Grave Stones Page 22

  “I thought you didn’t want us any closer,” Lassi snapped.

  “I changed my mind. Now move.” She swished the gun toward Cillian.

  Lassi scooted toward him.

  “Don’t touch,” Penny barked. She studied them with narrowed eyes. “I also changed my mind about you, Father Ward. I think I’m going to kill the both of you. Maybe I can use the Dearg-Due to serve my purposes.”

  Lassi’s compassionate heart weighed in. Oh, please don’t kill Cillian. Hasn’t he gone through enough heartache? She reached out her pinky to stroke Cillian’s thigh.

  He shook his head.

  She snatched her hand away.

  Penny scurried around them, kicking the larger stones out of the way. “There,” she said. “Where was I? Oh, right. Ailis.” She wrinkled up her nose as if disgusted. “I didn’t plan on killing Liam, but he had hinted to me he thought he saw me at Ailis’ the night before she was killed. Liam might be a lousy, cheating husband, but he’s not stupid. It was only a matter of time before he put it all together and realized I was the killer. So, I had to get him out of the way.”

  “You knew he cheated on you?” Lassi’s mouth fell open.

  “Girl. When you’ve been married to someone for as long as Liam and me, well...” She shrugged. “He always came home to mama.”

  Ew. Lassi tried to force her weary brain to cough up new ideas. Sweet Jesus, I’m drawing nothing but blanks. “Why would you want to kill Cillian now? Just kill me and get it over with. He’s got far too many secrets to spill yours. He’ll do your bidding.”

  “Lasairfhíona!” Cillian blurted.

  “And there’s my answer as to the why’s of it,” Penny said, with a nod. “He cares for you more than is good for him.”

  Lassi groaned. Stupid man. I wasn’t saying I want you dead. Or, myself for that matter. I was only stalling.

  Penny smirked. “He’s too blinded and corrupted. He’s cruel. He used me and never saw what was before him. He needs to pay for what he’s done.”

  “I never used you, Penny. I’ve only been kind to you,” Cillian said, spreading his arms.

  “Kind. You’ve been nothing but a bastard to me. ‘Penny, fetch me this. Penny, fetch me that. Penny, Roberta’s taken ill, will you make your way to the grocery and pick me up some provisions?’” She barked out a laugh that must have tasted bitter since it turned into a coughing fit. When she finally stopped coughing, she said, “The minute you laid eyes on that nurse you were gone to me.”

  “Maybe you never had me to begin with, did you think of that?” Cillian looked as peeved as Lassi felt. Yet, still, he did nothing.

  Penny’s arms began waving like flags as she gesticulated and stormed about. “Now I know what the Dearg-Due felt like when she was betrayed. You betrayed me. You.”

  Ceasing her lunatic raving, she cocked the hammer of her gun and shot, straight at Cillian’s head.

  Lassi screamed, somehow managing to send her body hurtling in his direction. She fell in a heap on top of him and scrambled to sitting. Straddling him, she placed her palms on his cheeks and stared at him. “Cillian! Are you okay?”

  He groaned and pushed to sitting, staring at her, his mouth hanging open. Wide-eyed surprise colored his face. “What did you do?”

  She glanced down.

  A shimmering blue shield buzzed between them.

  Lassi’s mouth dropped open. “Feck me, I don’t know. What did I do?” She rolled off him and fell back onto her ass, catching herself from a dead collapse with her hands.

  I’m so tired. I can barely stay upright.

  “You saved me, that’s what.” A radiant grin formed on his face. He sat taller, clearly excited.

  Penny stood gaping, her arms hanging by her sides.

  “Drop your weapon!” a male voice called. “On the ground, on the ground.”

  Penny spun around.

  Lassi blinked through the darkness at the approaching male. “Is that Conway?”

  “Sure looks like it,” Cillian said. “Thank God.” He slumped like he could barely hold himself upright. “I can barely stay sitting.”

  “Cillian?” Lassi’s voice emerged laced with alarm. She sat forward, peering at him. “What do you need? How can I help? I’m a nurse, don’t forget.”

  “Drop your weapon and get on the ground,” Conway yelled again as he came into view. He was holding a gun at the ready.

  Penny laughed. “Oh, please, Inspector. Who are you kidding?”

