Bound by Light (14 page)

“Definitely,” she promised.

Pepper hugged her as well. “As soon as our
next moose kid comes into the world, we’ll be having a little
party, so I hope you’ll be there.”

“I’m sure we’ll make it happen.”

They finished off their good nights, and
Thane wrapped an arm around Sydney as the other couples left them.
“They are so awesome, honey.”

Thane nodded and guided her along the
sparkling waterfront. “Aye, love, they are. They’re certainly more
family than friends.”

They didn’t speak for the longest time. Just
listened to the sound of the water lapping against the dock as they
walked along the sidewalk. Sydney couldn’t help a smile as she
pulled Thane to a stop and looped her arms around his neck. “Thank
you.”

“For?”

“For everything.” She stroked his hair as
she smiled up at him. “I know I can’t rely on anyone else to make
me happy, but you do.”

Thane squeezed her waist. “You were worth
the wait.”

“I was?”

“Aye, lass.” He chuckled. “We are prepared
to wait. It’s something ingrained in us from birth, because we only
have one mate, but some of us wait longer than others, and I always
wondered who you’d be. I couldn’t have hoped for better,
sweetheart. I love everything about you and I can’t wait to
discover more. God blessed me beyond measure with you, Sydney.”

“Thane,” she whispered, blinking back
tears.

“I have something for you,” he said, and
reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a black leather box and
kneeling before her. “Sydney Roslyn Warren, will you do me the
honor of marrying me?”

She gasped, covering her mouth with her
hands and nodding. He stood and slipped the ring on her finger and
she threw herself against him, kissing him with abandon. “I love
you so much.”

He held her for several minutes until Sydney
decided she needed to see the ring. Another gasp escaped her lips
as the giant diamond glittered under the dock lights. “Wow.”

“Do you like it?” he asked. “We can return
it if it’s not quite what you want.”

“I love it.”

The center diamond was emerald cut and the
band was designed with intricate Celtic knots that wrapped around
her finger. “It looks beautiful on you. I was worried seven carats
would be too big for your hand, but it’s perfect.”

“Seven?” She shook her head. “Thane, that’s
too much.”

“You don’t like it?”

“I love it.”

“Then it’s perfect.”

She sighed. “Well, as Mom always used to
say, ‘when it comes to houses and diamonds, it’s never too
big.’”

Thane chuckled. “Wise words.”

She gripped his chin and stood on her
tiptoes. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He leaned down and kissed
her gently before walking her to the waiting car.

Sydney kept a firm hold on his hand as
Wallace drove them home and once again fell asleep in Thane’s arms,
not waking once during the night.

CHAPTER TEN

M
ONDAY AFTERNOON,
AFTER Sydney was forced to wait with Lucy while Thane and Uncle
Cary talked alone, she was finally officially released into Thane’s
care. However, before that lovely bit of permission was given, her
cousin Anson settled himself beside her on the sofa, plastering his
best big brother face on, and taking her hand. He dropped his thumb
onto her engagement ring and frowned.

“Antsy,” Sydney said, using his nickname and
trying not to whine. She knew what was coming.

“How much do you really know about this guy,
Sid?”

“Enough.”

“You met him a week ago and he’s already
proposed? Something’s off, love.”

“I appreciate your concern, Anson, I really
do, but your dad had him totally checked out and, I may not have
known him for long, but I
know
him. Trust me on that.”

“But you’re vulnerable right now and I don’t
think you’re thinking clearly,” he continued.

Sydney groaned and pulled her hand from his.
“I love you, Antsy. I love you so much it hurts, and even sometimes
so much I’d like to hurt you, but I promise you, I’m not as
vulnerable as you think, and my eyes are wide open.”

Anson laughed. “Alright, cousin, I
tried.”

“And I applaud your efforts.”

He leaned in and hugged her before rising to
his feet and heading back from whence he came. Sydney narrowed her
eyes at Lucy. “Did you put him up to that?”

She let out a loud huff. “Why are you so
quick to blame me for everything? Oh my god, Sid. I set you up with
Thane, I sicced Anson on you. When will it ever end?”

