Page 99 of Dark Embrace

“WELL, AT LEAST WE HAVE THE right gear and we’re not on Mount Hood,” Sam said, smiling.

Nick had to hand it to her. She was as tough as he’d thought when he’d hired her.

The snowstorm had turned into a blizzard. They had dug a snow cave and were currently entombed in it. But this was the Highlands. They were at five hundred feet, not fifteen thousand, and outside it was probably an unusual fifteen degrees, not fifteen below. Still, trekking to Awe on foot was impossible now. A chilly wind had kicked up, making it feel like zero and putting visibility at zero, too. Nick had decided they would sit this one out. “Next time, remind me to bring skis,” Nick said.

Sam grinned. “Hey, boss, you don’t happen to have a toddy stashed somewhere, do you?” Her blue eyes met his.

He began shaking his head, but he reached into his vest and produced a small flask. “Naughty girl,” he said softly, handing it to her. “That will bring your body temperature down.”

Sam gave him a long look, uncapping the flask and taking a draught. Nick was impressed. He was a whiskey man; that was the best money could buy, and Sam drank like a man. She handed him the flask and said, “I can think of ways to raise it back up. Too bad I work for you. More importantly, I prefer boy toys.”

He had to laugh. He wasn’t insulted; he could pretty much please a woman all night. He didn’t doubt she was really, really good in the sack, but not only did she work for him, she was not his type. She was too smart, too strong and too confident. He liked his blondes helpless—or at least pretending to be helpless. But she was beautiful. He’d seen her in shorts and a tank at CDA’s gym and she made Angelina Jolie look like the girl next door. And while sex was the best way to pass the time, he didn’t sleep with his “kids.”

“Hey, Rose? When you grow up, you’ll realize some men are like that whiskey you’re drinking. Some of us get better with time—lots better.”

“You like ’em young…so do I.”

She meant it. He approved. “You just might go places, working for me.”

She grinned, reaching for the flask. “Hey, boss? I’m going places all right, so prepare yourself. In no time, the nameplate on your door will read Sam Rose.”

He laughed, genuinely amused. This one was a keeper. She didn’t have a romantic bone in her body. He wasn’t going to have to worry about her coming into his office one day to ask him for leave for a honeymoon or, worse, telling him she was planning to have kids. “Thanks for the warning.”

“I can play fair.”

His smile faded. Good played fair, evil did not. Instantly he worried about Brie again. It had been three and a half days since her abduction.

Sam knew. “Brie is tougher than she looks.”

“Crap,” he said, his good humor gone. He unzipped his sleeping bag and crawled to the front of the snow cave. It was coming down as heavily as before.

“She’ll rise to the occasion,” Sam said, but worry was reflected in her tone, too.

He didn’t answer. He just hoped his little mouse hadn’t been eaten for supper by the Big Bad Wolf.

NO HUMAN BEING SHOULD HAVE TO go through what Aidan was suffering, Brie thought. She trembled, gazing at his tear-streaked profile. He was quiet now, staring out of the window at the falling snow. He hadn’t bothered to hide his emotions from her and she had felt all of his pain, grief and confusion. Brie desperately wanted to comfort him.

But after his brutal rejection that morning, she was afraid to go up to him. She had thought they were becoming close. She had been so wrong. But he needed her, more than ever, and she hadn’t stopped loving him. She couldn’t walk away.

“Aidan?” she whispered uncertainly. “Come sit down with me. We’ll have some wine and figure this out.”

He slowly looked at her. His gaze remained moist. “Ian is dead, Brianna,” he warned. “There’s naught to talk of.”

He was so beaten down, and it killed her. She started toward him, but he sent her such a chilling look that it stopped her in her tracks. “Dinna even think to offer me comfort. Not now.”

She tried to feel him, but he ruthlessly blocked her. “You were brutal this morning. A sane woman would have gone back home or to Iona. But I’m not leaving you to face Moray alone. I’m not leaving you to face your grief alone, either.”

She saw him tremble. “I dinna need ye, Brianna. Ye should have gone to Iona.”

“You need somebody in your corner,” she said tersely. “And I guess that somebody is me.”

A long moment passed before he spoke. “’Tis a long ride to Urquhart,” he said flatly. “But ’tis a short leap.”

Dismay overcame her. Somehow she kept her tone calm. “Please postpone it. I don’t think any good can come of your meeting Frasier now. You’re really distracted. We can focus on taking care of Ian instead.”

“Dinna use Ian to keep me away from Urquhart,” he rasped.

“I would never do that. But we summoned Ian in the séance, and we spoke with him. We need to summon him again. Aidan, you should be there.”