And on the roll call went, until the radio suddenly went silent.
Nicholas stopped walking. “Who’s next?”
Whoever he was, Jane felt sorry for him. Not because she was worried Alec had hurt him, but for what Nicholas was going to do to the missing man when he found him.
“Averill,” Nicholas said quietly to the last man to report, “who are you next to?”
“Micah, sir, and I’m looking right at him. He’s sitting against a tree not three stadions away.”
“Then don’t you think you should go see why he didn’t immediately stand up when I came on the radio?” Nicholas said really softly. “Who’s after Micah?”
Again, silence.
“Rowan and Dante, meet me at Micah’s post. You others spread out to fill the void they’re leaving,” he said as he started dragging Jane again, turning onto another path she assumed led to Micah.
A little worried Nicholas didn’t even realize she was still with him, Jane remained silent for fear he’d make her go back to the cottage. Because honestly, she wanted to see what was going on, as she couldn’t imagine anyone being able to sneak past one of Nicholas’s guards—especially not Alec. Alec might be good in a fight, and he’d served in the military according to Sam Waters, but the underachieving ski bum couldn’t possibly outsmart the most elite fighting force on the planet from any century.
They’d just reached the man still sitting leaning against a large tree when Rowan and Dante came running up to them. Jane tried not to flinch when Nicholas—still holding on to her arm—used his foot to give Micah’s shoulder a shove, but she couldn’t stifle a gasp when the man simply fell onto his side, apparently out cold. Rowan and Dante immediately grabbed his arms and lifted him to his feet, Rowan giving the guy’s face a couple of brisk slaps.
Micah threw his head back with a snarled curse, then groaned, then finally noticed Nicholas standing in front of him. The soldier’s eyes widened and he stiffened to a weaving attention. “Sir!”
Still holding on to Jane, Nicholas got right in his face. “Mind telling me how someone was able to sneak up and ambush you?” he asked really, really softly.
Micah shook his head. “He didn’t ambush me, sir. I watched him walk toward me all the way from the office pavilion. I assumed he was a guest out for a stroll after dinner.” He frowned. “Although I did think it odd, as he had quite a bad limp.”
“He’s hurt?” Jane said on a gasp.
Nicholas snorted and gave her a little shake without taking his eyes off the guard. “He’s not hurt. MacKeage was just letting Private Micah think he was harmless. Then what?”
Micah dropped his gaze to the vicinity of his commander’s chest. “The guy was startled when he saw me and came over when I stood up, and asked if I was hurt. When I assured him I was fine, and told him I was just enjoying the night air like you told us to tell the guests, he introduced himself as Darth Vader and shook my hand, and…”
Jane actually leaned away when she felt Nicholas’s fingers twitch on her arm, expecting that explosion any moment now. Only he simply closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. “And what?” he asked softly.
“And that’s the last thing I remember, sir.”
Jane saw Nicholas take a deep breath and look down the length of the tree line as he lifted the radio and keyed the mike. “Who’s posted south of Micah?”
Again silence, and then, “Paul here, sir. I’m two down from Micah. Avery is posted between us.”
“Would you please walk over to Avery, Paul,” Nicholas all but whispered, “and kick the bastard awake?” He looked back at the three men standing in front of him—Rowan and Dante still holding up Micah—and keyed the mike again. “Did anyone else see a man with a bad limp out here tonight?” he drawled.
“I saw a male guest,” someone said over the radio, “limping across the green, but then I lost sight of him when he went up one of the cart paths.”
“I noticed a man limping past the lower hotel in the direction of the barn and employee apartments,” someone else said. “Not half an hour ago.”
Nicholas slowly uncurled his fingers from around Jane’s arm, then turned and took the jackets from her. He silently stuffed Jane into hers, shrugged on his own, then took her hand and started walking back up the path.
“Sir,” Rowan said, “any orders?”
Nicholas just kept walking as if he hadn’t heard him.
Jane decided to also remain mute. They were all smart men; they’d figure out what orders to give themselves.
