Chapter 14

Joe Dawson was sitting at the bar, stared angrily at his drink when Richie came through the door. He didn't look up or even acknowledge his young friends arrival till he was seated across from him and was snapping his fingers in front of his face to break him out of his trance.

"Earth to Joe. Is anyone home?"

"Oh, hey Richie. Sorry about that. I was deep in thought." Joe grimaced.

"Very deep I would say." The young immortal joked. "What's up? You said you had some information for Mac."

The older man let out a long sigh. "Yeah, I do. But he's not going to like it. It's about Celeste. Where is MacLeod any way? I expected him to come, not you. No offense."

Richie flashed a genuine smile. "None taken. Mac is at some cabin in the middle of some Indian Reservation."

"What the hell is he doing out there?" Joe looked annoyed.

"He's taking care of Celeste."

"What!"

"Yeah, some people are after her. They were at her place looking for her or something she has. I guess she went to the loft looking for help, and now they are hiding out at the cabin till they know more about what's going on."

"Oh damn Richie. Celeste is dangerous. We need to let MacLeod know who she really is."

Up until that point, Richie looked quite happy sharing the news that Duncan was with Celeste. "What do you mean dangerous?"

Joe looked away and took a big swig from his glass. "Right under our noses. I can't believe it was right under our noses."

"Joe, what? It can't be that bad. I mean, Mac can take care of himself."Richie was starting to look concerned.

"Richie, Celeste is an assassin. She kills immortals."

The young man tried to smile. "I don't think we are talking about the same girl here. I set Mac up with a 5'4", 120lb college tutor, not an assassin."

"Wait, you set them up?"

"Yeah, I thought they'd make a good couple. She reminded me a lot of Tessa. So I invited her over for dinner."

"But MacLeod said that you liked her."

"Yeah, well, I think he may have gotten that impression. I was going to figure out a way to get out of that but then all this happened and here we are."

Joe frowned back at his glass. "Well, that might be the only thing that saves him for now. Let's hope that Mac won't allow himself to get too close, since he thinks you're interested."

Richie looked at the watcher confused."How is that going to save him?"

"That's how she does it Rich. She waits till she has won their trust, become intimately involved, then she moves in for the kill when they least expect it. Her past victims were shot or poisoned before they lost their heads."

"Oh crap. Richie pounded the table. What have I done?"

"Can you reach MacLeod somehow?"

"Yeah, I can call him."

"Good, just make sure you tell him that Celeste can't know that we're onto her."

###

She looked better than she did the day before. She was smiling, her hair looked casual yet purposely flipped to one side, she walked with confidence and even her clothes seemed to fit better. The outline of her body was that of a perfect hourglass, something he had not notice in the baggy t-shirt and loose jeans. She almost looked like she was approaching him in slow motion. When she finally reached him, she handed him a glass.

Duncan had to remind himself that this was Richie's girl before he acted on the thought that was going through his head. He convinced himself that the reason she looked so good was because of the drink in her hand. Chopping wood really made a man thirsty.

"Thanks," was all he managed to get out before bringing the glass to his lips. The cool drink helped to cool off his steamy thoughts. He finished the glass without a single breath as he rested the ax on his shoulder.

"You must have been thirsty." She was pleased that he seemed to enjoy the tea.

"Yes, very." He gave her a smile. "How did you sleep?"

She looked away quickly as she remembered the dream. "Not bad."

"Well, you look well rested. You seem like a totally different person in fact."

Celeste could tell that was a compliment, but one he was trying to not be too obvious about making. She looked back with a smile, "I am a totally different person. Last night I decided I'm done running and being afraid. Knowing that you are like me makes me feel less alone."

"I'm glad you feel that way. I am here to help in any way I can." The Scot smiled genuinely.

"I have so many questions that need answers."

"So, let's see how many I can answer. I have some to." She smiled again. It made him feel guilty because of how much he enjoyed seeing her smile.

MacLeod let the ax slip off his shoulder and hit the large stump that had held the logs upright while he chopped.

"I'm going to clean up really quick, then we can talk, ok?"

A quick nod of her head gave him his answer, but her eyes stayed fixed on his.

He started walking back toward the cabin, grabbing his shirt half way and tossing it over his shoulder. She watched him until the door closed behind him with a thud. Her heart started to flutter again as she thought about their talk. They were about to get to know each other much better, and some emotional things were going to come out for the first time. Celeste suddenly felt her confidence start to slip away as she realized the things she was about to reveal to this handsome stranger. With an idea popping into her head, she ran back to the cabin. Once inside, she could hear the water splashing in the bathroom. Duncan must have been in the tub. She began to frantically search through the cabinets until she found what she was looking for. An almost full bottle of scotch was pushed behind a few other items. Pulling it out of the cabinet, and blowing the dust off, she examined the label. Scotch was not something she had ever tried before, but since there was nothing else of this type around, it would have to do.

Opening the bottle, she brought her nose to the rim and inhaled deeply. The smell almost made her gag. Reaching for a glass she froze as she heard the water draining in the tub. Realizing she didn't have much time, she put the bottle to her lips and drank as many big gulps as she could handle, then quickly returned the bottle to the cabinet where she had found it.

The liquid burned going down, and the taste was even worse than the burn, but hopefully, it would give her the courage she needed to get through the conversation she had been dreading for years. After a few deep breaths, she went outside and sat on the porch, waiting for him to join her.