Wolf's Desire (8 page)

Aiden traced the markings on the front of the cover. This was impossible. What was Keira’s ex-husband doing with this?

“Had you seen the book before that night?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Of course, Jamison and I never had the same taste in books. The study is filled with nonfiction and literature. History books, he once told me.
I had no interest in books like that. I read fiction. Romance.”

His fingers ran across the battered
lock. “It’s broken.”

“It wasn’t me. Maybe it was like that. Or maybe the lock broke when the intruder dropped it. I opened to the first few pages. It’s not written in any English. There are symbols of some sort. It’s why I wanted to visit the museum. My searches at all of the local libraries turned up nothing.”

Curiosity pulled at him, as his fingers brushed the sides of the pages. He had to know if the book was legit, but it was forbidden to read the journal of a Caedmon leader without his sanction.

“What are you thinking?” Keira whispered.

Aiden swallowed dry air, and picked up the book without opening it. “You said there was a nook behind a bookcase.”

As Keira led the way back toward the study, it dawned on him that not only was her life in jeopardy, but so was the relic that he held. If it so happened to end up in the wrong hands, human or otherwise, the
consequences could destroy his entire Pack. He needed to get the book back to where it belonged. It was a Caedmon relic. How did it end up here?

He felt helpless for not having all the answers. Devin Caedmon, current Alpha, was only a phone call away, but right now his duties rested with ensuring Keira’s safety.

“He pulled a book from this location.” Keira plucked out a book, going through the motions just as though she was reminiscing on that night.

Ai
den pulled a few more books from the shelf. “Looks like a normal bookcase to me.” There were no nooks, crannies, or anything of the sort that would lead to a secret door. Then again, if the book had been hidden on purpose, making the contents easy to access would not have been the intention.

“This very bookcase detached from the wall…like a door.”

It seemed possible, as the structure was built in to the wall.

“What did he touch? Did you see anything else out of the ordinary?
”

She shook her head. “Nothing that I can remember.”

Aiden looked over the room, across the bookshelves, along the ceiling, and anywhere else that could have given him any hints or clues. “There are other ways to get to it…”

“I’ve thought of that before,” she said.

He turned and stared at her in surprise. “Damage to the structure would be a dead giveaway.”

“What would i
t matter if Jonathan already knows that Jamison had been hiding something in this house?” Her eyebrow arched. “There is an ax in the shed.”

As Aiden contemplated that option, he saw something like a thread peeking out from the bottom of one of the bookcase
s. He would have missed it if he hadn’t had his head bowed in deep though.

He bent down and confirmed that it was a thin plastic cord, almost like a wire.

“What is it?” Keira asked.

He stood and applied light pressure to the edge of the bookcase right next to the wire. It gave way, and popped open like a door.

They both gasped at first sight of the contents before them. Hanging on the wall was a shield and dagger. The shield was fashioned from the same metal as the book. The dagger was sharp, and a ruby stone was embedded in to the metal handle of the dagger.

“Oh my God,” Keira whispered.

Jonathan slowly removed the dagger from the wall, turning it over and over in his palm to examine it. He touched the shield which was dented and worn from the effects of battle. There were initials carved at the bottom near the edge.
WC.

In that instant, he knew. William Caedmon
II. The Fallen Leader. The Alpha who’d been killed in battle centuries ago. A battle that marked the separation of Caedmon into three groups.

“Impossible,” he said.

“Do you know what this is?”

Aiden could no longer bear to refrain the truth from her. “Yes, but not entirely. There is someone who will know exactly what this is, and what it might mean to those who seek it.”

“And there could possibly be answers as to why Jamison was killed so ruthlessly?” she asked, anxiously.

He nodded. “Possibly.”

“Now that I have it, I must go. These things can tell me who was behind the murder. I need to find out why they wanted them…how much they’re worth. I don’t have much time to pack. Jonathan will be back before long.”

Aiden hoped Jonathan did not return before they left, because if anyone so much as laid a hand on Keira in an attempt to harm her…they would lose their life.

Keira’s heart nearly sank in her chest when Jonathan’s white limo pulled into the driveway. She had hoped to never see his face again, but she should have known…

Jonathan would never let her get away with something he seemed to want badly.
And of course, it was just like him to renege on their agreement to give her until midnight to vacate the premises. It wasn’t anywhere near midnight.

Maybe the bastard had changed his mind. What would Jonathan do if he found out that they’d packed up the very same shield and dagger that he was trying to confiscate?

The breeze seemed to pause around them as the limo came further into view. It halted yards away from where the two movers were hauling her boxes into the van. Even they slowed down, craning their necks around the case they carried together to get a better view of who’d just arrived.

Aiden on the other hand had frozen completely in his tracks.
“Arnou.”
The word rushed out of his mouth the moment the side doors to the limo opened.

Two
men got out wearing long black coats. They pulled out guns. Lifted and aim.

A split second b
efore the first shots were fired Aiden rushed her, grabbed her by the hips, and tossed her into the van.

Her knees hit the floor hard and she cr
ied out when a sharp pain spread out across her knee caps. Of course, her outburst was drowned out by rapid gunfire spraying outside.

Keira’s heart stopped
and her chest felt like it was on fire. Bullets hit the van, sounding like a thunderous hailstorm. She fisted her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that this was all a dream.

Maybe it was just luck, but the boxes around her provided just enough protection from stray bullets. Still the odds didn’t seem to be on her side. A
ny one of the gunman could aim inside the open van door and shoot her. Aiden was somehow successfully holding them off.

