Relic (The Brethren Series) Read online

  It was time for action, and although he wasn’t a Protector, he declared himself her bodyguard.

  He knew exactly what needed to be done. He would take Serena to a safe place while she healed and the Brethren would take care of whoever wanted her dead. The Brethren had a safe house. Michael, a Protector, had shielded it. His wife, Emma, the Great Savior Mother, could heal Serena’s injuries with one visit. During her stay, they’d find out why she looked and spoke like his Sirona, his dead wife. Yes, a plan like that was sure to work. Now, all he had to do was get her to agree to it.

  ***

  By the time everything calmed down, evening had settled in. Security hadn’t found the guy, but they posted a guard at Serena’s door and called the police to send out an APB using the nurse’s description. Raphael still wasn’t convinced she would be safe. Doctors were finishing up their evaluation. He heard them noting some bruising around her neck and a raspy voice, a condition they assured her would not be permanent. One of the nurses looked ready to send him home. He’d been pacing up and down the corridor for the past half hour. When the doctors finally left Serena’s room, he went in.

  “It seems I owe you another thank you, Raphael, for saving my life again,” Serena croaked. She took a sip of water and placed the cup on her bedside table with a trembling hand. “It’s the same guy, you know. The same guy who put me here in the first place. I think I really pissed him off when I fought back and head-butted him. He’s a lunatic. I don’t think he’ll stop until I’m dead.” Her lips quivered, and she said nothing more as she began to cry softly. Tears overflowed their shores and cascaded down her cheeks.

  “Hey.” Raphael swiftly came up next to her. “It’s going to be all right, Serena. I promise.” He reached out and lightly caressed her cheek, creating invisible threads of connection between them. Her eyes fluttered while he sent minute waves of comfort coursing down those threads. It was the least, and yet quite literally the most, he could do.

  Her crying slowly ebbed, and she looked at him, really, for the first time. What she saw took her breath away. Raphael stood solid. Quite a man, with broad shoulders that seemed to be able to hold the weight of the world and probably did, she guessed. His muscular arms stretched the black T-shirt he wore to its limits, and yet he had touched her tenderly. When Serena looked at his chiseled face, she lost herself in its symmetry and the beauty of his eyes. Two pools of brilliant blue, like the Aegean Sea, stared at her through long black lashes and made her cheeks flush. For a breathless moment, she dared to stare back only to retreat seconds later.

  “I…I’m so tired, Raphael.”

  “I should go then.” He dropped his hand from her cheek.

  “Please don’t,” she blurted out before she could stop herself. “I mean, I know I have a guard at my door. But they’re zero and one, and you’re two for two. I’d just…I’d feel more comfortable if you were here. Can you…would you…consider staying? Only until I fall asleep?” She felt an irrational need to have this man near. This stranger. But for some reason, the doctors and nurses felt more like strangers than he did.

  “Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “I’ll stay.”

  He stroked her hair softly, lulling her to calm. “Now close your eyes and sleep. Tomorrow will take care of itself. You’ve nothing to fear tonight.”

  ***

  Serena slept fitfully, at times calling out for his help while jerking and flailing her arms about and at others, having full-blown, one-sided conversations in Gaelic. He stayed right there to soothe her with shameless murmurings of love, and stolen feather-light kisses on her worried brow. Through it all, she never awoke. He knew he’d pay dearly for those indulgences later, but he could no more stop a tsunami from wiping out an entire village than stop the desire to touch who could somehow be his long-lost love.

  In the moments of calm, Raphael worked. He called Michael to get the safe-house ready, and Kemuel to help with locating the thug hell-bent on killing this enigmatic woman. He knew they would act first and ask questions later. To know the why of Serena’s predicament would be the all-important question when she awoke. Then he called E.L.

  He would surely have some answers for me regarding Sirona. But am I ready for them?

  ***

  “I’ve been expecting your call.”

  “Whatever happened to saying hello first, E.L.?” Raphael jabbed.

