by Emma Slate
“But she never did.”
“Even if things with Gavin had been terrible—and I knew they weren’t because Moira told me—Caitlin’s own pride would’ve kept her away. She never would’ve admitted she had made a mistake.”
I shook my head. “Does Flynn know any of this?”
“I don’t know. He was a teen when they died. If they did tell him anything, I doubt he would’ve heard through the hard-headedness and hormones of being a teenage boy.”
I chuckled. “Something to look forward to with Hawk.”
James grinned. “Well, if he’s anything like Flynn’s father, you’re in danger.”
“Campbell men. They got charisma.”
We laughed together and then I shook my head.
“What is it?” James asked.
“I just think it’s miraculous, you know? Flynn is upstairs recovering and yet, his injury has somehow brought us all together.”
James nodded thoughtfully. “Can I ask you a question? About Malcolm Buchanan?”
I started, unprepared for the change in conversation. “Sure.”
“He raised Flynn as his own?”
“Yes. Flynn calls Duncan and Ramsey brothers.”
James looked relieved. “Moira and I… when we heard about the accident… we had plans to take in Flynn.”
“Really?”
“Aye. It would’ve been difficult, taking him away from his home and his friends. We would’ve done it—and been glad to do it—my way of making amends, I guess. But I’m glad it worked out the way it did. I’m glad you’re both here now.”
I smiled and closed the photo album. “I think you should be the one to give him this.”
The house finally began to wake up and before I knew it, the kitchen was overrun with people. I helped Moira feed the masses, but she seemed to have a good handle on things. She and James had a large family, and she definitely had learned a few tricks along the way.
Jane Elliot looked different since the last time I’d seen her. She still looked regal and elegant, but something had changed in her. Her chestnut hair was pulled back into a haphazard ponytail and her face was scrubbed clean of makeup. I watched her interaction with Ramsey with laser focus, wondering if I could detect what had occurred between them when they’d been alone together on Orkney.
Ramsey stood at the counter, eating a piece a toast. Jane reached out to swipe away a trickle of butter at the corner of his mouth. He shot her a crooked smile.
Yep. They were together-together.
“So, who convinced who to go to London to search for Arlington?” Duncan asked. He sat in a chair at the kitchen table, his long legs stretched out. His hand gripped a mug of coffee as he pinned Ramsey with a stare before transferring it to Jane.
“We should get out of here,” Moira said, shooing James and Brandon from the room.
“I just got here,” Brandon complained, but dutifully followed his mother out of the kitchen.
“I take full responsibility,” Ramsey stated when it was just the four of us.
“Liar,” Jane huffed.
“Should we wait to discuss all of this when Ash arrives? I mean, we have a lot of information to exchange and wouldn’t it be better if we just waited. Besides, Flynn’s not even in this meeting,” I said.
“Flynn is bed bound,” Duncan said. As if I needed a reminder. “And he’s not up for a meeting.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “If I recall, we didn’t spare you from a meeting when you had a bullet taken out of your chest.”
“Oh, zing,” Ramsey said.
“None of this is going to get solved right now,” I said, ignoring Ramsey. “We wait.”
Ramsey looked at Jane and grinned. “See. Told you Barrett was going to put Duncan in his place.”
“You were right,” Jane said with a nod. She looked at me. “Can we speak? Alone?”
Chapter 55
Jane and I bundled up and went outside for a walk. I breathed in the fresh, crisp air, glad to see the sun.
“It’s sunnier here than in Scotland, isn’t it?” Jane asked, breaking the quiet.
“Yes, I was just noticing that.”
We walked for a few more feet in silence and I kept my eyes on the rolling hills. A light dusting of snow had fallen the night before. Every so often, I’d see sunlight glinting off snowflakes, flashing winks of gold in the whiteness.
“I want to apologize,” Jane began.
“Apologize,” I repeated in shock. “Why?”
“For how I treated you.”
