The Warrior In Me Read online

  Bruce didn’t respond and merely strolled out the front door, her bag in his hand.

  “I guess I should get a move on.” Lily turned to Olivia. “Is Mark in his office?”

  “No, I’m right here, my dear.” Mark exited the hallway where Olivia had emerged a few moments earlier. “I wanted to tell you before Bruce hustles you out the door that Jenkins took care of the computer glitch we’ve been having in the lab. Also, there’s really no need for you to travel so far away. My cabin up near the Redwood forest is empty, and you can head up there.”

  “No, I’m looking forward to seeing beautiful beaches with lots of sunshine.” Sidestepping Olivia, Lily walked into Mark’s embrace. Her arms circled his waist, and her lips brushed his cheek before she hugged him tight. For seven long years, the man stood in the center of her world. Yes, she loved him, but no, she wasn’t in love with him. She’d learned the hard way the distinction between the two.

  “Please behave while I’m away,” she whispered and tiptoed back to stare up into his wrinkled face, framed by light brown hair. White streaks highlighted his temples. Amused gray eyes met hers.

  “Now, you know I’ll be fine. In the tropics, you’ll have lots of sunshine and an ocean breeze to enjoy.” He pulled his usual stunt of ignoring her advice and switched the subject.

  “Right, and mind, Olivia.” Lily smiled at the other woman. “Hopefully, you can get him to relax. I’ll be home by Friday, so I’ll field any questions that might pop up regarding the Neanderthal project.”

  The thought of dealing with the press’ endless questions sent an unwelcome shiver down her spine, but she shoved aside her anxiety of dealing with a crowd and turned away from Mark.

  He released her and wrapped an arm around Olivia’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. My beautiful fiancée and I have scores of shopping to do for our wedding. We’ll even pick up a dress for you.”

  Lily cringed inside at what they’d choose. Something she’d be sure to hate, but she’d wear it to appease them. The perpetual price she continued to pay for becoming involved with a man who acted more like her father than her ex-husband or boss.

  “Just have fun.” With a conspiratorial wink at Olivia, Lily noticed Devin still standing by the door. She walked to him, calling to mind the projects currently needing his attention at work. “Devin, you should probably take a few days off this week, too. There’s not anything urgent happening at the lab, and with the university on break, your girlfriend is undoubtedly getting ready to head home. Try to enjoy some time together before she’s gone for the rest of the summer.”

  “Funny, she said the same thing last night.” He reached into his shirt and pulled out a plastic card. “She even gave me this to give you as a going away present.”

  Lily noted the gift came from her favorite convenience store. Unlike most people, she liked the coffee from the same place she bought her gas, no five dollar cup-of-Joe for her.

  “How very sweet of her. Maybe, when I get back, we can do lunch or something together.” Lily slipped the card into the side pocket of her purse and patted Devin’s shoulder. “Remember, if there’s any problem, I’m only a phone call away.”

  He grinned.

  She blushed, automatically self-conscious, her brief display of affection an unusual abnormality. She didn’t touch or hug anyone other than Mark and never, if ever, in front of others. “Sorry.”

  “No problem, I won’t file an inappropriate behavior report against you,” Devin teased.

  Her cheeks burned, and she glanced back into the house. Voices rang down the hallway in the direction of Mark’s office. She whispered under her breath, “See, I told you, you’d get me in trouble someday.”

  “Well, it won’t be today. Mark and Olivia are heading into the dining room, and if you don’t hurry, you will have to say goodbye to Violet and Zane, too.” Devin ushered her through the door and onto the front stoop.

  “Right, and from the glare Bruce is giving me, I’m running late.” Lily offered a brief wave and rushed to the limo. Finally, she’d have some time to herself.

  After settling back into the seat of the limo, she studied the leather upholstery and suffered the unwanted presence of the man beside her.

  So much for being alone.

  Bruce had been her constant companion over the past few days. Yet, she didn’t exactly understand why she required a personal bodyguard. When the limo stopped at the light, marking the exit from her neighborhood, she glanced at him and then back out the window.

