Dragon Warrior (Midnight Bay) (15 page)

It was then she noticed the knife in his hand, as well as the way he was holding it; with the blade running back along his wrist, just like she’d seen Trace hold his knife once when he’d been home on leave. Like all fighting men did, he’d explained to her, when they meant business.

She took a shuddering breath.

William’s arm tightened around her. “We’re going to walk to the truck, and you’re going to get in the driver’s seat,” he said, bending to whisper in her ear as he continued scanning the trees. “Reach in my pocket and get the key, and when you get in, put it in the keyhole but don’t start the truck. Understand?”

She nodded, and then slipped her hand in the pocket he turned toward her and took out his key, making sure she didn’t press any of the buttons on the fob.

She tugged on his arm to get him to lean over. “Hey,” she quietly said in his ear. “I could hit the panic button on your key fob, and all the lights would come on and the horn would blast, and that would scare away whatever the hell’s out there.”

“No noise. Is there a way to stop the interior lights from coming on?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a button that will shut them off.”

“Just as soon as you open the door, push it.”

“The lights are still going to come on when I open it.”

“Just get them off as soon as ye can. Then get in and lock
your
door but not the others.” He gave her another squeeze. “You’re doing fine, lass.”

Fine? She was too friggin’ scared to panic!

He took hold of her hand again and slowly approached the truck. Maddy heard a noise to their right and tried to
run
the rest of the way.

But William held her back. “Just keep walking,” he said, keeping his attention on the direction of the noise. He let go of her when they reached the truck and turned his back to her. “Get in, shut off the lights, and lock only your door,” he repeated.

A low, menacing growl came from the shadows off to their right, and every hair on Maddy’s body rose in terror. She stopped breathing completely when she heard another growl just off to their left.

“Now,”
William growled with equal menace.

She yanked open the door, blinking against the sudden light as she fumbled with the buttons on the dash until they went out. She scrambled up into the seat and shoved the key in the ignition, but didn’t close her door. “William, get in!” she cried, trying to scoot over the console.

He closed the door for her, but before she could protest, he opened the back door and climbed inside. “Lock all the doors!”

Maddy groped at the buttons, and finally heard all four locks click.

William moved around behind her, bumping her seat, and she turned to see him reaching behind the back of the rear seat. Her eyes widened when his hand emerged holding a . . . sword?

“Can ye start the truck without the lights coming on?”

“I don’t know how!” she cried, gripping the steering wheel.

He squeezed her shoulder. “It’s okay, Maddy,” he said calmly. “There appears to be enough room for ye to turn around without having to back up.” He continued scanning the woods surrounding them on three sides. “If there are any small trees in the way, just drive over them.”

“Wh-what’s out there?”

“I’m not sure, lass,” he said, giving her shoulder another reassuring squeeze. “I only caught the shadowed outline of what looked like a wolf.”

Maddy took her first full breath in twenty minutes. “You must have seen a coyote, then; we don’t have wolves in Maine.” She reached down to the key but didn’t start the truck. “But if it didn’t run from us, the poor thing could be rabid. Just as soon as we get to Eve’s, we’ll call the sheriff and report it.”

His hand on her shoulder disappeared. “Start the truck, and drive out the road.”

Taking another deep breath that went a long way to settling her nerves, Maddy started the truck, put it in gear, and drove in as tight a circle as she could, barely missing a tree she never would have been able to drive over. Not that there was any need to anymore. Coyotes, even rabid ones, couldn’t get them now.

“Um . . . William?” she said, driving up the narrow dirt road. “Is there any particular reason you keep a sword behind your backseat?”

“Because I don’t own a gun yet,” he said, leaning his arms on the two front seatbacks as he alternated between watching out the windshield and glancing behind them. “I hope to purchase a rifle, but even so, Trace told me that it can’t be loaded in a vehicle.” He snorted. “Which makes no sense; what good is an unloaded gun? And he said I can’t carry a handgun without a permit, either.”

“And you feel the need to be armed because . . .?” She glanced over at him briefly and then laughed softly, more from relief than amusement. “What? Are you afraid of the big bad bogeyman, Killkenny?”

“Are ye saying you’re not?”

