The Crusader ("The Crusader" Prequel to "Kingdom Come") (37 page)

Rory
watched his slowing movements, seeing his anguish reflected in every muscle,
every limb. Moving to him, she gently placed her hand on his arm. "If you
go with us and he leads us straight to the crown, won't it prove to you that he
is who he says he is?"

He
glanced at her, his ice-blue eyes laced with defeat. After a lengthy pause, he
simply shook his head. "Look, even if he managed to completely convince
me, I'm not the real problem. Do you realize what would happen if the
authorities got their hands on a living, breathing corpse?" When she shook
her head unsteadily, he continued. "Think about it, Rory. Suppose you
actually manage to convince the world who Kieran really is; the man has been in
a catatonic state for eight hundred years. Once the government gets a hold of
him, he can look forward to a life of experiments and needles and testing to
determine the secret to his immortality. Is that what you want for him?"

Her face
fell. "Of course not," she replied, the distress in her expression
evident. "I just want him to be able to live peacefully, admired and
respected for his what he truly is. He's lived so much, Bud. He deserves the
best this life has to offer."

He
cocked an eyebrow. "If it's proven he's actually a resurrected Medieval
knight, he can expect a life as a sideshow freak. Or he'll simply disappear
from sight altogether. Do you really think the world is ready for the concept
of an eight hundred year old man?"

Rory
held his gaze a moment longer before looking away, feeling sickened and
stunned. Being so close to the situation, she'd never truly given the negative
aspects of Kieran's resurrection much thought. Once again, Bud was right; he
was always right.

But it
didn't change the facts. Kieran was determined to return for the crown and Rory
was going with him. Beyond the actual retrieval, she refused to ponder the
future. If they ended up living in a mud shack in the middle of the Serengeti Desert,
hiding out from the long arm of the law, then that would suit her just fine. As
long as they remained together, she trusted that the strength of their bond
would see them through the worst this life had to offer.

"We're
going back for the crown," she finally murmured. "After that, I
suppose we'll just have to take one day at a time."

Bud
continued to stare at her, not knowing what to say. She was determined to
return to Nahariya and the thought that she was slipping further and further
away from him was nearly more than he could bear. But all reality of his
anguish aside, he knew for her own protection that he simply couldn't let her
go.

"Rory,
you're not going anywhere right now."

She
looked up from the floor. "What do you mean?"

He took
a deep breath, feeling completely evil for what he was about to say. But he
also knew in his heart that he only had her best interests in mind; and,
perhaps, just a small amount of the revenge she had accused him of. When
dealing with matters of the heart, it was difficult to think clearly. But he
was trying to do just that, praying she wouldn't hate him overly for what he
felt he had to do.

"What
I mean is that I called Becker last night. He's on his way to London and I've
been told to keep you here until he arrives."

Rory's
eyes widened. "You
what
? Damn it, Bud, how could you do this?"

"It's
for your own good. You're in a lot of trouble and we've got to prevent it from
getting out of control more than it already is."

Inflamed
and terrified by his treachery, Rory's body began to quake with emotion.
"So you turned me in just like a damn traitor," she seethed. Then,
her expression suddenly slackened. "Oh, God. Bud, what have you done with
Kieran?"

"Nothing,"
he replied evenly. "When I left him, he was trying to shave. When he comes
knocking on the door to take you to breakfast, you're going to tell him to go
ahead without you."

She was
so shaken even her lips were trembling. "And then what?"

"And
while he's occupied with his meal, we're checking out and moving to another hotel."

"No!"
she shouted. "You can't do this!"

"I
can and I will. If you value your job, your reputation, and your freedom,
you'll do as I say."

Rory was
livid. "You bastard! I thought you were my friend, Bud. I trusted
you!"

"And
I thought you were my friend, too. But friends don't lie to other friends. And
they don't treat them like idiots."

Her
cheeks were mottled a bright red. "I never treated you like an idiot and
I've never lied to you. If you weren't blinded by your own jealousy, then you'd
understand what I'm telling you."

Bud's
jaw ticked but he remained calm. "I understand completely. But you've got
to understand that I'm doing this for your own good. And as for Sir Kieran's
corpse, if you won't tell me where you've hidden it, then I guess we'll have to
tell Becker that you destroyed it somehow."

"I
didn't destroy it!"

"Then
where is it?"

She let
out a hissing curse, turning away from him in a fit of frustration.
"You've been talking to it for the past twenty-four hours!" she
exploded, nearing the edge of insanity with the repeated argument. "And I
slept with it last night and can tell you for fact that Sir Kieran Hage is
alive and well and more of a man than any living male on the face of this
earth!"

Bud
blanched, struggling to maintain his composure. "Christ, you love throwing
that in my face, don't you?"

She
stopped in the middle of her rage, tears of distress and emotion filling the
hazel eyes. "No, Bud, I don't. But I love the man and he loves me and I'm
sorry if I've destroyed your world. But I can't help what I feel and I won't
let you separate us. I swear to God you'll be sorry if you try."

Bud
raked his fingers through his short hair, turning away from her disturbing
expression. "I've got to do what I know is right. And what's right is
getting you away from that... that man so you can start thinking clearly
again."

Rory
stared at him, feeling so terribly defeated. Her rage was fading, her emotions
brimming, and she collapsed on the edge of the bed in exhaustion. "I am
thinking clearly," she murmured, watching him pace about in agitation.
"Don't you even believe me just a little, Bud? Just a tiny bit?"

He came
to a halt, pondering her words for a moment. As Rory watched him closely, he
finally gave her the signal she'd been waiting two days for - a small, nearly
imperceptible nod.

