Shoulder the Skye (Skye Druids #2)(50)
Author: Donna Grant

 

“Talk then.” Elias disconnected the call.

 

He pocketed his mobile and began looking through the windows until he found one that gave him a clear view of the chicken coop. Blood and feathers were everywhere.

 

“What are you up to, Sydney?” he murmured.

 

Elias removed the tea bags and added honey to Bronwyn’s cup before bringing both to the parlor. She still slept soundly. He eyed the visible expanse of her back as she lay on her stomach. He hated to wake her, but she would have to face what had happened sooner or later. Elias set the cups down, climbed into bed, then smoothed aside her hair and kissed the back of her neck.

 

Bronwyn sighed softly. She rolled onto her back and smiled sleepily with her eyes still closed. “What time is it?” she asked with a yawn.

 

“Just after dawn.”

 

“Already?” she asked, a frown wrinkling her brow.

 

He chuckled. “I should apologize for keeping you up throughout the night, wringing orgasm after orgasm from you, but I’m no’ the least bit sorry.”

 

Her eyes opened as she grinned. “I’m not either.”

 

“I brought you tea.”

 

“Hm. Just what I need.”

 

Elias turned to get the mugs. He handed Bronwyn hers after she tucked the blanket under her arms and sat up. “I already added honey.”

 

She quirked a brow. “How do you know how much I like?”

 

“You like it sweet. I watched you fill the entire teaspoon that first morning.”

 

She chuckled before taking a sip. “Very observant of you.”

 

“I even swirled the honey as you did.”

 

Bronwyn drew up her legs. “Mum used to do that. She’d spell names or make designs. The first time I tried it, I got honey everywhere but in my tea.”

 

“I can imagine.”

 

“Mum and I used to have competitions for what we could make dribbling the honey. She always said I won, but I think most parents do that.”

 

Elias leaned against the pillows that he stacked against the back of the sofa. “I know my mum would’ve. It’s just the type of woman she was.”

 

“I don’t think I ever told you how sorry I was about what happened to your family.”

 

He shrugged, not wanting to discuss that now—or ever. “We’re oblivious to how horrible life can be when we’re children. We only see the possibilities, the fun. And the good in everyone. No one prepares you for the reality. It just happens, and most times in the ghastliest of ways.”

 

“But to have your father murdered…” she began.

 

“Doona,” he said more harshly than intended. Elias briefly closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didna mean that.”

 

“You did,” she said gently. “It’s okay, though.”

 

Elias looked into his cup before taking a drink. “What happened to my father was…” Fuck. Could he say it? It had taken him years before he shared anything with the Knights.

 

“You don’t have to say anything,” Bronwyn told him.

 

He met her hazel gaze and decided to offer as much of the truth as he could give her. “Doona mourn my father. I never have.”

 

Bronwyn searched his gaze. “I see.”

 

“I doona like to talk about him.”

 

“I’ll never ask anything about him again,” she said with a firm nod, her eyes soft with understanding.

 

Elias blew out a breath. If that wasn’t difficult enough, he now had to tell her the rest. “However, there is something you need to know.”

 

“What’s that?” she asked and drank her tea.

 

“Sydney left a message.”

 

Bronwyn’s entire demeanor changed. Her walls shot back into place at the reminder of her nemesis. “What message?”

 

“He slaughtered the chickens.”

 

Fury glittered in her eyes. “He took his anger out on defenseless fowl? How…petty of him.”

 

“Sydney and his people walked the estate for most of the night. Carlyle said it didna appear as if they were looking for anything.”

 

“Oh, he was. Never doubt that,” she stated tersely.

 

Elias hated that their morning was now spoiled, but it had been inevitable. No amount of wishing could erase their troubles. Neither would hiding. He needed to face the police. “Sabryn is following them. She’ll discover where they’re staying and if they’re speaking to anyone on the isle. She and the lads will be by later.”

 

“I need to see the damage Sydney caused,” Bronwyn said as she threw back the covers and stood.

 

Elias didn’t stop her. Bronwyn was strong and independent. She didn’t need saving. She needed someone to stand beside her. He wanted to be that person. Before last night, he was sure she’d never allow such a thing. Now, he thought things might be tipped in his favor a wee bit.

 

As long as he didn’t fuck things up.

 

Bronwyn stood naked before the fire, unaware of his thoughts. She stared into the flames as she drank her tea. “The amount of animosity I have for Sydney scares me. I want him dead. Maybe being drough has begun to eat away at any good that might still be inside me.”

 

Elias slid from the bed and set aside his cup before coming up behind her. He rested his hands on her shoulders and moved until his body was pressed to hers. “Hate is just another emotion. Everyone feels it. It doesna matter if they’re mie or drough. You have every right to whatever you’re feeling. He killed your father and was party to killing others.”

 

“I can feel the loathing consuming me. It’s like a swirling, black pit in my stomach, and every time I think of Sydney, it grows.”

 

“Doona push your emotions away, but doona let them rule you either. Acknowledge them and why you feel the way you do. The feelings will pass. They always do.”

 

She didn’t respond, instead seemingly becoming lost in her thoughts. Elias wanted to ask what she was thinking, but he could guess that it involved Sydney. Elias was all too familiar with the past controlling people’s decisions. He still struggled with that.

 

“How about I make us some breakfast while you shower?” he offered.