Faith fell back on the bed with the towel still wrapped around her from the shower. It felt so good to get the dirt off her and to be warm and clean again. Wet hair clung to her neck and face, but her thoughts were on death.
The ending of a life always had a profound effect on others. Some pretended it didn’t bother them, but it was a lie. Someone passing out of this life into the next was a reminder of just how fragile the human body was.
And how quickly a life could be snuffed out.
Her thoughts drifted to the dragon bones. One of her mother’s favorite sayings was that all life was precious. The dragon was just as valuable as a human life. At least, that was her thinking.
It was sad that others didn’t share that philosophy. Though it was something Faith had learned to accept since few rarely agreed with her thinking. They thought her too soft-hearted.
So what if she stopped her car to allow a butterfly to flit undisturbed across the road.
Why did it bother people that she caught and freed lizards, frogs, and geckos that regularly got into her house?
Who did it hurt when she pulled over and halted traffic to help a turtle make it over a busy street?
Her actions did nothing but help animals—and make her smile. Life was precious. Man may be at the top of the food chain, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t—and shouldn’t—treat animals with kindness and respect.
She wished she knew if the dragon had been treated thus because she couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible had happened to it.
More answers were beneath the dirt, but she would have to wait another day to find them. For now, she was needed in the village.
Faith sat up and let out a sigh. The first thing she’d done upon arriving in the village was go and see the body of the dead worker. She hated that she hadn’t remembered his name without being told. It wasn’t that she didn’t care. It was that there were so many workers and she concentrated on doing her job.
The truth was, her excuse was lame. She should know all of their names. These people wanted to be at the dig to uncover history just as she did. The least she could do was acknowledge them.
Not that she had that problem with Muscles.
Her thoughts halted at the image of him that popped into her mind. There was no reason for her to think of him. Why did he have to push his way into her head?
Now that he was there, there was no pushing him out. No matter how hard she tried.
She rose and dropped the towel before rummaging in her bag for clean clothes. Her determination was strong to forget about Muscles for the day.
Why then did she think about his palms running up her legs when she put on her panties? Why did she imagine his hands cupping her breasts when she clasped her bra into place?
Her mouth went dry as she recalled being within the confines of his strong arms. Her stomach clenched as she remembered how his azure eyes had watched her.
She bit her lip as her nipples puckered. Yearning—powerful and fervent—coiled lasciviously through her. It encouraged and compelled her to follow through with the longing within her.
Her palm flattened on her stomach and rose upward to her aching breasts as her eyes slid closed. She could practically feel Muscles’ heat enveloping her as it had the night before.
How stupid of her not to take advantage of their time alone. She wanted him. And she should’ve grasped the chance that had been given her.
She was jerked out of her illusion by a knock at the door. Her eyes snapped open, and her hand dropped to her side.
“Faith?”
She was more than a little disappointed that it wasn’t Dmitri’s deep brogue she heard. “Yes?” she called out to Tamir.
“We’re gathering below.”
“I’ll be right down.”
She dropped her chin to her chest for a moment. In that second, she gave in to everything she felt for Muscles. Then she shoved it aside.
Dressing quickly in a pair of her favorite jeans that went everywhere with her, a white sweater, and brown boots, she was prepared to face death.
She quickly blow-dried her hair, added a bit of lipgloss, and a pair of gold stud earrings. Then she was out the door and down the stairs.
Tamir was waiting for her. He gave her a half-smile and held out her coat. As soon as she walked outside and felt the bracing wind, her mind once more went to Muscles and how he’d stood unmoved in it the night before.
“They’re at the hall,” Tamir said as they crossed the street.
Faith nodded. There were so few people on the isle that they had no restaurants or pubs. The only place to find anything to eat was the bird observatory. “I need to give the authorities the address to return the body to his family.”
“I can take care of that.”
“I should do it,” she insisted.
As if knowing that would be her answer, Tamir pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. “It has all of the information needed.”
“Thank you.” She put it in her pocket and glanced at Tamir. He had worry lines bracketing his mouth and a frown that had yet to disperse. But it was the look of fear in his dark eyes that told her he was deeply troubled. “What is it?”
“Evil,” he whispered. He came to a stop and faced her.
She halted and looked at him. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was talking about, but he spoke before she could.
“It’s everywhere. Don’t you feel it?” he asked urgently, his eyes darting around.
She put her hand on his arm, hoping it would calm him. “We’ve had something traumatic affect us. We’re all feeling out of sorts.”
“No.” He gave a firm shake of his head. “We shouldn’t be here or messing with those bones. The evil wants what you’ve found, and it won’t stop until it has it.”
