She checked in the rearview mirror every so often, but by the time they entered Dublin, she was sure she’d lost their tail. With Griffin’s phone gone, they were unable to track him.
Right before sundown, she pulled into a car park across the street from Sorcha and Maeve’s apartment. Griffin’s safety was her responsibility, and since she had to assume the men trailing them knew theywere headed for Bronagh Abbey, she would have to lay low for a bit.
She’d also have to concoct a story to get him to comply. She parked the car and texted Sorcha and Maeve. Fortunately, Griffin was still out. The meds might have put him to sleep.
Keeping her fingers crossed, she reached into the boot of the car and took out a pair of handcuffs.
Click.
Griffin stared at the metal cuff around one wrist. The other cuff was attached to the crazy woman driver whowas applying her lipstick.
His mouth was cottony, and he had a crick in his neck. How had he been so lame as to fall asleep?
“You’re not going to get away with this,” he said.
That did it. The gloves were off, and he was no longer going to consider this changeling a friendly entity and honor her by thinking of her as his beloved Brigid.
Nope. She was every bit the black-featheredwitch he’d met on the airplane, the dastardly Clare Hart, fiction writer, liar, and thief.
“I’m not trying to get away with anything,” the woman formerly known in his mind as Brigid said. “We were being followed.”
Well, duh. They were his people, Myles and Mack Brady, prizefighters and private investigators. But he couldn’t let her know her cover was busted.
“Why would theybe following us?” He feigned ignorance. “We’re a man and a woman taking off on a countryside holiday.”
She lasered him with an accusing stare. “Wasn’t it significant they were driving a black Ferrari F40?”
“They’re as common as ravens up in Donegal,” he said. “Lots of old dukes holding onto centuries of wealth.”
“Ill-gotten sympathizers of the British crown.” She referredto the fact that the Irish nobility was purely a creation of the English monarchs to reward those Irishmen who aided and abetted the invaders.
“Why are we in Dublin?” The cars in the parking garage near him predominantly had license plates with the “D” for Dublin and its Irish name, Baile Átha Cliath, spelled out over the number.
“Safehouse,” the fake Brigid said. “Although I’m notsure how safe it is.”
“This is utterly ridiculous.” He shook his cuffed hand, dragging her attached hand. “Unlock it.”
She flipped a switch on the Ashton Martin to raise the roof on the convertible. “Not until we’re inside. If anyone’s watching, we’re holding hands.”
He let out a sound halfway between a growl and a groan. “Since we’re supposed to be buddy-buddy, would youmind telling me how you’re going to find the Heart of Brigid?”
“Since we’re joined together, you’re going to have to climb over my seat to exit.”
“There’s no way I’m climbing past the steering wheel.” He opened the passenger door and threw his long legs out. “Sorry, little fairy, but I’m bigger than you, and you’re coming out my side.”
He jerked his arm, and she had no choicebut to wiggle her way over the console and stumble out of the Ashton.
After retrieving their luggage from the boot, Griffin walked cuff-by-cuff with Clare, for that was her true name, to a set of stairs which led to a low-rent apartment.
The door opened before Clare had a chance to knock.
“Is this the hunky duke of the castle?” a blonde dressed in full butterfly regalia, completewith wings and antenna, bounced on her toes. “Come in, come in.”
“Is it safe to bring him here?” a dark-haired, dark-eyed brunette pursed her blood-colored lips. She wore full-on lipstick, eye shadow, and rouge in the style of a vampire mistress, complete with a black veil over her large, expressive eyes. Her clothes were a cross between Spanish flamenco with the frills and red lace, andblack leather Goth.
Clare pushed Griffin through the doorway and shut the door quickly. “We were followed out of Donegal, but I lost them.”
“I’m Maeve,” the blonde said, stretching out a blue-gloved hand. “I’m so glad to meet you. Don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place for wings, wands, and wigs.”