  Mark had repeatedly claimed they needed the extra security because of the Neanderthal project. His reasoning made little sense to her. The DNA testing they’d done shouldn’t have warranted any additional precaution. After all, their facility had only offered support to the main laboratory in Germany.

  The only rational conclusion was, Mark knew something she didn’t and had determined she needed protection. Moreover, no matter how much she assured him she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, he wouldn’t listen.

  She could only blame herself for his overprotective attitude. She should have moved out after their divorce, but Mark had convinced her she didn’t need to bother. In truth, she hadn’t cared one way or the other, because she’d spent little to no time at home. Her life revolved around work.

  Still, when she returned from her trip, she had to find a new place to live and finally move out from under Mark’s rule.

  Glancing again at Bruce, she mustered up the courage to ask the question she’d been dreading the answer to since she entered the car. “So are you accompanying me on my vacation, too?”

  Chapter Two

  Waiting for his answer, Lily dug through her purse for her cell phone. She clutched the device.

  Bruce lifted a brow and studied her. “No. I’ll fly out with you today and return tonight to resume my duties at the house and the lab.”

  Again, she suspected she was being kept in the dark about something. “Why bother? From what Mark told me, I’m flying out on a private jet. Who else is on the plane besides me?”

  “Doesn’t matter. Mr. Winslow prefers to know for certain you’ve arrived at your destination safely,” he stated as if she were five and couldn’t tie her shoes for herself.

  She hit the button to power off the phone and tossed it back into her bag. Why should she worry about staying in touch if she couldn’t even be trusted to take care of herself?

  Fuming, she crossed her arms and glared at him. He had a job to do, and she respected the fact he did it rather well. Still, she would’ve preferred to travel alone. She glanced out the window again and a sudden wave of despair washed over her. She massaged her forehead, trying unsuccessfully to ease the headache forming behind her brow. What she needed was…coffee. With all the rushing around she’d done this morning, she hadn’t paused for a moment to have a cup.

  Rubbing her palms down the length of her thighs, she reviewed the last twelve hours. “I’m sure, like me, you didn’t get much sleep last night. I worked until nearly ten finishing a few details. After you dropped me off at home, you probably had other work to do before you could call it a night. I spent two hours trying to decide what to pack and didn’t climb between the sheets until after midnight.”

  She studied the square line of his jaw and noted the thick column of his neck. The unbuttoned collar of his shirt revealed a sprinkle of crisp hair. She scanned his broad chest and marveled at the amount of time he must spend working out at a gym. The man was ripped.

  “A few things required my attention before I managed to get to bed.” He shifted in his seat, as if ready to listen to the rest of what she had to say.

  “Okay then, you were also up early getting ready for this trip, too.” She released her grip and slid the gift card from her purse’s pocket. “So if I suggest we stop for coffee and a delicious roll, you wouldn’t bite off my head?”

  His lips turned up at the corners briefly, and he pressed a button on the console near him. “Aaron, did you fill the d
ecanter back here with coffee?”

  “You said not to bother,” a voice grumbled through the speaker. “That you’d wait until you were on the plane.”

  “Yes, well, Lily wants a cup.” Bruce gazed out the tinted windows, appearing to judge the distance they’d traveled so far. “She likes the station on the next corner.”

  “Very good, sir, I’ll pull in,” Aaron replied cordially.

  She smiled, noting how he omitted his customary Miss in front of her name. “Thanks, you saved us both from an unpleasant trip to the airport.”

  Bruce nodded. “I figured as much, but we need to make this quick.”

  Fifteen minutes later, she held a piping hot cup of coffee and a box with four cinnamon rolls. Bruce stood in line behind her, guarding her back.

  The man in front of her turned and yelled to a cute brown-haired girl near the donut display. “Candace, come on, bring me your stuff so I can pay for it.”

