“You’ll never fill those shoes. You and Leith together aren’t half the man Tavish was.”
“Stay in here until we’ve got this place cleared.”
Stay in there forever.
He’s still yelling, still trying to intimidate me, when I shut the door harder than necessary mid-sentence.
He’s clever and wily.He knows exactly how to play this, exactly how to play me.
He knows how to get under my fucking skin.
His words play out in my mind as I go back to the entryway.
Fuck it.
Fran isn’t here. No one is.
I head to the kitchen and spy Mum and Paisley. The door and windows are wide open, and smoke’s quickly leaving the kitchen. Islan’s got a fire extinguisher in hand, and she’s aiming it at the fire.
“Jesus, be careful,” I tell her, just as she pulls the trigger and a jet of flame retardant streams onto the flames.
“I’ve got this,” she says.
“Where’s Fran?”
Islan shrugs. “Don’t know. Wasn’t she with you?”
“Aye.”
Leith comes into the kitchen, followed by Mac and Clyde. “What the hell’s going on here?”
Cairstina sidles up to him, giving him her bright smile. “Simple kitchen mishap.”
He looks sharply at me. “Why is Fran heading out to the garage?”
I shrug, stepping to the door. None of them know a bloody thing. I have to stay calm. “Dinnae. Had a few things in the car. I’ll be back.”
I walk quickly to the door. I don’t want to alarm anyone. I don’t need anyone to see where I’m going, or what I’m doing. But as soon as the door shuts, I take off running.
The fucking brat. She thinks she can get away that easily?
I get to the garage just as the car’s backing out at a goddamn breakneck speed, but she’s only got use of one arm, and she hasn’t seen me yet. I yank on the passenger door, and find it unlocked. It flies open and she gasps, stepping on the gas, butnot before I take the chance during her momentary panic to slide in beside her. The door crashes against my leg and I stifle a scream, shoving it open as I reach for her.
I yank the steering wheel and pull the car to the side. I reach my leg right over her and stomp on the brake. We come to a skidding halt, dust and gravel rising around us.
“Think you’d get away that easily, did you?”
We stare at each other, panting. Her cheeks are aflame, her hair all around her face in wild waves. The top button to her top’s come undone in the ruckus, and the very top of her cleavage spills out. She looks like someone roughed her up. I want to be that person.
I make myself focus on the need to drag her out of here, to secure her, to question and punish her.
She put my entire Clan at risk.
She tried to escape.
She lied to me.
“You’ll park this fucking car,” I tell her in a low, controlled voice. “And then you’ll come with me to my place, where you and I will have a good, long talk.”
