Bound by dreams, p.22
Bound by Dreams, page 22
Callum started to fuss again and Pepper found she could once again move freely. She paused in her flight to calm him, and the baby’s cries turned into sniffles. Then Pepper heard Max cry out, and she turned just as she got to the car.
Max was in a violent struggle with the large man, his gift of suggestion obviously giving him the ability to counteract the man’s similar powers. The problem was, the man was stronger than Max.
“Pepper! Get in the bloody car,” Connall bellowed as he ran to help Max.
Pepper did as she was told and closed herself into Max’s car with Callum, grabbing her phone to call her best friend and sister-in-law, Samantha.
“We’re on our way, Pep. What’s going on?” Samantha said, before Pepper could even get a hello out.
“There’s a man... a really strong man, fighting with Max and Con. We don’t know who he is.”
“Where are they?”
“To the south of the barn.” She settled Callum flat on the seat beside her. “He was able to control Connall and me, Sam.”
“Wow, okay. We’re like two minutes away.”
Pepper stared out the window and tried not to panic. Max and Connall were making a valiant effort against the giant, but they were struggling. Frustrated at not being able to help, Pepper closed her eyes and attempted to bolster Connall.
The crunch of tires sounded and Pepper turned and watched as Kade stepped from the Range Rover and rushed toward the fray. The king turned back and scowled at the car before jumping headlong into the fight.
The door opposite Pepper’s opened, and Samantha climbed in beside her. “Hi. You okay?”
Pepper nodded and settled Callum on her shoulder. “Did Kade want you to stay in the other car?”
Sam nodded as she scowled. “Overprotective son of a—”
“Samantha Gunnach!” Pepper admonished.
Samantha gave her a sarcastic smile. “Any ideas on who the man is?”
“None. He said I had to come with him and that I belong to him.” Pepper frowned. “Do you think he thinks I’m his mate?”
You’re no’ his mate, Pepper.
I know, Connall, but does he think I am?
“I don’t know,” Samantha said. “Kade’s worried, though.”
“I’m surprised he let you come at all.”
“He threatened to lock me in the tower,” Samantha admitted as she laid her hands protectively over her belly. “But I pointed out that you would need help with Callum, plus I have suggestion and he doesn’t, so my gift might be a little more useful.”
“You’ve always been very quiet, but very sneaky,” Pepper said.
“Thank you... I think.” Sam reached for the baby. “Now, let me snuggle my nephew.”
Pepper handed her the baby and lowered her window slightly when the fight had stopped. She saw the man bow toward Kade.
Pepper, Connall warned. What the hell are you doing?
Oh, please, Con, if the guy was a real threat, he wouldn’t have bowed to Kade.
“Your name,” Kade demanded.
“Ari Baldursson,” the man said.
“You lie,” Connall snapped.
Kade laid his hand on Connall’s arm and raised an eyebrow. “Baldursson is an ancient name.”
“Já,” Ari said.
“What’s going on?” Pepper whispered.
“I don’t know,” Sam whispered back.
Baldursson is an ancient name, love. One that is attached to the Kalt Einn, a much more ancient race than us, with powers that are now part of folklore. He cannot be who he says he is, because they are extinct.
Pepper relayed the information to Samantha, who hummed in surprise.
“I came for my daughter,” Ari said.
“Excuse me?” Kade shook his head. “What does that have to do with my brother’s mate?”
“She is my daughter.”
“What?” Pepper squeaked.
Ari stared at her. “Þú ert dóttir mín.” (You are my daughter.)
Before Kade could stop him, Connall wrapped his hand around Ari’s throat with a growl. “You lie!”
Ari made quick work of rendering Connall useless, by way of suggestion, but Kade and Max still had to pull him off Ari.
Kade faced the giant, stepping in front of his brother. “Explain.”
“You can’t actually think he’s telling the truth, Kade,” Connall snapped, Ari’s hold now released.
Pepper stroked Callum’s cheek and then climbed from the car.
Connall swore and rushed to her. “Get back in the car, Pepper.”
“No. I want to hear what he has to say.” Pepper crossed her arms over her chest. “There’s no way he’s telling the truth. I know who my dad was, Con. Let’s just hear what he has to say.”
“Ég mun ekki meiða þig” (I won’t hurt you), Ari promised.
“I believe him, Con,” Pepper said. “If he thinks he’s my father, then why would he hurt me?”
Connall scowled, but Pepper grabbed his hand and pulled him back toward the men.
She watched Ari’s face soften, and he smiled as he held out his hand. “I’m your papa, elskan.”
Pepper shook her head and Ari lowered his arm. “You can’t be. I knew my dad. You’re not him.”
Ari held his hand out to her again. “If you touch me, you’ll know I’m telling you the truth.”
“No. I’m good, thanks,” she said.
“Your mama is Natalie Brooks. You are twenty-five years old.”
Pepper held up her hand. “All of that is public information. Why would you try to say you’re my father?” She shook her head and sighed. “You’re obviously not right in the head.”
“Ring your mama, Pepper,” Ari said. “She will confirm.”