  Conway pulled the trigger of the gun. The gunshot blasted through the air.

  Lassi screamed.

  Cillian let out some sort of cry.

  Penny’s flashlight flew end over end, landing with a soft thunk in the sand.

  Penny flew backward, arms and legs spread wide. She landed with a thud, near Garda Galbraith. Blood bubbled from the hole in her heart.

  “I had to do it,” Conway said, wheezing, even though no one had asked him anything. He staggered toward Lassi and Cillian. “She knows too much. We couldn’t have her blabbing about the bloody Leviathan and Dearg-Due of Ballynagaul.”

  “I guess it’s for the best, right?” Lassi said, trying to hold herself up. Unable to do it, she collapsed into a heap on her belly, in the wet sand. She gasped, her mouth filling with sea grit. “What’s happening to me, Cillian? My blood pressure is falling. Heartbeat erratic and weak.”

  Cillian rolled from sitting to crouching so fast it made her dizzy. He rolled her over, then shoved his hands through the sand, beneath her body, and scooped her up. “We need to get her to the hospital. Where’s your vehicle?”

  “There’s a crime scene, here, Father Ward.” Conway said. “We can’t disturb it.”

  “Fuck the crime scene. She’s going to die if we don’t get care.”

  “I didn’t know you swore, Father Ward,” Lassi murmured. She melted into him, in part, because he felt like heaven and, in part, because she couldn’t manage much else. All the strength drained from her limbs.

  “There’s a lot about me you don’t know,” he said. He jogged through the darkness, stumbling like an old man.

  To keep from sinking into hysteria, she kept up with the professional assessment. “Vitals are failing. Shock is kicking in.”

  “Shh, girl, I can barely hear you. Save your strength.” Cillian squeezed her tighter.

  “I think I have a few minutes left before I go into cardiac arrest.”

  A hot, wet drop splashed on her face. Is that a tear? Is Cillian crying?

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m sure I loved you before I died. Yeah. I did. I’m certain of it.” She drifted into darkness with an unsatisfied burning curiosity about whether they’d be able to save her. She honestly didn’t think so. And I’m a nurse, after all so I should know.

  Chapter 24

  The rapid puff, puff, puff, puff of an inflating blood pressure cuff, followed by a gentle squeeze to her biceps, woke Lassi from a deep, dreamless sleep. Her eyelids flew open. She found herself in her bedroom at Great-Whatever-She-Was’s cottage, surrounded by the same bloody mess. The familiar dark clouds hung outside the window, threatening to dump rain at any second. The only thing of note was the absence of battering wind. Maybe it calmed down when the Dearg-Due got locked away.

  An IV drip line snaked from the top of her hand, eking some saline cocktail into her system. An empty chair sat positioned by her side. On the other side of the bed rested a handsome guy wearing a blue polo shirt. His light brown hair, flecked with gold, hung to his jaw, giving him a rogue, kind of wild appearance. A stethoscope hung from his ears.

  He pressed the diaphragm under the cuff, listening intently. When he’d heard what he needed to hear, he removed the stethoscope and the cuff, and placed them on the side table, smiling. “119 over 75. Your blood pressure’s back to normal. It was all over the place in the middle of the night. We’ll check it again once you’ve been up and around. Good nap?”

  She blinked, running her tongue around the inside of h
er mouth to clear the sludge. “I guess so. I’m still alive.”

  “Inspector Conway called me to come to your aid here in Ballynagaul. You and I—we’ve spent most of the night together.” He winked.

  “You’re a cheeky one. And yet I don’t remember a thing. It must not have been your finest,” she countered, her cheeks reddening.

  “I’ll do better next time,” he said, with a saucy smile. “You’re a sturdy lass, Miss Finn. You were completely drained when your boyfriend let me in.”

  “My boyfriend?” Her eyebrows drew together.

  “Cillian Ward. He said you were his.”

  She shivered with pleasure. “Did he now?”

  “He did. He was worried about you. I’m Dr. Stephen Breslin, by the way.” He extended his hand.

  She shook it as firmly as she could, given she was still weak as a kitten washed up on the shore. “You’ve got an American accent. Are you from the States?”

  “Bingo,” he said, tapping his finger once in the air. “I always dreamed of living in Ireland. I’m from Michigan. I moved to Dungarvan once I’d finished my medical training in Dublin.”

