“Aye. I’ll do my best.” He raised his eyebrows at Bree in warning.
“And keep an eye on Shay,” Orla added. “She looks pale.”
“She’d put him in for knighthood if she knew about the baby,” Bree whispered to Shay after Orla moved out of earshot.
“She remodeled your house?” Shay couldn’t see Orla doing much remodeling.
“She provided the ideas. Faelan and the clan carpenters provided the brawn. It was my wedding gift from him. And the clan’s way of showing their appreciation, since I brought him home to them.”
“That’s impressive. The clan has carpenters?”
“The clan has all kinds of people working behind the scenes. Not all of them are warriors.”
Cody stepped inside, and his gaze locked on hers. “Did you pack your things?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He frowned and reached in his pocket. “Here’s one more thing. I just remembered it this morning. I’m not sure how you got it.” He pulled out a necklace and handed it to Shay. At first she thought it was a gift. “I found it in the truck.”
Shay examined the necklace, a silver cross. “It’s not mine.” Had there been another woman in his truck?
“You found my necklace,” Bree said. “Thank God. I thought I’d lost it.”
“This is yours?” Cody asked, his brows drawing into a frown.
“Yes, it was my father’s.”
“This belonged to Edward Rodgers,” Cody said.
Orla gasped.
“There must be some mistake. My father was Robert Kirkland,” Bree said, staring at the necklace.
Marcas entered the room, and he examined the necklace as well. “He’s right. That’s Edward’s necklace. See that emblem on the back? That’s his family crest.”
Faelan joined the little circle. “I found the necklace under a floorboard in Bree’s house. I thought the emblem looked familiar.”
“Grandma told me it was my father’s.” Bree turned to Orla for an explanation. “Mother?”
Orla was slumped against the counter, feet splayed, face pale as her daughter’s. She closed her eyes. “Oh God. Not like this.”
“I don’t understand,” Bree said, clasping the necklace to her chest.
“He did it for you,” Orla said.
“Did what?” Bree whispered.
Orla pressed her hands to her cheeks. “I knew it was going to come out, but not here. Not now.”
“Were you married to someone else before Daddy?”
“No. There was no one before your father—before Robert.”
Shay’s head was swirling, knowing where the conversation was headed.
“Robert wasn’t your father,” Orla said.
“Not my father?” Bree slumped into a chair. “Was I adopted?” she asked, her green eyes wide with shock.
Orla’s face crumbled. “He was your… uncle.”
“Oh my God.” Bree stared at Orla. “You’re not my mother?”
Orla gave a little sob. “I am your mother. I raised you.”
“Did you give birth to me?” Bree asked, her voice stiff.
“No. Technically, I’m your aunt, but we did it to protect you. He brought you to Robert and said you were in danger. He needed Robert to protect you, and he did.” Orla dabbed at her cheeks and crossed to Bree. “He protected you his whole life. We loved you as much as if you’d been born to us.”
“Who? Who brought me?”
“Edward Rodgers.”
Shay’s breath caught. If Edward was Bree’s father, then that meant— She felt Cody move next to her. He reached for her hand.
“That explains the birthmarks,” he muttered.
Bree shook her head. “My mother…”
“Layla is your mother. Edward Rodgers is your father.”
Shay gripped Cody’s fingers. “I have a sister?”
***
Connor Castle, Scotland
“You realize the awkward position this has put the Council in?” The chief elder folded his hands across his ceremonial robe. It was gold with a red border, and Cody idly wondered if the red represented the blood of warriors who broke the rules. “Not once, but twice, you’ve revealed information that wasn’t yours to give. The clan decided it best to keep Shay’s identity hidden from her, for her safety, as well as ours. We gave you only a warning the first time.”
Only a warning, Cody thought. It had felt like more than a warning when the brand touched his wrist.
“But this time,” the elder continued, “even though the Council recognizes your valor and your service, what you’ve done here has put us all at risk. For all intents and purposes, she was an outsider. Now you’ve revealed secrets that we’ve protected for thousands of years. Not only that, but you’ve brought her here, in our midst, to our clan seat. If you are correct, and there is a demon hunting her, if they follow, you’ve endangered the entire clan.”
Cody felt the stirring behind him, the tension of the other warriors summoned to the meeting. “What would you have me do, Elder? Leave her alone, unprotected?” His voice rose in anger. “She’s part of the clan, and she’s been targeted. I have to help her. We have to help her. That’s what the clan is about, protecting humans. Now you tell me we are to turn our backs on one of our own?”
The elder frowned. “I understand it’s a difficult decision, but the good of the clan must come first. If this clan fails, it won’t be one woman who will suffer, but thousands could die. Hundreds of thousands. Do you want to weigh her against generations of humans that could be slaughtered, perhaps even the world, because the clan has been wiped out?”
“My apologies, Elder. I know the importance of our mission, but there must be a way to protect her and the clan as well.” The muscles in Cody’s face felt like rubber bands ready to pop. “I won’t leave her unprotected… regardless of the consequences.”
A quiet, collective gasp came from the Council members. Cody looked each one in the eye and then saw their gazes shift.
Faelan stood beside Cody, his arms stiff. “I stand with Cody MacBain.”
Cody heard more chairs squeaking as warriors stood. “And I,” Ronan said. All the voices rang out, one by one. His brothers’, Duncan’s, Sorcha’s. Cody looked around and saw every warrior in the room standing.
The elder studied Cody for several uncomfortable moments. Cody kept his gaze steady as the elder’s hooded eyes widened slightly and then narrowed. He glanced at the rest of the Council members behind him. “We will convene and meet back here in one hour.” The mood was somber as they left the room.
“If they do anything to you, I’ll give up my duty,” Brodie said, his face tight.
Duncan nodded. “They sit up there and enforce the rules but forget that not everything can be judged by law.”
“Let’s not panic just yet,” Cody said, but his stomach was in knots. If they punished him, even took him away for an investigation, what would happen to Shay? “I’m going to check on something.” He opened the heavy door and saw a movement behind the long drapes.
A dark head popped out. Bree peered both ways down the hall and then climbed out, watching the Council members disappear into a small meeting room several doors down. “What are they doing?”
“Convening.” He rubbed his hand over his neck. “Does your husband know you’re spying on the Council?” The woman had more in common with Shay than a father and green eyes. They both had guts. Too much, at times.
“No, but how else can I figure out what’s going on? They won’t let me in.”
No one but warriors could attend a Council meeting, and they hadn’t officially decided what Bree was, or Shay, and the Council stuck fast to its rules.
“Do you think I could hide inside the secret passage and leave the door cracked—”
“I think your husband would lock you in the tower. You’d better stick to listening at the door,” Cody said, grinning. “I’ll tell them I’ve suddenly grown hard of hearing and ask them to speak louder. I don’t know why you bother. You know Faelan will tell you everything anyway.”