Bound by Blood (Cauld Ane Series) (2 page)

His brothers Brodie and Connall pushed inside and sat in the chairs across from his desk.

Brodie leaned forward and settled his arms on his knees. “So?”

Kade rubbed his forehead. “Nothing.”

“At all?” Connall asked.

Kade shook his head.

“Shite!” Brodie stood and made his way to the bank of windows facing the university.

Connall dropped his face into his hands. “Have you told Fi?”

Fiona Gunnach was their only sister and the baby of the family.

“No,” Kade said. “I thought Brodie could do that.”

“Hell no.” Brodie turned from the window, his hands in his pockets, an indication he was trying not hit something or someone. “Con should. He’s the only one she won’t kill…well…and Angus.”

“What’s the next step?” Connall asked.

“I’ve already hired someone…at a significant cost, but she’s the best in the world,” Kade said.

“Who?” Connall asked.

“Her name is Dr. Samantha Moore. She was top of her class and the youngest graduate of her university in a hundred years.”

“Where’d you find her?” Brodie asked.

“I didn’t. Duncan did.”

“Obviously. But from where?”

“The States.”

“Is she one of us?” Connall asked.

Kade shook his head.

“An outsider, Kade?” Connall snorted. “What about Angus?”

Angus McFadden was their sister’s fiancé and one of the most talented doctors on staff.

“Angus did what he could, but he’s not the best, Con.
She
is.”

Brodie narrowed his eyes. “How do you know that?”

“Because Duncan spent six months trying to get her.”

Brodie swore. “You can’t be serious.”

“I gave Angus a year, Brod. He’s one of us and has a vested interest in finding a cure for Fiona’s sake.”

“So she probably knows, then,” Connall said hopefully.

Before Kade could answer, the buzz of his intercom sounded and he pressed the button. “Yes, Anna.”

“Your sister’s here, Dr. Gunnach.”

Kade glanced at his watch. “She’s early. Go ahead and send her in.”

Before he’d hung up with his assistant, Fiona sailed into the office. “Och, it’s bloody hot in this building.” She wore a sleeveless blouse and he noticed her skin was pink and blotchy.

Kade glanced at the thermostat in his office. Fifteen degrees Celsius…well below the danger threshold.

Fiona’s dark, shoulder-length hair swung across her flushed cheeks as she dropped her purse on Kade’s couch. She clapped her hands and then settled them on her hips. “All right, brothers, Angus said you had news.”

“Well, hello to you too.” Kade rose to his feet and made his way from behind his desk. “Where is your fiancé?”

“He’s in the lab. Where else would he be?”

Kade was about to deliver a retort when his sister’s eyes widened and she took three quick breaths. He stepped toward her, but Connall was faster and caught her just as she collapsed.

“Brodie, ice—now!” Kade snapped as he moved Fiona’s purse so that Connall could lay her on the sofa.

Brodie waved his hand and the freezer door flew open. With another flick of his wrist, icepacks began to hurl themselves at Kade.

“What the hell happened, Kade?” Brodie snapped.

Kade shot him a look of annoyance, even though he knew Brodie’s question was somewhat rhetorical. He and Connall packed the ice around Fiona.

Kade felt Fiona’s forehead as he took her pulse. Grabbing his stethoscope, he laid it over her chest. She was warm and her heart was racing, but as the ice began to cool her down, her heart rate slowed to normal. He waited for her to take a deep breath and then get through the inevitable coughing fit, indicating she was going to be okay, before helping her to sit up. “You all right?”

Fiona groaned and nodded.

Kade’s office door flew open and Fiona’s very frazzled fiancé rushed into the room. “Fi?”

Fiona rubbed her forehead. “I’m all right, Angus.”

Angus sat beside her on the sofa and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Turning accusing eyes on the brothers, he asked, “What happened?”

Kade held a hand out to Brodie, who looked about ready to kill his sister’s significant other. “We don’t know, Angus. She was only here a few seconds before she collapsed.”

Fiona took a deep breath and squeezed Angus’s knee. “I’m all right, sweetheart. I just overheated.”

“How could you possibly overheat in this weather?” Angus laid his hand on her forehead. “It’s barely seventeen degrees outside and even cooler in here.”

She pushed his hand away and rose to her feet. “I don’t know.”

Kade closed the door and advanced on his sister. “Fiona, where were you?”

She stared down at her engagement ring.

“Damn it!” Angus snapped.

“What?” Kade asked.

“Angus,” Fiona admonished. “We’ll talk about it when we’re alone.”

Connall grasped his sister’s arm. “No, you’ll talk about it now. What the hell were you doing before you came here?”

“You were at the library, weren’t you?” Angus accused.

Kade swore. “Fi, I thought we’d been over this.”

She scowled at her brother. “No,
you
went over it.”

Without comment, Brodie retrieved a power bar from Kade’s stash in his desk and handed it to his sister. She thanked him and opened the package.

“How long has this been going on?” Connall asked.

“Six months,” Angus answered, and then turned to Fiona. “You promised you’d stop. It’s not safe.”

She frowned. “When did I ever say I’d stop? I promised I’d be careful, but I never said I’d
stop
.”

“Fiona, the library isn’t temperature controlled and the tunnels are worse,” Brodie pointed out. “What the hell were you thinking?”

The private rooms below the city were known to very few people and housed many of the secrets and historical information passed down from generation to generation of Scots. The only way in and out was through hidden passages and tunnels that were often a good ten to twenty degrees warmer than the outside temperatures.

