“About that… I think you should both come here, just for a few days. It sounds terrible, but Uncle William isn’t going anywhere. Come here, meet Lachlan’s family, and let’s regroup.”
“This is the wrong time to leave Halifax,” Zed protests.
“We can work remotely, we’ve done it before,” I counter. “It’s safer here until we know why Uncle William was targeted. Lachlan’s sending his jet and some extra security to pick you up.”
“Why? We have two jets, remember?” Elana says.
“It’s a… Scottish tradition,” I lie, massaging my temples, “hospitality is very important here. And since we don’t know who killed Uncle William, I’m not sure we should be trusting that our jets haven’t been tampered with.”
It took another fifteen minutes of arguments and negotiation, but they finally agreed to be ready to leave by tomorrow morning.
“Please, please be careful until then,” I’m pacing the bathroom - a family trait when under stress - counting tiles as I go, “keep up the security. Trust no one.”
“Do you know something I don’t?” Zed presses me.
“No,” I lie again, I’m getting a lot of practice in this phone call. “But an assassination merits the utmost caution, right?”
“Agreed,” he sighs. “See you tomorrow evening.”
“Aria?” Elana says.
“Yes, lovely?”
“Are any of the MacTavish men still single?”
“No, I snapped up the last one,” I say brightly, sounding just as awkward as I feel.
“Damn.”
Chapter Eleven
In which Marcus brings pastries and girl talk.
Aria…
“I come bearing chai tea latte and clean underwear!”
Even though it’s more like noon, Marcus’s cheerful smile and the heavenly scent of the latte are the first truly relaxing moments of my day. He hands me the drink and puts my suitcase on the bed.
“Honey, if I had a bed like this, I’d never leave it,” he sighs, stroking the silky comforter reverently. “We’ll get you a mini fridge for snacks and a stack of books and you’ll never have to venture from this room.”
Rifling through my suitcase, I narrow my eyes. “I know what you’re thinking and no, there was no sex extravaganza last night to regale you with. That whole thing about threatening to murder you didn’t exactly put me in the mood.”
His happy expression fades. “But… I’ve been waiting for details! I was up all night wondering how big his dick was! Oh, and worrying about you, of course.”
“Of course,” I say dryly. “I’m going to take a quick shower and get out of this dress, which will be burned in the backyard as soon as I can find a lighter.”
“I have a lighter,” he smiles wickedly, “and a joint. You in the mood?”
“When have I ever smoked with you?” I ask.
“First time for everything,” he said, sadly putting it away. “I’ll just look around.”
“Don’t touch anything!” I pause at the bathroom door. “Lachlan is definitely the kind of man who would booby-trap his belongings.”
Washing my hair, I wait for the litany of things I need to do today to run through my head, but there’s nothing. Just blissful stillness as I rinse and work in some conditioner. I’ve learned to hit the ground running every morning, there’s always so much to do. Even staying here in Glasgow, I worked every day, checking emails and sending out press releases for the legitimate side of our Syndicate. Then, clarifying orders and trade routes for the darker side of the business.
This… stillness feels strange. Not bad, exactly but I should be worried sick about Zed and Elana, thinking about handling Uncle Bastard’s funeral, and why our warehouse in Montreal lost power.
