The Guardian

Chapter 4

"Your face is turning a fetching shade of red, sir," Nora quipped. "You must be very angry if I can see it in the dark."

"Rogan? Did you say Rogan as in Lord Rogan? The man that wants to kill you?"

"Lord Alistair Rogan is my father," Nora confirmed. She sat back down on a rock to make herself comfortable for the ensuing confrontation. "Whether or not he wants me dead, I am often not sure. He wants the stone. He has probably ordered his men to employ whatever means they deem necessary to obtain it."

"And it didn't occur to you to tell me that?"

"You didn't ask," Nora shrugged. She watched as Jack's eyes widened in astonishment of her blasé retort. It wasn't her intention to be so flippant with him over the issue, but she wanted to prove a point. Up until now, he had not been interested in the details of their situation – at least he had not wanted to discuss the details with her. He could no longer continue to deny what was happening around him. He was not merely her protector. She had to make him see that.

For Jack's part, nothing could have shocked him more. Lord Rogan, the man who wanted to destroy the one person who had – quite without him realizing it – become the central focus of his life, was her father. Jack had trouble connecting the thoughts in his mind. So many things were barreling through it.

"Does Ben know this?"

"Yes, of course."

"Why did he not say something to me?"

"I imagine he thought it was something the two of us should discuss ourselves."

"Horseshit! In the future," Jack seethed. "This is exactly the sort of little detail you need to volunteer."

"I might have if you would bother to speak to me, you big oaf." Nora shot back with a stamp of her foot. "I might be inclined to share everything, if you would only trust me."

Jack shook his head. She was asking him to accept the unacceptable, to believe the unbelievable. If he got too deep, he would not be able to get back out again. He had convinced himself that he could perform the task she needed him to perform without believing in the stone's power. It was his belief that the reasons surrounding her need for protection were not relevant. The only thing that mattered was that someone was after her and that she needed a protector.

A warrior.

But could he really effectively protect her without knowing the details of the drama in which she was entangled? Did he really think it was possible to stay removed from it all? He had thought that once. He realized then that it was not a matter of what he believed at all, but what she believed, what the lunatic Lord Rogan believed and what was resulting from it.

Jack strode purposefully toward her. In the darkness, he looked menacing, and she cursed herself for taking a step back in fear of him. When he merely grabbed her elbow and dragged her back to the rock she sat upon earlier, forcefully shoving her to sit upon it, she nearly laughed out loud. Of course he would not physically harm her – no matter how much he might want to at that moment.

"Speak now. Do not leave any details out. Do you understand me? Leave nothing out," he ordered.

"I was born in a village in England called Merrhein. Alastair Rogan was – well, is – the second son of Henry Rogan, Duke of Warwick. As the second child, he inherited the title of Lord. He married Lady Sarah Kensworth. She was a widower and my father took over the land upon their marriage. My father loved my mother very much and she him. He was not always this way. He loved her, you see, to the point of obsession."