Phoebe looked at Angus then turned her attention to Fletcher. “No. That won’t work.”
“You think Callum doesn’t have enough money, love? Are you telling me you married the ugly wanker just because you love him?” Fletcher asked, humor lacing his tone now.
“I will hurt you later, wanker.” Callum looked at his wife. “Tell them.”
She looked around the room, making eye contact with each and every member of the group before coming to Angus. The sadness he saw there set off alarm bells.
“We are never going to be able to buy the jewels. It isn’t allowed.” She sighed.
“Not allowed. There are rules we have to play by?” Fletcher asked, but Angus barely heard the ensuing argument. They were a loud lot and they rarely held back during discussions.
But, it started to come together in his brain, all the pieces snapping into place.
“We have to find it. We have to give something up to get each jewel.”
Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. It would have been comical if the implications hadn’t been so staggering.
“Will it be each of us?” Angus asked.
Phoebe’s eyes were drenched in sadness. “Yes. I think. Callum can do nothing else and no one can buy their way to redemption.”
Anger he’d controlled all these years surged. It left him feeling a bit nauseated. “Redemption. We didn’t fucking do anything. Not one bloody thing, but we have to fight for redemption.”
“You willna take that tone with Phoebe,” Callum said. His voice didn’t rise to the same level as Angus’ but was much more lethal.
“Callum, I can handle it.” Then she looked at him. “I wasn’t using my words. I was using those of the witch. And…there is a bit of me that thinks whoever started this diary years ago was sympathetic to the McLennans. She seemed to have an affinity for the man of potions with the green eyes.”
There was a telling beat of silence, but no one addressed Phoebe’s implied question.
“So, what do we have to do next?” Anice asked.
She sighed. “I’m still working it all out. Callum has the exciting of information about the Emerald.”
“Right. So, we found the emerald at the home of Franklin Sweeney.”
Deathly silence filled the room. Damn. The Sweeneys had been in league with McWalton years earlier and there was a good chance that they wouldn’t help them with their quest. In fact, one of the lairds had tried their best to kill Fletcher fifty years earlier.
“He owns it and it’s in his gallery.”
Bloody hell. It just got worse. “No one has ever broken into that gallery. It has some kind of special security. ”
“You don’t know how to break into it?” Logan asked.
Angus shook his head. “No. They wouldn’t let anyone know about it. I know he spent millions on it.”
Callum shook his head. “Yes, it’s bloody amazing, but there was a break-in years ago. They just covered it up because there was a death.”
“Ian O’Conner was known all over Europe at the time. Interpol had a pretty thick file on him.” Phoebe said.
“Should we ask how you got the file?” Anice asked. His cousin would look at that angle of it. Her job was PR and she took it seriously.
“No. I went through some different channels, but most of it was open to the public.”
“So, we get a hold of him…wait, you said there was a death,” Angus said.
“Yes. O’Conner was found dead on the premises. He had been strangled.”
“Odd,” Logan remarked. “I usually hear about things like that.”
“Well, Sweeney covered it up, we can be sure of that. Add in the fact that the death was unexplainable, well that makes you wonder just what the hell was going on there.”
“How was the death unexplainable?” Something strange was swirling in the pit of his stomach. Angus wasn’t sure why this information should bother him, but something about it wasn’t sitting right with him.
Callum nodded. “Yes. He was found dead of asphyxiation.”
“Yeah, you would think he would get shot by the guards.”
“The guards didn’t even know he was there. He was found when the manager opened up in the morning.”
“And?”
“And there was no sign of forced entry into the gallery. That means there is a good chance that whomever it was—worked there.”
“Everyone checked out though,” Phoebe reminded Callum. “The guard was convinced there was something wrong…as if there was something bad going on.”
“Just out with it, love,” Callum said.
“They think there was magick involved.”
He waited for everyone to start laughing, even smile…but nothing happened. In fact, the deathly calm that took over the office was almost suffocating.
“Are you trying to tell me as a scientist you believe this?” Angus asked.
Phoebe shrugged. “You tell me. You’re one of the five who have been alive longer than any one person should. After what Callum and I experienced, I am not ready to rule anything out. Especially since he was apparently hired by a McWalton to steal the emerald.”
“Fucking McWaltons,” Fletcher said. “I swear we will never be rid of that horrible clan.”
“At least the new laird would rather stay at the family estate,” Anice said.
“Ha, like they’ve much of an estate right now.”
Fletcher was correct, but Angus wasn’t in the mood to deal with watching the siblings argue. Again.
“You think there is something that needs to be done? Something by one of us?” he asked.
Phoebe’s grave expression didn’t change as she nodded. “I believe, from what I read, that all of you will be tested. I had thought at first it might just mean the clan would be tested, but this passage made me think it might be something each one of you will have to face.”
She held up a piece of paper. Angus retrieved it.
