Gretchen whips her head around to gawp at me, her mouth slightly ajar."What does your brother mean, 'other places outside of Scotland'?You never mentioned that."
I clear my throat, shooting Neil a look that could wither heather."Aye, I've done work internationally.Nothing too exciting."
"Nothing exciting?"Neil laughs, scrolling through his phone."What about that job in Dubai where you jumped between skyscrapers?Or the waterfall stunt in Brazil?"
Gretchen's eyebrows shoot up."Skyscrapers?Waterfalls?Kirk, you told me the motorcycle jump was your most dangerous stunt!"
I wince, weighed down by the multiple stares around me.Bert's gaze is particularly heavy, his earlier tentative approval clearly on thin ice now.I've been caught in a lie---or at least an omission, though I hadn't meant to hide anything.
"It's not exactly a lie," I tell everyone."The motorcycle stunt was the most dangerous one I've done recently."
"Recently?"Gretchen's voice rises slightly, her eyes flashing with that particular blend of concern and irritation I'm starting to recognize."That's a pretty significant qualifier, Kirk."
I shift in my seat, acutely aware of Bert's gaze boring into me.The man has the stare of a hawk spotting a field mouse."I didnae think it was relevant to list my entire professional history, that's all."
Neil, oblivious to the hole he's dug for me, continues scrolling through his phone."Och!Here's the one where he was set on fire and jumped off that building in Hong Kong!The slow-motion bit is brilliant."
"Set on fire?"Alvena gasps, her eyes wide as saucers."My goodness, you are a brave man, Mr.Balfour."
"Please call me Kirk."
Will Gretchen's family approve of me?Only time and fate can answer that question.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Gretchen
The party in the dining room goes on long after Kirk and I hurry back to his flat.Mom and Dad were having such a good time with all the Scots, and some Brits too, that we sneaked out.But we told my parents first so they wouldn't worry we'd been kidnapped.Honestly, I'm not so sure kidnapping is off the list of things that might happen to me and Kirk.
There's Dougal MacWraith, after all.He gives me shivers every time I see him.And his voice...it could turn water into ice.
Kirk's warm, strong arms wrap around me as he nuzzles my neck."What are ye thinking,gràidh?You seem pensive."
"Yeah, I am."I twist my head around to look up at him."Doesn't it worry you that Dougal is out there plotting who knows what?"
"Not particularly.All he's really done is act like a raging erse, then walk away."
"An 'erse' who broke into your bedroom while we were sleeping," I remind him."That's not normal behavior, Kirk.It's serial killer territory."
Kirk sighs, his exhalation fluttering my hair."Dougal is many things---ruthless, cruel, contemptible---but he's no murderer.MacWraith is a businessman of sorts, albeit one with no ethics and dirty tactics."
I huff."Are you serious?He's a menace.And he creeps me out too."
"Gretchen, you're overreacting.Dougal wants me, not you."
"And that's supposed to make me feel safer?"I jab my elbow into his midsection, though not hard enough to hurt him."Tell me the truth, Kirk.How much trouble are we in?"
Kirk's expression shifts, and I catch a flicker of something---worry, maybe?---before his casual mask slides back into place.He's too good at hiding his true feelings.
"Dougal is dangerous, aye, but he's the calculating sort.He never acts without purpose."Kirk guides me to the sofa and sits beside me with our thighs touching."What happened with Kenny was my fault.The lad got in over his head with gambling debts, and I stepped in.Made a deal with MacWraith to clear Kenny's slate."
"You've already told me about that."
"And I'm not done telling you about it."Kirk slumps against the sofa."There's more to the situation than I let on."
It's about time he came clean about whatever mess he's in with Dougal.My pulse quickens as I prepare for the worst.
"Kenny isn't just some random lad," Kirk continues, rubbing the back of his neck."He's my godson.His father was my best mate in school before he passed away five years ago.I promised I'd look after the boy."
