Page 71 of Anywhere

“What do ya mean, she tried ta kill ya again?”

“I tried the talking thing, and she agreed she would behave if I let her out, so we didn’t have to sit in the cell. Then, as soon as we walked out the door, she hit me with a spell. I have a fucking lump on the back of my head from hitting it so hard against the wall.” I pointed to the ice pack I’d been using. “She’s dangerous.”

Rhys lifted a brow at me, and I squirmed. “I tink we all be dangerous. So what did ya do wit her?”

“She’s in the bathroom, and I sealed the door,” I said, pointing to the large wooden door.

Both Rhys and Mari looked in that direction.

Rhys stepped into the room. “I’ma sorry. Did ya just say ya locked her in the loo? Lockin’ her up in da dungeon wasn’t bad enough, ya had to lock her in da loo too?” Rhys ran his hand through his sexy faux hawk.

“What else was I supposed to do with her? I tried to be nice. What she did was a total bitch move. Then she took off for the door and left me for dead. Some number three. What is it with all of you that you hate me, anyway?” I smiled widely.

“But I loved the barrier you put in place. She landed on her ass real good when she hit that.” My smile faded as Rhys continued to stare. “What? I had to do something with her.”

“Did ya, by chance, offer her a meal or some clean clothes, maybe? Did ya even try ta explain what be goin’ on and the triad like I asked you to?”

My back bristled with annoyance. How was it that he managed to make me feel like an idiot without calling me one? I wasn’t sure which was worse, my father, who outright said I was an idiot, or Rhys, who just stared at me.

“Mari, I know dis is gonna be a big ask….” Rhys started, and I felt a growl form in my throat as Mari reached out and grabbed his arm. A shot of heat shot through me, and my chest tingled.

“Yes, I can take care of her and will make sure she’s still here for you to talk to when you get back, but you better get going,” Mari said.

It wasn’t what they said or even how they said it. It was the way Rhys immediately turned to her for help and how she readily accepted. They had this connection that allowed them to communicate without saying a word. I never wanted anything more than to have a good fuck and leave, but this triad bullshit was turning me into a raving lunatic where Rhys was concerned. Luckily, that hadn’t started yet with Elewyen, but I was pretty sure that the same thing was going to happen.

“Thank ya. I owe ya one,” Rhys said.

Mari went to the bathroom door, and Rhys turned to me. “If ya want ta know what is goin’ on, den ya need ta follow me.”

Rhys turned and disappeared out the door. Oh, hell no. I was getting some answers.

“Hey, where are you going?” I called after Rhys.

He looked over his shoulder but kept walking. It felt like the first night I was here all over again. “I need ta go pack. If ya wanna talk, then yer gonna need ta walk faster.”

“Where are you going now? You haven’t even told me what happened out there,” I said. My long strides ate up the ground until I was walking beside him. “Did you find the village?”

“Aye, we found it. Then we went for a drive to see if me suspicions were right, and they were. Whoever is doin’ this is tryin’ to starve us and kill us off or turn all the villages against us. I was wonderin’ why da hunters are so aggressive lately, and I now know. Dey tink we be settin’ the fires and killin’ all dose people, just like Elewyen thought.”

“I don’t understand. How can they starve us out?” I asked as Rhys pushed open the door to his room. Conversations would be a lot easier if we just stayed in the same damn room.

“They be burnin’ all da fields. All da fall harvest has been destroyed, and by burnin’ the villagers, dey are turnin’ our own island against us,” Rhys said as he walked into the closet. I leaned against the door frame and watched him pull out a duffel bag.

“Okay, that doesn’t explain where you’re going?” I crossed my arms over my chest, prepared to blockade the door until I got some fucking answers.

He bent over, and my eyes couldn’t help wandering. Damn, he was sexy. It was messing with my head. Rhys needed to start wearing pants. The kilt’s easy access was like an all-you-can-eat buffet full of your favourite dessert.

“Earth ta Rook. Did ya hear what me said?”

My eyes found Rhys’s. He had stood up, but in my mind, he was bent over and screaming my name as I pounded into him.

“Say what?”

“Were you checkin’ out me arse?”

I lifted a brow and made a huffing sound, but the bulge in my jeans told a totally different story. “Just tell me what you said again.”

“I’m headin’ ta Maughold castle ta talk wit the McCabes and the McKinnons. I’m sure dat your cousin Lochlan will join the meetin’. Then I be headin’ to Glentruan to make preparations fir us ta go there. We will be movin’ ta me home castle when I get back in a couple days.”