face. “Who are you?” she screamed, but the call disconnected.

Cody looked at the screen. “Try calling her back,” he said, handing the phone to Shay. He pulled out his own cell phone.

Shay swiped her eyes and redialed. “It’s busy,” she said, staring at the phone as if it were a bloody knife.

Cody punched in a number. “Sam, can you get a location on a cell phone? Shay’s friend is in trouble. I’ll owe you another one.”

“I don’t know what Shay’s messed up in, but there’s no end to this mess,” Sam said. “There’s been another murder, someone Shay knew.”

Cody moved a few feet away so he could hear the details. He listened grimly. “The police in Scotland found another body,” he told the others after he hung up.

Shay wobbled like she might collapse. Cody took a step closer, but Jamie was already there. Bree stood on her other side, holding Shay’s hand.

“One of my clients?” Shay asked.

“No,” Cody said. “A guy named Nick Deet.”

“Nick? From the pub?” Jamie asked, still touching Shay’s arm.

“You knew him?” Cody asked, not bothering to hide the suspicion in his voice.

“We stopped there in the evenings sometimes,” Jamie said.

“How was he killed?” Shay asked.

“Stabbed,” Cody said.

“Any suspects?” Marcas asked.

Cody nodded. “Yeah.”

“Who?”

“Shay.”

***

“Me? They think
I
killed Nick?” Shay asked.

“Your number was the last one he called,” Cody said, staring at Jamie’s hand on her arm. Cody had just told him Shay was his mate, and he still couldn’t keep his hands off her.

“He called me? We weren’t even friends. We chatted in the pub, but that was it,” Shay said.

“Sam wanted to give us a heads up,” Cody said. “The police in Scotland want to question you.”

“There must have been more than just the one phone call,” Marcas said.

“Try twenty-five over the past month,” Cody said.

Shay’s eyebrows rose. “Nick called my house twenty-five times? He must have been the person who kept calling and hanging up. The number was blocked.”

“Could he be the one who broke into Shay’s shop?” Lachlan asked.

Faelan shook his head. “I doubt it. When I was in Scotland keeping an eye on Shay, the bartender at the pub said Nick had missed work the day before without calling, so he was probably already dead when the intruder broke into Shay’s shop.”

“Maybe the intruder killed Nick,” Shay said, “but why?”

“No idea, but we’ll need to leave as soon as possible. You’ll have to go to Scotland and talk to the police,” Cody said. “Marcas, see how fast the jet can get here. You, Lach, and Jamie can stay here and look for Renee. You know the area, and you know Renee.” He suspected Renee was past help. “The rest of you can escort us to Scotland.”

Jamie shook his head. “I go with Shay. She still needs to be protected.”

“I can’t leave Renee,” Shay argued.

“You have to.” Cody’s voice was soft, but firm.

“You can’t stay. It’s too dangerous here,” Jamie said.

Bree looped her arm around Shay’s back. “They’re right, Shay.”

“Another metal bird,” Faelan groaned.

Ronan slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll knock you out, if it’ll help.”

“Not if you value that pretty face of yours,” Faelan said. “I’ll stay too. I can help look for Renee.”

Cody rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Jamie and I will take Shay to Scotland. The rest of you stay here. There’ll be plenty of warriors at the castle to protect her.” If Renee was alive, she probably needed all the help she could get.

***

Shay sat in Cody’s kitchen, only half listening to the Scottish police officer on the phone. She kept staring at the tattoo on Cody’s neck, looking for the mark he claimed meant they were destined mates. Mates? What was she supposed to do with that? Nine years she spent hating him, and in a matter of hours she found out that he hadn’t even gotten her letters, and he was her mate. Was that why she never got over him? Why hadn’t he told her? Was he hiding more secrets? Her head was reeling so badly she had to keep asking the officer to repeat his question. She hung up, relieved that she wasn’t a serious suspect, only a person of interest they wanted to see as soon as possible.

“We need to talk,” Cody said.

“Not now,” Shay said. She went upstairs, found her suitcase, and numbly gathered her clothes. Was Renee alive? Shay had spent the night snuggled with Cody, warm in bed, while Renee was probably bound and gagged, who knew where. Shay’s cell phone buzzed in her pocket. She grabbed it, staring at the display. Her pulse pounded. “Renee? Are you okay? Where are you?”