Dark Warrior Untamed (22 page)

He leaned his head back to get a look at her. Sure enough, her mouth was twitching as she held back her laughter.

“Care to share?”

“When I came in this morning, my biggest worry was whether or not you wanted anyone to know that you and I were … well, you know.”

Yes, he did know, and now, thanks to the Talion’s sensitive hearing, so did Sandor and Ranulf. “I’m guessing it’s a bit too late to worry about that.”

She nodded. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“That a beautiful woman has outed me as her lover? I’d have to be four kinds of crazy to mind that.”

And while they were on the subject, he needed to kiss her right then and there. When she melted into his arms, the fear that she’d been about to walk out of his life rather than just his office disappeared.

He held her close and rested his chin against her head. “We’ll figure this out, Piper. Go have some tea, talk to Kerry, and leave this mess to me.”

Grey pulled back and looked her in the eye. “I’m really good at my job. I know you worry, but no more than I do when you’re out there on street waiting for the bus. We can’t let fear rule us, not if we’re going to have any kind of future together.”

Piper gave him a solemn nod. “All right, then. We agree it’s okay to worry, but not to let it ruin what we have.”

“Exactly.”

They kissed again to seal the pact. Damn, he wished
they were back at his hotel or her apartment. Anywhere but here with two Talions and his ruler just down the hall.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He grabbed it without letting Piper go. After a quick glance at the screen, he answered.

“Damn it, kid, it’s about time you called in.”

As he listened to Sean, Piper slipped out of his embrace and disappeared down the hall. He was being pulled apart by his need to keep everyone safe and to keep Piper with him at all times.

He knew his duty even if he didn’t like it.

“You did good, kid. Come back and we’ll figure out our next move.”

Grey braced himself to face the two men waiting in his office. The silence from their direction was oppressive. They were bound to have questions about his relationship with Piper. So did he, for that matter. He wished he had some answers.

When Grey walked back into the room, Sandor pretended to be mesmerized by the exploding car. Ranulf, on the other hand, sat on Grey’s desk, his arms crossed over his chest. Okay, so the two of them had decided to let the Viking be the point man. Great.

Grey tried to avoid the conversation. “Sean called. It took him a while to spot the guy, but he found the kid a block over right behind the house. He was standing on a rock at the edge of the yard, snapping pictures with his cell phone.

“Our boy Sean’s got definite potential as a Talion. He managed to trail his quarry all the way to the guy’s
car and even thought to get the license plate number. There was no way to track him once he drove off, so Sean’s on his way back.”

Sandor looked like a proud papa. He was entitled to, especially considering he’d been the one to give Sean a new chance at life. Even Ranulf looked impressed, but then his eyes flared as he focused back on Grey.

Okay. Fine. Let’s get down to it.

“Get it out of your system, Viking.”

“You and Piper?”

Grey picked up a piece of paper and ran a finger along the edge, leaving small flames burning in its wake. He watched with satisfaction as the paper curled up and blackened. As a show of strength it wasn’t much, but it was a damn fine indicator of his current mood.

“Yes, me and Piper.” He tossed the flaming paper into an empty wastebasket. “Got a problem with that?”

Sandor spun around to face him. “You haven’t known her long. How far has this gone?”

Grey’s temper hit the flashpoint. “What the hell is this? The bloody Spanish Inquisition?”

“Damn straight it is,” Sandor snarled right back at him. “We like Piper.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean? “So do I. Or is this because you don’t like me? Well, too fucking bad.”

“That’s not what I meant, Grey, and you know it.” Sandor was sparking a few flames himself. “She’s only been aware of her Kyth heritage a short time. You saw
how she reacted to our plan.”

Ranulf reentered the fray. “She needs time to adjust to what she is without adding complications like—”

Okay, this was going to get ugly. “Like what, you bloody berserker? From what I’ve heard, you two wankers were both sniffing around Kerry from day one. How much time did you give her to adjust before you added those very same complications to
her
life?”

“Watch it, Danby. That’s my wife you’re talking about, not to mention your Dame.” Ranulf’s hands were at his sides, tightly fisted and ready to fight.