The one who questions everything will be the one who must find the green stone of fire. With the Witch by his side, he will succeed if he believes the answer.
Something cold crossed over him, filled his blood, and chilled him from the inside out.
“Angus?” Logan asked. He took the piece of paper out of Angus’ hand and read it out loud.
“You’re the one who questions everything, Angus.” Phoebe’s voice was quiet, but it didn’t make any less of an impact than if she had yelled the words at him.
“I don’t have a witch though.”
Logan made a noise, but said nothing when Angus shot him a warning look.
“And we’re going over all of this…why?” he asked, trying his best not to let the rest of the clan know how shaken he was.
“We’ve found O’Connor’s widow. It wasna easy, let me tell you. When he was killed, she disappeared off the earth.”
“Or so it seemed. With some outside help, we found her, in New York.”
“Who is she working with now?” Anice asked. When everyone turned to look at her, she shrugged. “If it was a two-person team before, it seems that she would hook up with someone else, right?”
“As far as we can tell, she hasn’t picked up with anyone new. In fact, she changed her name and is working in a pub there.”
When Phoebe handed over the picture, Angus let a breath he hadn’t known he was holding release. This woman had dark hair, black, and her eyes were mud brown. There were similarities to the one he dreamed about, but they were common traits among people of Irish descent.
“So, you call her, offer her a lot of money and get her over here.”
Again the couple shared a glance.
“Bloody hell, out with it.”
Everyone looked at him surprised…except for Logan.
“It isn’t that simple. She’s under an assumed name.”
“And?”
“We need you to go get her. This is your quest, you need to be in charge of it from the beginning.”
“Th
en I say Fletcher can go get her.”
“Not my type, cuz. She’s kind of dowdy.”
Anger swelled out of nowhere and it was directed at his cousin. “We aren’t trying to get you laid. It’s a job.”
“And it’s now yours.” The finality of Callum’s tone told him everything he needed to know. There would be no getting out of this.
* * * *
When they were alone, Callum finally gave into the need to touch Phoebe. He pulled her onto his lap. She settled there, nuzzling his neck.
It calmed the worry in his heart…but not his head.
“You’re worried about Angus.”
Not a question, but Phoebe knew him better than anyone. He gently pulled her back and looked at her. A year earlier, he would have never thought it possible to find the woman he needed in a nerdy professor with a horrible English accent. But, she was now his life.
“Aye. There’s something going on with him.”
He wanted her to refute it, but she nodded. “I sensed it too. There’s something about this quest he’s not telling us.”
It oddly calmed him that she keened it too. “Are you positive it’s him? He’s the one who needs to go?”
“Who else questions everything?”
He sighed. “I know. And now I sound like an old woman worrying about the kiddies.”
She laughed and it danced through him and calmed his soul. “No one would ever mistake Callum McLennan for a little old lady.”
He heard the deepening of her voice. It brushed along his nerve endings. “Is that so?”
She smiled and lifted up off him so she could straddle his lap. “In fact, I have definite proof that you are very much male.”
* * * *
Angus had just shoved a pair of rolled up socks into his duffle back when he sensed a movement behind him. He didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
“What do you want, Logan?”
His brother didn’t question his ability to know that it was he. After two centuries, it was easy to know each other’s movements.
“You’ve got to take this seriously, Angus.”
He glanced over his shoulder and inwardly sighed. His younger brother was being a little too serious for him.
“I’ve taken it seriously from the beginning. I’m the one who found the diary, found the quest we need to take.”
But why did it have to be him….and with a witch?
“You don’t remember the witch’s remarks.”
“Of course I remember them. It was the last time…” It was the last bit of their adolescence. A week later the Battle of Culloden had changed their lives forever.
“Just know I remember.”
“And the witch. Maybe she’s the one.”
“First, we don’t know she’s a witch. Secondly, I don’t believe in the one. If I did, I definitely would think the universe would consider a witch the wrong match for me.”
Logan opened his mouth but Angus shook his head. “I’ve got to get out to the airport before they ground the jet.”
The sooner he got to New York, the faster this would be all over.
Coming September 23, the 10th Harmless book!
A LITTLE HARMLESS SECRET
Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you can trust them.
Devon Stryker is a man with no past—not one anyone can dig up that is. His made up identity has kept him safe from everyone, except one woman. Five years earlier he let his guard down once, one night of unforgettable passion. He has yet to get her out of his mind. When he thinks he sees her in Seattle, he becomes obsessed with finding her.
Alicia Hughes hasn’t forgotten Devon either. She had been on assignment from MI-6 to find him. Since he disappeared, her life has fallen apart. When she comes face to face with the one man she loved—and the one she fears the most—she panics. When he catches up to her, he finds the woman he has always loved—and the child they made together.
As the old lovers form a tentative alliance, the feelings they both had for each other rise to the surface. They have to let those things go to protect everything they hold dear in the world because someone is intent on destroying them…by any means possible.
