Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Emotions played over his face—anger, resentment, resolve—as Rowen waited for his answer.
She had her own affairs to worry about. The last thing she needed was to get involved in something that didn’t concern her.
And while she hadn’t asked to get embroiled in Mason’s troubles, here she was.
Smack-dab in the middle of a world of shit.
She could leave. She’d had ample opportunity while he slept.
It wasn’t as if he could stop her now, even if he wanted.
Yet, she remained. And for the life of her, she couldn’t say why.
Maybe she felt responsible for him. Maybe she thought he could give her more information on the London Druids. Maybe she was just foolish.
“I am going after them,” he said, pulling her out of her thoughts. “I have been for some time.”
The shiver that went through her had nothing to do with a chill and everything to do with the intent of his words.
But it was his voice that captured her. His accent spoke of old bloodlines and an expensive education—all calm dictation and cold restraint.
But beneath the aristocratic surface, she heard it: something darker.
It was the kind of voice that could recite Shakespeare or undress you with a single word. Smooth. Measured.
Quietly devastating.
Her cousins had oohed and ahhed over her making the trip.
They had talked about how wonderful the British accent was.
She hadn’t understood until she heard Mason.
He was much like his voice. Controlled. Crisp.
Dangerous. She imagined that if and when he released that restraint in the bedroom, it would be a wild, sensual ride that left his bedpartners forever changed.
Stormy gray eyes slid to her. She had been close enough to perceive the silver streaks in them that looked like lightning.
He was a building storm waiting to unleash upon his enemies.
And god help anyone who got in the way. She wished she were still beside him.
She wanted another look at those mystical, mesmerizing eyes, to try and pinpoint the exact color of the gray.
“No more questions?” he asked, his voice rising slightly in surprise.
Rowen swallowed and returned her attention to their conversation. “I was trying to figure out why you’re going after your own. Because that is what you’re doing, isn’t it?”
He hesitated, his eyes narrowing slightly.
That’s when it dawned on her. He didn’t trust her. She hadn’t divulged everything to him, either. But she had risked her life to save him. If she were in his shoes, she’d be wondering if his enemies hadn’t sent her in to gain his trust.
“You’re right. It’s none of my business,” she said. “You made it out this time. You might not, the next. I don’t think I need to tell you to prepare better when you face them again.”
“Why did you stay here with me? You could’ve taken my car and left.”
Rowen looked at the door, her thoughts drifting to lazy days on the island.
She missed the smell of her mom’s freshly baked sourdough bread, the call of the bald eagles, and the slam of the screen door as her family rushed in and out of the house.
The steady waves rolling onto the shore and the moon reflecting off the water.
It felt as if she had left a lifetime ago, instead of just days.
“I didn’t want to leave home. I was against any kind of association with London.” She drew in a breath and looked at Mason. “And before you ask, I didn’t have a specific reason. Only a gut feeling.”
“Sometimes, that’s all we have to go on.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Others felt differently. Some thought London could help us. So, here I am. In a city that’s too loud and crowded.
” Rowen closed her eyes as she remembered standing outside the Druid headquarters.
“I didn’t want to attend the meeting, but I promised our leader, Brenna. Even before I entered, things felt…”
Rowen paused and held back a shiver as she opened her eyes. Mason’s gaze was steady as he returned her stare. She brought the blanket up around her shoulders. “Things felt oily. As if a residue covered everything and everyone, some more than others.”
“Everyone?” he asked, his brows raised.
She parted her lips to answer, then paused.
After a moment, she shook her head as she raised her shoulders again.
“I didn’t pay too much attention to others.
Ella introduced me to so many that their faces and names soon blurred.
I was overwhelmed. I was more concerned about getting away from her and out of the building than paying attention to specific individuals.
However, one speaker did garner my attention. ”
“And who might that be?”
“I think his name was Thomas Oliver.”
A seething storm of indignation crossed Mason’s face as he chuckled humorously.
“Do you know him?” she asked.
Mason snorted. “You could say that.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Rowen continued.
“The way Ella acted made me think they weren’t going to take no for an answer about anything.
They assumed my being there was confirmation that we would be joining them.
It didn’t matter that I was only sent to check things out.
Ella knew where I was staying. She even knew what flight I came in on.
They were tracking me, which meant they were aware of my flight out.
I was just trying to get away when I stumbled upon you. And I stayed for several reasons.”
He stared, waiting for her to list them.
“I couldn’t leave you. There is also the fact that this place is heavily warded. Yes, I found the one under the rug,” she added. “I want to go home, but I don’t want to chance them waiting for me at the airport.”
“How will you get home, then?”
Good question—one she had been asking herself. “I’ve not figured that out yet.”
“Every problem has a solution. You just have to find it.”
“You sound like my mom,” she said with a small smile.
Mason’s eyes were growing heavy. “Have you called them?”
“Phone ran out of battery, remember?”