Although she did think about protesting when Nicholas turned onto the path leading to her parents’ cottage, she decided against it because she still wasn’t sure of his mood. Sweet Athena, what was Alec doing—other than making Nicholas really, really angry? Or maybe chagrined that the bastard kept getting in here?
Jane pretended to nonchalantly scan the woods to hide her smile. The scoundrel; Alec had brought back her condom—at the same time writing an unnamed threat in her lipstick—and warmed her bed with rocks just like she’d warmed his sleeping bag. She’d also discovered that he’d erased all the sex movies and books off her iPad. And he’d woven some of the hair he’d cut off her that first night into Kitty’s fur, which meant he hadn’t thrown it away like she’d thought.
She wondered if he’d made himself a braid, too.
But what in the name of Hades was compelling him to continue sneaking into Nova Mare and…doing stuff, but not even trying to talk to her? He obviously could get into her cottage whenever he wanted, so why not sneak in when she was there?
She wanted to touch him. Feel his arms around her again. Taste him.
And love him, dammit.
She’d actually told Alec she loved him in the first letter she’d hidden in the privy, saying she didn’t care that he didn’t have anything to offer her. She’d poured her heart out over six pages, explaining that all she wanted was him; his laughter, his teasing, his passion for life—and his passion for her. Except she’d gotten scared, worried that she’d sounded desperate and clinging, and so she’d taken the letter back.
But Alec must feel something for her, because why else was he still coming around? Wait; how did he know about the importance of the ball? Her mom had told Jane that she’d had Nicholas take her out to Alec’s campsite to specifically invite him to the ball—to dance with her daughter—but did Alec know there were men her father had invited who were vying for her hand in marriage?
Jane glanced over at Nicholas, but still didn’t quite dare break the silence that seemed to be calming him down, as his grip on her hand had softened. But it tightened right back up again when they approached her parents’ cottage, and didn’t lessen when he softly knocked on the door.
Her mom opened the door, only to stiffen with her smile half-formed as her gaze darted from Jane to Nicholas. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Nicholas reached out and took her mother’s hand and wrapped Rana’s fingers around Jane’s wrist. “She’s sleeping here tonight. She can go back to her cottage tomorrow, after I go over every square inch of it and post guards around its perimeter.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out the condom even as he lifted her mother’s other hand and dropped the packet in it. “And I strongly suggest you send someone back in time to Renaissance Italy for a chastity belt,” he said, turning and walking down the stairs. “But you might as well give the key to Alec MacKeage for safekeeping,” he said over his shoulder, “as the man appears to be either a saint or an idiot.”
Nicholas unzipped his jacket to dissipate the heat radiating off him like an erupting volcano, and took his time walking to the employee apartments where he was staying. By the gods, he didn’t know how MacKeage kept getting onto the resort grounds, and he sure as hell didn’t like how easily the bastard kept taking his men by surprise. They were supposed to be the best of the best, and he trusted them with his life—and the lives of the Oceanuses. He’d even put the magic to work securing Nova Mare, and yet MacK
eage was still able to walk in and out of here as if he owned the place. And he’d come in daylight this time and still managed to keep from being caught.
Nicholas stopped walking and stared at the dark path ahead. He knew Duncan had command of the magic, because Mac had given the Scot the energy of a mountain across the fiord. But did Alec also have the magic in him? Mac had told him no when Nicholas had asked. And Titus had told him there hadn’t been any evidence of Alec having command of the magic when the old wizard had visited the Trees of Life to learn more about the man his daughter had fallen in love with.
That was one of the reasons Titus had invited Alec to openly court Carolina. The king of the drùidhs needed a strong and fearless mortal to marry his daughter, and even though Nicholas knew why the man had to be a mortal, Titus had said he suspected Alec also knew the secret of keeping Lina safe, but might not be aware that he knew.
