Page 22 of Sadie’s Highlander (Highland Protector #1)
CHAPTER 21
H e didn’t like leaving the park for an entire weekend, but Esme was beside herself about spending a few days in Wilmington. “Shopping!” she’d said, clapping her hands and hopping around as though the fine town of Brady had no stores that offered her any shiny beebaws and baubles.
Alec hooked an elbow over the banister and felt for the first step with the toe of his boot. He couldn’t see a feckin’ thing over all the infernal bags his sister had loaded into his arms. The top bag slid a bit to one side, threatening to abandon ship and dive over the railing. He caught the handle between his teeth and bit down hard. Damn it all to hell and back. What the devil did she need to buy in Wilmington? The girl was taking half of MacDara keep with her.
His mother hadn’t helped his cause either. The woman had quickly sided with Esme, her eyes sparkling a wee bit too brightly when she’d assured him that she and his father would rather enjoy a rare few days alone without their rowdy brood clamoring about the keep.
Alec huffed out an irritated grunt and dumped the armload of bags into the growing pile of luggage at the bottom of the steps. It was as if they were going away for three months rather than just three days.
Grant leaned against the open front door, watching for the rental. He leaned farther out the doorway and scowled up at the sun. “I thought ye said eight a.m.? ’Tis nearly ten.”
“With any luck, they’ll not show up at all and we willna have to go.” Alec glanced back up the staircase, shaking his head in disbelief as Esme dumped four more suitcases at the top of the stairs and headed back to her room for more. “What the hell is she packing? The entire second floor?”
Ross brushed past Alec, meeting Ramsay at the top of the stairs, and took two of Esme’s bags. “If we dinna go, I’ll not be the one to break the news to Esme. She’ll set up a howl for sure.”
“Damn right,” Ramsay chimed in. “’Twill be yer duty to break our wee sister’s heart. Yer the one that doesna wish to go.”
“Esme!” Alec shouted up the stairs. “Ye’ve brought enough. Now get yerself down here.”
Esme appeared at the railing and leaned out over the balcony. “Is the limo here yet?”
Alec looked back over his shoulder at Grant.
Grant shook his head.
“Not yet,” Alec said. “But it’s sure to be here any time.”
Esme held up a finger as she backed away. “I just thought of a few more things I might need. If it gets here, tell them I’m almost ready. I’ll be down in just a minute.”
“Lore a’mighty,” Alec muttered under his breath. He clenched his fists so tight all his knuckles popped.
“You’re going to stroke out. Calm down. She’s a teenager. It’s what they do.” Sadie patted his arm, then held out her bag. “Here’s mine.”
“Just the one?” Alec said with an exaggerated wave of both hands. “Ye dinna feel the need to take along the entire contents of yer suite?” He was in a foul mood. Something was amiss. He felt it in his bones as surely as he felt the beating of his heart.
“Don’t be pissy.” Sadie stretched and pressed her lips close to his ear and whispered, “I called ahead and found out our room has a private Jacuzzi and heated pool. Pissy people don’t get to swim naked, then have certain parts of their body rubbed with the special flavored oils I got in the mail yesterday.”
Alec got rock hard and his mood improved considerably. Perhaps the weekend would not be such a chore after all. He hugged her close, pressing the results of her whispered promises against her enticing softness. “Now how am I to ride in comfort with what ye’ve done to me?”
Sadie smiled and wiggled a brow. “We can sit in the back. By ourselves.” She subtly gyrated against him; her face wreathed in innocence with every grind of her hips. “And put the bumps in the road to good use.”
“By the gods, ye two need to get a room,” Dwyn said, then growled something unintelligible under his breath. He brushed past them and dumped a bulging briefcase atop the pile. “I canna believe I allowed Sarinda to talk me into going and babysitting the lot of ye.”
“Stay here then,” Alec said, reluctantly releasing Sadie to join Grant at the door and look for the rented ride himself.
“Nay.” Dwyn shook his head. “I dinna trust the legality of anything that Delia woman arranges. I’ll be going to review all she’s done.”
A roaring boom, deep and threatening, shook the keep, rattling the windows in the casings.
“What the hell was that?” Alec stormed down the front steps, searching the skyline for the source of the sound. Adrenaline shot through him, vaulting him to battle-readiness.
A shrill peal split the air, then another harsh blast shook the land. This one was louder than the first and followed by the crackling grind and moan of snapping trees and the sound of earth shifting down the mountainside.
“There.” Sadie pointed toward the northernmost ridge of the park. Debris billowed out from a jagged hole just below the crest of the mountain. A huge cloud of black smoke boiled out across the land like blood gushing from a wound. “Oh, Alec. That’s close to Castle Danu. I think it’s right behind it.” She clutched at his arm. “The vault. The tunnels. Could something have gone wrong with the ventilation system to cause an explosion?”
“I must go.” Fiery rage and ice-cold certainty surged through Alec’s veins. There had never been an attack since they had arrived in North Carolina. Not until today. This was no malfunction in the ventilation system. This was evil. Premeditated. He felt it more surely than the ground upon which he stood.
Alec turned and pierced the air with a shrill whistle. Grant, Ramsay, and Ross had already reached the stable and thrown the doors open wide. Two riderless horses, Max and Bess, thundered toward them, followed by the three brothers on their mounts. Miss Lydia, Sarinda, and Emrys rushed out of the keep with a fluid ease that belied their age.
Alec swung himself up on Max, then pointed down at Sadie. “Wait here. I’ll not have ye endangered whilst I fight this battle.” There was crisis enough to worry about without the loss of Sadie added to the mix.
“I’m not staying here.” Sadie hurried Bess over to the front porch, scampered up the steps, and climbed over the railing onto the horse’s back. “I’m not about to let you go alone.”
“Dammit, woman. Do as I say. I’ve no time to argue.” He urged Max toward the narrow employees-only road running along the outer side of the stone skirting wall surrounding the keep. He could save time by cutting across country.
“Son!” Sarinda called out clear and strong.
“Aye?” Alec turned, silently willing his mother to hurry. There was no time to be wasted.
“Keep the Heartstone,” Sarinda sang out, thumping her fist to her heart. “And keep yerself safe as well.”
Alec acknowledged his mother’s orders with a single nod, then he turned to Sadie, wide-eyed, astride her mount, and waiting beside him. She was determined to follow and there was no time to argue. “If ye must come, come, but stay behind me and do as I say. Aye?”
She nodded in quick agreement. “I promise I won’t get in the way. Now let’s go.”
“To the Heartstone,” Alec roared, spurring Max into the forest.
May the goddesses lead me to the evil bastards and make my aim sharp and true.