At the windows looking toward the front door, I curse, “Fuck.”
The person has their back turned toward me. With the Mackintosh they’re wearing hanging open, the coat disguises their shape, so I cannae even tell if it’s a man or a woman. Gritting my teeth and looking up to where Tavish is hiding, I decide to nae answer the door. I dinnae want to give them the opportunity to get inside the castle.
Moving into the study, I go out the door on the side o’ the house and round the front. Coming at the person from behind. As they turn toward me, their chin down, hiding their face, I call out to them.
“Och, aye! You there! Can I help ye?”
The person disnae answer or come any closer. I step toward them, but they back away.
“I asked ye a question? What can I do for ye?”
The person walks towards the vehicle that’s sitting there, idling with its lights off. Never saying a word. Just looking at me. An eerie feeling comes over me, and all I want is toget Tavish. First, though, I need to ken who this person is. There’s nae anything to help identify them. That’s when I ken something’s afoot. Their job here today was to distract me, to pull me in different directions.
Tavish!
Do I run to Tavish, or do I chase down the mystery person who’s trying to get away from me?
Since Tavish is safe, locked in the passageway, I go after the person who knocked on our door. I race toward them, slipping on the pea gravel path that leads from the atrium to the parking area near the front door.
They open the driver’s door, so I call out, hoping to stop them, “Hey, where are you going?”
They ignore me again, pausing for a moment before getting into the car. Their eyes never leave mine as I close in on their door. The clouds open up as they have multiple times today. Rain pours down on us, running over the car’s windows and obscuring my view.
“Wait, dammit!” I yell, but they pay nae head to my words.
It looks as if their mouth is moving as if they’re saying something, but I cannot hear the words for the rain in the distance. Even though the car moves forward around the circular drive, I still run toward them, hoping to get them to stop so I can get a good look at the person who seems to have wanted nothing.
As the car passes by me, the driver turns toward me, the side o’ their face highlighted in the glow o’ the dash. I gasp. It cannae be? Can it?
I watch the taillights o’ the car fade into the night, trying, and failing, to convince myself that I didn’t just see my sister.
Iffn it was her, why would she not speak to me?
Why would she leave when she only just arrived?
I drop my head back onto my shoulders and prop my hands on my hips and stare at the sky. The stars sparkle on the dark back drop like spilled glitter. I’m at a loss, nae kenning what to do. I could grab the car and give chase, but by the time I went back through the house for the keys, then out to the garage, I’d never find her.
Sighing, I head toward the house and my boy. We need to check the security cameras on the property. Then Tavish needs to do another search for Samuel. Maybe, after all that, I can convince him to head back to the States. If he holes up in his basement lair, then I willnae have to worry about him so much.
I cannae wait to end Samuel. I want this threat to Tavish snuffed out so he and I can enjoy ourselves without the constant worry the evil bastard is hiding around every corner.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
TAVISH
To saythis is ridiculous is putting it mildly. I know Draven is worried because the visitor wasn’t expected, and he couldn’t see their face, but locking me away in a tower like a princess is taking things a bit too far. Why I cannot follow daddy down the stairs to see who’s buzzing at the door, I don’t know. I know I’d feel safer if I were with Draven if there was a problem. I’m not convinced there is.
After a moment or two of sitting on the small stool just inside the door to the passageway, I grab the flashlight sitting on the shelf. I turn away from the door leading back into the bedroom closet and head toward where Draven said the passages all meet and lead out of the house.
This is giving serious secret society vibes and I’m in a secret society. Hell, I helped create the damn thing, and our headquarters don’t give as much of the vibe as this does.
The passageways are stone. The floors, walls, and ceilings are all stone. And cold. I don’t know if that’s natural or if it’s because the cool night air outside is sweeping through the passages from outside.
It feels like a crypt, if I’m honest.
Pushing the thought out of my mind, I keep walking until I come to the intersection Draven spoke of. It’s a large round room, just as he said. As I look around the space, I notice little plaques next to each of the openings that split off from it. Some of them lead back to other rooms, others lead out of the castle.
“This is some next level shit,” I say to myself.