“Hey, I told you; the bogeyman is in love with me. Maybe that was
his
shadow you saw, and he was growling at
you
. Maybe he’s jealous.”

But she suddenly slammed on the brakes when a large animal leaped off the road and into the woods in front of them.

“Don’t stop!” William snapped. “Step on the gas.”

Maddy did as he said, gripping the steering wheel fiercely. “That was one hell of a big coyote,” she whispered, slowing the truck to a less reckless speed when she hit a bump that lifted her off her seat.

“Speed back up,” he instructed. “And no matter what ye see, don’t stop.”

“Omigod, there’s two of them! Behind us!” she cried when she glanced in her rearview mirror and saw two monstrous coyotes chasing them. “No, three!”

She slammed on the brakes again when the headlights fell on another one standing in the middle of the road in front of them, its eyes reflecting like glowing coals. Its lips were curled back, exposing the biggest fangs she’d ever seen on
any
animal.

“Drive, Maddy!” William ordered, nudging her shoulder. “Run over it if ye have to. Just don’t stop.”

She pushed down on the accelerator and the truck lurched forward. Only instead of getting out of the way, the animal leaped directly at them, snarling so fiercely that she heard it over the revving engine. Maddy screamed, giving the wheel a jerk to avoid it, but just as quickly jerked it back when branches scraped her outside mirror. The animal slammed into the top of the passenger side of the cab and tumbled into the woods, the impact sending spider veins through the glass. She screamed again when not ten seconds later, the truck suddenly rocked violently, as if something had jumped into the back bed.

“Drive as if the hounds of hell are after ye, Madeline!”

She pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor and didn’t let up until she reached the main highway. She stomped on the brake to slow down only enough to make the turn—and screamed again when whatever was in the bed suddenly slammed into the rear window with enough force to shatter it into a thousand spider veins.

“Dammit, William, what are they!” she cried, tromping down on the gas again as they careened onto the highway. The tires squealed, and the truck fishtailed toward the ditch just as she heard a bloodcurdling scream—which hadn’t come from her!

She glanced in her passenger-side mirror to see whatever had been in the bed get flung out as she straightened from the fishtail, the taillights showing a large ball of fur rolling down the pavement and into the ditch.

“William! What
are
they?” she cried again, her eyes glued on the road ahead as she pushed the truck to a dangerous speed.

“You’re doing fine, Madeline,” he said evenly, patting her shoulder. “Just keep going as fast as ye can, and drive directly to Kenzie’s house.”

“No! We’re only a few miles from my home, and I need to make sure Sarah is safe from . . . whatever those things are! I have a couple of my dad’s rifles and a shotgun at the house. I need to get home.”

“Ye can’t, Maddy. You’ll be putting Sarah and Patricia in danger if ye do. The beasts have your scent now, and you’d be leading them right to your family. Drive to Kenzie and Eve’s.”

“M-my
scent
?” she whispered. Oh, God, what in hell was going on? “But for all we know, there could be more of them out there, and I need to get my daughter—Omigod!” she cried when she glanced in the rearview mirror. “They’re still following us!” She looked down at the speedometer. “I’m doing seventy!”

“I need ye to go to Maddy’s house,” William said, only it took her a moment to realize that he wasn’t talking to her. “And bring Patricia and Sarah to An Tèarmann.”

Realizing he was talking on his cell phone, Maddy sensed him turn away as he lowered his voice. “We have company, Gregor. Close the storm shutters. It’s best ye leave before we get there, so ye won’t be followed. I will be on watch until ye get back.”

There was a moment’s silence but for the sound of the laboring engine, before she heard William continue, only in a language she didn’t recognize. She glanced in the rearview mirror again, growing truly terrified when she didn’t see anything behind them.

She flinched when William’s hand came to rest on her shoulder again. “Kenzie will bring Sarah and Patricia to his house,” he told her. “When ye reach the road to An Tèarmann, don’t slow down any more than ye have to.” His fingers lightly dug into her. “You’re doing really well, lass.”

“No, I’m not!” she cried, taking a hand off the wheel just long enough to swipe the tears welling up in her eyes. “I won’t be doing
well
until I know my baby is safe. Give me the phone so I can call Mom. I can’t have Kenzie just suddenly show up at the house; she’ll think something terrible has happened to me.”