"Maybe,"
he muttered, his tone scarcely audible. "All I know is your Sir Kieran is
unlike anything I've ever seen before. From head to toe, that man is an
anomaly. Christ, Rory, I just don't know what to think any more."

"Don't
think," she whispered. "Believe."

Ice-blue
eyes turned in her direction, seeing the woman he loved so much and feeling the
familiar weakness sweep him. But it wasn't enough to overcome his doubt.

"Rory...
I just can't."

"Can't
or won't?"

Bud
never had the chance to reply. The locked bedroom door suddenly exploded,
drawing a scream of fright from Rory and sending Bud ducking for cover. When
the noise ended and the pieces of wood cluttered to the fine flooring, their
startled gazes fell on a man of enormous size and strength lodged in the
doorway.

"Kieran!"
Rory gasped. "Why did you do that?"

He
stepped into the room, kicking aside a heavy piece of panel as if it was
nothing. His jaw ticked as he looked directly at Bud.

"The
door was locked and I heard your urgent voice," he said, his voice a
growl. "I will not be locked away from you, not even for a moment."

He was
still looking at Bud. Rory leapt up from the mattress, moving to intercept him
before he could do to Bud what he had done to the door.

"Bud
wasn't locking me away from you," she said, putting her hands on his thick
arm. "We were... talking."

Kieran
cocked an eyebrow. "I would hardly call words such as 'bastard' and
'traitor' mere talk. What has he done that has angered you so?"

Rory
swallowed, looking at Bud. Surprisingly, the man's expression was without fear
and Rory returned her attention to Kieran, hoping she could delicately explain
the situation.

"Bud
spoke to our superior last night and was instructed to keep me in his company
until the authorities from the university can arrive," she didn't want to
make Bud out to be the bad guy, even if he had gone behind her back.
"Obviously, I don't want to remain. I want to go to Syria with you."

"And
you shall," Kieran said firmly, looking to Bud once more. "I would
assume the lady told you of her plans to accompany me to Nahariya. We will not
deviate from these plans."

Bud took
a deep, long breath. "Look, pal, Rory is facing serious charges. You know
this. Why don't you just make it easy on her and let me do what needs to be
done? She can't go to Nahariya with you now, if ever."

Kieran
remained calm. In fact, he was inordinately good at calming his fierce temper
once aroused. Taking Rory's hand in his large, warm palm, he kissed it gently
before returning his attention to Bud.

"The
only thing Rory is guilty of is of loving a dead man," he said quietly.
"You see, we are linked by this crown somehow, a passion and devotion that
has brought us together and refuses to let go. I need the lady if I am going to
complete my mission, and she needs me if she is going to find this diadem she
has spent a great deal of time searching for. We are two pieces of a puzzle,
Bud, finally made whole. One without the other is incomplete, but the two of us
combined are invincible."

Bud's
gaze held steady, his ice-blue eyes lined with fatigue and emotion. He looked
to Rory, so incredible at-peace in the grasp of the knight.

True,
Bud loved her terribly; but he also loved her enough that he simply wanted her
to be happy with whomever she chose and if it wasn't him, then he would have to
accept it. But his rejected devotion still didn't erase the fact that she was
in trouble. Meeting Rory's gaze, his focus was intense.

"I
can deal with this in time," he said finally. "If you really love
him, then that's the way it's got to be. But the fact remains that Becker is
coming to London to save you from British justice. He can probably get you
absolved from the charges of breaking and entering, but stealing a national
treasure is another matter. If this man before me is the living corpse of Sir
Kieran Hage, then we really do have a problem on our hands. Just what in the
hell am I supposed to tell Becker?"

"Tell
him I ditched you," she said quietly. "Tell him that I snuck out in
the middle of the night and you don't know where I am. For God's sake, tell him
anything."

Bud
continued to stare at her, finally turning away and dragging a hand over his
weary face. "All right. So let's say I give Becker a contrived story while
you and Kieran return for the crown. Then what? Do you think that returning the
crown to England will solve all of your troubles and the charges against you
will be miraculously dropped? You'll still be in the same predicament, Rory,
only worse because you fled the country," he gestured weakly at Kieran.
"And what about him? When all of this is over and he announces his true
identity, he'll either be thrown into a science laboratory or into an insane
asylum. Don't you see where this is leading, honey?"

Rory
held Kieran's hand tightly, hearing the truth of Bud's words and growing more
distressed by the moment.

"I
do," she whispered. "But we don't have a choice. We have to go, Bud,
can't you see? Kieran must retrieve the crown and I'm the only one who can help
him. It's like... like this was meant to happen. I can't retrieve it without
him and he can't retrieve it without me. But even more than that, it's as if we
truly belong together just like Kieran said. Even if we were born eight hundred
years apart, he fills in me something I never realized I lacked. He makes me
whole, Bud, like I've never been in my life."

Bud's
eyes glimmered with the force of his emotion. "I'd always hoped to hear
you say those words where they pertained to me," he smiled weakly, feeling
defeated and resigned to the inevitable. Whether or not it ruined him
professionally, he was already ruined emotionally and he found himself once
again willing to do her bidding. "So you're going back to Nahariya. Back
to the grave site, I take it?"

Rory
looked at Kieran, who met her gaze with a shrug. "I am afraid I cannot
elaborate on that aspect, considering I do not know where I was buried."

"We
found you in the ruins of an ancient Grecian temple where the Muslims buried
their trash," Rory told him. "It sits on a rise above the city and
you can see the Mediterranean in the distance. Do you know the place I'm
talking about?"

He
thought a moment, his brow furrowed. Then, realization dawned; his gem-clear
brown eyes suddenly took on a marvelous twinkle and he grinned at the wide-eyed
lady by his side. "Is
that
where you were looking for the
diadem?"