Nicholas snorted and started walking again. When he’d asked Titus for more of the magic to stop people from waltzing in here, the wizard had assured him that Nova Mare was secure from the gods and demons, and that Carolina wasn’t leaving here until she had a husband who could protect her. And when Nicholas had pointed out there was still one mortal kidnapper unaccounted for who apparently had enough magic to take off her bracelet, Titus had grinned and said that with all the acorns and stinging bees guarding Carolina, the third kidnapper was the least of his worries at the moment.
But MacKeage was starting to really piss him off. Nicholas let himself into his small apartment and flipped on the light, tossed his jacket on a chair, and unfastened the chest strap on his shoulder holster as he walked to the kitchen. Some days—usually days like today—he wondered why he was still in the game.
He stilled as he was reaching in the fridge for a beer and stared at the envelope sitting on top of the six-pack he had not filched from the restaurant’s storage room. “God dammit,” he snarled, snatching the envelope and stepping back to close the door, only to reach back inside and grab the six-pack as well. He strode over to the table—his holster flapping against his side—and tossed the beer and envelope down, pulled out a chair and sat down, and hung his head in his hands with a curse.
How was the bastard getting in here?
Nicholas straightened with another muttered curse, jerked one of the beers free and popped the top, and chugged down half the can before setting it on the table and picking up the envelope. He lifted the unsealed flap and looked inside, then turned the envelope over to let the small piece of paper float to the table. He then picked up what looked like a newspaper ad, turned it right side up, and read the bold lettering that said: Director of Security Wanted, Nova Mare Resort. The position would involve overseeing twenty officers to secure both the Nova Mare and Inglenook resorts, the ad went on to say. Experience in law enforcement was desired although not required, but management and people skills were a must. Contact Olivia Oceanus at Nova Mare Resort in Spellbound Falls, Maine.
Nicholas stared at the ad, wondering if this wouldn’t teach him to ask for advice, undecided if he wanted to roar or burst out laughing. Hell, if Olivia gave him the job, he should probably hire MacKeage, seeing how the bastard was already intimately acquainted with the grounds.
He dropped the ad and picked up the beer, but stared at the can instead of taking a drink. What had the rocks in Lina’s bed meant? And the condom, he thought with a chuckle. How had Alec managed to keep his hands off a beautiful woman set on seduction? Because honestly, he didn’t think a saint or an idiot would be able to resist Lina in full feminine mode.
Nicholas blew out a tired sigh and gulped down the rest of the can of beer, then popped the top on another one as he stared at the ad sitting on the table again. These last two years of having to keep Lina safe from a distance during her little temper tantrum had nearly killed him, which told him two things: He was getting too old for the game, and he probably shouldn’t have children of his own, especially little girls. If it had been up to him instead of Titus and Rana, he’d have kept Lina confined to Atlantis until she was a thousand years old. As for her being happy…well, she could have married a nice island boy who also had a passion for science, and they could have had a dozen babies and planted enough wind turbines all over Atlantis to make it fly.
Yup, he sure as Hades better not have any daughters, because he really didn’t think he could go through this again. And by the gods, nobody had better place another screaming baby princess in his arms ever again, either.
Nicholas set down the beer and picked up the job ad, carefully folded it, and tucked it in a slit on the back of his leather holster. Damn, he hoped Alec married Lina, because he didn’t know two people who more deserved to spend the next ten thousand years trying to outfox each other.
Chapter Nineteen
Taking out the knight of the Round Table shouldn’t have been anywhere near this hard, considering the guy was a strutting horse’s ass, even though Sir Garth looked like he wouldn’t have any trouble holding his own on a battlefield or tournament course. But honest to God, if Alec saw the knightly fool get down on one knee and expound on Carolina’s beauty one more time, he was going to hit him right between his chivalrous eyes—and not with a silly acorn, either, but a goddamn rock.
How was Carolina managing not to ring Sir Garth’s neck? The idiot had actually stepped away, looking horrified and quite apologetic, when she had tried to hold his hand while strolling down the resort road. Alec had turned his binoculars on Nicholas strolling behind them just in time to see the big bastard break into a grin.
