TheKnightsDruid (6 page)

He’d become quite a successful man, known for his ruthless nature in the board room, yet for all the accolades he had accrued through the last seven years, the one thing he coveted above all others was the demise of Temple Security and Investigations and with it the owner Arthur Penner known to Vance as Arthur Pendragon.

His father, his nemesis.

The very name of his enemy brought a burning hatred boiling through his veins.
This
time he would take greater care to destroy the man. He would take away everything Arthur valued one piece at a time until at last, he’d take his life. Oh the thought of it actually made him…happy.

The sound of the door opening brought him out of his reverie, his attention narrowing on Marco. Vance’s anger obliterated his good mood, his gaze swept over his head of security. Marco was big, nearly as tall as Vance with long brown hair tied back from rugged, sharp angels of his face. Dark brown eyes stared back at him, a hint of frustration clear to read.

Vance struggled to rein in his rage. He had dispatched the two imbeciles he sent to retrieve the woman and had the stupidity of returning empty handed. Juliet Boyd was a valuable prize, one he needed to further his objectives. He knew the secret she so desperately tried to keep hidden, knew she could control all but the strongest minds. It was a power he coveted and he would not be denied.

“And have you found Ms. Boyd?” Vance kept his voice deceptively soft, pleasant.

“Sorry, Mr. Hollister, there is no trace of her anywhere.”

The door opened again and a small stooped woman shuffled in. Her pink, paisley print dress hung on her thin form, a bag nearly as big as her hung from one bony shoulder. One of Marco’s men escorted her in, his hand light on her arm. Although the woman looked frail and old the power emanating from her was quite the opposite.

Vance moved to greet her taking her wrinkled hand in his. He led her to one of the chairs lining the table. “Carlotta, thank you for coming.”

Carlotta’s voice was surprisingly strong as her rheumy clouded eyes bored into his. “As if I had any choice in the matter,” she grumbled. “After this I owe you nothing,” She pointed a bony finger accusingly toward Vance, “And I
mean
nothing more. The balance between us will once again be restored.”

Vance’s sneered down at her, his demeanor one of complete superiority. “That suits me perfectly, old crone. Now, find out where my missing Druid is.”

“You would taunt the Devil’s own. The Druids are protected by the Goddess Viviane what few there are left she guards ferociously,” Carlotta groused while pulling out an amethyst pendent and her ball of pure flawless crystal from the bag. She placed them with reverence upon the table before her.

“Leave us, but don’t go far,” Vance instructed both men.

Alone with Carlotta, Vance made himself comfortable in a chair across from her. Watching as she busily made her preparations. Holding the pendant from its heavy gold chain it swung slowly back and forth before settling and hanging still. He had little doubt as to her ability to find Juliet and once her location became known he would have her right where he wanted her.

In
his
control.

Carlotta stroked crystal ball with her other hand muttering under her breath. Some sort of scrying spell, Vance assumed. His gaze intent on the old woman, he curbed his impatience.

How she knew Juliet was a Druid didn’t surprise him. Carlotta’s special talents laid bare any secrets her target may hold close. All she required was the name of the item or person sought and her ability would kick in.

She was the very best at finding anything lost. The fact she thought herself free of her debt to him after this was laughable. He didn’t have any intention of releasing Carlotta. Something she would soon discover.

“Ah, this is unexpected,” Carlotta’s voice broke through his musings. A hint of amusement wove through her words.

“Tell me, old crone,” Vance demanded his tone laced with steel.

“The one you seek is protected by your enemy, Arthur. Do you intend to beard the lion in his own den? You don’t seem the suicidal type to me.”

“Have a care old woman you don’t need your limbs to work your divinations. Now where do I begin my search?”

The pendant began to swing in wide circles, gaining momentum and height as it circled the room in several sweeps. The pendant jerked roughly before stopping abruptly pointing northwest. Carlotta squinted into her ball, muttering a few more words of power before lifting her gaze to Vance.

“You will find your Druid at Malibu Canyon, a large compound overlooking the sea. A note of caution, it is heavily guarded. Extracting her will be tricky at best.”

