Collateral Damage: A Tethered Novel

by Wayne, Jessica

  Now if they waited, there was always a chance he was already one step ahead of them. Who knows how they would stop him if he gained any more power. The amulet made him difficult enough.

  “Are you alright?” Timothy asked as he guided her onto the jet.

  “Yeah, just tired.”

  “Once we’re air born you are more than welcome to go back and sleep.”

  “I probably will, thanks.” Her voice was anything but cheerful, but if Timothy noticed, he kept it to himself.

  She took her seat across from Timothy and Ashton patiently waiting for the jet to take off. A scowl plastered on her face, she listened to them talk strategy while the aircraft was filled with fuel and prepped for departure.

  She closed her eyes as the scenes from her nightmares plagued her. Last night she dreamt of death. Not of her own, but the deaths of all those she’d come to care for since that night in the alley.

  She had seen Timothy die, no longer immortal due to his curse. Some invisible force had struck down Ashton, and Jake was slaughtered before her very eyes. It was the end of the dream that had stuck with her though because after all the bodies lay in pools of their own blood, after they had each taken their very last breaths, it was her who had stood victorious in the center of the horror. And she had been smiling.

  “Paislee.”

  She opened her eyes to see Timothy and Ashton both staring intently at her. “What?”

  “We’re in the air if you’d like to go lie down.”

  “Already? We just got on the plane.”

  Ashton shook his head. “It’s been about forty-five minutes since we sat down.”

  Paislee shook her head to clear it. “Thanks,” she muttered and headed back towards the bedroom area.

  Garth followed her, apparently, Timothy had released the feline from his carrier as well. Had she been asleep? Or simply wrapped up in herself?

  “What is going on with you?”

  Paislee turned to see Timothy standing in the doorway, his arms crossed. “I told you, I’m tired.”

  “You’re lying,” he responded calmly, but the irritation in his voice told her he was feeling anything but.

  “I really just want to lie down.”

  “I heard you cry out last night in your sleep. If you don’t wish to talk about your nightmare that’s fine. But don’t take it out on me.”

  She glared at him. “Don’t act like you know what I’m thinking. And I wasn’t taking it out on you.”

  His eyebrow raised. “Really? So, you didn’t just snap at Ashton and me.”

  “Had I ‘snapped’ this plane would be in a flaming heap on the ground. I assure you I am in control.”

  His tone took on a deadly edge. “You will do well to remember that you are on this jet with three people other than myself. Whatever you’re pissed off at me for can be dealt with when we land.” He turned and left the room leaving her seething.

  * * *

  Seven hours and twenty-two minutes later they were walking off the plane and getting into a black town car. Their luggage and her cat had stayed behind to be driven over to the hotel for the night.

  Why they were getting a hotel and actually staying, she had no idea. Not that she wasn’t excited to see Paris, but every day they refused to make a move was another day that Malcolm gained power.

  Her hands clenched into fists as she watched the town pass them by. The iron cuff she wore kept her magic in check, but she could feel it building. She only needed to get close enough to Malcolm to let it consume them both.

  “We’re here,” Ashton announced as they pulled up in front of a large museum. Paislee climbed out after he and Timothy, and stared up at the impressive building. Large stone steps led up to the entrance, and even as volatile as she was feeling, she had to appreciate the beauty of it.

  “Shall we?” Timothy asked and offered her his arm. She took it, grudgingly so, and let him lead her through the doors and into the plush lobby. Ashton walked over to check them in, and within moments they were greeted by a slender woman who looked to be in her early forties.

  “Mr. McGinley, so lovely to meet you, Sir. I am Katarina Devaux.” She offered him her hand, and it did nothing for Paislee’s mood to see him press a kiss to her knuckles.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Devaux.”

  “Oh,” she blushed, “It’s Miss Devaux, I’m not married.”

  “What a shame.” He grinned, and Paislee rolled her eyes. Asshole had laid his accent on thick too.

  “You flatter me, Sir. I am the director of this museum, and I have to say, I am incredibly happy to have you here with us. To what do we owe this immense pleasure?”

  “I merely want to take a look around. As you know, I love antiques and being amongst them in such an exquisite museum thrills me.”

  She blushed again, and Paislee stuck her hand out. “Hi, I’m Paislee.”

  Katarina eyed her hand and reluctantly took it. “A pleasure I’m sure.” She released it quickly and turned back to Timothy. “Come, I will show you around.”

  “I’m sure you have much more important things to do lass. My associates and I would hate to take up your time. Perhaps after we have a look around I can come tell you about a very interesting artifact I found recently.”

  Katarina’s face lit up, and she nodded. “That would be most wonderful, Mr. McGinley, I do hope you enjoy yourselves.”

  They began walking, and Ashton hung back to give them some space.

  “Disgusting,” Paislee muttered as soon as Katarina was out of earshot. “Perhaps you would like to stay in her room tonight?” She did her best to re-create Katarina’s accent but failed miserably.

  Timothy eyed her, amusement pulling the corners of his lips. “Why Paislee it sounds to me like you’re jealous.”