I frowned. “When?”
“When you came to meet me that first time. Back in Dornoch. When I was locked up in Duncan’s home.”
A smile spread across my face. “You have nothing to apologize for, Jane. We kidnapped you from your birthday party. I expected more vitriol, actually.” I shook my head. That all seemed so long ago.
“No,” she insisted. “You were nothing but honest and genuine with me.”
“But you couldn’t have known that,” I insisted. I cocked my head to one side. “What brought all of this on?”
Jane looked away, choosing to focus on the landscape. “Ramsey didn’t treat me badly when we were on Orkney. It made me realize that even though I was being held hostage, you weren’t bad people. I’d just gotten caught up in it because of my father.”
She sighed and went on. “Listen. I don’t care about the SINS one way or the other. I don’t care if Scotland is free. I helped Ramsey in London because, well, I felt like I owed a debt. My father—”
I interrupted her immediately. “Let me say something about your father. I don’t know how you feel about him after finding out what he’s done, what he was a part of, but let me tell you something about Lord Elliot.” I took a deep breath. “At the end of the day, the only thing he cared about more than himself was you. He bartered for your safety.”
“He was in league with the men who kidnapped your son,” she interjected, her voice cold. “I don’t care who you are or what you believe in, but taking a child from its mother…” She shook her head.
“You’ve got your own mind, Jane, and I really admire that about you. But before I went to go find my son, I spoke with your father.” It had been the last time I’d seen him alive, but I didn’t think it was necessary to tell that to Jane.
“Do you know what he said to me?” I asked. “He said, ‘Whatever it takes to get your son back. No mercy.’ He knew. He knew the wrong he’d done. Forgive him.”
“I can’t,” she stated resolutely. The late winter Irish wind blew the hair around her face. She hastily pushed it back. “Finding out about my father has made me reevaluate my life.”
“What about Ramsey?” I asked.
She frowned. “What about Ramsey?”
“How much do you love him?” I demanded.
“I don’t love him,” she lied obviously.
“Oh, honey,” I said in sympathy. “Take it from a woman who knows. If you can, get out now. Otherwise you’ll always be looking over your shoulder for danger, waiting for it to jump out at you. Waiting for it to come for your children. If you can live without Ramsey, you should.”
She blinked in surprise. “You’re not going to tell me love conquers all and it’s worth it?”
I put a hand to her arm. “My husband is upstairs in bed, recovering from a gunshot wound that almost killed him. This life will make or break you. But once you’re in, you’re in. There’s no going back. You can’t be prepared for everything, but you better prepare for that.”
I swept Hawk into my arms, holding him close and breathing him in. He was heavier, bigger, and it had only been two weeks.
“Thank you,” I said to my best friend. “Thank you for taking care of him.”
“He was not well behaved on the plane. I didn’t get to sleep at all,” Ash groused as she followed me into Moira and James’s home.
Behind us trailed Daniel and Nathan. We never could be too careful.
“How’
s Flynn?” she asked.
“Asleep.”
She smiled. “I could use a nap.”
“Me too,” Duncan piped up from her side. She shot him an amused glance.
Once in the foyer, I introduced Ash to the Kilmartins and Moira went about fixing her a plate of something to eat. Ash accepted it gratefully.
“How are Katherine and the girls?” I asked.
“They love living in a hotel,” Ash said after she swallowed a bite. “They might also be obsessed with burlesque and they might also be attending the beginners dance class.”
“We should open a burlesque club in Dornoch,” I stated.
“I’ll stick to the art gallery.”
“Art gallery? What art gallery?” Duncan asked.
They hadn’t been able to communicate much in the past few weeks, and all the minute details of their lives were suddenly part of the discussion. Hawk began to cry, and I soothed him against my shoulder.
And like all the natural evolution of conversations, when there was a baby in the room, everything gravitated towards him. Hawk was the center of attention.
