Dragon Warrior (Midnight Bay) (34 page)

“I’ll go get your cake, Hiram, and tell the others to come in and watch you blow out your candle,” Maddy said.

She started to turn, but William caught the hem of her shirt and pulled her to a stop. She reached out and placed her hand on his forehead. “That’s quite a frown you have going there, Mr. Killkenny. Are you in very much pain? Maybe instead of those pills, I should give you a big fat needle full of painkiller.”

“I will find out, ye know.”

“And then what?” she whispered, leaning down so Elbridge and Hiram couldn’t hear. “Believe it or not, William, I am quite capable of defending my own honor—
if
I happen to be feeling honorable, that is.” She leaned in so that her lips were just brushing his ear. “But if I’m feeling dishonorable toward a man, I have been known to blow his stockings all the way to Ireland.” She straightened, gently pulled his hand off her scrubs, and laid it over his stomach. “Any more questions or complaints?” she asked, throwing his words from the cabin back at him.

“Can I have ice cream with my cake?”

“And sprinkles,” Hiram piped up. “And whipped cream.”

“Hiram, you’re going to overdose on sugar!”

He chortled again. “That’s my plan, Maddy girl.”

Maddy rolled her eyes to cover her horror that they were discussing his dying so casually, and turned and headed out of the room. “Come on, Elbridge. I’ll get the cake while you get the others. I’m sure these two . . . gentlemen can babysit each other.”

Chapter Twenty-two

H
iram’s party had wound down sometime near noon, everyone having eaten so much ice cream and cake they couldn’t stop yawning, and one by one, after giving Hiram a kiss on his cheek, the residents had left to go have naps. Maureen had said she was going to catch a few winks in the spare bed in Mem’s room, and Kenzie and Trace were resting on guard at each end of the building.

It had taken William a good ten minutes to talk Maddy into curling up in bed with him, but the lass had been so tired she’d fallen asleep before he’d finished wrapping his good arm around her. He had then spent the next two hours quietly talking with Hiram, before the old man had given in to the lure of his ethereal visitors and fallen asleep for good this time.

Now William was just staring up at the ceiling, listening to the rain gently patter on the window as the storm moved away, remembering his horror at finding his truck empty when he’d insisted Trace and Kenzie help him get back to Madeline.

The last time he recalled ever being that scared was when he’d galloped through the splintered gates of his keep and found his family, his people, and every damn animal he owned slaughtered and left to rot in the sun. That was the day he’d started his vengeful march toward hell, and last night, as he’d stared into the empty cab of his truck, he’d felt as though he had finally reached it.

He kissed Maddy’s hair and then rested his lips on her soft curls with a sigh.

It wasn’t that he’d thought Mac had failed to protect her; but rather, he’d been terrified the bastard had stolen her. Because if Maximilian Oceanus had decided he wanted Madeline for himself, there was a very good chance William had lost her forever. Protecting his woman from the evil was one thing, whereas protecting her from a powerful drùidh known to walk both sides of the magic just might prove impossible.

What in hell was Mac doing here, anyway?

William had recognized the magic maker immediately, although it had been the first time he’d shown up as a tiger. The bastard had plagued William for centuries, dangling the prospect of vengeance for his family under his nose. Mac usually claiming it wasn’t within his power to grant, but then hinting it might be possible for the right price.

So was Mac here to continue their centuries-old sport or for another reason?

When William had told Kenzie about the drùidh’s sudden appearance last night, the highlander had grown deeply concerned. Maximilian Oceanus was legendary in every century—revered by most, hated by many, and feared by all.

Except maybe not feared by Kenzie’s brother, Cùram de Gairn, whose own legendary temper was equally well known. And anyone foolish enough to cross either drùidh . . . well, those who did live to tell of their misfortune usually wished they hadn’t.

But Mac had taken an unusual liking to William for some reason, when the two of them had met on a battlefield in the thirteenth-century in middle Asia, when William had tediously been working his way through time toward Kenzie.

William suddenly stiffened, his arm tightening enough to make Maddy stir. He immediately loosened his grip and let out a sigh of relief when she remained asleep.

Dammit to hell, he knew why Mac was here! It was for the same reason he’d been in Asia back then: he was still chasing after his spoiled brat of a sister, trying to hold on to the slippery girl long enough to talk her into going home to face their father.

That damn harbor seal pup was Carolina Oceanus!

And she’d come here seeking sanctuary, hoping that Kenzie could protect her not only from her father, but also from being wed to a man she despised.

Which meant that the jilted bridegroom was probably the evil entity chasing her.

But Mac had told William that his father had retracted the proposal once he’d found out that his daughter had good reason to fear her betrothed. Only Carolina wouldn’t stop long enough to hear the news from her brother.

Christ, Midnight Bay had become the battlefield of warring entities engaged in a domestic dispute over a headstrong girl with more power than she knew how to control yet, who was determined to choose her own fate.

And in her youthful impetuousness, she had chosen Trace Huntsman.

Maddy stirred again, but this time when William forced himself to relax, she didn’t fall back into sleep. She blinked up at him, and then blushed profusely when she realized exactly what part of him she’d been holding on to under the blankets.

She pulled her hand away with a gasp and sat up, being careful not to push against his chest, and then rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she looked over toward Hiram—only to go perfectly still.

William held her in place when she tried to get off the bed. “He’s not there, Madeline,” he told her gently. “He left us about an hour ago.”

“You should have woken me up,” she whispered, still staring at her friend.

“Why?”

She finally looked at him. “Because . . . so I could . . .” She buried her face in her hands. “He’s g-gone,” she said on a sob.

