Dual Release (18 page)

“The others?”

“Are safe,” Gavin informed her. “Jameson left with the twins. The sun be on the horizon. He be taking them and the young ladies to the hotel. The oth—” His sentence was stopped short when his wife dug her nails into his upper arms and groaned as a contraction hit. Immediately his attention fell to her. “Breathe,
m’gaol
—my love. Breathe.” He kissed her brow and held her until the pain subsided.

“I hate to break this up but you are a dirty mess, Mr. MacKinnon,” Mary stated with a shake of her head. Her thick Scottish brogue was undeniable. “This is supposed to be a clean environment for the baby’s sake.”

“Aye.” He nodded, pulling himself away from Ericka. May pointed him to the private bathroom. He stared straight at Ericka as he spoke. “I shall only be a moment,
m’gaol
.” Then he disappeared to the sound of running water from the sink.

Reassured that Ericka was okay, May took a moment and went into the hall. She walked to the far end and stood near the window, looking out into the early-morning sky. Gavin’s appearance was a miracle. His timing couldn’t have been any better. Smiling, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Jameson. He answered on the first ring.

“I’ve been expecting your call,” he stated. His tone was filled with happiness. “Your present is almost safe and sound at the hotel. We’ll be there within a few minutes. They should be inside before the sun rises.”

“Thank you, Jameson.” May smiled into the phone, even though she knew he couldn’t see it. “How are the young ladies?”

“Jenny and Cait are both fine. Cait’s a bit worse for wear, covered in dirt, but alive. I think after a hot bath, a good meal and a decent sleep both shall be feeling better and more able to relate what happened in greater detail. They’re exhausted.”

“I bet they are. Please let them know how grateful we are for their help.”

“Already have,” Jameson replied. “Several times.”

“How are the others?” She heard him take a hesitant breath and her stomach dropped. Something was wrong.

“Padon has a few minor injuries, bumps, cuts and bruises. Struan has a possible dislocated shoulder. Izzy thinks Ian has a broken arm and ankle from their initial assessments. Apparently if it weren’t for Donnell’s quick thinking, they’d all be dead. But I don’t have the full story as yet.”

She released the breath she’d been holding, expecting far worse news. “Are they receiving medical attention in the emergency room?”

“Not at the moment.” He hesitated and May immediately thought the worst. “The scenic pilot dropped the girls and took off. It was too much for him to handle. Izzy said he freaked when he saw the devastation and wanted no part of it. Charles is en route back to the site to retrieve the others. As soon as Gavin was informed Ericka was in labor, the brothers united against him and made him be on the first trip. Due to time constraints, the twins had no choice but to be on board as well. The sun plays against them right now. Ian and Struan refused medical attention at the site. Ian suggested they stay hidden until the helicopter returns. It would be too much to have to explain why they were there in the first place.”

“How’s the helicopter not being noticed?” She couldn’t imagine it would land and take off without someone seeing it.

“May, there’s so much going on there right now. Besides, there are several medevac helicopters coming and going it’s probably assumed to be one of those.”

From what she’d seen on the news, that was definitely a possibility. “How’d they get out?”

“Through a tunnel connecting the bunker to another bunker. Seems our infamous Brother Leod didn’t make many fans with the community members when he and his band of misfits overtook their home. The community never shared all the details of the compound with them.” He paused then stated quickly, “We’re at the hotel. I’m going to get everyone settled and fed, then I’ll return to the hospital as soon as possible.”

“Okay. Jameson,” May said on a tired whisper, “I love you.”

“I love you too, May.”

Showered and well fed, Jenny and Cait sat on their beds dressed in new pajamas from the hotel gift shop. They had been given the room with two double beds connected to May’s suite. The twins were in statue form in the sitting room and its doorway was in direct eyesight of Jenny and Cait’s room. If anyone tried to enter it, they’d know, especially since Belvedere had taken to guarding that door. His bark would surely wake them. They doubted anyone would enter the suite today, since Jameson had requested total privacy from the hotel management before he left for the hospital.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Jenny said. “It had to be scary down there when it collapsed.”

Cait shrugged. “I won’t lie. I was scared, but the brothers gave me no chance to think about it.”