  She pushed herself up on the bed, resting her weight on her forearms. “You lived in Dublin? That’s where I live. I’m a labor and delivery nurse.”

  “Nice.” He bobbed his head up and down, causing his hair to fall in his eyes. After raking it back, he added, “I studied at Royal House Hospital. Where do you work?”

  “Same place,” she said, excited for a comrade from home. Wistful longings of life in Dublin swirled through her heart. They collided with the stirrings of longing for Cillian. What do I do about that situation?

  Dr. Breslin grinned, revealing dimples, and held up his palm for a high five.

  She sat up and slapped it.

  “Well,” he said, rising to his feet. “I’ve got to make rounds back at Dungarvan. You sit tight. Once you get some rest and more fluids, you should be good to go.”

  “Um,” she said, hesitating. “What did Cillian say happened?” I hope they didn’t say I exhausted myself by depleting my magic, which I only learned about recently and haven’t a fecking clue how to use.

  He opened his mouth to answer, but Cillian and Conway tromped into the room. He turned and smiled. “Gentlemen.”

  “Dr. Breslin,” Cillian said. He gave the doctor a quick nod then directed his gaze to Lassi. Dressed in jeans and a soft, linen shirt, he looked nothing like a priest and everything like a hot-blooded male with the power to turn her insides to steaming desire.

  She gave him a once over, noting his slim hips, his tight ass, and his broad shoulders. When she lifted her gaze to his, he flashed her a mischievous smile.

  “There she is,” Conway said, interrupting their private moment.

  This again. Everyone reminding me where I am. “Where else would I be?” she snapped. “Do you think I’d have checked out of this hotel already, without saying goodbye?”

  “Hotel?”

  “It’s a joke.” She smirked.

  “And there’s that sparkling wit,” he said, with a frown.

  Cillian snorted. He strode to her side. “How are you feeling, love?”

  He lifted her free hand from the bed and kissed her palm. The warmth of his lips spread up her arm like Cupid’s arrow.

  “Better than last night,” she said, with uncharacteristic shyness. Her eyelids lowered like a daft schoolgirl.

  Conway faced Dr. Breslin and began a low conversation.

  Lassi didn’t care. She couldn’t take her eyes from Cillian.

  He looked all rumpled, the way she imagined he’d look after a night of wild jungle monkey sex—minus the dark circles lining his eyes and the lines of worry scoring his face.

  Cillian stroked her hand with his thumb. “Did you mean what you said last night? Before you fainted?”

  Her forehead furrowed as she tried to recall. Something about I think I love you. Her neck and cheeks flushed with heat. “Oh, that.”

  His expression grew dark and serious. “Is that all it was? Nothing but an ‘oh, that?’”

  He kept stroking her hand, stoking blissful sensation.

  She looked at the bedding tucked around her. “No. I’m sure the sentiment was true.”

  He brought his finger to her chin and tipped her face up. “Was true?”

  She met his steady gaze. “Is. Is true. I... I’ve never felt this way about anybody. Ever.”

  She half expected—hoped—he’d say the same about her, declaring some undying love. No. Not mysterious Cillian Ward, the two-hundred-year-old man.

  He seemed to tuck into himself, slipping into a place of utter stillness she’d only glimpsed. He withdrew his hand and simply stared at her, with an unfathomable expression of...longing? Repulsion? Considering other options? She couldn’t tell. She wished she hadn’t said anything.

  “Well, I’ll be checking back later,” Dr. Breslin said, thankfully interrupting her descent into insecurity. He lifted his hand in farewell.

  Conway stepped over to shake his hand.

  Cillian gave him a nod.

  Lassi said, “Thank you, doctor.”

  After he was out of earshot, she hissed, “So what the bloody hell did you say happened to me? All systems were failing when I passed out.”

  Conway crossed his arms loosely over his chest. He leaned against the bedroom wall. “Oh, we were right worried, girl, to be certain. You looked to be knocking at death’s door.”

  Cillian came out of his coma behavior and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “But Conway, here, told the staff you fainted from exhaustion and low blood sugar.”

  Lassi snorted. “With all the crazy symptoms I was having? Even I wouldn’t believe that. What a bunch of bollocks.”

