kissed her. Wow, had he ever, and left her toes sizzling and her brain scrambled, but that’s as far as she would allow it to go. Again, he’d accepted her decision, but didn’t become cold or turn his back on her, which she’d expected. His response floored her. “You’re part of my life, whether I’m in your bed or not.” He treated her with respect, as he always had.
A flash of movement caught her eye and she startled. Connell stood on the patio, Ellie in his arms.
“Quick, take her. Go to Quinn’s. Use my truck,” he commanded. He shifted Ellie into her arms.
“What’s going on?”
Ellie’s strength was a little past superhuman and she choked Lynn with her arms. A black SUV barrelled up the long drive leading to the ranch house.
“Padraig is coming,” Ellie said.
Lynn didn’t ask any more questions. She ran for the pickup. As she opened the door and plopped Ellie in the passenger seat, she saw Donnor, Quinn and Cian appear out of seemingly nowhere on either side of Connell. Her heart raced as she ran around the front of the truck and jumped into the driver’s seat, gunning the engine to life.
“Get down,” she ordered, and Ellie slid onto the floor mat. Passing Padraig’s vehicle, Lynn caught a glance of the driver, then looked away. She hit the gas pedal and raced around the main house, taking the dirt road through the grove that led to Quinn’s residence.
“Why is he here?” Lynn asked.
Ellie crawled back onto the leather passenger seat. Gripping the buckle, she clicked it into the clasp, the seat belt tightening across her tiny chest. “He’s a bad man, Lynn.”
She had to keep calm for Ellie’s sake. “Remember that little trick you did the day Connell brought home your pony?” Pecan trees rushed by in a green blur as she raced through the grove.
When Ellie remained silent, Lynn took her eyes off the rutted gravel road for a second to look at her.
Ellie nodded.
“If I tell you, I want you to do that again. No questions. No arguments. Do you understand?”
Ellie’s big blue eyes looked up at her, her blush cheeks and pale blonde hair the image of a famous painter’s brush strokes. Tears gathered in her eyes. “Can I come back?”
“When Connell says it’s safe. Don’t answer to anyone but him.”
“What about you, Lynn?”
She shook her head. “I’ll be fine, sweetheart.”
Living amongst vampires, Lynn knew the dangers. As a human, she had no protection except her wits, and she doubted that would be enough.
****
Donnor watched the SUV approach. He sensed Padraig as another vampire, but not one he knew. At least not yet.
Opening the brother pipeline, they allowed each other’s thoughts to flow between them. Quinn and Connell sensed the same thing in regard to their uninvited guest. This was not what any of them had expected.
Quinn had shared Naomi’s memories with them, and Donnor sided with his brother. He didn’t trust her.
Connell’s warning to blank Ellie’s existence from their thoughts wasn’t required, they did it automatically.
“Don’t worry, brother,” Donnor said, eyeing the vehicle as it slowed its approach, nearing the house. “His boldness will be his undoing.”
Quinn adjusted his cowboy hat. “You’re not thinking clearly, Connell. Padraig made Naomi. He’ll be able to sense her, and you’ve just sent Ellie to her.”
“Fuck!” Connell turned as if to chase after Lynn.
“One step ahead of you, bro. Ari’s already on her way. She’s taking the back road to my place. She’ll pick up Ellie and Lynn, and take them back to the LariaT Ranch,” Quinn said to ease his brother’s nerves.
Donnor wasn’t sure that was a brilliant plan either. “Will Ari be safe with Naomi? Even for a few minutes.”
Cian stood shoulder to shoulder with his brothers. “I can return if you’re concerned, Connell.”
“Not necessary,” Quinn stated. “Ari has the old Peacemaker.”
“And the silver-cased rounds?” Donnor asked. “Those would definitely put Naomi in her place.”
Quinn nodded and smiled.
Donnor chuckled. “In other words, you hope Naomi misbehaves.”
He shrugged. “Wouldn’t be adverse to the idea.”
“It’d give Ari a reasonable excuse to terminate the whiny wench.” Donnor hadn’t had much interaction with the vamp, but she’d rubbed him the wrong way. The Peacemaker definitely offered peace to a vampire. Everlasting peace.
Donnor remembered when Quinn had hired the master gunsmith to make the weapon in the mid eighteen-hundreds. Designed to kill anything, but especially vampires. Upon impact, the casing split open and the small canister inside released water blessed by a Mexican priest from a ramshackle town within