“You did! You totally sicced him on me.”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t sic him, sic
him on you. I just wanted to see your reaction when
he
asked
you those questions.”

Sydney sobered. “Are you worried?”

“Not anymore.” Lucy shrugged.

Sydney sighed as she stood and moved to sit
beside her cousin. “I’m okay, Luce. I promise. I love Thane and
we’re totally good.”

Lucy grabbed Sydney’s hand. “I just want you
to be happy.”

“I want the same for you, you know.”

“I know.” Lucy smiled. “I think I may have
found him.”

“I can’t wait to meet him. We’ll make that
happen this week, okay?”

“You better.”

“Sid?” Thane’s voice took her focus.

Sydney turned toward the door and smiled up
at him. “Everything sorted?”

“Aye, lass. We can go whenever you’d like,”
he said. “Lucy, are we meeting Zach this week?”

Lucy’s face lit up. “Yes! When?”

“Thursday or Friday works for me, so if
that’s okay for everyone else, let’s make a plan.”

She clapped her hands. “I’ll talk to Zach
and work it out with Sid.”

“Perfect.” Thane smiled and focused back on
Sydney. “Do you want to pack anything else?”

“Nope, I think I’m good. I can always come
back if I realize I’m missing anything.”

He held his hand out. “Shall we?”

Sydney hugged Lucy and then followed Thane
out of the house. Once inside the SUV, she buckled up and stared at
him.

“What?” he asked.

“Seriously?” she complained. “What did my
uncle say?”

“I’d rather have this conversation over an
expensive bottle of wine.”

“That bad?”

He grimaced as he lifted her fingers to his
lips. “Yeah, love, that bad.”

“Well, shit,” she whispered.

It didn’t take long to arrive at Thane’s
flat. Sydney found her heart racing as Thane led her into the
elevator and the doors closed behind them. His home was on the top
two floors and close to three-thousand square feet.

“You said your apartment was small, honey.
This is
not
small.”

The building was historic, built sometime in
the late 1700s, but his apartment had been renovated less than five
years ago. There were three bedrooms, an office, a movie room, four
and a half bathrooms, a huge kitchen and great room, and the view
was a stunning near-three-sixty-degree view of the city.

He chuckled. “Still not quite big enough to
accommodate everyone attached to the movie, however.”

“Perhaps not.”

“Make yourself at home, love. I’ll pour some
wine,” Thane offered, and Sydney made her way to the windows
overlooking High Street.

“How long have you lived here?” she
called.

“I haven’t really ever lived here, to be
honest.” He returned with a glass of merlot and handed it to
her.

“Thanks,” she said, and took a sip.

“I bought the top flat ten years ago, and
then bought this one and combined them about five years ago. It’s
more of an investment than anything.”

“Well, it’s lovely.” She tipped her glass
toward him. “You have impeccable taste in pretty much
everything.”

Thane chuckled. “Thank you.”

He took her hand and led her to the sofa and
she carefully navigated herself onto it in order not to spill her
wine. “How bad?”

Thane sighed and shook his head. “Your
mother’s accident... ah, wasn’t an accident.”

“Meaning?”

“It looks as though it may have been
intentional.”

“What?” she squeaked. Thane took her wine
glass and set both of theirs on the table. Sydney was glad he did
since her hands were shaking uncontrollably. “I thought the guy who
hit her was drunk.”

Thane shook his head. “No alcohol or drugs
were found in his system, so the police think it could be murder.
Your mother did make a report about the phone calls, so with all of
the evidence piling up, it’s pointing to homicide.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Come here.” He pulled her onto his lap and
wrapped his arms around her.

She looped her arms around his neck and let
his comfort seep into her. “Do they know for a fact it was
murder?”

“It’s looking that way, love. They followed
the money. The man who hit her is a sixty-year-old, stage-four lung
cancer patient who’d been given about six months to live. They’d
exhausted all treatment options, and the police believe he did it
for the money. He’s still in a coma, but when they investigated
him, they discovered a wire deposit of fifty-thousand dollars the
day before the crash. The day
of
the crash, that fifty grand
was transferred to an offshore account. When they searched his
home, they found e-mails mapping out a plan to kill both of you.
The police haven’t been able to find
who
he was e-mailing
just yet, but they’re working on it. They believe his plan was to
kill himself in the process, but he failed.”