  “Of course not. What reason would I have to be jealous? There was never any talk about us being exclusive was there?”

  Timothy stopped and faced her. “Make no mistake, Paislee, I do not share. I simply exploited her attraction to me in order to get what we needed, which was alone time with the artifact.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you took no pleasure in that.”

  “In watching your irritation? Absolutely.” He grinned, but there was little humor in it. “But I would never act on it. I am sleeping with you and only you, understand?”

  “Perfectly. But if you do that to me again, you won’t be sleeping with me either.”

  “Fair enough.” He began walking again, and they made their way through the museum.

  Every once and awhile Timothy would stop to tell her the history of a certain artifact, and a few times pointed out items he had donated to the museum. She felt stupid and childish for her reaction earlier.

  Timothy had been right, she’d been taking her nightmare out on him rather than simply voicing her fears. Right now, it was imperative they stay focused, and fighting with each other could prove to be an unaffordable distraction.

  “I’m sorry,” she offered as they walked down an empty hall. “I shouldn’t have acted that way.”

  Timothy shrugged. “I’ve gotten used to your mood swings.”

  She turned to him angrily. “Mood- sw-” And then saw the humor on his face. “You’re an ass.”

  “I’ve been called much worse.”

  “I’m sure you have.”

  He stopped suddenly. “There they are.”

  The earrings were stunning in their glass case. The room was focused entirely around them, and Paislee and Timothy moved forward to get a better look. Garnet stones dangled from large diamonds on the sides of the mannequin’s head. The stones glinted in the light and to Paislee, she had never seen anything more beautiful.

  “Are they real?” she wondered as Timothy bent for a closer look.

  “Possibly. It’s hard to say without getting my hands on them.”

  “How are you planning on doing that?” she wondered as he pulled a device from his pocket.

  “This will disable any alarm
on the case, including the pressurized sensor and won’t trigger any secondary alarms.”

  She gaped at him. “I didn’t know anything like that existed.”

  “It doesn’t, at least not to anyone but me.”

  “You made that?”

  “As you know I had quite a bit of spare time, I got bored.”

  She watched in complete fascination as he held the small black box up to the edge of the glass before slipping it back into his pocket. He then pulled fabric gloves on and lifted the glass to set it aside.

  The stones glinted with new light almost as if they were coming to life at the idea of being used. It was hard to describe, but the stones looked and felt alive to her.

  Timothy carefully lifted one of the earrings to study it. “The stones are real, but the craftsmanship is strange and not likely to have come from the era the earrings themselves are said to have been made.” He lifted it closer to his face. “These are not the earrings from the legend.”

  Paislee barely heard him, she felt as if she could hear the stones screaming in her mind. She focused closer and reached out to touch one just as Timothy gripped her arm.

  “Paislee,” he said sternly, and she tore her focus from the stones.

  “What?”

  “Don’t touch. These are not the actual earrings, but you don’t have the best luck with garnets.”

  “Right.” She shook her head trying to clear it.

  Timothy had just replaced the glass and stashed the gloves into his pocket when Katarina walked in.

  “So, have you enjoyed yourselves?” she asked, and Timothy nodded.

  “Thank you for the hospitality, but I’m afraid we must be going.”

  Her mouth turned down in a pout. “But I was really looking forward to seeing that item you spoke about.”

  The way she said ‘item’ irritated Paislee so much that she just couldn’t help herself. “I assure you, Katarina, he had no intention of showing you his dick.” Ignoring the horror on the woman’s face, Paislee lowered her voice. “That’s for my eyes only.” She winked and could almost hear Timothy’s internal laughter.

  “Well, I suppose we had better be going now,” Ashton, who had apparently joined the party, commented.

  “You most absolutely should.” Katarina straightened the hem of her jacket, “I have never been so embarrassed in my life.”

  “I’m sure that’s just not true,” Paislee coddled and turned to leave.

  “Was that truly necessary?” Timothy asked her, his voice low enough so only they could hear.

  “It absolutely was necessary, and it made me feel better.”

  “It was crude.”

  Paislee shrugged, “I told you I had a potty mouth.”

  “A potty mouth? How old are you?”

  “Much younger than you,” Paislee added with a grin.

  She could see the humor on Timothy’s face, and it only made her feel even better about what she’d said to the director.

  Chapter 25

  He watched them walk into the museum and had nearly given in to his urge to rush them right there and taken her as his. They would have been surprised, and he was so smart it would have been easy. She was so damn powerful it made his skin itch. But his employer had insisted there was a plan in place, a reason for the wait.

  And if he moved on her now, he would surely get his own throat cut. That arrogant bastard McGinley had strolled in there as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Personally, he couldn’t wait to watch that man bleed to death. Two hundred years was long enough to plague the earth with his pathetic existence.

  He had no want for immortality, no drive for more power. What he wanted was money, and the death of Timothy McGinley would give him that and allow him to live like the king he was.

  As for Paislee Adams, his employer had plans for her, and once she was drained of her power, she was promised to him.