“You’d think he’d a pro at flying,” I said, shushing a cranky Hawk. “Guess it’s nap time.”
“I’ll second that,” Ash said, rising with her plate. “Thanks, Moira. It was great.”
“Wait until you try her soda bread and honey butter.” I winked at James and he chuckled.
Duncan led Ash to their room, and I just hoped their rendez-vous was quiet. It was long over due, so I doubted it.
Hawk had settled down, and I decided to take him to see Flynn. Flynn was awake, flipping through the family photo album, a pained look on his face. When he glanced up and saw me standing over the bed, his face softened and he smiled.
“He’s had a long day,” I said, gently placing Hawk onto Flynn’s chest. I watched my husband steal a hand across his son’s back. Flynn pressed his cheek to Hawk’s head and closed his eyes.
“I’ve missed so much,” he muttered. “He’s nearly a damn teenager.”
I would’ve chuckled, but it wasn’t funny.
“Close the door,” Flynn said. “We have something to talk about.”
I did as he asked and then gently settled myself at the foot of the bed. “What’s on your mind?”
Flynn looked thoughtful before answering, “I want to leave the SINS.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I want to leave the SINS,” he repeated.
“But, why?” I sputtered. “This cause means the world to you.”
He shook his head. “No. It used to mean the world to me. Then I found you, and Hawk came along. Now we’re having another bairn. I can’t take this, Barrett. I can’t keep putting my family in danger. For what?”
I tried to speak but found I couldn’t.
“This isn’t on you,” he went on when he saw the look on my face. “You never once made me choose between the SINS and our family. Which is why it’s so easy to choose you.”
“You can’t,” I protested. “You’re a natural leader. The cause needs you.”
His gaze dipped to our son. Hawk had fallen into a peaceful sleep. Perhaps all he’d needed was the warmth and strength of his father’s chest to feel secure.
“The leadership role is meant for Duncan.”
“He doesn’t want it,” I said.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s his to take on.”
“Not if we change how the SINS operates.”
Flynn raised his eyebrows. “Change?”
“Yes, change. Why does it have to be all or nothing? Duncan and I shared some ideas, and he seemed open to them.”
“What kind of ideas?”
I briefly told him about how there were women who believed in the cause and wanted to be a part of it and then went on to explain that Duncan believed the leader should be voted on by the members.
Flynn’s mouth slackened in shock. “Duncan believes in change?”
“I might’ve yelled him into submission,” I said. I reached out to stroke his face. “Let’s first deal with Arlington.”
“And The Pretender. Bastard still hasn’t showed his face, has he?”
I sighed. It looked like Duncan would get a reprieve. “I need to catch you up on a few things.”
Chapter 56
Dr. Gerard deemed Flynn well enough that he no longer required round-the-clock care. The doctor also made sure to inform us that he had no plans to return to London any time soon. He was taking a much-needed vacation, heading for the sunny climate of an island paradise.
We took his word on faith, knowing there was little we could do unless we wanted to do something drastic in order to keep his silence. There was no record of Flynn in any London hospital, so we let Dr. Gerard go. I was going to miss him—he was kind, had a good bedside manner, and had saved my husband. I owed more than a debt of gratitude.
The house was crammed full of people and I momentarily felt bad that Moira and James’s home had been overrun with guests. They both informed me that we were family, and it wasn’t an inconvenience. I hoped they felt the same way when Hawk screamed his head off in the middle of the night. But Flynn wasn’t well enough to travel, and we were still moving pieces on a near invisible chessboard.
When Ash awoke from her nap, restored and looking more human, we decided there was no time like the present to have a meeting. Ash, Duncan, Ramsey and I crammed into Flynn’s bedroom.
The room’s windows were cracked to let in fresh air and it eased the scent of antiseptic. I’d already helped Flynn bathe earlier that day, so at least the odor of stale sweat was absent.
“Where do we start?” Ash asked.