Vance twisted his lips into a cold smile. “Juliet can’t stay hidden forever once she steps foot out of the compound my men will be there to take her. I’m a patient man, Carlotta, as you well know.”

Carlotta hastily placed the pendant and crystal ball back into her bag and rose to leave. “Then we are done, the two of us. You have the information you need.”

Vance rose from his chair, moving once again to the long row of windows and studied the busy city street below. “We are not quite done yet, Carlotta. You see I still have need of your services, so I have decided you will be staying with us.”

“We…what? We had a deal,” she sputtered.

He turned and faced her, enjoyment at her expense evident in dark eyes. “Marco,” he called out. The door opened immediately and Marco stepped into the room. “Ah, Carlotta, you should know me well enough by now,” he chided, “I never release anything I find of value and you are still quite valuable to me.”

“I hope you burn in hell,” she spat, her body tense with fury.

“Take her to her new lodgings. Once she is settled come see me, we have much to plan for.”

As Marco led a resistant Carlotta out of the room Vance smiled, soon he would have the Druid and with her, the next step in his plan to destroy Arthur Penner. Life was good.

* * * *

Juliet stared up at the elusive Arthur Penner and couldn’t help but feel like a star struck teenager. After Colin stormed out the door—giving her the most earth moving orgasm she had ever known—she wasted little time looking in the closet for something to wear. An array of colors filled her stunned vision, finding dresses from various designers and all of them her favorites. Pulling out a powder blue Christian Dior dress she relished the cool slide of silk caressing her fingers.

She found the matching low heeled pumps arranged neatly on the floor below and rummaged through the chest of drawers for a bra and panties. She’d barely managed to don the clothes and run a brush through her hair when a knock sounded sharply at the door. She gave her appearance one last look and had to admit the dress was perfection with its low scooped neck and tucked in waist which emphasized her curves. The dress fell to just below her ankles in a soft swish of material making her feel like some modern day fairy tale princess.

Another knock came, this time sounding a little more impatient. With one last brush stroke through her long hair she hurried to the door. Half expecting Colin on the other end, she felt the sharp stab of disappointment when she found herself looking at a pretty young woman, straight dark hair cut into a stylish bob that framed her oval face. Slate grey eyes watched her with a hint of curiosity. Juliet found herself liking the woman instinctively, giving her a hesitant smile.

“Well, well, I can see why Colin is so besotted with you.” She laughed the sound light and pleasant. “It’s nice to finally meet you Juliet. I’m Andrea Calder, but you can call me Andy. Most people around here do. Anyway, I’m here to take you to the dining room.” She waved Juliet to follow as she turned and moved down the hallway at a quick pace.

Juliet hurried to catch up to the talkative energetic woman, barely noticing her surroundings as she rushed through the long hallway with its myriad of doors. “I hardly think Col…I mean Mr. Hennessy is besotted with me or anyone,” she argued, remembering the look of distaste sweeping over his handsome features after he kissed her senseless. Hardly the behavior of someone who cared much less
liked
her.

Andrea shook her head, giving her an impish grin. “I have been around a long time and have gotten to know the men under this roof quite well. You can mark my words, Colin cares a great deal for you and I am glad of it. He’s been alone for far too long, not healthy if you ask me.”

Juliet’s stomach filled with butterflies at the woman’s statement, could she have read him wrong? Surely this woman was mistaken. Excitement at the prospect rose through her and she squashed it mercilessly. The man was arrogant, high handed and…and she didn’t know what else, but she knew it wasn’t complementary.

Any further talk between them stopped as she led Juliet into a large circular atrium with arched ceilings, marble floors and in the center stood a water fountain. White marble shaped into delicate palm fronds, water poured down from the staggered leaves and into the large pool filled with Koi. Juliet spied three other hallways just like the one she emerged from. The woman led her to a large oak door standing just to the right and beckoned with one delicate hand for her to follow.

Juliet stepped into a large room sporting several chairs; sofas, an impressive fireplace and entertainment system along with a huge flat screen TV. She paused at the door the woman held open for her taking a breath to steel her nerves before entering the dining room and directly in front of none other than Arthur Penner. A delectable smell filled the air, making her mouth water and her stomach rumbled at the sight of the table filled with steaming plates of food.