Fiona jabbed a finger toward him. “Don’t you dare speak to me as though I’m an idiot, Brodie Gunnach. I know exactly what I’m doing and you have no say in it.”

Angus sighed. “But I do. You are not to go there again.”

Kade shook his head. No one told his sister what to do and lived to tell about it.

Fiona’s eyes narrowed and she took a quick breath through her teeth. “We are not bound, Angus McFadden. You have no dominion over me.”

“Fiona, I’m sure Angus wasn’t—” Connall started.

“Don’t!” she snapped. “Ganging up on me right now will not go well for you.”

Connall raised his hands in surrender and took a step back.

“Fiona, you need to eat.” Kade leaned against his desk and crossed his arms.

She waved the power bar. “I
am
!”

He raised an eyebrow and then turned to his brothers. “Con, why don’t you and Brodie head on back to your offices. I’d like to talk to Fiona and Angus alone.”

“You’re playing chieftain now?” Fiona snapped, but took another bite of the power bar.

“
Verið varkár
,” Angus warned.

“She doesn’t need to be careful, Angus.” Kade waved his hand dismissively. “She’s in no danger.”

Connall and Brodie left the office, and Kade spent the next thirty minutes attempting to stop Fiona from her dangerous pursuit, but at the same time, impressed by what she’d found out.

CHAPTER TWO

SAM ARRIVED AT Hilton Head Airport with her mother, father, brother, and best friend in tow. She was happy for the support. She couldn’t believe her work had brought her this far. She’d always believed that with her personality she’d be holed up in a lab somewhere close to home and living quietly, perhaps with cats.

Okay, no. Not cats, I hate cats, but perhaps a few dogs and maybe a turtle.

“Sam?” her mom interrupted her thoughts.

“Yes?”

“The line’s moving, honey.”

“Oh, right.” Sam pushed her bags forward.

Pepper smiled reassuringly. “You okay?”

“No, I’m petrified,” Sam whispered.

“You’re gonna be fine…and I’ll be there in a few weeks to make everything better.”

Sam smiled. “That does make me feel a little better.”

“Do you have your happy pills?”

“I’ve already taken one…not that it’s making much difference.”

“You don’t take off for two hours, Sammi, you’ll waste them.”

Sam shook her head. “I don’t care. I don’t think I could have gotten in the car if I hadn’t taken one.”

“How many did the doctor give you?”

“Four.”

Pepper snorted. “What happens if you take them all before you even get on the plane?”

“That’s what red wine is for.”

Pepper giggled.

“Ma’am? I’m open over here,” called a ticketing agent.

Sam walked with her small group to the agent. “Hi. Here’s my passport and ticket number. I tried to check-in online, but I was told I needed to come to the counter.”

The woman smiled and Sam was sure the thick layer of makeup would crack with the action. “Let me have a look.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she checked Samantha’s ticket. “Hmm. Well, the reason you weren’t able to check in online is because your ticket was re-classed.”

“What do you mean?”

The agent took her bags then handed her a boarding pass and other paperwork. “You are now flying first class.”

“Oh, wow. Thank you.”

“You’ll find the first-class lounge just past security. You can wait there until boarding.”

Sam smiled and turned to her group.

“Shall we have dinner before you board the plane?” her father suggested.

“Are you sure you want to drag this out?”

He chuckled. “I’d like to keep my little girl here in Savannah until my death, but apparently, there’s a big world out there she insists on seeing.”

Sam sighed. “You waited three whole hours to lay on the guilt trip. Well done, Daddy.”

“Impertinent child.”

Her mother laughed. “You have no idea what impertinent means, dear heart.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” He grinned. “All right, everyone, let’s eat. I’m in the mood for seafood.”

“Shocker!” Dalton retorted.

Sam grinned at her brother. She was surprised he was there, to be honest. He usually avoided the forced family get-togethers, and for some unknown reason, he was avoiding Pepper even more these days. They had said their good-byes the day before, so Sam hadn’t expected him to see her off.

“Dalt, can I bug you for a minute?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Sure.”

Sam pulled her brother aside and made sure the rest were out of earshot. “Do you know what’s going on with Pepper?”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s lost weight and she looks exhausted.”

“She works a hundred hours a week, Sam. She probably
is
exhausted.”

“Well, can you at least keep an eye on her? Just check on her once in a while. You know what her mom’s like. I hate that she’s living back at home.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, Sam. She’s a big girl.”

Sam huffed. “Just do this for me, okay? I’m worried.”

“Fine, sis. Whatever.” He frowned. “I’d hoped you’d grow out of the bossiness.”

“And I hoped you’d grow up. If wishes were horses…”

He mimicked her in a sing-song voice, but was interrupted by their father calling them back to the group. Her father took her mother’s hand and the couple moved toward the restaurant, while Dalton followed.

Sam hung back and linked her arm with Pepper’s. “Hey, are you really okay?”

Pepper smiled brightly. “Um, other than the fact you’re leaving me? Perfect.”

“Not long, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I have something for you,” Sam said as she rummaged in her purse.

“You do?”

“A going away gift.” Sam handed her a wrapped package.

“You never got the whole concept of a going away gift, did you?”

“Go with it, Pepper. You’ll love it.”

Pepper ripped open the gift and laughed. A mini-book on fifty ways to cook with pomegranates lay in the palm of her hand.

Pepper squinted at the pages. “Is it for pixies?”

“I know, right? I couldn’t believe it was real. I thought we could set up one of my microscopes and you could read out a recipe to me and we could experiment.”

Pepper laughed. “Oh, my funny, funny friend. Don’t go,” she joked as they caught up with the rest of the family.