by India Kells
Wesley remained so silent, she had to stare at him to confirm he had understood what she had said. And he had. The expression on his face was anything but pleasant.
“If you want to take me for a fool, I suggest you engage in another hobby. Otherwise, I may be the one tempted to shoot you.”
Mac sighed. “As we came down, you were limping. Your leg is bothering you. I’m not going to let you run an unknown path in the dark and risk alerting the bad guys.”
“I’m not limping.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’re just playing stubborn.”
“Look who’s talking.” The answer came whistling through his clenched teeth.
Mac struggled to avoid pulling her hair. Instead, she took her cell phone out, praying the signal was still strong on this side of the hills. As she had guessed, it was indeed Gabrielle who had called her. She was in for a serious plate of crow.
As soon as her boss answered, Mac didn’t allow her to talk.
“Gab, I’m in recon on the mountain, northeast position from the castle. You can track my cell. About two kilometers north of our current location, we see light beams, two, going on and off in the valley. As per my recollection, there is a hunting lodge in that area, but I doubt they are hunters.”
Two seconds passed before her boss responded. “I hear you, I’m accessing your cell phone GPS as we speak. Sully is sending you a team that will arrive on the northwestern side, but it will take some time. Don’t engage unless you’re in danger. And, Mac, we will discuss your little recon mission when you come back. Keep your cell phone where you can answer it quickly.”
Gabrielle hung up.
“You’re in serious trouble, my lady.” Wes sounded so smug, it irritated her.
“As you are. So the more in trouble I am, the more you will be. Remember that, smart ass.”
Although Mac would have preferred to do it alone, being forced to wait for the other team allowed them more time to get off the mountain and into position. That extra time would put less strain on Wes’ leg, even if there was a possibility that the intruders would be long gone.
Mac took the longer route, making sure they remained out of sight and sound until the very last moment. As they took position near the cluster of rock and moss, the security team led by Sullivan came by her side.
“You’d better haven’t left my brother unprotected, Sully.”
“Nope, this is the relief team for the security guards already in place. I will be insulted later, though. As if I would make such a rookie mistake.”
“Welcome to the club, man. She’s in a foul mood tonight,” Wesley mumbled.
“Boys, can we concentrate? Possible enemies, three hundred yards from us.”
And as if on cue, two beams fluttered at a distance.
Mac indicated the team to follow a shallow edge, that would bring them closer and offer them protection in case the whole situation went south.
Once in a better position, they made out more than one beam, more like four of them for an approximate total of eight men in a circle, discussing. The voices were more or less distinguishable.
“I can’t make out the language. Calvi speaks Spanish, English, French. This sounds more like a form of Arabic.”
Mac wasn’t able to discern the words very well at first, but when she caught up more than a few of them, she recognized the language.
“That’s not Arabic, it’s Gaelic.”
“What?”
“Yeah, probably people from the area.”
“You speak Gaelic?”
“I’m Lady MacKinnon, remember? Part of my curriculum as I grew up included Gaelic. Now, stay put.”
Wesley restrained her arm. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to circle the cabin and surprise them. And then, tell them they’re trespassing, so making sure they’re not coming back here before Calvi is in custody. Stay down, I don’t want them to know you’re here. Words would run, and reveal how many are really protecting the castle.”
Wesley released her arms, but not before giving her a stern look that was easy to translate by 'be careful and don’t do anything foolish.' She nodded and grabbed a flashlight from Sullivan while handing her rifle to Wesley. Mac crawled alongside the edge, still out of sight, until she finally reached the old cabin nearby. The group hadn’t noticed her yet. She examined her surroundings, and saw that they each had hunting rifles, but none were ready to take a shot.
There wasn’t a lot of options to approach, she opted for stomping her feet until heads turned in her direction. Two of them pointed their guns at her as she rounded the cabin, and all lights were on her, blinding her.
“Hey! Get that thing away from my face!”
Immediately, the beams moved and she blinked many times, trying to remove the spots swimming in front of her.
“Miss …”
Mac came forward and recognized two of the men. Older gentlemen from the village. The six others were younger, one even closer to being a teenager.
“You’re Ernest Murdock and you’re Albert Smith. I remember you. And if you don’t, I’m Elorian MacKinnon.”
It took a moment for them to react, but when she pulled her cap off and they saw her red hair, all men immediately removed their hats.
