Under the cut there’s an excerpt from “Love & Lore: Wildish Things”, available now in eBook and print from Samhain Publishing. (Warning: Contains a couple of naughty words!) Enjoy!
——
“I’m telling you, the girl must have left the airport on her own.”
“But she said she was catching the next flight home,” said Patrick. “Are you sure—”
“Declan O’Neill held tight to his patience. “I checked the outgoing flights—what there were of them. There’s a baggage handler strike going on. She wasn’t on any of them. I also checked the car hires, taxi services and local hotels. Nothing. She either left on foot or with someone else.”
“Dead silence on the other end of the line. Then, “I think you’d better talk to Kemberlee.”
“Declan winced. “I don’t think that’s a good—”
“Is this Declan O’Neill? You’d better start talking to me.” Despite having just had abdominal surgery, Kemberlee Shea’s voice cracked over the phone line like a whip.
“He blew out a slow breath and did his best to sound calm and reasonable. Fat lot of good that would do him—he almost expected the woman’s clawed hand to come at him through the receiver at any moment.
“As I was telling your brother, the woman I assigned to be her guide called to tell me she was delayed. By the time I got to the airport to collect Miss Molloy, she was gone.” Even as he spoke, he scanned the baggage area, hoping to find some trace of the woman who resembled the faxed photograph tucked in his pocket. That blonde head of hair should stand out like the silver flash of a salmon’s belly in a dark lough, but nothing stood out among the sea of red, brown and black-haired heads.
“Think carefully, Mr. O’Neill. I’m aware that you’re one of Patrick’s, well, friends from his past. Is there anyone from your…well, before…who might still have it in for you? Is there a possibility—”
“No. That part of my life is over. As it is for your brother. You know that.”
“I do know that. In my drug-induced state, that’s why I let Patrick…”
Declan heard a solid smack and Patrick’s muttered “Ouch!”
“…call you in the first place. Because you’d know someone who could show her the island like a tour guide pro and keep her safe.”
“The only one over here who knows about my past is my wife and my—oh, sweet Jesus.” Declan walked carefully over to the nearest bench and sat down. He let the mobile phone drop to his side and took a moment to rub his suddenly throbbing temples. Fury pounded through him, spiced with a healthy dose of annoyance. “That little bastard,” he muttered. When he trusted himself to speak again, he picked up the phone. In the background, he heard Patrick telling his sister to calm down.
“Get your hands off me, Paddy. You may have three more college degrees than me, but I’m still bigger and meaner. Declan!”
“Kemberlee, it’s all right. I think I know what’s going on. My brother was in the office with me when Patrick’s call and fax came in. He must have overheard our conversation.” In his mind, he replayed the scene now. His brother, fresh from assignment providing security for an ambassador’s trip to a politically sensitive African country, walking over and casually retrieving the faxed photo and other documents and handing them over with barely a glance, then returning to sprawl in the nearest chair. Or had it been a glance? With this brother, one could never tell. Despite his laid-back demeanor, the boy had a keen mind and a photographic memory. Traits that had kept him alive in some very, very bad situations.
He heard Kem take a deep breath, then a short scuffle and suddenly Patrick was back on the phone.
“Which brother, Declan? Tell me it wasn’t Kel.”
Declan sighed. “Okay, I’ll tell you it wasn’t Kel, if that’s what you want to hear.”
“Shit.”
“Well, you said you wanted her to have the adventure of a lifetime,” Declan said lamely. “She’s certain to have it, now.”
Patrick groaned. “Yeah, but I’d also like her to live through it!”
—
Comments
No responses to “Wildish Things!”