Sydney shuddered. “I was supposed to be with
her.”

“I know, love.”

“Who was he?”

“Marvin Webster. Do you know him?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never heard of
him.”

“They’re still working the case, which is
why you’re under lock and key for a little while.”

“But we’re all the way in England, Thane. Do
the police really think whoever’s behind this can find me
here?”

He shrugged. “Neither your uncle nor I are
willing to find out.”

“When you say ‘under lock and key,’ do you
mean literally or figuratively?”

“It means you don’t go anywhere without me
or one of my men. For the most part, love, it doesn’t really change
anything, I just need you to be aware of your surroundings and be
on alert.”

She sighed. “I can do that.”

He grinned and kissed her gently. “Thank
you.”

She pushed away from him and rose to her
feet.

“What, love?”

“I need to know what this feels like without
you calming me,” she admitted, and sat in the chair opposite him.
The pain came hard and fast, stealing her breath. She burst into
tears. Thane stood and rushed to her, but she raised a hand and
shook her head.

“Sweetheart, I can help.”

“I don’t want you to help,” she snapped.
“Just give me some time, Thane, please. I have to feel this. All of
it.”

He frowned as he sat on the coffee table
facing her, settling his elbows on his knees and watching her
closely.

She closed her eyes and shut him out,
letting the sobs wrack her as she tried to process the information
she’d been given, but all she could think about was the beautiful
and vibrant woman who’d been ripped away from her. Her mother had
been her best friend.

The memory of her mother in her coffin
flashed in her mind, the horrific injuries she’d suffered covered
by makeup—she didn’t look like her mom anymore. Sydney could almost
pretend they’d made a mistake, but it wasn’t a mistake. Her mother
had been murdered. Someone had purposely taken her life, and they
had wanted to take Sydney’s as well. It was too much.

Strong arms wrapped around her and lifted
her from the chair. “That’s enough,” Thane rasped.

She nodded into his neck and let him carry
her to the bedroom, her emotions calming as he laid her on the
mattress and stretched out beside her. He didn’t break contact as
he pulled her onto his chest and kissed her hair. Sydney ran her
finger over his heart and took a deep breath. “Who would hate us
enough to want us dead?”

“I don’t know, love, but we’re going to find
out.”

“If I hadn’t had a headache... if I’d gone
with her... maybe we would have stopped somewhere for dinner. Or
what if at the last minute, we decided to go to the movies?”

“Shh, don’t, Sydney. You’ll drive yourself
mad with the what-ifs.”

“They took the best person I’ve ever known
from this earth, Thane.”

He gave her a gentle squeeze. “I know,
baby.”

“They have to suffer.”

“We’ll find them, sweetheart. I
promise.”

She leaned up to meet his eyes. “I want them
to suffer.”

“I heard you, baby.”

“And you’ll make that happen?”

“No, sweetheart, I won’t. But they
will
be brought to justice.”

“That’s not good enough, Thane.” She pushed
off the bed. “They need to hurt like they made her hurt. Like
they’re making me hurt now!”

He sat on the edge of the bed and watched
her.

“Why are you just sitting there?” she
bellowed. “Say something!”

Thane reached for her hand, pulling her
between his legs and wrapping his arms around her.

“Let me go,” she snapped. She tried to push
away again, but he held firm.

“No, love, just settle,” he demanded, and
slid one hand behind her neck, squeezing gently. “We’re going to
find whoever did this to yer mum. I promise. And we’re going to
make sure whoever did it is brought to justice, but we’re no’ going
to torture anyone. I know you’re in pain right now, and you’re
entitled to feel however you feel, so you rage all you want. I’m
here.”

She fell against him and squeezed her eyes
shut. “I hate them.”

“I know, baby.”

“What if they can’t find—”

He frowned. “Don’t go there, love.”

“But—”