“How’d they find the escape tunnel so fast?” Jenny snuggled deeper into the covers as she lay on her side facing Cait.

“We had help. One of the three men guarding us was just a kid, a teenager. Donnell knocked his uncle out when we tricked them into opening the cell door they had us captive in. I tackled the kid but the third guy disappeared. We knew he didn’t go out the door we came in, so when you let Gavin know about the possibility they were lining the exit with explosives, it didn’t take much to convince the kid to tell us.” She grinned as if something she thought of tickled her.

“What?” Jenny questioned, rising onto her elbow.

She shook her head as she replied, “I have to admit that kid’s got a lot of moxie. He stood his ground, stared Donnell right in the eye and made one demand in exchange for the exit’s location.”

“What was that?”

“We had to take him and his uncle with us.”

“That’s only fair,” Jenny stated, a little taken aback that they would have left the pair to be buried alive.

“Oh, we had no intention of leaving them. But someone had to carry his uncle since he wasn’t exactly coherent enough to walk straight. Seems Donnell flattened him pretty hard.”

“Is that how Ian got hurt? Carrying the guy out?” Concern filled Jenny’s tone. She’d hated leaving the injured men behind but the brothers were insistent that they go on the helicopter with the twins and Gavin.

“Noooo.” Cait drew the word out, then continued, “Padon carried the uncle. The kid led the way into the escape tunnel, followed by Gavin and the rest of us. Ian brought up the rear. He shut the door behind us at the same time the explosion occurred. The force pushed the door back in on him, sending him flying into Struan, who actually broke his fall. The way Ian landed on him caused Struan’s shoulder dislocation. But neither of them hesitated. They immediately sprang upright and helped each other get the hell out of there.”

“Ohmygod.” Jenny’s eyes widened.

“Those men have the biggest, baddest sets of balls I’ve ever known. None of the MacKinnons let the dust clear before they forced everyone to shake the dirt off and move. No one knew how badly Ian and Struan were hurt until we reached the connecting bunker on the opposite side of the compound. That’s when Gavin was able to reconnect with Charles, let him know our location.”

“Then Gavin contacted me,” Jenny said. “I was never so glad to hear from someone before in my life. I’d made my way to the compound and with the confusion, no one noticed me. I was searching for Dour and you.” She sat up, swung her legs off the bed, stood and pounced on Cait’s bed. Cait sat up just in time to be hugged. “I thought I’d lost my best friend.”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Cait teased.

“I don’t want to get rid of you,” Jenny protested. “Who else would I have to go with on these crazy adventures?”

“Crazy adventures, huh,” she replied, lifting her eyes toward the sitting room door.

Jenny followed her stare. “In that room is someone awesome,” she whispered.

“A pair of awesome someones,” Cait corrected as she agreed.

“Cait,” Jenny said, turning her gaze back to her best friend, “I think I’ve fallen in love with a man who has a major issue with the sun.”

She burst out laughing, causing Jenny to laugh right along with her. “I think it’s more than an issue,” she replied in between gasps of air, calming her laughter. “It’s called a curse.” She cleared her throat and held Jenny’s hand. “Go figure. You and I finally find us a pair of lovable men and they turn out to be gargoyles.”

They burst into laughter again. Cait slid over and Jenny lay beside her. They laughed themselves into total exhaustion amid a flood of hysterical tears.

“So what do we do about it?” Jenny questioned once she could speak.

“We use every resource we have available and find the cure to the curse.”

*

“Do you think we should tell them?” Ericka asked, looking down into the garden from her and Gavin’s bedroom window. He moved to stand beside her.

Dour and Donnell were in statue form exactly where they’d shifted earlier that morning. Cait and Jenny were sitting on a blanket in between the frozen pair, sharing a picnic lunch. Jenny was tapping on a laptop. Cait was thumbing through a stack of books about curses she’d borrowed from Castle MacKinnon’s library.

“Nay,” he replied. “Ye know the rules. From the looks of what we’ve seen the past few nights, it won’t be long before
mi
youngest
brathairs
admit the truth of their hearts to that fine pair of lassies.” He held his six-week-old son in his arms.

