With his gun leading the way, Jack slowly entered the two-room suite, checking the closets and bathroom and both rooms thoroughly. He lowered his gun with a sigh and Grey finally entered the room.
“He’s gone,” Grey said, stating the obvious. “He packed up and left without checking out.”
“Which probably means he’s not coming back,” Jack said, tucking his gun in his belt as he continued exploring the room. He picked up the trash can, dumped the papers in it onto the desk, and rummaged through them. “Don’t let housekeeping clean in here until I have Simon Pratt check for fingerprints,” Jack said, shoving all the papers back in the trash can. “With luck, our guy might be in someone’s database. There’s a chance he’s never coming back, but there’s also a good chance that he suspects his car was seen and has changed vehicles and checked into another hotel either here in Pine Creek or in Greenville.”
“I would guess the last, since he can’t know we’ve sent off the samples,” Grey said. “Mark Collins emailed Megan yesterday and asked how her survey was coming along.”
“Did she answer him?”
“Aye, she sent him an email saying she thought there was a mountain lion in the area to be developed.”
“Perfect,” Jack said. “Mentioning the cat makes it appear that she doesn’t suspect a thing.”
“Megan just realized this morning that her laptop is missing. She had me go over to her house with her to get it, but she couldn’t find it.”
Jack dismissed the news with a shrug. “The samples are what Collins want.”
Grey moved directly in front of Jack. “I’m worried that Megan herself might be a target now. She told me this morning that she had taken extensive notes on what she’d observed around the dead animals. That’s why she went after the laptop this morning, when she remembered her notes and wanted to read them.”
“Shit,” Jack hissed. “If Collins gets hold of her computer, he might decide Megan is just as much of a threat as those samples are.” He glared at Grey. “She has to stay at Gù Brath until…dammit, it could take weeks to get Collins off our backs.”
“Or an instant, for the right man,” Grey said very softly.
Jack shook his head. “I don’t know where in hell you people get your sense of justice, but taking the law into your own hands is not acceptable.”
“Collins is now threatening my daughter’s life, Stone. In my day, we made sure such threats couldn’t come back to haunt us.” Grey walked to the hall door. “I will give you the same amount of time to deal with Collins that you gave Kenzie to deal with his problem. One week, Stone—and then I will take matters into my own hands.” His eyes hardened even more. “And if you fail, you will leave Pine Creek forever—alone.”
Jack stared at the empty doorway. O-kay. It didn’t get any more direct than that, did it?
Jack pulled out his cell phone, called Simon, and told him to come to the resort to take fingerprints. He then slipped the phone back in his pocket with a sigh. It was time to start thinking like his ancestors.
Taking advantage of his foul mood, Jack went to the MacKeage stables to wait for Kenzie. He knew the Sasquatch was using a horse to travel to and from the cabin where he lived with the priest, because Jack’s badge had gotten the doorman to talk about a lot of things, including Kenzie’s frequent visits to Gù Brath since Megan had moved back home.
Jack had also learned from the affable doorman that Miss Camry MacKeage was a huge flirt, but that she was all talk and no action. Presumably he told Jack this so Jack wouldn’t get his hopes up, seeing how he was new in town and all. Not that it mattered, anyway, as the doorman had heard that Camry was flying to France in a few days because of what some scientist there had discovered about ion propulsion—which, the doorman had explained, was Camry’s area of expertise.
So Jack sat on a bale of hay and let some horse named Snowball nuzzle his shoulder. He was surprised to realize he was going to miss Camry. She had grown on him over the last couple of weeks, and he was sorry she was leaving.
The large stable door suddenly slid open and Kenzie Gregor walked in, stopping short when he spotted Jack.
“How’s your favor going with Megan?” Jack asked.
Kenzie walked to a stall and led one of the huge draft horses into the aisle. “It’s going quite well, thank ye.”
“And your pet? How’s that little problem coming along?”
Kenzie gave Jack a warning glance and went back to bridling his horse. “I told ye I’d take care of it, and I will.”
“No, actually, you never did tell me you would.”
Kenzie turned to face him. “The beast won’t be breaking into any more shops. He’s sick, and I fear he may be dying.”
“Well, that takes care of that problem,” Jack said, standing up to leave.
“Ye don’t understand, Stone. I intend to do everything in my power to save him.”
“Or your brother’s power?”
Kenzie looked momentarily startled, then narrowed his eyes. “What has my brother got to do with this?”
Jack shrugged and stepped outside, Kenzie following. “You save that creature’s life, Gregor, you better find a way to send it back where it came from.”
“I will deal with it,” he said, leading his horse toward the path heading up the mountain. He stopped, swung up onto its bare back in one easy motion, and gave Jack a speculative look. “Camry and Megan were talking at lunch today, and Camry mentioned a word I haven’t heard before. Would ye happen to know what shaman means?”
“What it means, Gregor, is that you Celts aren’t the only magic act in town,” Jack said, walking away.
Jack’s foul mood continued through the rest of the day and into the evening. It also was likely responsible for the heart-pounding nightmare he had that night, in which he repeatedly found himself battling one monster after another as he frantically tried to get to Megan, who was struggling in the icy water of a tundra lake.
Each time he was just about to reach her, another adversary got in his way. Kenzie Gregor tried to cut him in half with a large bloody sword, Jack barely deflecting each blow with his tiny hatchet. Then a faceless Mark Collins stood with his small army of students, forcing Jack to hack his way through them, their cries of betrayal caught up in Megan’s scream for help. The dragon flew at him next, shooting fire from its nostrils as its tail lashed at Jack, trying to knock the hatchet from his hand.
And just when he thought he’d defeated any and all foes and could finally save Megan, Jack found Greylen MacKeage blocking his path. Looking a good forty years younger, wearing a gray and red, dark green, and lavender plaid and holding an ancient and bloodied sword in his hand, the fierce Highlander was the final gauntlet he had to run in order to reach the woman he loved.
The hatchet dangling in his hand at his side and blood seeping from his wounds, Jack’s entire body trembled with exhaustion and apparent defeat. He could only watch helplessly as men from three different clans pulled Megan from the icy water and then flew off, carrying her to an impenetrable fortress on a distant mountain.
“Ye failed, Stone,” Greylen said, moving to block his way when Jack tried to follow. “You’ve disgraced your ancestors by failing to protect what’s yours. Ye don’t deserve a family of your own, especially my daughter and grandson. We’ll raise the boy to be a powerful warrior.”
“I don’t want him to be a warrior!” Jack cried out. “And neither does his mother.”
“Turn around, Stone. See what your way has gained you.”
Jack slowly turned and saw Kenzie, the dragon, and Collins and his students regrouping, preparing themselves to come at him again.
“You possess the skills of a warrior, Stone,” Greylen said, drawing his attention again. “But ye refuse to use them.”
“I prefer peaceful solutions to problems.”