  The young woman opened the glass door and retrieved a large pastry from the shelf. She stuffed it into one of the plastic bags and hurried forward. “I have a bear claw and…” She skidded to a stop and rushed back for her soda on top of the display case. “And a thirty-two ounce drink.”

  The cashier entered their items and took the man’s money. Finally, he picked up his purchases and moved toward the exit.

  Having stopped here most mornings on her way to work, Lily greeted the woman behind the counter by name. “Hi, Dottie, I have two large coffees and four rolls.” She pointed to Bruce’s cup signifying she’d pay for his things too.

  Dottie punched in the code for each item into the cash register and glanced at Lily. “And a lottery ticket?”

  Lily looked back at Bruce. With the hassle she’d been giving him, he deserved a little extra cash in his pockets. “Sure, why not? I’ll let Bruce have it.”

  Taking the money, Dottie counted out the change before she stepped to the machine to print out the voucher. Once done, she handed both to Lily. “You’re the only person I’ve ever met, who never buys a ticket for herself. You always give them away.”

  “That’s because I enjoy seeing other people win.” Lily retrieved the ticket and held it out to Bruce. She’d also found, if she kept the ticket, she’d lose. Her luck only worked if she gave it to someone else. “Maybe, you’ll win enough to buy me a coffee next time.”

  Bruce pocketed the slip of paper and led the way out of the store. He paused to hold the door open for her. “If it pays more than five dollars, I’ll take you out to dinner.”

  Pleased by the offer, Lily strolled to the limo. When she returned home, she’d try dating someone other than the men Mark introduced her to. After all, Bruce was hot, in a cultured he-man sort of way.

  ****

  The phone sitting on the corner of Sebastian’s desk rang. Without even picking up the receiver, he identified the caller and delayed an extra second. The last few hours, his emotions had swung from unbearable grief to intense fury. The first debilitated him, the second demanded he take action and find Cain’s killer.

  “Yes?”

  “So tell me what you’ve learned since I talked to you earlier?” Rex’s unorthodox greeting didn’t surprise Sebastian. In fact, he had a few questions, too.

  “Nothing earth shattering. From the information, Cain requested, this appears to be a simple security detail. There are no dark skeletons in either Mark’s or Lily’s past.”

  “Why did Mark’s first wife divorce him?”

  “Irreconcilable differences was the reason listed on all the legal documents. Though, it can cover a broad range of problems, from not spending enough time with her to him sleeping with another woman.” Sebastian gathered from Mark’s commitments during that phase of his life that he’d lack the time to do much more than work.

  “Have you phoned her to find out?”

  “No. I wanted to access Cain’s notes on the case first. Have you cleared it for me to log into his account on the company’s secure server?”

  “And Lily? What do you know about her?” Rex shot back the questions without offering any answers in return.

  Fighting back his frustration, Sebastian gave the obligatory response. Getting into a shouting match with his boss, wouldn’t provide him the information he needed. “She was a child protégé of her parents, who were biologists. Mark Winslow happened to be a friend of theirs. So when she entered college at fifteen, he took her under his wing and mentored her.

  “After her parents were killed in a car wreck, he moved Lily in with him and hired her to work in his genetic lab. Later, they tried to make a marriage work, but it failed.”

  “Did you find out about her battle with depression?”

  “Given she’d lost her parents only a few days earlier and had no other family to turn to, I’d say she had a valid reason for being depressed and probably needed to spend a few days in the hospital.”

  “What did you discover regarding her parents’ accident?”

  “Only that the authorities never identified the car responsible for causing the wreck.” Sebastian scanned the police report on his computer screen again. He summarized the accident in which a dark sports car had cut off a van. To avoid a collision, the van swerved into another lane, hitting Lily’s parents’ car and driving them into a concrete barrier. Neither survived.

  “What’s your theory on whether or not they’ll discover Neanderthals and modern humans share common genetic traits?”