  “Why bother saying hello when I knew you would be calling?”

  “So you know that I’ve just had my past come back to life. That I also met a woman who speaks and looks like Sirona, but isn’t, since we laid her to rest a millennia or so ago!” He paused to take a deep breath and try to calm his uneasy nerves. “So, I’m asking you. What gives?”

  “I would imagine that as much as you wanted to erase all traces of Sirona from your mind and heart, your soul couldn’t bear the thought and retained some essence of her. This woman seems to have triggered something within to make you believe she is Sirona. Mortal or immortal, our souls are tricky buggers. If you’d like, I could try again. It would only take a moment for me to wipe Sirona and all memories of her from your mind. I could do so right over the phone. The woman you speak of would be only that to you, a woman. She would no longer conjure up the images of your long lost wife.”

  “No, no,” he said hastily, and decidedly eased back. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “So that’s the way of it, is it?” E.L. chuckled. “You feel something for this woman who’s channeling Sirona’s soul. It’s been a long time since you’ve felt that kind of connection. Tread carefully. The first time you lost her, for all intents and purposes, you lost yourself.”

  “The first time? You say that as if she really is Sirona. Yet you say she’s channeling her. How is any of this possible? I need to know how she can call out for me as her soul mate when asleep, yet see me as just some kind stranger when awake. Is or isn’t she Sirona?”

  “I wish I could be of some help, but….”

  “Yeah, right. I know your line of bull. All things become clear in the end. But until that time, you move us around like we’re your own personal chess pieces. Ahh! I knew I probably shouldn’t have called you. I’m more frustrated now than before. Promise me something, all right? Promise me that this will all work out when all is said and done.”

  “Now, Raphael, you do jest….” Dead air on the phone. His boss had disconnected.

  He returned to his vigil next to Serena’s bed and studied her more closely. She puzzled him, and the startling likeness of Sirona from the build of her body to the long lashes that lay fringed on her cheeks, right down to the way her hair fell about her shoulders, toyed with his mind. The unsettling image brought with it an unwelcome rebirth of feelings long since dormant. How would he reconcile the two women? He had no clue.

  Deciding a game of solitaire would be the perfect mindless distraction to help solve the issue, he pulled out a deck of cards. After three games, he found himself no closer to an answer.

  “Queen of Hearts to the King of Spades.”

  He turned to discover Serena awake. “Thanks. You should go back to sleep. It’s early.” He put the cards down and frowned. “Are you okay? Are you in any pain? Should I call the nurse?” Do you remember my touch and kisses during the night? I do, damn it. Looking at her innocent eyes, however, he could detect no awareness of what had gone on during the night. Lord, I’m so relieved. And she’s fascinating. I’m so screwed.

  “I’m fine, Raphael,” she said with a yawn. “I don’t want to sleep anymore. You’re here early. Wait, you’re wearing the same clothes as yesterday. And you’ve got a bit more than a five o’clock shadow going on…. Oh, hell, you never left, did you? You must’ve misunderstood me. I only asked you to stay until I fell asleep. I’m so sorry.”

  “I understood you well enough. I felt better staying though. And I’m not sorry, so don’t you be. Now, if you’re not going back to sleep, what would you like to do?” He fanned the cards out in his hands. “We coul
d play cards.”

  “Can we talk, maybe?” She bit her lip. “Would you mind?”

  “What do you want to talk about?” he asked, guardedly.

  “I’d actually like to share with you the whole story of why you found me in the desert. I think you deserve a full explanation given all you’ve done for me. That way, there are no secrets between us.”

  That’s what you think, sweet goddess. “All right. Go on.”

  ***

  “You can’t say anything about the statue to the police, Raphael. I’m not even sure I should have told you all that I just did, but now I’ve got to trust that you’ll keep this between us.”

  “I won’t say a word, I promise. You’ve gotta know, you’re not safe here anymore. I know there’s a guard outside your door, but he could be compromised easily enough. I’d like to make an offer, which I hope you’ll accept.”