  “You’re not the only one who can make up absolute shite alibis,” Conway retorted, adding a chuckle.

  “Good to know,” she said.

  “I’m afraid you’re going to have to get used to that,” Cillian said.

  “What? Almost dying? No to that idea.” She picked at the bedding, finding a few cat hairs. Does Crusty sleep with me? She shook her head. Nah.

  “You’ll have to master the art of magic. You manifested more power than you knew what to do with. It got the job done, but almost took you from us.”

  Utter heartbreak flashed across his face in jagged lines. He gripped her hand between both of his.

  “Well, I’ll add that to my ‘to-do’ list,” she said, not wanting to linger on the topic of her demise.

  “You’d best,” Conway said, from his post in the doorway. “From what my mother told me, once the cat’s been let out of the bag, there’s no putting her back.”

  “I was exhausted my own self,” Cillian said. “I dove to the bottom of the sea as fast as I could and gathered ocean stones. Once I reached the surface, I hurled them atop the grave and headed back down for more. It took everything out of me to have to do it so fast. I could have dealt with Penny, had I not been hanging onto my reserves.” His mouth bunched up. “I made all kinds of mistakes. I let emotion rule my actions.”

  “Cillian, don’t beat yourself up,” Lassi said. “We’re all alive and the bad guys are...” She shuddered, picturing Galbraith’s head, hanging onto his neck by mere threads of tissue, rolling back and forth in the ocean surge. She swallowed. “They’re dead. Although we’ll never know Galbraith’s part in the crime and whether he was a good guy, caught in the middle, or a bad guy, intent on evil.”

  Cillian seemed to sink into himself partway, hovering between being present and slipping back into his mystery world.

  She didn’t want him to disappear. “So, while I was in here napping, you both were cavorting around town, am I right?”

  She smiled and laid back against the pillows.

  “I sat right there. All night.” Cillian pointed at the empty chair.

  Her heart lurched. “You did?”

  He nodded.

  “And I just got back from Dungarvan.” Conw
ay swiped his eyes with a thumb and forefinger. “Galbraith and Penny’s bodies were taken to the morgue there. Inspector Brown is back at the station.” He shifted side to side, looking at his feet.

  “Are you all right?” Lassi asked

  “I... I’ve never had to kill anyone. Shooting Penny in the chest isn’t sitting well with me. But Cillian, here, has found a way to help ease my conscience.”

  “How so?” She glanced at Cillian’s beautiful sea-green gaze, kind of glad it was normal, and not in Leviathan mode. That Levia-eye-freak maneuver would take some getting used to.

  He gave her a nod, but stayed silent, his face revealing nothing.

  “I’m going to resign in Dungarvan and take Galbraith’s old position here in Ballynagaul. I got Brown to agree, given the awful murders and the fact she’s right pissed with me. But, at least she isn’t angry about me letting you two go. She thinks Penny and Galbraith were lovers gone mad.” He snorted.

  Lassi’s eyebrows lifted. “She thinks they were in cahoots?”

  “Yes,” Conway said. “I might have suggested as much.”

  She laughed. “You and your shite alibis.”

  He smirked. “Apparently, that’s how it’s done here in Ballynagaul.”

  “Ooh, snap,” she said, playfully. Then, she gave him a sympathetic gaze. “You shouldn’t feel you have to move to Ballyna-nowhere to atone for anything, Inspector.”

  He gave a slight smile. “A man’s conscience is a tricky, fickle thing, Lassi. This feels like what I need to do.” He straightened, standing taller. “In any case, it’s going to be a sticky few months ahead as the investigation wraps up. There might be reporters, and there will certainly be more questioning. I’m going to be here to help everyone get and keep their stories straight. Besides, now there are five people—Mary, Conway, Cillian, Siobhan, and yourself—who know the story of the Dearg-Due and Cillian, and that’s four more than for what makes a safe secret. I need to be here to do damage control.”

  Lassi’s eyes widened. “Siobhan knows, too?”

  “She does.”

  As if on cue, Siobhan entered, carrying Paul. “I do. Conway told me everything when I questioned him. I was trying to put everything together and I told the Inspector I’d make his life hell if he didn’t help me understand.” She looked absolutely wrung out and exhausted. “It’s good to see you’re alive,” she said.