Page 10 of Dark Medicine (Strange Gifts #2)

The morning sunlight filtered through the window, the streaks of amber and yellow glowing across the milky white flesh of Fiona’s backside. Adam smiled down at her, rubbing the small, hard globes of her ass. Years of running gave her beautifully firm cheeks, sculpted perfectly, tapering to lean legs. He kissed the small indentations above each ass cheek and made his way up her spine. She moaned in delight and rolled over, kissing him passionately.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” he said against her lips.

“Good morning, handsome,” she smiled. “A girl could get used to waking up like this.”

“Yea?” he said, arching a brow. Fiona blushed and started to look away. “Fiona? Fiona, look at me, baby. I want you to get used to this, but with me, honey, just me.”

“Who else would I be thinkin’, Adam Thorn?” she said in a decidedly angry Irish tone. Adam grinned at her and kissed her before she could push away.

“I like when you get angry. You sound more Irish than American. It seems appropriate,” he laughed. “Let’s get dressed before the others come searching for us.” He stood at full attention. Fiona grinned and followed him toward the bathroom.

“We should conserve water,” she said seriously. “I mean, Ireland is an island and all, but, well, water conservation is important.”

“You’re sore, baby,” he said, kissing her.

She reached around him, turned on the shower, and stepped inside, her hair wet against her body once again. Adam couldn’t help himself. His cock grew to its full length and size, and he moaned from the pain of it. He needed to be inside this woman once again. Fiona laughed as he stepped into the shower behind her.

The steam from the shower pillowed around them, forming clouds of condensation. Adam lathered her tender body, gently touching her folds as she moaned. He knew she would be sore and expertly used his fingers to allow her release. Her hard nub throbbed from the intensity of his touch.

Fiona was touched that Adam thought of her tenderness. Kneeling before him, she stroked his purple head, the large round shaft barely fitting between her lips.

“Fiona! Oh, God, baby!”

Adam’s voice cracked with ecstasy as her lips wrapped around his head. He held her hair, watching her plump red lips work their magic. When he knew he could hold it no longer, he tried to pull her back, but Fiona refused. The warm liquid squirted at the back of her throat, and she swallowed every drop, gliding her tongue along his shaft. The sensitivity made him shiver as he pulled her to him.

“You are a very bad girl, Fiona Graham,” he growled.

“Lucky for you, Adam Thorn,” she smiled against his lips. Twenty minutes later, they were both dressed and headed out of the room.

“Let me just stop at my room,” she said, pausing in front of the door. “I forgot to grab my jewelry out of the safe.”

Fiona opened the door and gasped at the completely ransacked room. Shredded pillows covered the floor, their feathers everywhere, sheets stripped, empty drawers pulled out and tumbled on the bed.

“Step back,” ordered Adam, forcing her back into the hallway. “Go! Go and get Kane, honey. Go!”

Fiona took off down the stairs, and moments later, the thundering sound of footsteps ascended. Kane and Flip stood in the doorway, Adam standing in the middle of the room, staring at the mess.

“What the fuck happened?” asked Kane.

“She stayed with me last night,” said Adam, looking at his friends. There wasn’t even a blip on their radar at that note. Their only concern was what happened in the room. “She forgot her things in the safe, and we stopped by this morning to retrieve them.”

“How did we not hear anything?” asked Flip. “I’m in the room right across the hall.”

The manager came down the long corridor, his face filled with concern and something else, something odd. Stopping at the doorway, he peered in.

“Oh dear, this is an awful mess. You’ll have to pay for the damage,” he said casually, too casually for Adam and Kane.

“We won’t be paying for anything,” bellowed Adam. “This was done when she wasn’t in the room. She stayed with me last night. We found it this way this morning when we stopped to gather her things from the safe. Call the police.”

“Young man,” said the man hesitantly, “we don’t call the police for every little disturbance.”

Flip eyed the man suspiciously and nodded at Kane, who grabbed his forearm and held tight. He could feel the fear pulsing through the man. It wasn’t the usual zap of evil he felt, but rather an association with evil and fear, mounds and mounds of fear.

“Who asked you to cover for this?” asked Kane, holding tight to the man’s arm.

His face blanched, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He opened his mouth to speak and closed it several times. Shaking his head, he stepped back from the men, suddenly realizing what a mess he’d gotten himself into.

“My friend asked you a question,” said Flip, stepping closer to the man.

“I, oh dear, I was asked to give the key to two men. That’s all. The gentleman said he was the woman’s fiancée and that he was surprising her. I didn’t think there was anything wrong.”

“Nothing wrong? Nothing wrong with giving a woman’s room key to a total stranger? Mister, you have delusions about what’s right or wrong,” said Flip. “What did they look like? Who were they?”

The old man shuffled from one foot to the other. His face was red with fear. His eyes filled with a strong desire to run. Sweat poured from his body, his lips blanching white.

“I can’t…”

“You will, or I will make sure hell reigns down on this establishment,” said Flip.

“It was two gypsies named Roman and George.” He stopped and looked at the massive arms of the men standing in front of him. All three had their forearms crossed, waiting for him to continue. “They’re trouble. That’s all I can tell you. My guests often complain of them swindling them in a card game or stealing something from them while on a hike. They come around for a drink now and then.”