Grey didn’t give a damn. “And what about you, Sandor? We’re supposed to keep our identities secret from humans like Lena. How long after you met her did you ‘complicate’ her?”

Sandor jumped to his feet. “Hey, now!”

Facing off against two pissed off Talions might be suicidal, but Grey planned on giving as good as he got. That didn’t mean he really wanted to start trading punches with these two, especially with Kerry and Piper around. The two women would not appreciate their men acting like idiots.

He forced his anger down a couple of notches. “I will be careful with Piper. That’s all you need to know. Now, can we get back to business?”

Ranulf was already nodding. “Fine. But Piper has no family to stand up for her, so I’m the one you’ll answer to if you get careless with her feelings.”

“Right. But the bottom line is that this is between me and her. Nobody else.”

They all froze when Sean appeared in the doorway.
He hesitated to cross the threshold, no doubt sensing the tension in the room.

“Come on in, Sean. Tell us everything.”

“Adele, I thought you’d be here by now. I’ve been waiting to set the final timetable.”

She winced, hating the possessiveness in Wes’s voice. There was a lot about the guy she enjoyed very much, but she’d had enough of being treated like a prized possession by her father. She wasn’t about to put up with it from anyone else. On the other hand, she still needed Wes’s services—all of them.

“I’m sorry it’s taking so long, but I’ll be in Seattle tonight. Thanks for texting me the directions. I shouldn’t have any trouble finding you.”

She dropped her voice low and gravelly, just the way he liked it. A whisper near his ear was all it usually took to get him hard and ready to ride. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed you. I’ve had nothing to think about on this long drive but how I want to please you, and I know just how to go about it.”

Especially because she’d tried a few ideas out with the highly talented Randy last night. Her compliments to his parents; they’d certainly named him appropriately.

Wes’s reaction was predictable. “Hope you’re prepared for a long night then. I’ve been saving all my energy for you.”

What a shame she couldn’t say the same, but she wisely kept that little tidbit to herself. Instead, she
began, “Here’s what I’ve been thinking …”

To entertain both of them, she described in great detail what she had in mind for the evening. Wes made a few suggestions that had her clenching her knees. He was inventive; she’d give him that.

She pressed down on the gas pedal, wanting to get to Seattle as fast as possible. She glanced at the mileage sign up ahead. “I’m about ten miles south of Olympia. I’ll see you soon, lover. I can’t wait to see how our plans are coming along.”

She let him ramble on about e-mails and his plans to blow up an antique car. It all sounded good, but traffic was getting too heavy for her attention to be split. “Sorry, Wes, but I’ve got to go.”

He was still talking when she closed her phone.

The Seattle airport was busier than Harcourt remembered, but at least his flight had been on time. He shuffled along in line to clear customs and retrieve his luggage. Normally, he would have found the whole process tedious, but he needed time to figure out his next step. He’d been eating antacids by the handful since this mess had started. Between the burning in his stomach and his inability to sleep, he was a disaster.

If Adele were with him, he’d be sorely tempted to choke the life out of her and be done with it. Nothing—not even seeing his daughter ascend to the throne of their people—was worth this misery. If he didn’t put a stop to whatever madness she was up to, the Talions would kill her for him. Maybe that was inevitable, but
that didn’t mean he wanted to die with her.

The stupid bitch! Why couldn’t she have inherited her late mother’s compliant nature? All he’d wanted was for her to be the face of the Kyth while he ruled their world from behind the throne. No chance of that happening now. The most they could hope for was to skulk back to London without anyone knowing.

It certainly didn’t help that Adele continued to ignore his phone calls and e-mails. He was convinced she was heading straight for Seattle, if not already parked in front of the Dame’s home with a detonator in her hands. Did she really think he wouldn’t piece it all together?

He’d always suspected that her superior intellect was going to cause them both problems. Yes, she’d always done everything he’d asked of her: excelling in school, making friends in all the right circles, being stylish without being ostentatious. The perfect daughter. The perfect candidate for Grand Dame of the Kyth.