  Sebastian released a chuckle to hide his aggravation at Rex’s constant probing. The man had focused all his attention for years on the legends, which revealed how his people would save the earth from destruction. “We both know you believe this is part of the Ancient Warriors Prophecy, or you wouldn’t be so concerned. So, if you’re through drilling me, why don’t you answer a few questions for me?”

  “Such as?”

  “Who else is working on this case?” He wanted a contact, someone who would give him more information than he was currently receiving.

  “Bruce and Cain thought they had all the angles covered. I called Bruce this morning, after learning about Cain’s death. Bruce said he and Lily were the last ones to leave the lab at a little after ten last night. He spotted Cain’s car in the parking lot when they left, but he didn’t notice anything else unusual around the perimeter of the building.

  “After he dropped Lily off at the main house, Bruce returned to the guest quarters over the Winslow’s garage. He mentioned catching up on some paperwork before he headed off to bed. He’d planned to meet with Cain this morning before he flew out with Lily to Cancun.”

  “So no one other than the three of us have knowledge of her heading here?” Sebastian had spent most of the day irritated by the lack of information he’d received on his friend’s murder.

  “Yes, I’ve tried calling Mark several times, but he’s not answering his phone. From what he told me earlier in the week, his fiancée has his schedule booked with last minute wedding errands.” Rex seemed almost amused by the idea. “I also had Bruce brief Aaron Pendelton on the case. He drove Bruce and Lily to the airport. Now he’s heading over to the lab to view the surveillance tapes and plans to talk to whatever witnesses the police might have.”

  “This doesn’t make any sense. If the building has security cameras, why did Cain perform an additional perimeter check after Lily and Bruce left?”

  “Can’t say. I’ll email you Cain’s username and password to get into our server. Now, I better let you go. Lily should arrive any minute now,” Rex stated, his tone indicating his unwillingness to divulge any more information.

  “No. Bruce called several minutes ago to say they’d landed in Juneau. They’re taking a sea plane over— Wait, what did you say?” A shiver of awareness swept over him.

  “That’s impossible. I—” Rex stuttered to a stop.

  “Did you have a vision that showed her already here?” Sebastian didn’t like the direction the conversation was headed.

  “I must have
made a mistake.” Rex didn’t sound like he believed he’d misinterpreted the vision.

  “I thought you were never wrong,” Sebastian pounced on the anomaly.

  “Rarely.”

  “Then why were you this time?”

  A low rumble of annoyance filtered through the phone. In a stern tone, Rex demanded, “Tell Bruce to call me as soon as he’s dropped the girl off at your place. I intend to find out exactly where things veered off course.”

  “Wait, I—”

  Hearing a clicking noise, Sebastian sighed.

  His unease concerning this case grew. When the man who had all the answers didn’t have a clue, it was time to wonder if there was more going on here than any of them could predict.

  ****

  Sebastian stared at the woman Bruce helped from the seaplane. Long blonde hair blew haphazardly around her face. In the picture of her on the lab’s website, she had her hair tied up, and her curves were hidden under a white lab coat. The woman striding purposely toward him now displayed the body of a centerfold model and appeared angry enough to turn a designer’s artistic vision to dust.

  She tossed her head and captured most of her hair in one hand. A few strands still swirled around her head. “I don’t know whose idea of a cruel joke this is, but I’m not staying. So you might as well get on the phone and tell the powers that be I’m heading back with Bruce.”

  Sebastian couldn’t hold back a smile. He always enjoyed a woman with enough fire inside to fight for what she wanted. Of course, in this case, the woman didn’t have a chance of winning. His job required him to keep her here for the next week. Even though, he’d prefer they both could get on a plane and head back to California.

  He held out his hand in a welcoming gesture. “How do you do, Mrs. Winslow? I’m your host for the next few days. Name’s Sebastian Berlin.”

  She glared at him for a long moment. Her dark brown eyes flashed with rage and a conviction to chop him up into tiny little pieces. Then, as if finding him lacking, she glanced back over her shoulder.

  “Holy shit, Bruce, don’t you dare leave me here.” She spun on her heels and started in the opposite direction.