He mumbled something she didn’t understand before he fell asleep again. She sighed and tried to get comfortable, but she was tired of being in the chair. Her ass was numb, her hips kept cramping, and she was desperate to stretch out and get some actual sleep.
Rowen eyed the rug for a long moment before giving up and dropping onto it, extending her legs as she yawned.
The long, exaggerated stretch felt amazing.
She used her arm as a pillow when she curled onto her side and pulled the blanket up to her shoulder.
Now that she was relatively sure Mason’s fever wouldn’t return, she could let herself succumb fully to sleep.
He was getting stronger each time he woke.
She would need answers to her problems soon.
A loud noise yanked Rowen from sleep. She immediately rose onto her elbow and looked at the cot to find it empty. A quick scan of the storage unit showed Mason leaning a shoulder against a wall, gasping for breath. He had on sweatshorts and clutched a shirt in one hand.
Rowen jumped to her feet and rushed to him. “What are you doing? You should be in bed.”
He briefly met her gaze and tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. “Need to get moving.”
“I don’t think you popped any stitches. I need to see your leg.”
“Then look,” he told her.
She wanted him lying down, or at least sitting, but she didn’t think she would get either. The quicker she looked at his bandage, the faster she could help him dress and get something in his stomach.
Rowen slipped her fingers into the elastic waist of his shorts and tried not to think about his warm skin against hers. She tugged them down to his knees and dropped to her haunches to inspect the bandage, very aware of how close her face was to his body.
“No bleeding,” she told him as she quickly pulled up his sweats.
He was staring at her when she straightened. A dark shadow of whiskers covered his jaw. His breathing had slowed slightly, but she still needed to get him off that leg.
“Please sit,” she begged.
When he nodded, she wrapped his arm around her shoulders and helped him to the chair. He moved better than when she’d first met him, and he didn’t put nearly as much weight on her this time. That didn’t mean it was easy to get him the few feet to the chair, though.
“Are you hungry?” she asked after he was seated.
He leaned back after putting on his shirt and nodded. “I could eat.”
She opened the metal cabinet to inspect its contents. “Why didn’t you wake me? I could’ve gotten you anything you needed.”
“You were asleep.”
“So?” She pulled out a few options and set them on the table for him, then got out a bottle of water.
He wrinkled his nose at the selection. “Could you boil some water?”
“Of course.” She set about filling the electric kettle and glanced at him. He had opened a carton of chocolate-covered cookies and was nibbling at one. It must have tasted good because he put the entire next one in his mouth.
Rowen found the paper cups and set out two before digging out the tea. He only had the traditional breakfast tea, but she quite liked it. It didn’t take long for the water to boil, and then she poured it over the tea bags and sat on the edge of the cot as they steeped.
“You need more time to heal,” she stated.
Mason stuffed another cookie into his mouth and shrugged. “I’ll heal while I drive.”
She glanced at his right leg, wondering how that would feel as he pressed the accelerator. It was none of her business. She needed to let it go. They each had things they needed to deal with. He wasn’t part of her problem, and she wasn’t part of his.
“Come with me.”
He seemed as shocked by his statement as she was. Rowen stared at him for a long minute. She didn’t know whether he had offered because he needed assistance, or because he was trying to help her. In the end, it didn’t really matter.
“Look,” he said and cleared his throat. “You were seen helping me. They won’t ask why, and they won’t allow you time to give them a reason.”
“You make it sound as if I should be worried about my life.”
He wiped his mouth with his hand. “You should be. They want me dead, and they’ll likely kill you for preventing that.”
That put a whole new spin on the situation. “What did you do?”
“It isn’t what I did. It’s what they did. I was merely responding.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
He looked down at the cup of tea. “No, it didn’t. If you come with me, I’ll tell you.” His gray eyes swung back to her. “But if you choose not to, the less you know about the situation, the better.”
That sounded ominous. “How good are my chances of getting out of the country?”
“On a plane, by changing your flight? None. You won’t even get into the airport. They’ll have every entry watched.”
“I suppose renting a car is out of the question.”
He gave her a flat look.
Yep. Just what she thought. “I could take yours. It’s warded.”
“It is, but it won’t matter. They’ll be looking for it. The London Druids are a vast organization. They’ve been recruiting members from outside the city for years. They have Druids of every level of government and police. Trains and ferries will also be watched.”
The more he spoke, the more anxious she became. Was she trapped in England forever? “How are you getting out?”
“Driving.”
“You just said your car would be spotted.”
He flashed her a sexy smile. “I won’t be driving the Aston.”
Of course, he’d have another vehicle. She should’ve thought of that.
“You don’t have to decide anything now, but you need to know the facts,” he told her before taking a drink.
Could she believe him? It wasn’t as if she had many options. She would have to trust her gut. It had led her to him. Maybe she should see what his plan was. “Where are you going?”
“Skye.”
Her mouth fell open. Of all the places, she hadn’t anticipated him saying that. “As in the Isle of Skye?”
“The very one.”
“You can’t.”
He quirked a black brow. “And why not?”
“It isn’t safe.”