Free Awaken the Highland Warrior by Anita Clenney Page B

Russell’s hand there too. They’d both laughed, and he bought the book for her. She couldn’t remember which one now, she had so many. They went to lunch and a friendship renewed, blooming into a relationship, followed by an engagement. But little by little, he’d changed, turning into something dark and ugly. When she finally escaped him, it took her months to feel like herself again.
    “There is no us , not anymore.”
    “Just meet me, please. I have something to tell you.” His voice grew raspy, like it did when he was desperate. “Something important.”
    “It’s all been said before.”
    There was a pause on the other end that chilled her blood. “This hasn’t.”
    “Leave me alone, Russell.” Bree hung up and threw the phone on the table, swiping at tears threatening to spill over her cheeks, angry she’d let him get to her again. Someone moved behind her. Faelan. She’d forgotten he was here. He stood a few feet away, watching her, his eyes stormy.
    Men. Sometimes she wished she were a nun.
    Letting Russell make her cry was bad enough, without witnesses. She couldn’t deal with Faelan’s lies right now.
    ***
    He didn’t know who Russell was, but Faelan wanted to crush the man’s skull for making Bree afraid. Yet he’d acted no better in the crypt. “Are you okay?” he asked, following her out the front door, onto the porch.
    She jumped and turned away, but not before he saw her damp cheeks. “I’m fine.”
    “I don’t think so,” he said softly, moving close behind her. He put his hand out, wanting to touch her, to take away the tears, but he doubted she trusted him any more than the bastard who’d put them there.
    Her knuckles tightened on the railing and her shoulders began to shake. This was a new side of her, a dangerous one. It made him want to dismiss the suspicion and fear still coiled around his mind like a poisonous snake.
    “Who’s Russell?” He moved closer, daring to put a hand on her shoulder.
    She flinched. “An old boyfriend.”
    “Wasn’t he a good one?”
    “What?”
    “You said you couldn’t find a good one.” The problem wasn’t lack of male interest. They’d all but leered at her in town. If she belonged to him, he would have put his fist upside a couple of heads. He’d wanted to anyway.
    “No, he wasn’t good. He was slime. Most men are.” She turned, leveling him with a condemning glare.
    Faelan pulled his hand away. He didn’t deserve to touch her after acting as he had. “I apologize if I was too rough out there. I might have overreacted.”
    “Might have?” she said, her damp eyes shooting sparks. “You’re acting like Russell, trying to scare me, dragging me out of the crypt. My crypt. I was just trying to take a picture.”
    “Why?” She was too smart to still believe it was a treasure chest. Did she have more devious reasons?
    “Someday I’ll want to show my children.”
    “You can’t.”
    “Why not? If you can’t remember anything, why are you protecting the time vault?”
    He couldn’t answer without giving away more secrets. He’d already made a dire mistake by calling it a time vault. “It’s just a feeling.” She should understand that. Women always acted on their feelings. “Who’s buried in that grave?” he asked, hoping to distract her. “There was no name.”
    “I tried to find out, but kept running into dead ends. I don’t think it was ever marked. The stone’s too uniform. No indentions or discolorations. I can’t imagine why someone would dig it up.”
    “Maybe the archeologist got bored.”
    “He wouldn’t do that. He’s out of town, anyway.”
    “Could be the killer was going to bury his victim there. Who’d think to look for a body in a grave?” Even demons had to hide their carnage. Secrecy was as important to them as the warriors they fought. “Or someone else is looking for McGowan’s treasure. Who knew about the map?”
    “Anyone in the family could have found it. Cousin Reggie was always