Ericka crossed her arms and turned to face him. Her eyebrow arched as he met her gaze. “You know you don’t have to pick him up every time he cries. You’re spoiling him.”

“I no be spoiling young Brady. I be protecting him from having nightmares as he sleeps.” Gavin puffed his chest and grinned.

Ericka shook her head and smiled back at him. “You’re impossible. We need to go downstairs to help with the final details for May’s wedding. And Brady needs his nap.” She patted her breasts and Gavin’s eyes widened with passionate heat. “Trust me, his tummy is full, so that should give us a few good hours to accomplish something.”

Gently he tucked Brady in his crib then gathered Ericka into a hug. “Do we have time to make another?” He wagged his eyebrows and Ericka giggled.

“We always have time for that.”

Gavin lifted her and headed straight for the bed. “May will have to wait a wee bit more.”

“Only a wee bit?” Ericka teased.

“Have I ever failed to please ye?” His voice deepened.

“Nay,
m’gaol
, never.”

*

Cait and Jenny sat in the second row from the front beside Donnell and Dour. The garden was well lit with strings of bright lights everywhere and candles all around the altar. Charles acted as Jameson’s best man. May’s niece Ericka stood as matron of honor. Gavin sat in the front row holding Brady, who was dressed in a miniature kilt that matched his father’s and a cute little white dress shirt.

Izzy’s father, Angus MacDonell, acted as officiant for the wedding ceremony. He not only owned the local pub, Grant’s Tavern, he was recently elected town mayor, which gave him the legal right to perform civil services. He stood under the arch of wildflowers and lavender with the groom, who looked tremendously happy to be waiting on his forthcoming bride. Cait couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful look of anticipation on his face. She cut a sideways glance at Donnell and sighed.

Each of the MacKinnon brothers looked dapper in the family’s traditional kilts. But as far as she was concerned, Donnell was the handsomest. She kept catching herself staring at him dressed in full ancient regalia right down to the leather boots on his feet. His bright-red hair was pulled back in a tie at his nape. And every time he looked at her with those drop-dead-sexy green eyes, she wanted to jump his bones and kiss each and every freckle on his body, including the ones on his cock.

God, she loved this man but for some reason hadn’t told him. The words just wouldn’t exit her lips. They seemed lodged in her throat. Several times she’d wanted to tell him, to hear him say it back, but stopped. What if he didn’t feel the same way? Would her saying it first end their relationship? When he caught her staring, she quickly darted her eyes forward. For now, she intended to be happy with the time she shared with Donnell. There was no way she was going to let a little thing like three words ruin her chances with him.

Or end the possibility of her ever having sex with him again. With the wedding being set for exactly one hour after dusk so the twins could participate, they’d barely had time for a quickie before having to be dressed and in their seats for the ceremony. Just thinking about him fucking her up against the wall in the shower had her wet, willing and ready for another go. Cait took a moment to control her lust. It wasn’t easy with the object of her desire sitting so close to her their thighs touched, and each time he moved he seemed to brush some part of her. Intentional or not, it was killing her.

In an attempt to think of something other than sex, she turned her focus to the people gathered for the wedding. Izzy and Ian sat in front of them. Ian had a cast on his forearm and wore a walking brace on his leg, which hadn’t been broken but had a severely strained Achilles tendon and suffered bone bruising. She’d seen a picture of Izzy with short, spiked white hair but liked her current look better. Her hair was shoulder-length and its natural deep-auburn tone made her green eyes stand out. Ian had his dark hair pulled back and tied with a leather strap. Apparently he liked Izzy’s longer length as well, because he kept his arm relaxed on her chair back and his fingers toyed with her hair since they’d taken their seats. Cait smiled at the affectionate touch.

In a row to the right of the center aisle sat Struan and Caledonia. This woman had the strangest color blue eyes she’d ever seen and her jet-black hair was kept in a braid that landed below her waist. Struan sat close to her. His hair was also tied back in a ponytail but this was the first time Cait noticed the streaks of red highlights in his otherwise dark hair. Behind them sat Padon and Lynn. Now, they were an adorable pair as far as she was concerned. He was tall and large with dark-auburn hair and she was short and robust in stature with a smile that never faded. Her bright-blue eyes seemed to twinkle when she looked at Padon.