Page 9 of Alec

“I’d rather know everything now, please,” she said.

The FBI agent used simple terms to explain where she was and what had brought her here, which added up to a basically unbelievable scenario. Olivia simply listened, but her doubts kept mounting. Did Ava really expect her to believe in the Fae and their magic? Could any enchantment be powerful enough to imprison a medieval clan and their castle outside time itself for nine hundred years?

Olivia might have had that meltdown and bolted from the room, if not for two things: the way her body had changed, and Alec.

The presence of the man who had caught her when she’d been thrown out of the sinkhole seemed to keep her anchored. Perhaps it was the solid warmth of his body, or the wonderful woodsy smell of him, but Olivia had never felt safer. It seemed ludicrous, for she knew nothing about him, but she trusted him completely. Although Alec was deaf, he must have been able to read lips, for he seemed to follow everything the FBI agent said. He also held one of Olivia’s hands the entire time. The fact that he had to be the most beautiful man alive didn’t hurt, either.

As for what had happened to her body, nothing else could explain it except what the other woman was saying. She’d simply never thought of her condition as the result of injury, but it was. Years upon years of injuries.

“I know ending up here in another dimension with a half-Fae highland clan and the medieval folks who work for them is a lot to accept.” Ava obviously knew how to handle accident victims. She also had a way of speaking that was kind as well as direct. “When I landed here I thought for sure these folks were crazy. I’ve never believed in curses, or magic. I still don’t have any answers as to how Dun Talamh ended up here as an eternal prison for the McKeran, but what happens in this place makes you a believer.”

Olivia thought of the news article she’d read about the other woman and set aside her own qualms.

“There’s something you should know, Agent Travars.” She hated being the one to deliver the bad news, but it seemed the decent thing to do. “Everyone in our time believes that you died in a car accident. Your rental was found at the base of a cliff, and you were still inside. I read about it on a local news website.”

As Olivia recounted the details from the article she’d read, Ava’s dark brows drew together.

“It’s interesting that someone would go to such lengths to fake my death, including putting a body in the car. I appreciate you for telling me. Now, are you up to answering some questions?” When Olivia nodded she asked, “Why did you visit McKeran’s Castle in our time?”

She told her about the storm that had damaged the property, and how she had come to perform an on-site survey to estimate the cost of repairs for the owner.

“I saw a sinkhole open up in the floor in front of me, and then someone pushed me into it.” Olivia looked down at the streaks of dried blood on her fingers. “After I grabbed the edge he stamped on my hands and kicked me in the face to make me fall in.”

Ava’s lips thinned. “Can you describe that man?”

It made Olivia sick to even think about him, but she tried. “He seemed pretty old, maybe in his seventies or eighties, but he was strong. He wore something like a dirty, ragged toga that he hadn’t washed in a while. He laughed at me while I was holding onto the edge of the pit, like he thought it was funny.”

Alec rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. “Dinnae dwell on it, lass.”

The FBI agent frowned at him before she said, “Anything else about the assailant strike you as odd?”

“He smelled awful, and he had red eyes. Not blood-shot, but the irises. They were scarlet.” The moment she said that a wave of embarrassment came over her. “I could be mistaken. The passage was pretty dark, and everything happened so fast.”

The other woman nodded. “Did he say anything, Miz Gibson?”

“He said he was sending me to hell.” Olivia shuddered. “He said it was where I belong, and he also told me to enjoy myself for once. Honestly, it didn’t make any sense. The man even called me Gibs, like the people at my office do.”

“Did the man come through the sinkhole with you, or after you?” When she shook her head the FBI agent smiled at her. “All right, I think that’s enough for tonight. If you’ll come with me, I’ll show you where you can get some rest.”

“No. She stays here.” Alec gestured at the door. “Go and tell what you ken to Tasgall.”

Ava regarded him for a long moment before leaving.

Olivia’s hand shook as she took another sip of the water. Because Alec was deaf she was reluctant to try to speak to him, although he apparently read lips. She didn’t want to climb off his lap, but she couldn’t keep treating him like her personal armchair. That and everything that had happened up to this moment seemed to weigh on her like dozens of barbells piled on her shoulders, squashing her.

Being in a twelfth-century world should have seemed exciting, but too much had changed too fast. Would this new reality crush her down until she was tiny, skinny little Olivia again?

You’re so uptight, Charles had accused her when she’d refused to go with him to Vegas. What’s the matter with you, don’t you want to have fun?

Her ex had accused her of a lot of things to distract her from his gambling problem. It had seemed minor at first, but she’d soon learned he was hopelessly addicted and couldn’t go a day without making a wager. He bet on anything from racetrack horses to football games, always convinced the next big jackpot was around the corner. When he’d been fired from his job for stealing from petty cash, Olivia had tried to talk him into getting some help, but he’d insisted he could stop any time.

I just wanted to borrow twenty dollars, Charles had whined when she’d caught him with his hand in her purse last night. I’ve got to put something on the game this weekend; it’s a sure thing. Geez, Ollie, are you really that tight-fisted?

Her ex had put her on her guard, and she really had no reason to trust these people. Yet her instincts about others had always been correct, and they were telling her that no one here would hurt her.

Alec took the cup from her, and only then did she realize she’d nearly tipped it over and spilled it.

She had suddenly grown so tired she could hardly stay awake, Olivia realized. “Sorry.”