“This was so much work,” I say apologetically, “it’s very sweet of you all, but…” I can feel sweat gathering at the back of my neck. Every time I’m with any of the MacTavishes now - except for Maisie - there’s always an awkward little moment, a break in the conversation as we skate too close to what happened. Now I’m surrounded by all these women, and I don't know how much of what happened is common knowledge. What's worse, I don't know how everyone feels about my mom now. If they’re trusting her with their kids, then surely…
“Hey, did I ever tell you that my dad tried to have me killed?” Afton volunteers.
The water I’d been drinking goes up my nose.
“I beg your pardon?” I cough.
“Yep,” she pops the ‘p’ cheerfully. All the other women at the table nod wisely, as if this is common knowledge. “He ordered my bodyguard to do it, just to make it sting that extra bit.”
Glancing over, I see her bodyguard Talon, who is supposedly off shift and yet is still standing close by in his dark suit, a silent mountain of menace.
“Oh, not Talon,” Afton corrects. “The bodyguard I grew up with. I didn't let him killme, and I didn't let Mason killhim.” Her smile fades. “He passed away a couple of months ago from a heart attack."
"I'm so sorry,” I say, squeezing her hand. “That's a complicated relationship. It's hard to know what to grieve, I'm guessing.”
“You know, in the end, he redeemed himself,” she says. “He worked in the clan’s security department and he did an honorable job. The point is, there's a lot of things that can drive people to do something they could never have imagined. And as a mother, there isnothingthat you won't do to try to save your children. And there's not one of us here that doesn't understand that.”
My eyes are a little watery as the others nod.
“We should also point out,” Sloan says with a smile, “that sure, it was terrible and awkward and everything, but it got the desired effect. You and Michael are finally together. He's much less cranky. Ethan doesn't want to murder him on a daily basis so really, it's working out for everyone.”
“Ethan?” I cover my mouth, trying to suppress a horrified little gurgle. The Scottish Demon? The executioner who terrifies everyone? I still have nightmares where he sits in the Chieftain's office, flipping his viciously sharp knife up and down between his scarred fingers as he stares at me.
“They work together the most closely,” Sloan shrugs. “I hate to speak ill of your husband-”
“Oh, go ahead,” Maisie says, “I’m his sister and I speak ill of him all the time.”
There’s a round of laughter, everyone’s cheeks are flushed from the wine and the warm evening, there’s a sense of relaxation here that I rarely see with these people.
“Ethan complained all the time that Michael had lost his sense of humor. He was cranky, no fun to work with…”
What kind of work?
I’m too scared to ask. For fuck’s sake, Ethan’s the one who kills people. Has Michael been tagging along, like a “Bring Your Cousin to Work” day?
“They handle a lot of the international affiliates together,” Sloan smiles at me, and it’s unnerving, like she knew what I was thinking. “It’s not all murder.”
“Of course-” My voice is pitched so high that only bees could understand me. I gulp down some water. “Of course not. They both have a much wider range of skills, of course.”
“Ofcourse,”Arabella agrees, clearly trying not to laugh. “Though really, if it’s mayhem they’re looking for, they go to my Logan.”
“If there’s an international diplomatic incident, they’d call Mason,” Afton laughs.
“Yes!” Maisie claps approvingly. “Of course, if ye want to take over a small country, ye call Lucas. Catriona is generous about lending him out.”
“Oh, yeah,” I agree. Catriona’s husband Lucas owns an international security company that’s so successful, some of the MacTavish guards asked to jump ship to work with him. “Remember his rescue operation in Morocco? He taught the Atlas Mountains a lesson they’ll not soon forget.”
“Now, for undercover operations, Kai is your man,” Luna says. She pushes back a strand of her silver-blonde hair. “After he kidnapped me, it took me twenty-four hours to realizehewasn’t the bad guy.”
“Is that what we call chasing ye through the forest and saving ye from those psychotic British arseholes?”Arabella smiles innocently.
“Oh, he’s still chasing her through the woods,” Sloan says. Everyone’s dead silent for a moment before we all burst into uproarious laughter as Luna covers her beet red face with a napkin.
“I’m realizing that not one of you has a meet-cute that’s safe to discuss in polite society,” I say, trying to catch my breath.
“No, they’re really more like villain origin stories,” Sloan says.
“You’re missing the final piece to the Jenga tower of MacTavish men.” It’s Scarlett, her grin almost as bright as her flaming red hair as she skips over to the table. “When you want something obliterated by fire, it would be my Wallace that you need.” She points at her husband, who is heading over to my birthday cake with a grin and a flaming torch.
