Chapter 4

The bundled-up woman who tried to beat the next rush of wind passed by the window too quickly to get a good look at. But when he found the long dark braid down her back, Haldir grinned under the hand on his mouth. "I knew she'd be a brunette." And as his eyes rolled to the ceiling lined in copper tiles, he mouthed 'thank you' to the masters above them.

A blast of cold air sent James to his feet as it shoved its way up the back of his parka. As Garrett yanked the suitcase through the hall, Mory fought the surge of wind to wrestle the heavy wood door shut. "Morana Faye. How the hell are you, girl?"

The knit hat slid off her hair, and she took a second to smooth it back before she offered James her hand and her cheeky half-smile. "You can call me Mory, and I'm just fine, sir, thank you."

He'd only ever seen her as a pixilated image during their meetings, but that had nothing on what stood before him now. And as he shook her hand, he winked at the men who stared at them. "How was the flight?"

A nervous laugh came between her teeth as she lifted her eyebrows to him and shoved her gloves in her pockets. "Uh, I guess you could say it was bumpy as hell."

While his head bobbed up and down in sympathy, his arms crossed his chest. "Yeah, the turbulence is a bitch, isn't it? I nearly pissed myself the first time I came here on the little bitty plane."

The warmest touch that ever graced her skin wrapped around her chin, and like someone yanked at her for attention, Mory turned to face the Immortal. And when her eyes found the bluest she'd ever seen, she forgot to breathe or that her boss stood there and waited for an answer. But when James' hand met her back, she gasped as she flinched against his palm. "Mory," —a hand swept aside to usher her to the bar — "these are two of the island's more colorful characters, Bose and Haldir."

Every time her eyes blinked back to the bushy-bearded man, the thump in her chest made her breathe another kind of way, and she cleared her throat to stop it. "It certainly is good to meet you both."

A pale, wrinkly hand came between Mory and James from behind, and a little gold key dangled by her cheek. "Miss Faye, I have your room key. Your flat won't be ready for another few days, I'm afraid. The furnace is busted."

The nurse's hand took the key between her fingers, and when Haldir noticed how she shook, he understood he wasn't the only one whose nerves were on edge. While she shoved it in her pocket, she brushed her shoulder with her chin to see him. "Thank you, sir."

While Bose's head tilted a little to check her over, he realized her hand was free of jewelry. The tips of his fingers came to his chin, and he leaned in toward her just a little. "So, that wouldn't be Mrs. Faye, would it?"

The innkeeper rolled his eyes and scuttled off as he mumbled under his breath. "I told you, didn't I? Vultures, the whole lot of them."

A huff of air left Mory's pink nose as she shook her head. "No, I cured myself of that terrible disease a long time ago, and I believe I have immunity to it now."

While Bose and James chuckled, the stone-faced ancient took his time as he studied her and took in every perfect curve of her womanly body. When his eyes met hers again, his shoulder jerked upward. And as soon as his deep, raspy voice came into her world, every long-neglected part of her ached. "I wouldn't be so sure of it if I were you." A finger flicked out from his crossed arms. "You're looking quite peaked to me right now."

From the way her ears turned red on the top, James understood he needed to rescue her from the not-so-secret admirer who glared at her. "So, if you want to go drop your things upstairs, I'll take you on a tour of the facility you'll be spending most of your time in while you're here."

She blinked free of Haldir's hold on her and smiled as she rubbed her forehead. "Sure thing. Give me a few minutes to get squared away."

There was an uneasiness that crept up her back as she walked off, and when she got to the corner before the stairs, she peeked back over her shoulder. Eyes that flashed like a raging winter storm stared back at her, and she sensed the charge of it in each cell of her body.

An elbow draped in cable-knit met Haldir's arm as they made their way back to the booth. "Oh, I like her. She's definitely a keeper."

Though Haldir rubbed his fingers over his mouth before he flicked them away to play off the seriousness of what he felt, his knees were like butter, and he collapsed into the leather seat. "Well, she sure is better looking than you, at least."

As soon as her foot crossed the threshold to her room at the end of the hall, the temperature plummeted until her breath puffed out and hung in the air like fluffy snow.

Her bags fell to the floor, and she rushed to the linen closet by the vanity. Behind the stack of fuzzy towels and toilet paper was a pile of clean sheets, and she yanked one free and shook it out.

The vanity barely wiggled at all as Mory jerked at it, and once she was convinced it was strong enough, she crawled on top. The edges of the sheet's seam tucked into the mirror that sat on the wall until the entire surface was covered.

The clock at the hall was just shiny enough to reflect her image, and as she glided across the floor heel to toe, she counted out the steps. "Six, seven, eight forward."

At the corner of the little alcove that led to the bar, Mory tugged her hat free from her pocket and rolled her neck as she blew a long breath of air through her lips. "Don't look at him, and you'll be fine."

After she pulled the beanie down over her ears, Mory patted at his back as she passed James. "Ready to head out whenever you are, Chief."

He nodded as he yanked up his zipper and followed behind her. "Chief? I could get used to hearing that."

The cold blast of snowy wind made its way around her scarf and slid down her neck, and the fire that grew inside her was instantly extinguished. But without the warmth of their connection, Mory was even colder this time.

The snow crunched under their feet as they walked to the government building across the town square, and even James could sense the eyes on their backs. He peeked back at the men who studied her every move through the window and smacked the back of his glove across her sleeve. "Just so you hear it from me first, and I'm not saying any of this is true or anything, but Haldir, he" — both his hands flung up in the air — "well, the folks here say he's a Viking. Like an original thousand-year-old Viking."

A scoff came from the pit of her belly, and her eyebrows pulled together as she shook her head at him. "You surely can't be serious with that shit."

James pushed out his lips and shrugged as she rolled her eyes across the landscape. "The people here, they're all fishermen, and a lot of them are Sami. They're an extraordinarily superstitious bunch, and they see Haldir as a guardian against evil or something."

While they waited for the police car to pass by, he pointed at the ground. "I've been here for two decades now, and that young man hasn't aged a day. Not one. I don't know what kind of deal he made with the devil, but it's sure as hell working for him, that's for damn sure."

She pushed the tears from her face, but it wasn't the wind that caused them this time. "Some people are lucky that way, aren't they?"

"He seemed to be pretty interested in you." The stainless-steel door handle disappeared in James' palm, and he stood aside to let her walk through. "Not that I'm saying he's a bad man or anything if he's your type. It gets mighty lonely around here for single folks like yourself."

As they passed the mirrored windows of the government building, Mory caught her reflection and closed her eyes to any hope when she saw the light dim over her. "You don't have to worry about me, Chief. I don't have time for all that."