“Welcome to my home, Ms. Boyd.”

The deep voice held a note of a southern accent, Virginia perhaps? Pulling her gaze from the tantalizing table she smiled nervously, taking in his blond good looks and warm brown eyes. She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to find several men watching her with interest. She wondered if being gorgeous was a prerequisite for the men who worked for Arthur Penner, if so Arthur had that covered in spades.

“Um… thanks for having me here, Mr. Penner. I promise to be out of your hair as soon as possible.”

“Please call me Arthur and I would like you to stay until we know the danger is past.” Arthur smiled, extending his hand to indicate the men in the room. “You have already met Andrea.”

Andrea walked over and nestled into a man with a shaved head. He was big, his face starkly handsome. “This is my husband, Neil Calder. We both work for Arthur in various capacities. Neil heads up the security details for thousands of our clients and I work the back end in intel gathering information,” she explained. The love shining in their eyes as they gazed at each other stirred in Juliet a pang of envy. What would it be like to have someone love her as deeply as Neil seemed to love his wife?

Arthur’s words brought her out of her musings. “And this is Darius Roarke and Simon Leary,” Arthur introduced, nodding at the two men.

Darius could have been a male model with his perfectly sculpted face, broad shoulders and lean chiseled body. Dark eyes sparkled with curiosity and a full sensuous mouth turned up in a sexy-as-hell smile. Dark glossy hair was pulled back from his face and fell in a thick mass down to his waist. Simon Leary couldn’t have been more opposite as his hulking frame stood in an aggressive stance beside him. His roughhewn features seemed carved out of granite weren’t handsome, yet there was a raw edged masculinity to him. Shaggy ebony locks fell over ice blue eyes glittering with open hostility as they raked over her.

“Well, now that the pleasantries are out of the way can we eat?” Simon growled, sitting down at the food laden table.

Juliet caught Arthur’s frown of concern, but before she could comment the door swung open again and Colin walked into the room. Her heart pounded in her chest and her pulse speed up. Damn the man, what was it about him that attracted her so?

“Good of you to make it.” Arthur drawled with a wry smile.

“I’m here aren’t I?” Colin snapped, seating himself at the table in front of the table and started to fill his plate.

Juliet ground her teeth in anger and…
hurt
? Damn, she didn’t want to feel anything for the irritating Irishman. Flashing Arthur her brightest smile she kept all her attention on her host. Unfortunately she couldn’t stop her body’s hyper awareness of Colin and by the look of understanding Arthur flashed her way she was doing a horrible job of keeping her emotions buried.

Damn the man
twice
to the nine levels of hell.

Squaring her shoulders she let Arthur lead her to her chair. Arthur took his seat at the head of the table with Colin, Neil and Simon on the right and Andrea, Darius with her on the left. With a twinge of irritation she noticed she ended up directly across from Colin.

Just great.

She would just have to ignore him as well. After all, two could play that game. Concentrating on the food before her she filled her plate with a helping of lamb in a rosemary sauce, red potatoes with garlic and butter, succulent artichoke hearts seasoned in rosemary and olive oil and fresh baked buns still warm from the oven. She ate with relish, nearly moaning in pleasure as the flavors burst in her mouth. Never had food tasted so good.

“So, how did you get mixed up with Vance Hollister?” Arthur’s tone held a casual note as if he simply asked about the weather. Only his intense gaze told her nothing about this man was simple.

“Vance was a business acquaintance of my father. I really don’t run in the same circles as he does, but sometimes we are at the same charity functions.”

“Yet, you two seemed pretty close at Dragonwick Enterprises just a few days ago,” he pointed out.

Her appetite dwindled to a mere memory as she set her fork down by her plate. She became painfully aware that everyone stopped eating, all eyes on her and wanting her answer. Irritation rose quickly to her rescue and squaring her shoulders she met Arthur’s cool gaze. She could feel Colin’s gaze boring into her, but refused to look in his direction. She couldn’t stomach seeing the suspicion she knew would be there, if she dared to look.