“I’m not going to justify these lies by calling my mother.”
Ari grabbed Pepper’s hand, and she gasped. Connall slammed his fist into the giant’s face and then jumped back, cradling his hand to his chest.
Is it broken?
Aye, lass.
Pepper healed it for him and Connall moved to try again, but Ari held his hand up and Connall froze.
Pepper pulled out of Ari’s grasp and forced tears away. “I don’t understand.”
“I need you and your sister to help me find someone.”
Pepper, Connall warned.
“Release my mate,” she demanded. When Ari removed his hold, Connall stepped forward, but Pepper grabbed his arm. “Wait, babe. He’s not lying about being my father. I want some answers. And I’d like to know what he means by ‘my sister.’” She turned to Ari. “I don’t have a sister.”
A rain drop hit Pepper in the eye and the clouds darkened, threatening to spill more.
“Let’s take this conversation back to the house,” Kade suggested.
“You are going to welcome this stranger into your home?” Connall challenged.
His brother smiled. “No. I’m going to welcome him into yours.”
Connall scowled, but Pepper grabbed his hand and pulled him aside. “He’s not lying, Con. I need to know whatever it is he has to tell me. It doesn’t mean I have to do what he wants me to. He obviously can’t compel me for very long... unlike... well... you.”
“Thanks for that, love,” Connall retorted.
Pepper giggled. “Just admit I’m a badass and we can move on.”
Connall ran his hands through his hair and sighed.
“Can we find out what happened, please? I’ll call my mom on the way back to the house.” Pepper turned at the sound of Callum’s scream and held her arms out as Samantha approached with the baby.
Connall intercepted them and scooped the baby into his embrace. “I’m angry too, son,” he crooned. “This is reckless on your mummy’s part.”
Callum stared up at his father and then located Pepper and screamed again. “He’s hungry,” Pepper said, and took him from Connall. “Let’s go home, okay? I don’t get the impression Ari wants to hurt anyone.”
Connall raised an eyebrow.
“Just because he can, baby, doesn’t mean he will. Can we give him a chance?”
“What about Jonesy?” Connall countered.
“Right. Crap,” she complained. “Distraction will only get you so far, Con.”
He sighed. “Why don’t you take time to feed Callum, and then Sam can take him home while you and I ride.”
“You’re willing to let him in our home without us?”
“No,” Connall ground out.
“I will wait for you to do what you need to do,” Ari offered.
Pepper glanced over to where her best friend was standing with Kade. “Do you mind watching Callum for a little while?”
Samantha smiled and clasped her hands to her heart. “Alone time with my nephew? Really and truly? Oh, Pepper, don’t tease me.”
Pepper laughed. “Okay, I get it... you’re feeling neglected.”
Samantha closed the distance between them. “What gave it away?”
“Let’s head to the barn. I’ll feed him while you get Jonesy tacked up.”
Connall nodded. “Sounds good.”
* * *
“Max had a run-in at Connall’s place,” Niall said, as he set his phone on the kitchen island. “Nothing we need to worry about.”
Charlotte sighed as she pushed a plate with a sandwich on it toward him. “Did you really think that was going to work?”
Niall frowned. “It was worth a try.”
“Let me get this straight. The man I’ve been dreaming about since I was six shows up at the docks in time to “heal” me, and then a man who resembles him just happens to end up in Inverness on Connall Gunnach’s property? Is it the same man? If so, what did he want?”
Niall raised his hands in surrender. “That part I don’t know. Max either couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me.”
“Being able to read your brother’s mind would come in handy right about now.”
“I’m not sure I’d like the trade-off.” Niall grimaced. “Because the rest of the time would be disturbing, so I’m happy it’s not something we can do.”
“I suppose you have a point.” Charlotte wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and sat on a barstool next to Niall. “None of this makes any sense... you’re with me on that, right?”
Niall nodded and squeezed her knee. “Aye, lass. It’s all a bit crazy.”
“Eat your sandwich,” she instructed, setting her elbow on the island, her cheek in her palm. “Who is this man, and why the heck would he go to Inverness?” She bit her lip and then added, “You don’t have to answer with your mouth full.” He nodded and grinned, and Charlotte made her way to the refrigerator. “Actually, you can’t really answer something you don’t know, so those were somewhat rhetorical questions, I guess.” She grabbed juice from the shelf and poured them each a glass. “Does he know Connall?”
Niall shook his head and swallowed. “No. No one knows him personally.”
“If he’s Pepper’s father... what does he want? Does he want her in his life? Like, does he want a relationship?” She put the juice back in the fridge. “Does he really expect that she will bow at his feet and thank him for finding her? Where has he been for more than twenty-five years?” She glanced at Niall. “Is he like you... us? Is he Cauld Ane?”
Niall shrugged. “I don’t know, love. He’s obviously not human, but he also has powers greater than any Cauld Ane I know, so I don’t know what he is.”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“What do you mean?” He stared at his plate. “Nothing.”
“Nye.” She crossed her arms. “I can feel you’re holding back. Tell me.”
