Midnight's Captive (Dark Warriors) by Donna Grant Page A

gardens.
    He parked the car and did a quick look around. There were people moving about doing their daily work, but it was the few men he saw posted about the land that told him Dreagan kept things secure.
    But how secure against a Warrior?
    He gave Laura a nod and they exited the car together. Charon looked over his shoulder in time to see a glimpse of a man leaving the forest, the same man he’d seen watching them.
    A quick look at his watch showed they were ten minutes early. Charon would like to roam around on his own, but he doubted he’d be given that opportunity.
    The tinkle of water could be heard, and he knew if he looked behind one of the buildings, he’d find a stream.
    “Hello,” said a woman as she came toward them.
    Laura returned her smile. “Hello.”
    The woman stopped in front of Charon’s Mercedes and clasped her hands before her. “You must be Charon Bruce.”
    Charon met the dark brown eyes of the woman, noting her long, straight dark brown-colored hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore dress slacks, a button-down shirt, and heels.
    She looked the part of a businesswoman, but there was something about her which set off warning bells in Charon’s head that was more than just her American accent.
    “I’m Cassie Wilson. I’ll bring you to the offices and give you a small tour before your appointment with Con.”
    She said all the right things, but Charon wasn’t fooled. Her eyes were too direct, as if she were searching for something.
    There was no hint of magic that Charon recognized surrounding Dreagan. That didn’t mean there wasn’t something going on. The privacy, the hidden men keeping guard? There was more to Dreagan than what was on the surface.
    But what was it?
    “Charon?” Laura asked.
    He folded his arms over his chest and looked at Cassie. “Why was I brought here?”
    Cassie’s smile grew before she laughed. “Let’s just say that Con and the others don’t do things in a hurry. They like to take their time and investigate.”
    As much as Charon wanted to be a certified seller of Dreagan scotch, he wasn’t sure he could take the chance. No matter how he had looked, nothing came up about Dreagan or who ran it besides Constantine.
    And finding a photo of the bastard was impossible.
    Charon found himself rubbing his chest. He dropped his hand, but glimpsed Laura’s worried frown. After the last battle with Wallace, Charon was cautious of everyone.
    “Investigate? What an odd choice of wording.”
    “Not really,” Cassie answered. “It’s what they did. Dreagan isn’t the world’s leading scotch distributor for nothing, Mr. Bruce.”
    “I’m no’ interested in being investigated.” What the hell would happen if they discovered his past identities and just how long he’d been in Ferness? That’s not something Charon wanted to try to explain.
    “You’re wary of us.” Cassie’s smile was gone, but her dark eyes held an openness he hadn’t seen before.
    “One can never be too guarded.”
    Her gaze looked to the ground for just a moment before she swallowed. “Talk to Con, Mr. Bruce. He’s … guarded … as well. I think the two of you might get along better than you think. Despite him employing an American,” she finished with a laugh.
    “I know several lasses from America. They’re good women. I doona hold that against you.”
    Her eyes crinkled in the corners as she smiled brightly. “Good. Now, come. Let me show you Dreagan.”
    At Laura’s questioning look, Charon merely shook his head. He couldn’t tell her his worries. Not now.
    Not ever.
    As Laura moved to stand beside him, Charon had the overwhelming urge to take her hand and thread his fingers with hers. To keep from doing that, he put his hand on her lower back and felt the current that moved between them.
    She stiffened for just an instant before her body relaxed. Had he helped ease her tension just by touching her? This reckless need, the uncontrollable hunger for Laura was driving