  “What kind of offer?” she asked, warily.

  “My company has a ranch house we use when we want to get away from it all. It’s secluded, has all the latest security, and is beautiful and serene. I’d like to take you there with me…to recuperate. One of my teammates is a healer, so she can ease the pain away. You wouldn’t have to worry about a thing, and I’d have peace of mind knowing you’re safe.”

  “That’s quite an offer. I don’t know what to say, really. I’m grateful, mind you. It sounds wonderful. But when I’m eventually released, I’ve got to get back to my place and…oh, my place. I can’t really go back there now, can I? At least not the way it is….” Her voice trailed off as her mind began to wander and worry.

  “Serena, you need to drop off the radar for a while,” he pressed. “My company and I can help you do that.”

  “What is it that you do, anyway?” she asked, refocusing on their conversation.

  “The Brethren and Brethren Security provide protection, healing, and…law enforcement services to anyone in need.”

  “I definitely don’t think my insurance would pick that up, and I don’t have the kind of money it sounds like one would need to acquire your services. I’m tapped out. That’s why I gave up my search for my brother. Otherwise, I’d still be out there, and probably a lot healthier than I am right now.” She grimaced as she readjusted her position on the bed. He helped her with a pillow.

  “Our services are free. We have a benevolent benefactor. Please say you’ll let me take you there.” He kneeled down on one knee and grasped both of her hands. “If not, you’re going to have to deal with me as a roommate in these tight quarters for the remainder of your stay. Just so you know what to expect,” he teased. “I pace the floor a lot during the night and sing bawdy Irish tunes.”

  What a charmer, she thought. A hottie with an adorable personality.

  How did I get so lucky? Down girl, you’re not thinking clearly. You don’t even know him, really. He’s just the guy who saved you…okay, the guy who saved you twice. But he’s only being nice since he happens to work in a field for which those services are coming in handy at the moment.

  But something about him—something familiar, as impossible as it sounded—made it difficult for her to reject his offer. An indefinable connection between them that grew stronger as he spent more time with her.

  Aw, hell. You nearly died…twice! Live in the moment, girl!

  “Okay!” She threw her hands up in the air in surrender and shook her head. “Okay, I’ll do it. I accept your offer. Thank you.”

  “Good! I still have a couple of things to discuss with you, but they can keep until we get to the ranch and you’re feeling stronger. I’ll go and get the paperwork rolling on your release. You can rest easy now, Serena. You will be safe again.” He looked at her long and hard, which brought a shivery flush all over her body.

  He got up and left. She could hear him alerting the guard to let absolutely no visitors in until his return. In under an hour and with the necessary papers filed, courtesy of The Brethren and Raphael’s art of persuasion, she found herself nestled in his arms as he walked out of the hospital.

  Chapter Seven

  Sprawling ranch? Serena gazed out the car window in wonder. Raphael’s home away from home stood as a red rock fortress that seemed to blend into its companion cliffs. They weren’t that far from the heart of Sedona, oddly enough. She recognized the area as being near the Boynton Canyon vortex. Knowing all she did about vortexes, she was pleasantly surprised. Staying here would definitely help put her body and mind back into balance.

  She knew her uncharacteristic frailty would diminish as her strength returned. Physically, she grew stronger, slowly but surely. Emotionally, however, bouts of depression and anxiety left her an absolute mess. She had to give herself some latitude, though. When she first woke in the hospital and had been able to understand her doctors, she found out she could never have children because of how badly she’d been beaten in the desert. Just one more dream dashed to bits to add to the haunted hallways of her home, along with the husband and menagerie of animals.

  “This is perfect, Raphael,” she gushed, scanning all about as he lifted her out of the car.

  “I thought you’d say that. It is quite a spectacular view.”

  Serena caught him gazing down at her and she quickly peered away, trying her damnedest to hide a girlish grin.

  As they approached the cavernous entrance to the house, she wondered how he intended to open the door without putting her down. He wasn’t struggling to find a key. Instead, his deep, penetrating voice called out a command, “Door open!” The door released.