Niall sighed. “There is some evidence he might be Kalt Einn, but that’s only my personal suspicion, and I have nothing to back it up with, because the Kalt Einn are extinct.”
“Kalt Einn? ‘Cold one’ loosely translated from Icelandic, but not quite right.”
“Aye, lass.”
She sat beside him again. “So, who are these people?”
“Lore more than anything. Rumor has it, they were who we all came from. Back when Odin and Thor were prevalent gods in Viking life.”
“So, did they exist, or were they just folklore?” she asked. “The Kalt Einn, not Thor and Odin.”
He shrugged. “I was born in Scotland from Scottish parents who were born from Scottish parents. As far as my lineage is concerned, we don’t know of any direct link to the Kalt Einn. Kade and his brothers might be a different story, but right now it’s just a theory.”
“I think we should go.”
“Go where?”
“To Max and Grace’s,” Charlotte said.
Niall rubbed the nape of his neck. “Baby, I don’t want you mixed up in this.”
“I’m already mixed up in this,” she pointed out. “This man obviously wants something, and he was willing to come to America to find me and then all the way to Inverness. Which is confusing. Why Inverness and not here?”
“Because I’m smarter than Max,” he said with an enigmatic smile.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“Our home isn’t in my name. His is. Pepper’s father... ah, whoever this person is... wouldn’t be able to find me easily. At least not with a paper trail. Max’s name, on the other hand, has always been attached to his property.”
“What if Pepper’s father, or ‘whoever he is,’ is still looking for me and finds out I’m not there, then what’s to stop him from coming here? He seems to have an uncanny ability to find me.” She raised an eyebrow. “If we go to Max’s, we can keep him out of our private life a bit more than if he forces himself into our world here.”
Niall took his plate to the sink and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. “And if we go there and his aim is to hurt you? What then?”
“He could have hurt me when we were at the terminal in Portland, Nye. He didn’t. In fact, he did everything he could to keep me safe, going so far as to heal me.”
Niall grumbled something under his breath.
“What?”
He scowled.
“What aren’t you telling me?” she demanded.
“He was able to calm you,” he admitted.
“What do you mean?”
“When you were working with my brother to heal me, it wasn’t me who calmed you. It was him.”
“Really?” she said. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced.
She tapped his chin. “What, Nye? Tell me.”
“I think it’s possible he might be your father too.”
“What?” she squeaked.
He nodded. “I think all of this is more than coincidence, and I think there is some form of familial bond or he wouldn’t be able to calm you.”
“Well, that’s more proof that he wouldn’t want to hurt me, wouldn’t you say?” She gave him a sympathetic smile. “It doesn’t make you less than perfect in my eyes, just to be clear.”
“Oh, you’re hilarious.”
She curtsied. “Thank you.”
Niall frowned. “I still don’t like this, Charlotte.”
She widened her eyes. “But we can go.”
He sighed. “Aye, we can go.”
“Thank you.” Charlotte smiled and slipped her arms around his neck, forcing him to relax. “Everything will be fine. You and Max will be there to make sure I’m safe. What could possibly go wrong?”
Niall raised an eyebrow and patted her bottom. “Are you really saying that right now?”
Charlotte giggled. “This is real life, Nye. Not a movie.”
“Your point?”
“My point is, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”
“Charlotte,” he said with a groan.
She smiled and kissed him. “Would you like some convincing?”
He slipped her T-shirt from her body and grinned. “Yes. I think that would be a good idea.”
Two hours later, Niall phoned his brother and let him know they’d be on the seven o’clock flight from Edinburgh to Inverness the next morning.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
NIALL KISSED CHARLOTTE awake at four... however, not particularly successfully.
“What is this tom-foolery?” she snapped as she gently pushed his face away for the third time.
He kissed her fingers. “We need to head to the airport in less than an hour.”
She rolled away from him. “Five more minutes,” she grumbled.
Niall rolled her back toward him. “You’ve said that for the last fifteen minutes.”
“And you’re obviously not listening to me.” She yawned. “Bad husband.”
Niall chuckled, throwing back the covers. “Come on, love. Up we go.”
“Why are we going so early?” she complained as she sat up with her eyes still closed.
“Because you wanted to be there before lunch time,” Niall patiently pointed out.
She opened her eyes and wrinkled her nose. “And you have to give me everything I want, right?”
He leaned down and kissed her quickly. “Your wish is my only desire.”
She giggled. “Well, next time, argue with me a bit.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Charlotte slid from the mattress and headed to the bathroom. “What’s the flight plan?” she called.
Niall leaned against the doorjamb of the bathroom and crossed his arms. “We have to stop in Belfast, but it won’t be for long.”
She caught his eye in the mirror. “Nothing non-stop?”
“Not without my plane.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “You’re not still afraid, are you?”
Charlotte bit her lip. “A lot a bit.”
Niall wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her neck. “You’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”
She sighed and leaned back against him. “I feel better already.”
He chuckled and broke contact to start the water. “Okay, quick shower, love. We have to go.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she retorted, as she pinned her hair on top of her head and stepped under the water.
