Deadly Gift (8 page)

“That was great,” Caer told Zach with enthusiasm.

“And I have an Irish drum now,” he said ruefully. “I didn’t mean to take it.”

“But you must always accept a gift from the Irish,” she told him gravely. “You’re not offered a gift unless it’s really meant, and it’s considered churlish to refuse it.”

“Then I’ll just be grateful to have it,” he told her.

Mary had taken their food back to the kitchen to keep it warm, but she brought their plates to them as soon as they sat back down at the bar. Since the pub was busy, she only had a moment now and then to stop by and check on them. As they ate, Caer told him more about the city she so clearly loved. He found himself listening to her, enjoying the sound of her voice as much as—maybe more than—her tales of a history he had known, at least to a degree, but perhaps never really appreciated.

She broke off suddenly, as if aware of the way he was looking at her, and he quickly turned his attention back to his pot roast.

She asked him wistfully, “What will it be like, in America?”

He paused, his fork halfway to his mouth, surprised to hear something that sounded suspiciously like anxiety in her tone.

“You’ll love the O’Riley place. Sean’s grandfather built the house. He bought the land when you could still afford to buy on the coast. The house is on a hill, with a view of the sea that’s beautiful on a good day and even better on a stormy one. And you’ll love Bridey, Sean’s aunt. You’ll like Kat, too. She’s already home for Christmas…. You’ll have to take a tour of the mansions, which are amazing, especially when they’re all decked out for Christmas. Newport’s not as old as Dublin, but it’s still got a lot of history. You’ll enjoy your visit, I promise.” He shrugged, grinning. “Marni—she’s married to Cal, the other partner—can be a witch, but just ignore her. Kat and Bridey will adore you. And Bridey…well, she might have left Ireland, but as the saying goes, Ireland never left her.”

She looked up at him, a slight shadow in her eyes and something vulnerable in her expression, but the look was quickly gone. “We should head out. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

They didn’t linger over their goodbyes. Mary gave Caer a huge hug, and Caer returned it warmly. Zach told himself he had to be mistaken. There was nothing suspicious about Caer Cavannaugh.

Except…there was.

They walked back to the hotel, where he ran upstairs to get her bags, then assured her that he would call a car and get her home safely.

She told him not to bother, and when he insisted, she said, “I want to go back to the hospital and check on Sean.”

“Then we’ll go together.”

“That’s not necessary. You must be exhausted, and you said you have an associate there watching over him.”

“Right. So you don’t need to go, either. But if you do, then I’ll go with you,” he said firmly, wondering why he felt so strongly about the subject.

She stared at him in frustration.

What was she afraid of? he wondered. What would he discover if he did take her home?

Maybe she had come from poverty and didn’t want him knowing.

Maybe, but she had to be doing all right now; the shopping bags she carried were from high-end stores.

“To the hospital then,” she said.

They were long past visiting hours, he assumed, but there were no questions asked. Caer merely said good evening to the guard on duty, who stared at her, smiled slowly, then watched without protest as they headed to the elevator.

They passed the nurses’ station with equal ease and headed down the quiet hallway to Sean’s room. Just as they reached the door, an orderly stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, heavily muscled, and his face was rough-hewn and showed the signs of a hard life.

“Flynn?” the man asked.

“Travis?”

“Aye.”

Zach introduced Caer, but Will Travis smiled and said, “Of course. I’ve seen Miss Cavannaugh with Mr. O’Riley.”

He took Caer’s hand and appeared loath to let it go. She was polite, but she retrieved her hand decisively.

“A quiet evening?” Zach asked.

“Oh, aye.” The man’s eyes lingered on Caer.

“Was Mrs. O’Riley in?”

“She was. Came about an hour and a half ago, and she was a bit distraught when I told her that I was a friend of your brother, and that I’d been instructed not to let Mr. O’Riley alone for a moment. She was all right in the end, though. Mr. O’Riley had his medication at ten, including a mild sedative, just to give him a good night’s rest. I’ve been watching ever since.”

“It’s all right,” Caer said suddenly. “I’ll stay now.”

“
We’ll
stay,” Zach corrected.

Caer frowned. “But you’ve got your lovely hotel room, and you really need some rest.”

“I can sleep anywhere,” he told her.

“Now then, neither of you has to stay here,” Will Travis protested. “Aidan was a good friend to me when I needed him, and I’ve no problem being here for the night, as planned.”

“Will, thank you. But we’ll both stay,” Zach said firmly.

Travis, his eyes falling longingly on Caer again, said, “I’ll be near my cell through the night, then. If you need anything, just call me.”

“Will do, thanks,” Zach assured him.

He didn’t know why the hell he was so obsessed about staying if Caer was there. He had left the hospital easily enough before, trusting in Aidan’s assurance that Will Travis was the real deal and damned good at what he did.

There was a recliner in the room, and he insisted that Caer take it. He opted for a more conventional chair, but leaned it back against the far wall. The darkness in the room, the muted light from the hall and the hum of the heating system seemed to wrap him like a blanket. He tried to keep his eyes open, but he couldn’t help it. He drifted. He slept lightly, though, knowing that he would be aware and awake if something out of the ordinary happened.

He wasn’t sure about Caer, he thought just as sleep overcame him. He had a feeling that her hypnotic blue eyes remained open in the shadows.

It seemed to Bridey that she was dreaming more than ever these days, and that her dreams were in brilliant color, so real, like those high-definition movies Sean liked to rent.

It was near dawn, and she knew she was asleep, just as she knew that it was just around noon in Ireland. Sean would be on his way back, and this evening he would be home. Zach would be with him, and somehow, she knew, he would set things to right.