  Then he would make her pay for what she’d done to him.

  Chapter 26

  Paislee lounged on the couch and listened while Timothy let Jake know the search wasn’t over. She was surprisingly relaxed given her reaction to the earrings. Timothy, however, had told her they would be researching any and all references to garnets and their strange effect on her.

  “Jake will continue searching for anything that might point us to where the real earrings are.” Timothy took a seat on the couch near her feet.

  “Mmhmm,” she said with her eyes closed.

  “Tired?”

  “Exhausted.” She opened her eyes slightly when she felt a hand on her leg.

  “Not too tired I hope.” Timothy’s eyes were dark, and there was something incredibly heavy in them.

  “I suppose I could muster up some energy,” she responded breathlessly as he kneeled between her legs.

  “That’s good because I have a few activities we could take part in.” He leaned over her and kissed the hollow of her throat.

  “A few activities, huh?”

  “One in particular.”

  “What did you have in mind?” she whispered as he moved down her body and lifted the hem of her shirt to bare her stomach. He pressed a kiss to her abdomen, and her heart stammered in her chest.

  The short beard on his face scraped against her skin, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Did he know what he did to her? How he set her soul on fire and made her feel as if she were perfect? He was the cure to every bad memory she carried within her. Every scar, both mental and physical were erased when he touched her like he was doing now.

  “I thought that perhaps,” he moved her shirt up and over her breasts before placing a kiss just above the cup of her bra, “We could start slow.” He removed her shirt the rest of the way and Paislee’s body readied in anticipation.

  Timothy moved back down and undid the button of her jeans. The pop noise it made caused her to jump slightly. His fingers played with the line of her underwear, and Paislee groaned, arching up against him, ready for what would come next.

  “Timothy” she moaned as his hand slipped beneath the fabric and cupped her heat. His fingers made quick work of her, driving her up over the crest but stopping just before she fell.

  “Not yet,” his voice came out like a growl as he moved off of her to remove the rest of her clothes. When she lay naked in front of him, he removed his own.

  Paislee’s mouth watered as she drank in the sight of him, completely naked, in front of her. When he covered her body with his and buried himself in her, she moved with him as if it were the last time they would ever get together.

  For all she knew, it could be.

  * * *

  Myria shot out of bed, and Sheamus sat up sleepily. There had been so much blood, she pinched the bridge of her nose on the memory of the nightmare.

  “What is it, love?” Sheamus asked her.

  “He’s going to die,” she nearly whispered it, afraid to say the words out loud.

  “Who’s going to die?”

  “Timothy.”

  “What do you mean?” All hints of sleep had disappeared from his voice, replaced by genuine concern.

  “She is going to kill him.”

  “Myria, stop with the half sentences. Tell me what’s happening.”

  “I saw it Sheamus. I saw Paislee slaughter, everyone. Timothy tried to stop her, but she killed him.”

  Sheamus climbed out of bed and knelt in front of her. “Twas only a nightmare, my love.”

  She shook her head. “Twas a premonition.”

  He studied her face. A face he knew better than his own. “You’re sure then?”

  She nodded.

  “Then you must warn him.”

  “He won’t listen to me, Sheamus. Even before, Timothy was stubborn, now he’s dug his heels into helping the lass.”

  “Okay, then how do we help him? Why did she kill him?”

  “I don’t think she meant too. Twas a blast of power.”

  “Okay, what can we do?”

  * * *

/>   Another seven-and-a-half-hour plane ride later, and Paislee’s feet were happily planted on solid ground. Before Timothy had rescued her from Malcolm and taken her to Ireland, she’d never actually been on a plane.

  While flying was interesting, to say the least, it was absolutely not her favorite thing to do.

  She set Garth’s carrier on the floor of the apartment and opened the gate so he could come out.

  “Happy to be back?”

  She looked to where Timothy watched her from the doorway and smiled.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Good.” He grinned back. “I need to run somewhere tomorrow. I shouldn’t be gone but a few hours.”

  “Okay.”

  “There is security in the room downstairs, so you will be safe.”

  “I’m honestly not worried about it Timothy, I’ll be fine.”

  “I know, it’s just hard.” His jaw set in a hard line as Paislee walked over to place her hand against his cheek.

  “I will be fine,” she repeated. “Besides, I’ll have my alone time to start studying some of those books Myria sent me back with.”

  “So, you haven’t started then?” His tone was mocking, and he raised an eyebrow.

  “I was going to, just haven’t gotten around to it yet. You are a distraction.”

  “So, it’s my fault?”

  “Absolutely.” She smiled and turned towards the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”

  “Famished.”

  “I can put something together if you’d like?”

  “Oh Paislee, it’s not food I’m after.”

  She looked over her shoulder at him and shot him a wicked grin. “Then come and get it.”

  * * *

  “Do you understand what you are to do?” Malcolm asked his wife one last time.

  She nodded. “I am to get the cuff off of her arm and use this on her.” She clutched the garnet necklace in her hand.