“Get the fuck out of here,” I say, getting to my feet and pointing the gun at them. “You fucking go before you join him.”
I jerk my chin to the others to release them, and my men instantly obey. Aitkens’ men run and don’t look back, the fucking bastards. My men would never leave one of our own behind.Ever.
“Fucking hell, you weren’t supposed to kill any of them,” Mac says, shaking his head. He scrubs a hand across his jaw, and looks from the cemetery to the church. “But I suppose you picked a damn good place to do it, eh?”
“Aye,” Clyde says. “I know exactly where to keep the body. We’ll send our men down tomorrow to dig a grave. Help me take the body, Tate.” Tate and Clyde drag the body past a large, gnarly oak tree to a small hut, then disappear.
“Why’d you fucking kill him?” Mac says.
“He was going to kill the girl.”
Mac frowns and his brow furrows as he looks past me, then all around me. “What girl?”
Bloody hell. I look to where she was just a minute ago, and realize she’s gone. She’s a silent, wily one.
“She saw me kill him.”
“Aye, but yer masked.”
“Doesn’t matter, does it? She’s a fucking witness, and she took pictures.” I shake my head. “Find her.”
It’s only the two of us, so we comb the dark graveyard lit only by moonlight.
“Likely to find a fucking werewolf on a night like tonight,” Mac mutters. He’s maybe half joking, but superstitions run strongin Inverness, and werewolves are right up there with the Loch Ness.
“Oooh, shaking in my fuckin’ boots,” I mutter. I swing my light and see something that catches my eye. The door to the church is askew. I nod to Mac and slowly walk toward the open door, confident we’ve found our wee spy. MacGowen did what we told him and headed to the parsonage, not the church. I hold up a finger to Mac, and slowly creep up to the entrance.
“Och, aye,” I say to Mac as I push the door open. Crouched against the corner sits the girl, her knees up to her chest, chin on her knees. I expect her to say something, to shout or scream, to do anything but what she does. She stands and looks at me in silence. It’s then I realize she’s no girl but a woman. A small, unassuming woman, but she’s no child, and she’s fucking gorgeous. A thick mane of wavy, dark brown hair, pale skin with flushed cheeks, and sky-blue eyes framed with long black lashes. Her intelligent eyes are both stunning and haunted. We have no time, yet I want to stand here and memorize every perfect detail.
“Jesus, get over here,” I tell her, grabbing her by the hand. My plan is to drag her with me, to yank her away from the sanctuary of the church and prevent her from turning us in. How, I’ve no idea, but I’ll figure it out.
When our fingers touch, her eyes widen in surprise at the same time vivid awareness courses through me. Sudden warmth sends a tingle through me, and for one wild second I wonder if she’s heaven-sent. We’re standing on sacred ground. Has she been sent from above?
Everything around us suddenly seems brighter, more intense. The scent of incense, the flickering red light beside thetabernacle. I blink and shake my head, certain it’s all my imagination. It’s a strange evening, and we’re in a strange place.
She doesn’t fight me. She doesn’t do anything at all except walk mutely by my side.
Mac goes to the other side of her and we hold her between us.
“Give me your mobile,” I order. Again, she obeys without a fight, sliding it onto my palm.
“Why were you here?” Mac asks.
She stares straight ahead and doesn’t speak. One beat passes, then two, and I feel anger pooling in my belly at her stubborn refusal to respond.
“He asked you a bloody question. Answer him.”
Still, she looks straight ahead and doesn’t respond.
I growl at her, keeping my temper in check with effort. My adrenaline’s been pumping hard through my veins for a fucking hour, and I have no patience for this.
I grip her arm. “I saved you from murder tonight, but nothing will save you from my palm across your arse if you don’t answer.”
Mac scowls when she doesn’t answer, and shakes his head. “We’ll take her back, then?”
I nod. “Aye. No choice. We’ll have to make her both talk to us and ensure she speaks to no one else.”
She blinks, and a tear rolls down her cheek, but still, she doesn’t fight. I’d expect her to kick or scream or do anything but walkmutely beside us, allowing us to lead her to our car. We parked underneath the shadow of the oaks to avoid being seen.
