Aaron's Kiss Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 7) (89 page)

“Mel, where is Bailey?” He didn’t know why now was any different, but he asked to keep her head from exploding.

“I made a promise not to tell anyone, and I can’t break my promise. I can’t tell you where Bailey is.”

She had put enough emphasis on the word “I” that even a dead man would hear it, he thought, but he was pissed about it all the same. But her staring pointedly at her father had him confused.

“What the fuck? Sorry, ma’am, but what was all that about? You are by and far the most exasperating woman next to Bailey I’ve ever met. Ask me again, ask me again! I don’t…” He had nearly missed what James had said and jerked around to him. “What did you just say?”

“I said that I made no such promises. I can tell you where she is. I assume this is why you asked me to come in here as soon as Tristan came back. Good thinking, my dear. You get that intelligence from my side of the family. Why just the other day I was telling Phillip…”

Tristan put his hand over James’ mouth to stem the flow of words. He had been with him before and knew how the man could go on for hours about nothing at all. 

“I’m going to remove my hand and you’re only going to tell me where she is, all right?” He was staring at him and could see the mirth just brimming to get out. He moved his hand.

“She’s in a cave in the Netherlands. A red dragon troll is sheltering her and Bradley until the woman reveals herself.” He put his own hand over his mouth this time. He was holding back what Tristan could only assume was either more information, or laughter. He was betting the latter of the two.

“Woman, what woman? The woman! Shit, the hit person. How do we find her?” He was moving a little slow, but was very happy that he was catching up now.

“Ah, Tristan, I’m so very glad you asked. This is something I can tell you.” Mel actually rubbed her hands together and Tristan was suddenly afraid.

~CHAPTER NINETEEN~

Bradley had been pacing the small cave for about two hours now. A lot of things were still unclear, but he was starting to put the pieces together. One thing that he couldn’t figure out was why him? He knew why she had killed him, and he shuddered every time he thought about that, but why had he been targeted? Why had he been picked out?

“We are trying to figure that out now. Once the woman who ordered your hit comes forward, then we will know. My mistress wasn’t given anything other than you were to die or others would in your place.”

Bradley didn’t hear him come in. For a big animal, he could move with stealth. “Where is she? Is she all right?” He had been concerned for her health too. He could no longer feel her so he couldn’t hear her heart beating either.

“Your host would like to meet you. He wants you to call him Todd. He doesn’t really have a name, but he likes the name. So if you would please call him that, several times, it will make him happy.” The door behind him opened and there was a horrible smell first, then a large, no, very large troll walked in, a red dragon troll.

“A wolf, ah, she said he would be tasty, but I wasn’t to touch, no, not to touch, not even a nibble was I to take. Are you the friend of my Printer, the Printer who plays so well?”

“Hummm, yes, Todd, the Printer is my friend, yes, she is my good friend. Yes.” He suddenly felt like Yoda. He looked at Griff when he snorted a laugh.

“My mistress, she said much the same thing the first time she meet Todd too. She also said something about green eggs and ham as well.”

“Yes, Dr. Seuss. I remember those stories. I thank you for your hospitality, Todd. I will mention to all I know about you and your accommodations.” He remembered enough about trolls to know they were very vain and extremely stupid. He preened, just as Bradley knew he would.

“Where is she? You didn’t answer me.” He noticed the shake of Griff’s head, well, the feathers really, and decided that he didn’t want the troll to know. 

“The Printer is a good friend to me. She has said that I am the best troll that she had ever known. I will be envied for years to come. First the Printer and now the great alpha. Yes, Todd will be very much envied.”

Bradley tried breathing through his mouth and discovered that the smell was now on his taste buds. His belly rolled and he was sure he was going to be sick. Suddenly, he could smell…fresh flowers? Apple pie? Bradley looked over at Griff.

“I would not have you be sick, my lord. Our host would not understand and my mistress would be most embarrassed. You will only smell what gives you most comfort when Todd comes to visit.”