I looked at Duncan, automatically deferring to him as leader. He nodded for me to speak. “I don’t know who knows what, so let me recap it for everyone. Okay? With the help of Katherine and her friends, and Ash’s Googling, we believe Edward Roehenstart is the man staging the coup.”
“Fucking coward,” Ramsey groused.
“Ash and I believe that Arlington is backing Roehenstart,” I said. “I want to talk to Barnabas. Maybe he has some insight on Roehenstart’s whereabouts or what he’s up to.”
Flynn shook his head. “Why would you need to talk to Barnabas?”
“Because Barnabas is Roehenstart’s grandfather,” I explained.
“Wow, I didn’t see that coming. Barnabas would’ve told us if he knew anything, though, aye?”
“Not necessarily,” Duncan argued. “And besides, he might be in the dark about it.”
“We don’t even know if Roehenstart is our man,” Ramsey went on. “This is all a big stretch.”
“Either way, if I speak to Barnabas, it means I can learn the truth about Roehenstart. Why was he declared dead by the FBI? You don’t think that’s sketchy?”
“I think it was an oversight—a miscommunication,” Ramsey said. “Nothing more than that.”
We all fell silent, trying to think our way out of this mess. There had to be something I wasn’t seeing. I was usually good at connecting dots, at finding the common thread, but I was feeling useless and too close in on it.
“We’ve been going about this the wrong way,” Flynn said finally. “We’ve been searching for needles in haystacks, attempting to lay traps. What we need to do is challenge him.”
We all looked at him blankly so he went on to explain.
“Duncan and I summon every member of the SINS to Dornoch and in front of everyone, we demand The Pretender to come forward and compete for the leadership of the SINS the old-fashioned way.”
Duncan slowly smiled in understanding. Ramsey began to laugh and he nodded eagerly. Ash and I were still lost.
“Care to clue in the Americans?” Ash demanded.
Flynn grinned. “We’re going to hold the Highland Games. Let the bastard prove to everyone he’s strong enough to lead. If he wants the SINS, then he has to be man enough to show his face. Subterfuge is his way. Not ours. We’ll call him out, list his transgress
ions, finally make everyone aware of the coup that’s been happening under their noses. They’ll either be incensed or agree with him. Either way, it’s better to know if the SINS we’ve all vowed and sworn to uphold is no more.”
“I say we just kill him when he steps forward,” Ramsey said drolly.
“I’m with Ramsey,” Ash stated.
I looked at her. “When did you become so bloodthirsty?”
She shrugged.
“I’m surprised we haven’t dealt with anything like this sooner,” Duncan said. “There’s only so long the status quo works.”
“Aye,” Flynn agreed. “Change is change. But frankly, I don’t want to be part of a group that would support a man going behind his own, planning murders and kidnapping. Whatever way the chips fall, we’ll know.”
“The SINS will never be the same,” Duncan said thoughtfully.
“When are the Highland Games supposed to happen?” Ash asked.
“Anytime from spring to early summer,” Duncan answered.
“And who’s going to compete?” she demanded, looking at the three of them.
“We’ll figure that out later,” Flynn said, leaning his head back against the pillow.
“We can’t figure that out later,” I insisted. “You are bed bound and even by the beginning of spring, you won’t be back to yourself. That leaves Duncan,” I looked at him, “but you don’t want the role of leader.”
“I’ll do it,” Ramsey volunteered. “I’m healthy and I have a lot of rage.”
I snorted. “Do you want to lead?”
“Not really.”
“Then you’re out, too.” I gripped my hair in frustration.
Flynn leaned back against the pillows in obvious exhaustion. I played the role of overprotective wife and called the meeting to an end so Flynn could get some rest. Everyone filed out, and I made a move to leave too.
“Where are you going?” he asked me.
“I need to relieve Moira who has been watching Hawk.”
“Wait,” he said. “You forgot something.”
I frowned, walking over to him. “What?”