“I’m not going to let anyone get to my dragon.” She was a little taken aback to hear the anger in her words.
Tamir swallowed and looked away. “It’s wrong. All of this is. We should leave and never return.”
He walked past her into the observatory. She watched the door close behind him, shaken by the ferocity of his words. He believed what he’d spoken to the depths of his soul. She’d known Tamir a long time, and she’d never seen him like this.
Faith looked around the quiet village. The few people she spotted were all staring at her. Did they feel the same as Tamir?
Suddenly, she wished Dmitri were there. It wasn’t just his calming presence, but Muscles had a way of looking at a situation. And right now, she could use some help.
It wasn’t as if she could seek him out since he’d remained behind at the site. Perhaps that’s where she should’ve stayed, as well.
Faith pivoted and walked to the house at the end of the road. With so few residents, there was only a volunteer emergency Coastguard team, volunteer firefighters, and a nurse.
She knocked on the door and smiled at the older woman who acted as nurse for Fair Isle. “Hi. I have the information to send . . . the body . . . home.”
The woman’s smile was sad. “Ach, dear. Police from Orkney will be here in the morn. You can speak to them about such matters.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you.”
She turned away as the door was closing. Apparently, the villagers didn’t want her there any more than Tamir did. Faith drew out the piece of paper as she made her way back to the hall. She turned it around and around between her fingers.
How had—she opened the paper and looked at the name to remind herself again—Roger died? There hadn’t been a mark on his body. He was young for a stroke, and since workers took physicals before being allowed on the dig site, there hadn’t been a pre-existing condition. Though that didn’t rule out a heart attack.
It wasn’t unheard of for a younger man to suffer a heart attack, but it was still odd. And for him to be found naked in his room . . .
Something didn’t add up.
She looked back over her shoulder and saw a figure behind her. It was a man, and he appeared to be watching her. When she stopped and stared, he ducked behind a building.
Tamir felt sure that evil was there. Roger’s unexplained death did tip the scales in that direction, but an autopsy could reveal a number of things. For all she knew, Roger had died of a drug overdose.
With a shrug, she turned and hurried out of the cold and into the hall. It seemed odd to see faces she barely registered at the dig site standing all around her.
As she walked among them, she heard them talking about Roger. Everyone seemed to have some anecdote to share about him. How he liked to quote movies and had an affinity for picking up all kinds of accents.
Apparently, he also loved to drink. But that could apply to many of the individuals in the building that night, so she didn’t pay much attention to that.
She saw Tamir standing in the back corner alone, his gaze on the floor. His posture let everyone know that he didn’t want to be bothered, and they gave him a wide berth.
Faith decided not to bother him either. She continued walking among the others, occasionally pausing to hear some story or another about Roger.
Most everyone liked him, though a few talked about how he would do anything to get out of working. That made her frown since he was a volunteer. It was a half hour later that she learned he had recently changed his major to archeology and was at the dig for extra credit.
Normally, Tamir let her know when someone was at a dig because of his or her major, and not because it was of interest. Did Tamir not know? Or had he just forgotten to mention it to her?
She put it aside and sipped her wine while she thought about her own mortality. With her mother’s death a few months earlier, and now Roger’s, it was nearly impossible not to think about it.
Which led her to think about finding more joy and happiness in her life outside of work.
Which, of course, led her to think about Muscles.
She blew out a breath. She really had to stop thinking about him. So she had a bit of a crush on him. Big deal. It wasn’t the first time.
You sure about that?
Fine. So it had been a few years since she’d had a crush.
You want to tear his clothes off and lick him from head to toe. It’s not a crush.
No, it wasn’t a crush. It was inescapable, unstoppable, make-you-want-to-howl-at-the-moon desire.
And it made her heart skip a beat every time she thought about it.
She fanned herself in an attempt to cool down. It was pointless, but she couldn’t stop herself. Just as she couldn’t halt her thoughts from turning to all sorts of scenarios about her kissing Muscles.
Perhaps she needed to cool off. She made her way to the side door and walked outside. She lifted her face upward and took several deep breaths as the cold air washed over her skin.
She opened her eyes and saw the thick clouds rolling slowly in the sky. Muscles had said another storm was coming. The evidence sat above her, gradually building once more.
Last night had been horrid, and that hadn’t even had precipitation. How much worse would it be when the rain did come?
She turned to head back inside when she saw two people walking away. One was a female she recognized from the dig. The woman had long, dark hair. Faith never saw the man’s face.
Why then did she hear Tamir’s words from earlier?
Evil.