William pulled her to him, rubbing his thumb over her damp cheek. “He told me to tell ye good-bye and that he loved ye like a daughter. And he thanks ye for the wonderful party, and for the chance it gave him to leave everyone on a happy note.”

“I-I wanted to be holding his hand.”

“Nay, Madeline. Hiram said it was better if he left while you were sleeping, because he couldn’t have handled the sadness he knew he’d see in your eyes. He was afraid that if you started crying he would, too, and said it just wouldn’t be proper for a man of the woods to leave this earth bawling like a baby.”

“I didn’t want him to go, William.”

“We’re not meant to live forever, lass. Do ye not think ninety-one years was long enough for your friend?”

“No.”

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I believe Hiram thought it was. Be glad he was able to leave peacefully, lass. Not everyone does.”

She tried to get up, but William held her against him; and obviously not wanting to wrestle with him in his condition, she relaxed with a sigh. “I-I have to get up,” she said, although she made no move to do so. “I can’t just leave him lying there.”

“He’s not there, Madeline; he’s everywhere now. Did Mac try to take you with him when he left?”

She went perfectly still again. “Mac?”

“The tiger—Maximilian Oceanus. Did he ask you to run off with him or try to bully ye into going with him?”

He felt her suddenly relax, and his thumb brushed across what he realized was her smile. “I told Mr. Oceanus in no uncertain terms that I think men who try poaching other men’s girlfriends are pond scum.” She softly snorted. “I believe he left here with his tiger tail between his legs, knowing exactly what I thought of him.”

William closed his eyes against the knot forming in his gut. “Maddy, darling, ye didn’t send Mac away; ye merely presented him with a challenge. Men, like tigers, will chase anything that runs from them, and they won’t stop until they catch it.”

Apparently oblivious to his mood, she tilted her head back to smile at him. “Is that what you did, Mr. Killkenny? As soon as you realized I wanted nothing to do with you, the chase was on?” Her smile turned downright smug. “Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe that was my plan all along?”

Oh, she was definitely feeling quite proud of herself, and William pulled her head down so she wouldn’t see his scowl. But she patted his chest and sat up, and then quickly scrambled off the bed before he could catch her. She glanced over at Hiram’s body, and her eyes turned sad again.

“I need to go get Maureen so we can take care of him.” She looked at the window and saw it was getting light, and that the rain had stopped. “William, are the wolves gone for good this time?”

“I’m afraid not. But knowing that Mac is here, I have an idea how we can stop them from returning. Before ye get Maureen, could you tell Kenzie and Trace that I need to talk to them?” he said, trying to sit up.

She ran back to the bed. “Oh, no, you don’t. You are staying put until an ambulance can take you to the hospital in Ellsworth. That collarbone might be broken, and if you move around too much, it could pierce your jugular vein.”

He arched a brow at her, trying not to laugh at her threatening glare. “Did ye happen to notice any old scars on my body while you were checking for new ones?”

She folded her arms under her breasts and arched
her
brow at him. “As a matter of fact, your body looks like you might want to trade in your sword for a weapon that doesn’t require you to get within ten feet of . . . whatever you’re fighting.” Her scowl returned. “Because you obviously haven’t learned how to avoid the
pointed
end of one.”

That got rid of his desire to laugh. “Maybe I should
help
Mac steal you.”

She snorted. “Trust me; he’d return me in less than a week.” She leaned down right in his face. “And when I got back here, I would screw your Irish stockings on so tight they’d never blow off your feet again. Stay in bed.”

That said, she spun around and disappeared before William could break into a full-blown grin. He was going to have to do something about the woman’s belief that she could take care of herself, he decided, as he sat up and swung his feet off the bed, before she got into real trouble.

What he’d been trying to point out by pointing out his old scars, is that he had enough experience to know if his bones were broken or not. Only as soon as he stood up, William realized he had another problem, as he was as naked as the day he’d been born and saw no sign of his clothes.

A fact to which poor Charlotte’s scream attested when she came barreling in through the door, which was followed by Lois’s shriek as she came in behind her.

The three of them stood there staring at one another, until William finally snapped the blanket off the bed and covered himself—though not quickly enough to stop both women from bursting into laughter as they ran down the hall to tattle to Maddy.

And for the second time that day William found himself terrified, only this time
of
Madeline instead of
for
her. He quickly crawled back into bed, covered himself up with the blanket, and looked over at Hiram. “I may soon be joining you, old man.”

But instead of Maddy coming in to scold him, Doris walked in, looking like a drowned rat. She stopped with a startled gasp, and William looked down to make sure he was decently covered and then smiled at her.

“Mr. Killkenny! What are you doing here?”

He held up his bandaged arm. “Your staff was kind enough to tend my injuries when Kenzie and Trace and I got stranded here in the storm.”

She suddenly noticed all the streamers and balloons and half-eaten cake, and then her gaze landed on Hiram and her eyes immediately turned troubled. “Oh, dear,” she said, walking over to him. She touched his weathered cheek. “I am so going to miss him,” she whispered. She sighed. “Well, he’s in a better place.”

“Oh, I believe Hiram thought this place was quite nice,” William softly assured her. “In fact, he told me the only part he didn’t like about dying was his having to leave all of you. Ye gave Hiram many happy years here, Doris, and he asked me to tell you that he appreciated your efforts. Especially your battle to stop them from cutting down that old pine tree next to the river that he loved to sit under, so he could smell the pine pitch on the hot summer days.”

She looked over at him. “I didn’t know Hiram was even aware that I was the one who stopped the owners from cutting it down. I believed everyone thought his handwritten petitions made them change their minds.”