Chapter Three
EVEN AS SHE told Aidanthat Maeve waited in the beyond for him, something felt off about it. Yet when she saw hope flare in his thickly lashed pale turquoise eyes, she kept from voicing her concern. While one part of her felt crushing pressure in her chest at the immense love he felt for another woman, she didn’t have the heart to dissuade him.
Suddenly free of the bizarre words she’d uttered, she tried to gather herself. She was caught somewhere between immense curiosity and the incredible sensation of being in his presence. It wasn’t just his gorgeous good looks but the—what should she call it?—the sheerpowercoming off of him.
“What is that?” she whispered, peering at him. “What am I feeling?”
Was it simply being near someone with such a tall, broad-shouldered frame? Was it the confidence radiating off him though she sensed he was at his most vulnerable? She frowned at his jeans and winter jacket and shook her head, speaking before she gave it much thought. “You’re not even dressed right.”
She swallowed hard and kept shaking her head. What the hell did she mean by that? He was dressed fine.
Yet it seemed all wrong.
His lovesick-for-another-woman gaze stayed on her as he sought more information about Maeve without uttering a word. He went to speak but stopped and blinked several times as if caught in the same strange place as her.
Because it was definitely strange.
Almost otherworldly.
“We will talk more,” he finally managed, gesturing in the direction of the Stonehenge. “After we...return to Julie.”
“Julie?” She frowned, vaguely wondering why she wasn’t more baffled by all this, but she wasn’t. Rather, her mind brimmed with more questions. Where had he come from? How did he know Tiernan? Where was Julie? Yet, instead of asking all those questions, she glanced in the direction of Mystery Hill then back to him before she nodded and started toward the Stonehenge. “Yeah, okay, we’ll talk then.”
Talkthen? When? And aboutwhatprecisely? She knew deep down, though, in a place that made no sense, yet she somehow understood. That was the only way to put it. There was plenty to talk about. Lots to learn. Perhaps evenrecall. As though the answers lie within her, but she couldn’t quite remember. It wasn’t just her instincts as a journalist at work either but...something else. Something made up of her dreams. Her ring.Him. Even Maeve.
It all tied together somehow.
Rather than answer her previous questions or continue asking about Maeve, Aidan remained silent as they walked through the woods, crossing from North Salem into Salem. Strangely enough, she remained uncharacteristically silent too. Mainly because she couldn’t make sense of things. She was out in the middle of nowhere with a strange man she'd met in a dream. Something should be said about that. But no, she remained silent, her thoughts going in a million directions.
Not to say she wasn’t wholly aware of him.
It wasn't every day she came across a Scotsman never mind one that looked like him. His thick, tousled hair was dark chocolate brown, almost black, and his chiseled features were striking. He had well-sculptured lips, prominent cheekbones, a strong jaw, and a straight nose. Normally, his sort of looks would have stopped her in her tracks.
But none of this was normal.
Eventually, they closed in on the Stonehenge, and her curiosity finally took over. Something her ex had found tiresome and likely Aidan would too. All men did. But that never stopped her from pursuing the truth. Then moving on to the next truth. And the next. Because there was always more out there. Always more to be revealed.
“Why am I here, Aidan?” She slowed as they approached the rocks, drawn to a certain location. “Why areyouhere?” Though tempted to look at him, she wasn’t ready to see the pain in his eyes again. So she checked out the cluster of stones toward the center of the site. The supposed sacrificial table that had been vandalized a few months back. “Please tell me all you know.”
Because he knew a lot and she had no idea why she felt that.
She slipped on gloves and brushed snow off the sacrificial rock the best she could before crouching beside it. Why would anyone think this was legit? That it dated back thousands of years?
Yet as she touched it, such strong curiosity overcame her, it took her breath away.
“I am here to get you, lass,” Aidan said softly, crouching beside her. He didn’t look at her but kept his eyes firmly on the stone. “You are drawn to this, aye?”
“Aren’t you?” she whispered before nausea swelled, and she stood. “Or maybe not.”
“What is it, Chloe?” He stood as well and frowned at her. “What just happened?”
“Don't you feel it?” she whispered, not sure whatitwas. “First something good, then something bad...really bad.”
She'd read the police report about what had been done to this stone in October, so maybe her imagination was just getting the best of her. According to the land owners, it looked like power tools had been used to mar the rock, but she wasn't so sure. Law enforcement claimed a cross had been left at the site. It looked like some sort of ritual had been performed. A logical conclusion she supposed.
The truth was she wouldn’t have cared either way because she hadn't thought this place was legit. Yet now, she felt differently, and she wasn't sure why. Aidan did, though, didn't he? She met his eyes, wishing she hadn’t because they made concentrating difficult. But she needed answers, so she focused on what he had said. “What do you mean you’re here to get me?”
Some women might be alarmed by a strange man saying that. Especially one who could easily overpower her. But she felt safe. Protected. If she were thinking clearly, she would have rolled her eyes at that. Honestly, in every handbook ever written, she had already catastrophically failed at how-not-to-get-kidnapped 101. Yet here she stood minus self-defense skills and nothing to defend herself with. The icing on top? She didn't even have her cell phone to call for help.