“And you let them in? Why? So, they don’t destroy the place?” asked Adam.

“Something like that,” he said in a clipped English tone. “My wife and I invested everything in this bed and breakfast. We retired from Birmingham, England, a few years ago. Except, no one bothered to tell us that the gypsies would extort your life’s blood from you if they could.” The old man sat in the small chair near the door, the stuffing falling out everywhere.

“I’m exhausted, and my wife is sick from having to avoid them. When they arrived last night, they said they would leave us alone if I let them in the room. That’s all they wanted, just to be let into her room. They said it was a favor to someone very important. We… we know Fiona a little. She stops in to change after her runs and will have dinner or stay the night. We meant no harm to her.”

“And you let them in? Just like that?” said Kane.

“I knew the young woman wasn’t in her room. Our rooms are right below yours,” he said, looking up at Adam. Adam didn’t even flinch but felt a bit of heat rise in his cheeks. “I knew she was safe and could only pray you were smart enough not to let her return to her rooms. They were angry when they left but kept their word and didn’t take anything.”

“They were angry because she wasn’t in the room,” said Flip. “Do you know what could have happened to her if she were?” Flip’s anger was palpable, suddenly filling the room with his energy and ire. Adam could feel the floor shaking beneath them. Flip’s uncontrolled emotions were causing things to shift in the house. The older man’s eyes grew wide with fear.

“Flip? Brother, it’s okay,” whispered Adam.

Flip looked up at his friend and let out a long slow breath, his hands unclenched and relaxed.

“Where are these men located?” asked Kane.

“I’m not sure. They were last up on the western side of the park. You could try there, but, gentlemen, they are violent and enjoy the violence. Although, it occurs to me that you may be men of violence as well.”

“That’s right,” said Adam, “we are men of violence as well. Something you might want to remember.” The old man nodded and turned to leave the room.

“I’ll call the police,” he said quietly.

Adam watched him walk away. He wanted to tear the man apart but understood he acted out of fear and concern for his wife and property. Not everyone had the skills of a soldier or the inherent protective and survival instincts that he and the other men possessed.

“Where is Fiona?” asked Adam.

“Spook is with her and Aislinn downstairs,” said Flip. Adam walked down the corridor, his two friends following. When they arrived in the breakfast room, Fiona and Aislinn were the only two people seated.

“Where is Spook?”

“He said he had something he needed to do,” said Aislinn. “He stepped outside.” Adam looked out into the parking lot and saw Spook just standing on the gravel path. Kane watched his friend but didn’t move.

Taking the seat next to Aislinn, Kane filled his plate with food and ate ravenously. Adam did the same as the women watched them fill their bellies.

Flip grabbed two plates and filled them, sitting beside Adam and shoveling the food in at an alarming rate.

“You boys hungry?” joked Aislinn.

“Adrenalin,” said Flip. “It always makes us hungry.” Spook walked in, filled his plate, and started eating before he even sat down.

“I think they’re about ten miles west. Someone named Roman took a call from an electronically altered voice. They were angry. The owner called the police two minutes ago. They’re on their way.”

“That’s… that’s amazing,” said Fiona quietly. Spook shrugged.

“It’s overwhelming,” he said, “I hear all the conversations, all the calls, all the numbers. It’s like watching the trail of the stock market pages before your very eyes, only its hundreds of thousands of tick marks. All the bandwidths, all the numbers, all the bleeps on the radar. I see it all. I hear every call of a terrified woman, every call to a grieving parent confirming the death of their children, I see every e-mail to a tormented spouse that confirms their suspicions. I see it all.”

“Shit, Spook. I didn’t know,” said Adam.

“I haven’t talked about it, and that’s not fair to all of you when you’ve been so open with me. I needed to talk about this for a long time. I honestly thought for a while I would go mad. I disappeared to Montana for a while, thinking I could escape it.”

“Did you? Escape it?” asked Fiona. Spook looked up and smiled at the pretty redhead.

“No,” he said, swallowing his food. “I just heard different things. Airplane communications, trains, anything, and everything. If there is a cell phone tower, I hear it all unless I tune it out. Even without a tower, I hear it all.”

“Are you able to do that?” asked Adam. His concern for his friend’s mental health was genuine. He could only imagine what hearing all that noise in your head would do to a man.

“I’ve learned over the years to isolate. I can’t always turn it off, but I can focus in on one sound or piece of information. Like a call to a loved one or an important text,” he said, looking at Flip. Flip nodded at Spook, knowing that he was referring to the text thread that had saved his life.

“Alright, let’s wait for the police to file a report, and then we’re going to find our little gypsy friends,” said Kane.

“The manager said they were armed,” said Fiona. “I overheard.”

“It’s okay, Fiona,” said Flip. “We don’t have weapons, but sometimes you don’t need guns to handle men like this.”

“What should we do?” asked Aislinn.

“I’ve called Angela and Caroline,” said Kane. “They’re going to take you two shopping for the wedding and keep an eye on you.”

“For the wedding? Two little old women are going to watch us?” said Fiona. “I don’t…”

“Don’t be silly, Fiona,” said Aislinn, “who else would stand up with me?”

She smiled at the other woman, and Fiona smiled back, gripping Adam’s fingers beneath the table. These people had embraced her as if she were their family. The problem was, what would she do when they went home and she had nothing left?