  “Pretty nifty trick you got there,” she quipped.

  “Nothing up my sleeves, simply the latest in voice recognition technology.” He flashed a toothy grin.

  As he looked toward the doorway, he froze.

  She could tell he’d instantly gone a million miles away. His rugged face softened and his eyes glazed over. If she could hazard a guess, she would say memories of something or someone wonderful had pulled him away.

  How nice to have remembrances that could produce that kind of response.

  She figured when she healed, Raphael’s remembrances of her would yield a much darker, tenser expression. She found herself jealous of a memory, and filled with shame. Unable to handle being in his arms any longer, Serena brought him back to the present.

  “You can put me down now. I can walk, you know.” She bristled.

  The softness in his face faded briefly to yearning before it settled into a mask of cold restraint. He then continued through the doorway. “I’ll just plant you on the couch for now. I’m sure you’ve had enough of being in a bed all day long, and the view of the mountains is stellar. I believe Emma said there would be lunch waiting for us. I’ll go check on it.”

  “Fine.” I made a mistake coming here. Something is going on with Raphael, and somehow I’m the catalyst. But why? One minute he was all lusty, looking at her with such longing. Had she imagined the intensity in his eyes back there by the car? And the next he’s all business, cold and distant. Serena decided to confront him over lunch and tell him to bring her back to the hospital. It was for the best, really. She’d begun to have feelings for him, feelings she’d never had for another man, ever. This wouldn’t do. Not at all.

  In the light of day, she could see she had a thing for her savior. He reminded her of the mysterious, faceless lover who visited her every night in erotic dreams she’d had since holding the relic. It unnerved her.

  I gotta get over this. First of all, it’s not realistic. I know next to nothing about him, and he knows even less about me. If I stay here, my emotions will get the best of me and make it unbearable to be in the same room with him. Secondly, what man in his right mind would want a woman so damaged? Third, he’ll leave me like everyone else I’ve loved in my life has done. Regrettably, I’ve let him get closer to me than any other man. But damn it, for some intangible reason I can’t help it!

  “Here it is!” Raphael called out. “One Spicy Italian foot-long sub, chips, cooki
e, and a soda, courtesy of Emma…and Subway, of course.” He looked like a waiter as he brought in their lunches. She smiled in spite of herself. He’d placed a towel over his arm and carried the snack tray high above his shoulders.

  “Tips are not necessary but appreciated.” He continued in his waiter role, placing the tray on the coffee table before her and the towel on her lap.

  Okay, now we’ve got the playful, adorable Raphael. His moods change so much, I’m dizzy.

  “I’ve got a tip for you. Life is uncertain…eat dessert first.” While he sat down next to her, she quickly snatched up the chocolate chip cookie and took a big bite, moaning in ecstasy. “Oh Raphael, you’ve got to have some.” With the cookie still warm, chocolate oozed everywhere, and Serena felt the sinful sweetness threaten to drip down her chin.

  That simple suggestion seemed to send Raphael over the edge. Leaning in, he held her face in his hands and kissed her before she could say or do anything. He licked her chocolate-laden lips and teased her mouth open with his tongue. Shocked at first, she quickly succumbed to her own burgeoning feelings and answered him back with equal enthusiasm. All thoughts of returning to the hospital left as she wrapped her arms around his waist to keep him firmly against her.

  He murmured words she didn’t understand as he laid a trail over the corner of her mouth, along her cheek to the sensitive part behind her ear, and she shuddered. The lover Serena had seen lurking behind watchful eyes surfaced. This was the man who’d gotten under her skin.

  Here is where I get off the bus!

  She couldn’t believe how quickly she’d followed him down this maddening path. She couldn’t let this go on. Too much way too soon. Funny thing about it, he reminded her so much of her dream lover, but still. Coming back to her senses, she disengaged and leaned back. She touched his cheek as his eyes still smoldered with heat.