Bradley nodded his thanks and continued a conversation with the troll. Once Todd had left and was well out of ear shot, Griff answered him. 

“I am to assure you that you will not be harmed in any way. No matter what happens, I am to return you to your family in two days time.” Griff looked back behind him before he continued. “My mistress is dying and if she doesn’t feed soon, she will. The bullet wounds are taking their toll on her. Not only has she lost a great deal of blood and will not seek any medical help, but she is suffering from a broken heart. It is most likely that under the current circumstances, someone would expedite her death rather than prevent it anyway. She sent me to you to see if you are in need of anything.”

“Griff, why? Why is she willing to die for this? If Aaron knew what the real truth was, he’d do anything to help her.”

“Do you think that she would have a chance to explain?” Bradley knew that Griff was correct. “I do not, nor does she. Her grace, the queen, has assured us that she is very close to finding the woman responsible. Once she does, then she is free to tell the reason why my mistress has done what she has done.”

“But she’ll be dead by then.” It wasn’t a question of if she would be dead, but more of a statement of fact. “May I see her? I’d like to be with her, even if only to sit next to her.”

“Yes, but she is very weak, I’m afraid. She is extremely stubborn and is yet moving about the cave as though she were fit. You will have to go to her, I’m afraid. I have forbidden her to leave the warm room. A fever is taking hold and will take more of her strength than she can give.”

“I understand. Yes, of course I’ll go to her.” Bradley followed the creature. “Griff, can I contact anyone? I would like to contact just one person, one I trust more than anyone I know. Aaron MacManus, he is the master vampire of the realm in which I live.”

“You may not speak to anyone other than those in this cave. My mistress is afraid someone will see you and all will be lost. But I believe that we are too far from a town for anyone to see you.” Griff hadn’t turned around, but led the way to the makeshift stairs. “The part of the cave were my mistress is now is far above here, near the mouth. If you should find a need to get a breath of fresh air after visiting with Todd, then I can allow that. His stench is very…floral. But if you run wolf, I will hunt you down and kill you myself.”

“I won’t run, and a nice breath of clean air sounds very inviting. I so love North American air.” He didn’t know where he was really, other than the cave. He hoped that Griff would help him figure it out.

“Then I am sorry to say you will be somewhat disappointed. In the Netherlands, the air is crisper up here in the northern mountains. I wonder how the master here, a Leighton Chalmers, stands such weather. But alas, it is not my home, so I think it should be a nice place to visit.”

“Nor do I, Griff, nor do I.” Bradley grinned, and felt good for the first time since he woke up.

There was a blazing fire in a pit in her room. The cot where she lay was close to it, and she was wrapped in a blanket. The room smelled of blood and impending death. Bradley was sorry he hadn’t come to see her sooner.

Bradley walked to her side and knelt down next to her. Her face was pale and drawn and her hair was wet with sweat. He could hear her heart beating much too slow and she was breathing so faintly that he held his to assure himself he was hearing it. She was indeed very weak.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was faint and weak. And his heart broke for the girl.

“Don’t talk, and don’t worry about it. I’m fine. I’ve met my first red dragon troll. Todd. What an odd being he is. He had me rhyming like a character from Dr. Seuss.” He held his breath again when she began to cough up blood. “Bailey, let me call your mate for you.”

He had figured out that this was Bailey, the mate of Tristan St. James, the one David had been talking about. He wondered what the vamp must be thinking about his mate killing the alpha.

“No, not safe. He’ll…she will give him freedom.” She tried to roll to her side to look at him, and he moved to help her. He pulled the covers back and was shocked by what was there.

“Bailey, love. Oh God, honey.”

She had been shot three times, all in the chest and near dead center. David really was a good shot. Each wound was about an inch apart and just over her right breast. Her blood seeped from each hole. He looked up at her face and saw that she had blacked out. He knew it was now or never and if he didn’t hurry, never was very close for her.