Still, finding the opportunity to pick off the knight was proving nearly impossible—mostly thanks to Nicholas having tripled the guards. Was he bringing them in from Atlantis by the boatload? The man had even started sending small detachments out to patrol the wilderness trail, diabolically varying the hours day and night. But thanks to the wolves giving him plenty of warning, Alec had managed to stay one step ahead of the men—who he’d quickly realized were out for blood. Hell, once when four of them had hiked past the tree he’d climbed to hide in, he’d overheard them agreeing that a no-kill order didn’t mean no-maim. And another time he’d heard them mention the money pool their thoughtful commander had said would go to the man who showed up with Alec’s entire head of shaved-off hair.
Yup, brotherly Nick was one pissed off Atlantean.
And Mac was still roaring mad, according to Duncan. And like Nicholas, Duncan also couldn’t figure out why the younger wizard was so opposed to Carolina marrying a MacKeage, and apparently Titus still wasn’t telling his son that he had invited Alec to the ball. Alec wondered if Rana happened to mention she had personally invited him—as well as half the eligible men in two towns, he thought with a silent chuckle as he lowered his binoculars. He hadn’t really expected Rana to follow through with her little charade, but the woman had hand-delivered nine more vellum envelopes to local men who were now strutting around like puffed-up baboons.
The whole of Spellbound Falls was abuzz with excitement over that goddamn ball. And he knew for a fact that Ray and Mike Byram, Charlie Vail, Rich Nason, and Nick Patterson had piled in Ray’s tired old pickup and driven all the way to Bangor to rent tuxedos—all for the prospect of getting to dance with a beautiful princess. Hell, Ray had even bought a shiny new red aluminum cane to match his cummerbund.
Alec watched Carolina and Sir Horse’s Ass stroll around a bend in the road with Nicholas strolling behind them, and sighed at another missed opportunity as he shoved the binoculars and slingshot into his backpack. He emptied his jacket pocket of small round rocks and slipped them into a side pouch, then looked up to check the position of the sun. One hour to dusk and a little under three hours to full darkness, which was when he’d get a shot at the Crusader, Aaron of Devonshire, since it appeared Sir Garth was dining with Carolina this evening.
For three of the last four nights, Alec had seen Devonshire taking long walks off the resort grounds—in a different direction each night—the one
night Aaron had missed being his turn to dine with Carolina. Rather than following him, Alec had merely timed Aaron’s walks—that had been over four hours long—while opting for a chance to take out Sir Garth instead. Down to only two days before the ball, Alec was starting to get more than a little pissed off himself, and decided tonight was Devonshire’s turn to fall out of favor for Carolina’s hand in marriage.
Alec carefully slipped his pack on his shoulders and climbed down the towering pine he’d been perched in, the four wolves scattered around the trunk sitting up and blinking the sleep from their eyes when he finally reached the ground. “Come on, ye bored lobos,” he whispered with a soft chuckle as he moved deeper into the woods. “It’s time we go find out if our fearless Crusader has an aversion to imaginary bears.”
Alec silently slipped into Titus and Rana’s bedroom, quietly snagged a chair from beside the bureau and set it next to the wizard’s side of the bed, then sat down straddling it with his arms resting on the chair’s back and waited.
He sensed the moment Titus woke, so he wasn’t surprised when the bedside lamp suddenly snapped on. “By the gods, MacKeage, you overstep your bounds!”
“Aye, that is one of my more maddening habits.” Alec gave Rana a smiled nod when she sat up with a soft gasp. “I’m sorry to have startled ye out of your sleep, but I thought you’d like to hear firsthand that your daughter is safe from the third kidnapper.” He slid his gaze to Titus and tossed two small medallions on the blanket covering the wizard’s legs. “I took these off the dead men the day I caught them chasing Carolina.”
“And you decided to bring them to me tonight,” Titus growled without looking at them, “in my bedchamber?”
Alec nodded. “I thought you’d want to know tonight that ye no longer have to worry about the third kidnapper.” He shrugged. “Aaron was definitely a mortal, but he’d been given enough command of the magic to travel through time at his will, as well as find Carolina and take off her bracelet.”
Courting Carolina Page 24