How could this be happening again? She’d already lost one man who’d tried to save her. She couldn’t bear it again if someone died helping her.

Shit!
She had to do something.

Keira
hurled herself toward the box she’d packed her handgun inside, checked to make sure it was loaded, and crawled toward the edge of the van. Every time a bullet hit the van, she would flinch. She wasn’t made for this shit, but she wasn’t about to let someone go down again because she was too scared.

The entire driveway was a blood bath. Two men and one of the movers lay dead on the lawn. She dry heaved and tasted the remnants of breakfast.

Aiden and another man were shooting at one another. She couldn’t see Aiden, but she spotted the man fire his weapon, and then duck back behind the limo. This one must have been the driver—the third one she hadn’t seen when Aiden had thrown her into the van.

The
other mover was sprawled out just outside the van, clutching at his heart, obviously in pain from a gun womb. She got his attention and offered her hand. He reached out, but then his face contorted in pain and blood leaked on the driveway.

Just as their
fingers touched, a bullet hit him in the head, and blood splashed across her face and arms. She screamed.

When she looked up, the gunman was running towards her. None of the bullets coming from Aiden’s gun seemed to hit h
im. In fact, the gunman fired off continuous rounds of ammo at Aiden. She feared the worst…

The gunman was getting closer.

This time, Keira drew blood when she bit her bottom lip. She got a taste of the same salty adrenaline running through her system. Cupping her weapon with both hands, she took a firm stance. She wasn’t ready to die tonight. The gunman fixed his gaze on her and aimed the barrel of the gun at her.

She aimed for the gunman’s head and pulled the trigger.

He fell like dead weight at her feet.

T
he blood curdling squeal that came next was her own.

Aiden grabbed her from behind out of nowhere, scoped her up once again, but this time he climbed into the van with her and sat her on a box.

“Don’t ever
ever
do that,” he said between clenched teeth. He seemed angry, but his touch was soft and gentle against her shoulders.

Her lungs burned as she attempted to catch her breath. “Are you serious? He was going to kill me.”

“I meant don’t ever put yourself in danger for me or anyone else.” He panted. “You should have stayed in the van. I was going to kill that motherfucker.”

Aiden was a bloodied mess. She couldn’t tell if it was all
of his blood…or the blood of the men he’d killed to save her.

“Are you hurt?” she asked.

He held his head down. “Let’s get out of here.” He placed the gun back on the holster on his belt.

That was when she saw the blood trail leading to him. “You are hurt. Where did you get hit?”

. “I’m fine.” He grabbed her arm, and pulled her up to stand. “Let’s just go.”

He was right. This place was too dangerous. Keeping her p
romise to Jamison had just cost lives.

“Okay, let’s go.”

He winched. “Can you drive?”

“Yes.” They both stumbled into the front end of the van. Luckily the keys were on the dashboard. She retrieved them and started up
the engine just as Aiden dragged himself into the passenger seat holding his gut. “And I’m driving you straight to the hospital.”

He bolted upright quickly. “No. Whatever you do, you must not do that.”

“You’re crazy, Aiden. You can die from that bullet wound.” She was scared for his life. No one had deserved to die back there, not even the men who’d started it all as a result of their greed and bad misfortunes. “There’s a bunch of people dead out there. We will rot in jail for murder.”

“Listen to me. Everything
will be taken care of. They’re dead because they tried to kill you. I was protecting you. When you shot that man, you were protecting yourself.” He turned to face her, taking both of her hands in his. “Let’s drive until we’re sure we’re not being followed.”

“But, you’re—”

He tore off his shirt and threw it on the floor behind him. Washboard abs rippled as he grabbed at his side. He grimaced in pain. “I’m fine. The wound isn’t deep.
Drive
, Keira.”

Keira could tell he was lying, but she
pulled her hands away, put the van in gear, and maneuvered around the bodies until she was on the main highway.

Beside her, Aiden took out his cell pho
ne. “Max, I need clean up. Stat!” There was a short pause. “Now.” He rattled off her address. “Don’t ask me any questions. Get someone out there!”

Keira wanted to ask who this Max person was, but she found his diminishing state of health her most important source of concern.
“I’m sorry for all of this. I’m sorry I got you into all this trouble.”

“Apologies aren’t needed. I should be the one apologizing to you.”

Her gaze moved back and forth from the road to his face. “Why? You did nothing but protect me.”

“I should have been here to protect you sooner.”

“How? You didn’t know me. You couldn’t have known what I was going through. I haven’t found Jamison’s killers, but I can say that I kept my promise to him. I just couldn’t bring myself to say it before, but Jonathan might have had something to do with the murder. He knows something.” She slowed to a safe speed. “I have just enough evidence to make the investigators open Jamison’s case again.”

“No. That won’t be a wise decision. They won’t be able to help you.”

“What are you saying?” She pounded her hand against the steering wheel. “They will find his killers! Someone will pay. And if you don’t like what I’m doing, I will gladly end this contract, and pay you everything that I promised.”

“Do what you will with contract.”

Her face became heated as he dissed out short answers, none of which were in agreement with her. She shrugged, and turned onto the interstate. “Fine. We’ll end it here. I’ll drive to the next town and take you to the hospital. I’ll pay your medicals bills. Make sure you’re okay. Then, you can go your way, and I can go mine.”