He stood up, left the little room, and walked out into the open night. He reached for Sara.

“Sara, bring Tristan St. James to me right now. Tell no one, not even Aaron. I will explain when you get to me.”

~~~

Tristan was sitting in the study looking over the list of clues that Mel had given him. Key phrases, she had called them, to help figure out the person who had called his Bailey.

“You can help her by finding the woman responsible for the hit,” she’d told him. “Bailey gave me this list and said that these are going to be unique to her. Once we find the ‘who,’ finding out the ‘why’ will be fairly easy, Bailey said.” 

Mel didn’t sound too confident, though. She had told him everything she knew about the phone call and the arranged hit on Bradley. He wasn’t any closer to finding out where she was than when he had come to the realm, but at least now he was helping to bring her back.

“Is she all right, do you know? I need to know she’s coming back to me, Mel. I need to be able to show her how much I love her.”

“I don’t know, Tristan. I truly don’t. She hasn’t contacted me, nor has Griff since she left here yesterday morning. She wouldn’t even tell me where she was taking him.” He could see that she had pissed her off with that.

Tristan had already figured out that Bailey had taken the bullets to keep Griff strong so that he could heal Bradley. He knew without a doubt that she wouldn’t kill anyone without good reason. So wherever she was, Bradley was alive. And if Griff had healed Bradley, then he couldn’t heal her. She could very well be dying right now.

He looked at the list again and frowned. It wasn’t long, just ten words, three phrases. Why? he wondered for the hundredth time.
Why? H
e stood and walked over to his makeshift table and started straighten up the pens. He didn’t want to think it was possible, but he knew who the woman was who’d ordered the hit. Patrice Skidmore was the one they were looking for.

He picked up his cell phone again and dialed his home in France. He’d almost called four times now and had hung up every time. This time, he let the call go through. The cell phone line that was supposed to be his mother’s office rang halfway around the world. He wasn’t a mama’s boy by any means, but sometimes, like now, one conversation with her could make all the difference.

“Mom, it’s Tristan. I need you to come here. I…it’s Bailey. She’s been hurt, hurt bad. I need your help. Can you come here?”

“Of course you do. How silly of you to think you needed to ask. Your father and I are boarding our plane as we speak. We should be there in about six hours, less if your father will hurry himself along. And I’m bringing my wedding dress. That lovely young woman needs a beautiful wedding, dear. Every woman needs a big wedding and I have it all planned out. She’ll love it. Did you want to speak to your father? Trey, here, assure your son things are going to be fine.” Tristan smiled. His mother was one in a million, thank goodness.

“Son, things are going to be fine. Your mother says so. Do you need anything else?” His father was not a man of many words, but he did mean every one he uttered.

“No, Dad, just Bailey.” Then he realized what she had said. They were getting on the plane now. “How did you know that I needed you to come now? I don’t understand. And the dress, why is Mom bringing her…what’s going on, Dad?”

“Strange thing, that. Patrice called. Said that you had made a mistake with the stupid cow and that you were going to ask her to marry you very soon. We didn’t say anything, of course, but your mother got a bee in her bonnet and off we are to the States.” He could hear the concern in his dad’s voice and loved him all the more for it. “You didn’t make a mistake. You know that, don’t you, son?”

“No, no, Dad, I didn’t, but Patrice did. I’ll explain when you get here, but don’t let on to her that we’ve talked. She’s dangerous. I believe she is responsible for Bailey being in the trouble that she’s in. And I plan to rectify that as soon as possible.”

“All right. She will be fine, Tristan. Bailey is a very strong willed girl. But you’ll make her see reason.” Tristan smiled and thought that his father had a lot of confidence in his powers of persuasion.

He hung up the phone and turned in the chair to look out at the dark night. The pieces fell into place like a perfect puzzle. Patrice had ordered the hit on the one person she knew would get Bailey killed so she could have Tristan.

Sara came into the room just then, took one look at him, and smiled. “You are so going to love me for this.”