And yet, there’d been clues all along if he’d only paid attention to them. Her taste in music was appalling. She’d also alienated more than one of her professors with her sharp intellect and even sharper tongue. Granted, he didn’t suffer fools well either, but occasionally one had to deal with them. Insults and shrewish behavior did not make things any easier.

Finally, there was Wes. He’d had the boy investigated when Adele first started seeing him. Despite his dreadful origins, Wes had used his freakish genius to worm his way into the same university as Adele. The school prided itself on its scholarship program. Fine.
He supposed that was necessary in today’s PC culture.

That didn’t mean Harcourt appreciated them allowing—even encouraging—such beings to associate with their betters. He wished he knew if Adele was using Wes as a way to rebel or for some other, darker reason. Wes had taken a degree in chemistry with high honors. And the investigator Harcourt had hired found magazines on weapons and explosives in the boy’s apartment when he’d searched it.

Harcourt had searched Adele’s room himself, looking for clues about her current whereabouts. When he found her stash of birth control pills, he’d almost become ill. Did she need to risk ruining her entire life by tarnishing her reputation with the likes of that boy?

Obviously she didn’t care what anyone—especially her father—thought. At least her mother hadn’t lived to see Adele treading such a dangerous path.

“May I see your papers, sir?”

The question startled him. He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed the line ahead of him had finally disappeared.

“I’m sorry.” He held out his passport. “I’m afraid the long trip has left me a bit foggy.”

In short order, Harcourt had his passport tucked safely in his pocket and his luggage in hand. Ordinarily, he would have contacted the Dame’s butler to arrange for a car, but not this time. Sneaking into town uninvited and unannounced, he would have to find his own way to a suitable hotel.

Once he was settled in, he’d hunt for his daughter. If he could find Adele and derail her plans for destruction,
they’d be on the next plane to London. With luck, their brief presence here in Seattle would go unnoticed. If the Talions needed a target, he could throw Wes their way.

And if Adele wouldn’t listen—or worse yet, if he was already too late—he would return to the UK alone and disavow any knowledge of her affairs. He’d grieve for her passing as any good father should, but he wouldn’t die for her.

That was simply too much to ask.

He stepped outside and headed for the long line of waiting taxis. One driver was already opening the trunk for Harcourt’s luggage. He surrendered it with great relief.

It was the first thing that had gone right in days. As he climbed into the backseat of the cab, he prayed it wouldn’t be the last.

“L
et’s take a walk.”

Kerry was already heading for the door, leaving Piper no choice but to follow the Dame out to the rose garden. Both women paused to stare up at the bright blue of the Seattle sky. Nothing like soaking up a little sunshine to soothe the soul, especially in a city known for its gray days.

Kerry took the lead as they wandered through the garden. Piper drew in a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating scent of a dark red rose. Both of them carefully skirted the blackened circle where the bomb had exploded. It was hard to ignore the spot completely, festooned as it was with strips of yellow crime scene tape. But eventually the damage to the garden would fade.

The memories wouldn’t. Not completely.

Despite Grey’s resilient Talion physiology, he had almost died when he’d been bashed into the wall by the explosion. Piper could still see him flying through the air, out of control, until he bounced off the brick wall and landed unmoving on the ground. He’d healed, but it had been a close call. Too close.

“He’s fine, Piper.”

Kerry stood beside her, looking at the clumps of
charred grass. Had she read Piper’s thoughts? Kerry had that ability, but as far as Piper knew, she’d never used it on her. Kerry glanced up at her and shook her head.

“No, I’m not reading your thoughts. Given the expression on your face, it wasn’t hard to guess what you were thinking about.” Kerry wrapped her arms around herself, looking chilled despite the warm weather.

Piper picked up a piece of burned grass. “I keep seeing it over and over again in my head. I have to remind myself that he’s all right. Or at least he is for now.”

Kerry made a wide turn around the crime scene. “Let’s go try out the new swing. I had it installed in memory of Dame Judith. I looked at all kinds of fancy benches, but as soon as I saw this swing, I knew it was perfect.”