Page 8 of Dark Medicine

“That’s right. I’m a hired American gun. The baddest of the badasses. You come near her, and I will fucking kill every one of you, and I will start with your women and children.”

Adam would never harm women or children unless they were armed and attempting to harm him or those he loved. But he needed this boy to be scared and take his message seriously. He'd done more than his fair share of killing while deployed, but this wasn’t exactly where he thought a hotbed of activity would be.

“Okay! Okay, I’ll tell them,” he squeaked out.

Adam lifted his knee from the boy’s chest and reached for Fiona’s hand. Her other was still grasping the bat tightly. The man behind her stirred slightly, the other one still lying in a pool of his own blood.

“Let’s go,” he said, pulling her toward him. “Can you run?”

She nodded but held to the bat. He reached for it, gripping both ends, he snapped it over his knee like a twig. A loud crack echoed through the hills, and he tossed the pieces into the creek below. The young boy stared wide-eyed at Adam.

“Let’s go, honey,” he said, grabbing her hand.

They jogged slowly at first, side by side, and then Fiona picked up the pace again and took off like a demon on a mission. She ran so fast and so furious Adam struggled to keep up. Just as he was about to yell at her, he noticed her heaving shoulders. She was sobbing uncontrollably, fear forcing her to run faster.

“Fiona, stop! Fiona! Stop!” he yelled.

She stopped, a sudden hard stop, and looked up at him. Her blue eyes were swimming in tears, and his heart nearly exploded. Pulling her tight against him, he held her while she cried, gasping for air.

“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay,” he whispered, rubbing her back. “Come on. We’re close now. Let’s walk the rest of the way.”

Adam held her hand all the way to the car. Once in the car, he took the wheel and programmed the address of the B&B where his friends were staying. Fiona leaned her head against the window, ragged breaths coming between sobs. The last time she had been scared but thought it was a one-time incident. This time, they said they were after her. How could anyone know about her?

Looking up, she noticed that the car had stopped. Adam pulled into the parking area for the B&B, and Fiona looked at him with confusion.

“How did you know this is where I was going?” she asked. He looked at her and back at the large estate.

“I didn’t,” he said casually, “it’s where I needed to go and where my friends are. Let’s get showered and changed. You and I need to talk.”

CHAPTER SIX

It took Fiona nearly an hour to shower and change her clothes. She stood under the hot spray for nearly twenty minutes, trying to warm her bones and chase the chill away. When she stepped into the shower and felt the blessed warmth, she sobbed so hard she thought she might never recover. Her ribs hurt desperately afterwards, her eyes burning from the shed tears.

Pulling on her worn denim jeans, a small rip at the knee, and her favorite blue sweater and brown loafers, she looked in the mirror and decided it wasn’t worth it to try and apply makeup.

Her hair fell in big waves down her back. The light of the midday sun caught the gold and auburn highlights of the fire red. She opened the door and heard voices downstairs. One, she was certain, was Adam, but the others were unfamiliar.

Descending the stairs, the voices became louder but still not clear enough to understand. When she rounded the corner to the sitting room, Adam was standing by the fireplace, his handsome face filled with a concerned expression. He was wearing black utility pants with a tight black long-sleeved t-shirt, his muscles visible with every breath. To Fiona, he looked every bit the killer he proclaimed himself to be on the mountain.

“Hello,” she said tentatively.

“Fiona,” he said, moving toward her. He wrapped his big arms around her, and she sighed into his chest, nearly breaking into tears again. “You okay, honey?”

“I think so,” she said, forcing a smile from her lips. Tears threatened to spill once more, but she forced them back.

“Fiona, these are my friends. This is Kane and his fiancée Aislinn.”

“Aislinn,” she said in an Irish tone, “you’re the one getting married. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Fiona, but how are you? Do you need anything?” she asked, genuinely concerned.

Her big brown eyes were so large they almost looked too large for her face. But it was a kind face framed with massive amounts of sable-colored hair. The man standing next to her stood protectively. He was bigger than Adam was and heavier. His light brown hair and hazel eyes gave a darker, more dangerous look.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking, though.”

“This is Phillip, or we call him ‘Flip’ and Van,” he said.

“I go by Spook, but you can call me Van or Spook. I answer to both,” said the bright-eyed man. He was a few inches taller than Fiona but completely different in looks to the others. He had auburn hair and sparkling blue eyes, his skin tanned from the outdoors. An extreme intelligence oozed from him. Fiona shook his hand and smiled.

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