“Lady MacKinnon. So sorry about that. We didn’t recognize you.”
Mac smiled. “No harm done. I’ve been away for many years and didn’t return home for the last five years. People change.”
The one she called Ernest stepped forward. “We are trespassing, my lady. And we had every intention of telling Laird MacKinnon about it, but …”
“But we had to follow, it couldn’t wait.” One of the younger men, the spitting image of a young Ernest, inched closer.
“What couldn’t wait?”
The men focused their beams to the ground. Contrast wasn’t so good, but after a while, she recognized traces of blood.
She crouched. “That trail, where does it lead?”
“Here. It starts at my farm. This morning, I noticed sheep disappearing from my herd. But late this afternoon, there was a bloody trail, faint but trackable.”
“Mr. Murdock, your farm is more than two miles away.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And you haven’t seen anything else? The sheep are just gone?”
“Aye. And this is no predator, he wouldn’t have been able to make the whole carcass disappear, let alone drag it all the way here.”
Mac thought about the possibility of Calvi and his men hiding nearby, stealing a sheep. The strange thing was this trail. If he was already in the village, why drag the dead sheep up here?
When she straightened, she decided it was the time to disseminate the news.
“Mr. Murdock, Mr. Smith, what I’m about to tell you is very important and very confidential news. Can you vouch for all the men here with you tonight?”
The two men looked at each of the group members. “Yes, they’re all family, my lady.”
“Again, this needs to stay between us. My brother is under attack. A man has put a price on his head and assassins are trying to kill him.”
“There are murderers, right now, on this land?” Mr. Murdock blinked at the news.
Mac nodded. “Yes. I was patrolling with men from our security team when we saw you. When I realized you were people from the village, I came to talk to you.”
The two older men looked around. “So you have security observing us as we speak.”
“Yes, they’re keeping watch until I come back. And it’s dangerous for you to be here. We haven’t located these assassins yet. They may be hiding in the village or in abandoned farm buildings. That’s why I want you to go back home and lock your doors. Discreetly tell your neighbors about the situation, but do not engage. You see anyone suspicious, call the castle. We have experienced people who will take care of the bad guys. Do you understand?”
The men glanced at each othe
r and nodded. As Mac turned to signal her men, a bullet whizzed by her head.
“Get down!” Other bullets started to fly in her direction. “Are there any other people from the village following you?”
Ernest was partly covered by the body of his son, his voice muffled. “No, it was only our party.”
Now she saw the direction where the shooters were. Mac started firing. It didn’t take long for her to detect the team also shooting in the dark, to where the attackers were possibly hiding. More screams from behind her, and as she tried to get a better angle, she shouted to the men crouching nearby to turn off their flashlights. As the fire power picked up, it gave her the opportunity to drag the poor villagers to safety.
“Go into the cabin, quick. Crawl to it and stay there.” She didn’t see well, but none of them looked hurt or wounded. Small blessings.
Part of her itched for her rifle she had left with Wes. Once all the villagers were inside the cabin, she shut the door and scrambled behind the corner, shielding her body with the side of the building.
Ammunition was running low, but small lights helped her direct her aim. Someone crawled behind her, and she only had the time to see Wes’s face before holding back her shot. As he approached, he handed her rifle.
“Since there is no light and the moon is overcast, their aim isn’t so good. In fact, they’re firing less and less. Sully is already making his way, circling toward them. I’m doing the same on the other side.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“No! You stay here, protect your people. I have two men with me.”
“But—”
As quickly as he arrived, he was gone, his silhouette disappearing in the darkness. Was his limping gone or she imagined it? As they blended into the night, calm had returned and it was deafening.
Mac waited for any noise or indicator that could tell her what was happening. The men could handle themselves, but fear pulled at her heart for Wes. Damn, he was becoming too important, way too fast. It must be her hormones talking, or maybe her loneliness. One way or another, she would need to get her head straight again on her goals. That’s for sure.
Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Gabrielle.
“I’ve been updated by Sully. The castle is secured. A second team is on its way to help you with the villagers. They should arrive in ten. Hold the fort until they come back.”
“I hear you. Ammo is running low, though.”
“Good thing you’re a sniper. Hang in there, my friend.”
Mac slid the cell back in her pocket and took position, the best one she could find, allowing her to have a great view of anybody incoming while protecting the men inside the cabin.
From a distance, someone yelled and an engine revved. From the sound, it wasn’t a car, more like an ATV. More gun shots and then nothing.