»WARNING: This title includes secrets, guns, a sexy know-it-all hero, spies, a heroine who doesn’t trust the hero, meddling inlaws, even more spies, double crosses, cool computer things, and two people who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other even though they know it isn’t the right thing to do. Remember, it’s a Harmless book, so have ice water and towels nearby.
And don’t miss PRELUDE TO A SECRET coming exclusively to Amazon on September 19th!
Coming this November and now on preorder, the next Santini!
A SANTINI IN LOVE
She was the last woman standing.
Madison Baker was born and bred to be a Marine. When a roadside bomb ends her first deployment—not to mention her career—she is left to pick up the pieces of what is left of her life. She’s returned to Oceanside to regroup and move on. It doesn’t mean she’s ready for a relationship, even if a particular Santini has different plans.
Love happens when you least expect it.
When he first met Madison back at the Academy, Dante Santini is sure the woman was put on the earth to irritate him. She’s prickly and mouthy. She always thinks she’s right. Worse—she almost always is. She hasn’t really changed over the years. One disagreement ends up with them lip locked and very nearly falling into bed, Dante discovers he might need to rethink his first impression.
When Madison is convinced she witnesses a murder, the only person who believes her is Dante. Together, they sift through the meager evidence, trying to unearth the secrets someone is trying to hide. Neither one of them expecting it would draw them closer—or that a killer is hell bent on making sure those secrets stay buried.
Now, enjoy this unedited excerpt!
Madison Baker didn’t know what day it was or where she was, but she knew one thing.
She fucking hurt.
Pain radiated through her entire body. It was if someone had beaten every centimeter of her flesh. She tried to open her eyes—nothing. Hell, she wasn’t sure she was even breathing.
Am I dead?
That thought had her struggling, pushing her hand through something heavy. Dirt? She was buried? Panic surged as she tried to gulp in air and found nothing. Weight settled on her chest. It was getting so dark, so cold…she felt a bit of her drift away.
Gonna give up, Madison?
Her father’s voice echoed mind. How many times did she hear him say that in her lifetime? Thousands.
If you weren’t being a coward right now, I wouldn’t have to scream at you.
Coward?
No. Fucking. Way.
She used what was left of her energy to move her hand. It might have been only inches, but it felt like miles. A renewed sense of survival had her pushing harder, up through the debris. Up, up, then she felt it. Cool air washed over her fingers.
In the next few seconds—even if it felt like hours—she pushed harder and got her hand up through.
“Over here! I found one over here!”
As feet pounded toward her, she kept pushing until she felt a hand grab hers. It tugged and she held on with all her strength. The voice kept talking to her, telling her they would get her out of there. Then, she was free, air rushing over her face and she tried to open her eyes. Bright light burned her corneas and she shut them.
“That’s okay, Lt Baker, we have you,” her savior said. The whop, whop, whop of the approaching copters almost drowned him out.
“Who…” she broke off not sure if he could even hear her. Her voice sounded and felt like gravel.
She felt him lean closer as people started to dig around her. “What?”
She licked her lips and tasted blood and dirt. “Who are you?”
“I’m Sergeant Gee Santini of the US Air Force, and we’re here to take you home, Ma’am.”
“Thank yo
u,” was all she could say. Then, her world faded to black again.
About Melissa Schroeder
Born to an Air Force family at an Army hospital USA Today Bestselling author Melissa Schroeder has always been a little bit screwy. She was further warped by her years of watching Monty Python and her strange family. Her love of romance novels developed after accidentally picking up a Linda Howard book. After becoming hooked, she read close to 300 novels in one year, deciding that romance was her true calling instead of the literary short stories and suspense’s she had been writing. Since her first release in 2004, Melissa has had over 30 short stories, novellas and novels released with multiple publishers in a variety of genres and time periods. Those releases include the Harmless series, a best-selling erotic romance series set in Hawaii. A Little Harmless Sex, book 1, was one of the top 100 bestselling Nook Books of 2010.
Since she was a military brat, she vowed never to marry military. Alas, fate always has her way with mortals. Her husband just retired from the AF after 20 years, and together they have their own military brats, two girls, and two adopted dog daughters, and is happy she picks where they live now. She spends her
You can connect with Mel all over the web:
WEBSITE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
HARMLESS ADDICTS
THE HARMLESS SERIES
THE CURSED CLAN
Or email her at: [email protected]
Other Books by Melissa Schroeder
Harmless
A Little Harmless Sex
A Little Harmless Pleasure
A Little Harmless Obsession
A Little Harmless Lie
A Little Harmless Addiction
A Little Harmless Submission
A Little Harmless Fascination
A Little Harmless Fantasy
A Little Harmless Ride
A Little Harmless Military Romance
Infatuation
Logan Page 18