She knew all this as she slept and, in her dreams, returned to the sweeping hills and quiet dells of the Irish countryside.

It was all so real. That grass beneath her feet, dew-damp and delicious. And the air…There was such a sweetness to it. She was running through the grass, and she was young and beautiful again.

She could see the cottage ahead of her again, and the man in front of the cottage.

Eddie.

She ran toward him, anxious, worried.

And yet, as she neared him, she slowed.

Because the creases formed by time, wind and wear seemed to be fading from his face as she knew they had faded from her own. He had been like a son to her, just as Sean had been. She’d never had her own children, nor even a husband, but Sean was her blood, and Eddie had become family, as well. Like Sean, he was passionate in his pursuit of history and its treasures—real treasures, like gold coins and long-lost gems, and the treasures that came with knowledge and discovery. She’d loved sailing with her boys, as she called them. Fools, in a way, both of them, daring to go out when the wind howled and storms threatened. But they loved the sea, maybe more than either had ever loved a woman, though Sean had married twice, while Eddie had never settled for one.

“Bridey!” Eddie waved to her as he spoke.

But he wasn’t Eddie as he’d been of late but the lad she had once known, with a twinkle in his eyes and a love of life. The lad who had brought her flowers on Mother’s Day and never forgotten to honor her when St. Pat’s Day rolled around.

She kept going, running through the grass, but he seemed to be getting farther and farther away.

“Eddie!” she called with distress.

“You can’t come yet, not all the way, Bridey. But I’ll be waiting,” he told her.

“Eddie, you have to help us. We can’t find you,” she told him.

He stared back at her, perplexed. “I can’t help you. There’s too much I don’t know, that I didn’t figure out. I wish I could help you, but I can’t. I love you, Bridey.”

“Eddie, lad, we love you, too.”

“Bridey, go back now, go on back. I’ll be here. I’ll be waiting.”

Eddie faded. No, he didn’t fade. He’d been there, then he simply…wasn’t. The cottage, too, was gone, and the sweet, rich scent of the grass that had ridden on the air.

The damp grass was gone from beneath her feet, and there was something hard in its place.

She was shrouded in the pale yellow light of the moon. Her old bones ached, as she felt a chill sweep through her.

Startled, she realized that she was fully awake, and that she had risen in her sleep and walked over to the window. The cold of winter was on the pane she touched as she looked out to the sea.

To the bay.

Where Eddie had gone.

Once again she knew the truth. Knew for a certainty that Eddie was dead.

Fear gripped her. Fear for Sean.

Her old heart fluttered. She couldn’t lose Sean, too. She couldn’t lose both her boys. It wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be the natural way of things, though fate was often wickedly cruel as one generation made way for the next.

Her heart beat hard again. By tonight. By tonight they would be home, and somehow, everything would all be right.

As she stood there, it felt as if a darkness descended again, as if shadow wings beat down around her. It should have been a frightening sensation, she thought, but it wasn’t. She felt stronger.

Eddie was dead, but someone out there was listening to her prayers, and Sean would be home by tonight.

Zach didn’t know how long he drifted—maybe an hour or two. He woke, senses sharp, eyes flying open. He didn’t move, though; he waited silently, trying to discern the source of his sudden alarm.

There was someone in the room. Someone besides Sean and Caer, and somehow he knew the intruder was not a nurse or a hospital employee. Whoever it was had entered quietly, and apparently hadn’t noticed him or Caer.

The intruder—attacker?—wore a coat, but there was something odd about it, a strange glint of light emanating from it. He—she?—also had on a strangely shaped hat.

For a moment, pure adrenaline shot through Zach, and he was ready to tackle the figure.

But then he paused, not sure whether to be furious, embarrassed or alarmed.

“Sean? Honey?” the newcomer said.

Amanda.

She swept open the coat.

Beneath it, she was wearing only flimsy panties and a bra adorned with tiny Christmas lights, which explained the glow, and the strange hat proved to be a Santa cap.

Amanda, still oblivious to everyone but Sean, shimmied seductively. “Hey, baby. Amanda is here to make it all better.”

She let the coat drop all the way to the floor.

The panties were a thong. Her buttocks reflected blinking red and green lights.

“Amanda?” Sean said groggily, waking from a deep sleep.

Zach rose, clearing his throat, just as a light came on.

Amanda jumped, then looked around, eyes wide. She stared at Zach, but she didn’t scream, only smiled slowly. Then her gaze moved around the room and focused on Caer, who had risen to turn on the overhead lights. The flirtatious look she had given Zach turned into something ugly.

Because, Zach thought fleetingly, even fully dressed, with her hair tousled and her eyes sleepy, Caer’s far more seductive than you’ll ever be, blinking nipples, Santa hat and all.

He dismissed the thought and focused on the situation.

Amanda was angry. “What in God’s name are
you
doing in my husband’s room, in the middle of the night?” she asked Caer accusingly.

“I’m his nurse,” Caer reminded her. “And in case you’ve forgotten, your husband’s doctors said that he isn’t to have any excitement—and until he’s released, their orders are the law.”

Amanda spun and stared at Zach, but she still didn’t reach for her coat. Her expression softened. She clearly liked men in general and didn’t like other women.

“Zach, you know I’m the best medicine in the world for him,” she said.

“Amanda,” he said, trying to keep his eyes steady on hers. It wasn’t easy. She did have magnificent breasts.

Sean had bought them for her as a wedding present, and there was no way to deny it: they were distracting when blinking.

“Amanda, you heard his nur—doctor’s orders.”

“Oh, pooh,” Amanda said with a pout.

There was a flurry of activity in the hallway, and then one of the nurses on night duty and Will Travis—still dressed as an orderly and having obviously ignored Zach’s instructions to go home—strode in.