“You drive; I’ll dial the number and then hold the phone for ye.”

She gave him the number, and while he dialed, Maddy wracked her brain as to what she could say that wouldn’t give her mom a heart attack. “Hey, Mom,” she said calmly when Patricia picked up the phone. “No, everything’s just fine, except William and I just heard on the radio that the sheriff and state police are chasing some criminals in the woods around Midnight Bay. And, well, William said he’d feel better if you and Sarah weren’t in the house all alone. So he just called Kenzie and asked him to drive over and get you, and bring you and Sarah back to Eve’s house. What? No, it’ll be quicker if Kenzie comes and gets you; we . . . we’re heading back from Ellsworth right now, and we’ll meet you at Eve’s. Rick? Oh, don’t worry about him, Mom. He’s with his buddies, and . . . and I think they were all going to Oak Harbor tonight. He’s safe, but I just want to make sure you and Sarah are safe, too.”

She glanced in her rearview mirror and then back at the road. “Get Sarah dressed and be waiting downstairs for Kenzie. But stay inside and keep the doors locked, and don’t open them until Kenzie actually gets out of his truck and comes up onto the porch to get you, okay? Yes, I love you, too. I’ll see you soon.”

She pulled her ear away from the phone to let William know she was done. “Wh-what about Rick?” she asked when she heard him close the phone. “There’s a good chance they’re all down at the gravel pit.”

William’s hand returned to her shoulder. “I spent the afternoon with Trace, and he told me he’d be shadowing Rick this evening. And your cousin impressed me as a man who can handle any situation that might arise. I doubt our . . . visitors will head that far inland, anyway.” He gave her a squeeze. “Ye have my word, Maddy; Kenzie will keep Patricia and Sarah safe.”

“I don’t know what those things are, William, or why they’re chasing us,” she whispered, swiping her eyes with the back of her shaking hand. “I-I don’t know what’s happening.”

His grip tightened on her shoulder. “Ye don’t have to know right now,” he said softly. “Ye only have to deal with it. This will all be over soon, and when the sun’s shining tomorrow, it will seem to be nothing more than a bad dream.”

She instinctively slowed down when they reached town, and even put on her blinker! “Oh, God, I’m losing my mind!”

William actually chuckled. “Ye need to wait a little longer before ye do. When we get to An Tèarmann, turn in a wide arc so your side of the truck is right by the steps. Then shut off the engine, but don’t get out until I tell ye to. Understand?”

If he asked her if she
understood
one more time, she was going to scream.

No, wait; she’d already screamed so much her throat hurt.

She took a fortifying breath. “I understand.”

And then she put her blinker on again to turn into Eve’s farm! Squinting against the array of floodlights lighting up the dooryard like high noon, Maddy swung the truck in a wide circle, stopped it right beside the porch steps, and shut off the engine. “Okay, let’s get the hell inside.”

“Nay. You’ll be going in, but I’m going to keep watch outside.”

She snapped her head around. “You can keep watch
inside
, where it’s safe!”

He cupped her cheek in his palm, his deep blue eyes glistening in the floodlights. “You’re quite a woman, Madeline. I’ve known battle-hardened warriors who couldn’t have done what you did tonight.”

“Please come inside with me,” she whispered.

“I can’t find out what’s going on from inside the house.” He pulled her closer as he leaned in and kissed her, then disappeared.

Maddy heard his door unlock, and twisted to see him get out—taking his sword with him. She spun around and opened her door, and he helped her out of the truck.

“You’ll be holding your daughter in your arms soon,” he said, leading her up the stairs. “How long ago did Kenzie leave?” he asked Eve when she opened the front door.

“He called to say he just got to Maddy’s house, and everything is quiet there,” Eve said, grabbing Maddy’s other arm and pulling her away from William.

“And the pup?”

“She’s in the back room. Kenzie brought her in before he left.”

William nodded. “Lock up behind me,” he said, disappearing back outside.

Maddy pulled away from Eve and ran to the door—since that was her only view outside because all the windows had heavy metal storm shutters covering them. “I want him to stay inside!” she cried, watching him slip into the shadows beyond the barn.