“One’s getting delivered in the next hour or so. It’s a MacTavish special.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“All the security features our tech team can devise. No one can bluebug ye.”
“Like malware?” I put down my fork, sliding the last bite of sausage down to the kitty.
“A hacker gains access by exploiting your Bluetooth vulnerabilities. There’s all kinds of ways to get into your phone,” he says, finishing his coffee. “None of them will work on MacTavish devices.”
As if on cue, there’s a knock on the door. Wallace takes the package from the courier with a polite ‘thank you.’
“One phone, as requested,” he says, giving it to me with a little flourish.
“Holy… is this an iPhone 17? People were clogging the streets in Boston, trying to get into the stores to buy one a couple of weeks ago.” It’s encased in a blue cover. Blue like the ocean, like the bay Salem surrounds.
Just a coincidence.
“Thank you, I don’t need anything fancy, though. My old iPhone 12 worked fine.”
He gives me a smile, a little one, curving the corner of his mouth. “Ye deserve nice things, Scarlett. Morgan’s number is already programmed into the phone, along with a rash of MacTavish numbers. The women will be demanding to meet ye soon, so ye may as well have all their contacts now.”
“You keep mentioning them and they still sound a little intimidating.”
“Dinnae ye worry. Call Morgan, then. I’m sure she’s raging to know you’re safe.” Standing up, he stretches and oh, my god, it’s like his sculpted muscles are giving birth to baby muscles and it’s one hell of a show. “I’ve got some work to do in my office. Explore the house, watch a movie. I’ll be here if ye need me.”
He’s so kind, I can feel my eyes welling up again. “Thanks, I’ll go check in with Morgan, maybetake a shower.”
His eyes flicker up and down me so fast that I almost miss it. Looking at me like he’s stripping me bare, like he can see everything I’m trying to hide.
“Aye. Ye know where I am.”
For an insane moment, I picture soaping up in the shower and the door opening, Wallace stepping in with me, naked, his skin glowing, covered in tattoos…
You cut that out right now. This is not a sex thing.
Try telling that to everything south of my waist that’s throbbing right now.
Bluebug - A new way hackers get into your phone through your bluetooth.
Chapter Thirteen
In which Wallace introduces Scarlett to the darker side of Edinburgh.
Scarlett…
“Aye, you’re gonna have to wait. Are ye mad, woman? Are ye forgetting I’ve seen ye in action? It’s terrifying. You’re like a tsunami.” There’s an outraged squawk that I can hear from across the room. “A couple of days,” he says. “Aye, I promise.”
Murder Mittens leaps up on my shoulder, purring against my ear. She’s enjoying watching Wallace on the defensive, just like me. He hangs up, expression bleak.
“That was my cousin Luna, Kai’s wife. She’s American, too. She wants to kidnap ye and take ye to lunch with the other female cousins.”
Trying to control the laugh bubbling in my throat, I manage to say, “There are a lot of them, I take it.”
“It feels like dozens,” he says, running a hand down his face.
“That was nice of her,” I offer. “Intense, though. A panel of women I’ve never met.”
He offers a cat treat to Murder Mittens, who leaps onto the counter to take it, which makes him wince a bit. The house is very clean and relentlessly organized, so maybe cat paws on a food prep surface is freaking him out.