Mac stayed put, her rifle ready. Her cell vibrated again, Sullivan’s number, but it was Wes’ voice on the other end of the line.
“They got away. Nobody’s hurt, but Sully and I have seen him. It was Calvi.”
Chapter 26
Night was replaced by a misty morning until the sun finally found a way to cut through its thick veil. The rays illuminated the kitchen so cheerfully, it was as if the weather was mocking the general mood inside the castle. Mac couldn’t say if the night had been achingly long or incredibly short. Once the team had come back and made sure the location was secured, they escorted the villagers to the castle. It was a miracle nobody was hurt. Mac had feared some of them would be traumatized by the whole ordeal, but that was without considering their fighting Scottish spirit. All the men were mostly angry that some stranger came onto their land, and threatened their laird. In fact, it took some time and effort to calm them down and make them promise not to start a militia or do anything foolish to any stranger passing by.
Mac was grateful that Gabrielle waited until Matthew and Jenny woke up before telling them about what happened. That left enough time for her to take a shower and put the gun and rifle away. Wesley hadn’t come in yet. Once the villagers were safely home and the sun was starting to light the land, he went with Sullivan and a few security guards to examine the scene in the light of day in hope Calvi and his men would have forgotten some sort of clue.
That left her, back in the kitchen, a coffee in her hand sitting at the island, ready for a full attack from her brother. She suspected that he would either try to take her head off or give her the cold shoulder. It’s only when she saw Jenny appear in a bright pink cotton gown and terry robe that she realized there could be a third option after all.
“Good morning!” Jenny’s cheerful smile competed with the sun this morning. Was that a good or really bad sign? The very pregnant woman poured herself a mug of coffee and came to sit in front of her.
“How was your night?”
Mac frowned at her.
“That bad? I can suspect so, especially when you all came so close to that freak. I’m happy that you were there. It would have broken my heart if something would have happened to Ernest or Albert. They’re such endearing grumpy old men.”
“I’m surprised not to hear the if-I-would-have-stayed-here-these-men-wouldn’t-have-been-caught-in-a-firefight-in-the-first-place speech.”
Jenny dismissed her aggressive tone and took another sip. “I’m a cop. Let’s stick to the facts, shall we? Calvi and his men were hiding near the cabin. The villagers followed a trail left by Calvi. Whether you were there or not, something was bound to occur, and I mostly feared what would have happened if you wouldn’t have been present. So, as I said, thank you.”
“I don’t know if we were close enough. I would need to talk to Gabrielle.”
“From what she told us earlier, terrain and darkness played against you. But that’s the highlands.” Her sister-in-law reached for her hand. “I don’t know you well. But I see it affects you very much. We will catch him. You start, and if I finally deliver, I will personally hunt down that freak threatening my family.”
Smiling, Mac squeezed back her hand. “You will have to go over Matthew first.”
Jenny winked. “I have my ways with him.”
Mac angled her head, her interest piqued. “How did you meet my brother?”
“By my accent, you can tell I’m not from around here.”
“I made you as American the moment you opened your mouth. Californian?”
Jenny’s eyebrow shot up. “You’re good. And I find it amazing that your Scottish accent is almost undetectable when you’re talking to your friends or me, but comes back full force when you speak to your brother.”
Mac had to laugh at that. “Matt has a way of bringing my brogue back. And pushing all my buttons. Anyway, it makes me forget the person I became for the person I was.”
“And by the look in your face, you’re not sure if you like that.”
Her sister-in-law was good, Mac had to remember that.
“And now, your cop-side is showing. A lot.”
“You can get the girl out of the uniform …”
Mac smiled. “And still you evade my question.”
Jenny looked at her mug for a moment. “There is nothing unusual or outstanding about our first encounter. I was on my way to the station from a shitty arrest. Some domestic violence where even if you did everything, the woman would still stay with the jerk. I hate that type of situation, as invariably, another fight will occur, never knowing if battery would turn into murder. Anyway, as I’m making my way back to the precinct, I see a rental car swerving. I could have only signaled it to a patrol, but I was so angry that I needed to get it out. The poor sap in the car would pay for all my bottled up frustration.”
Mac bit her lips, amused. “So you stopped the car … and then.”
“I get out of the car almost with my gun out. If I can make that stupid, possibly drunk head, shit in his pants, that would make my day. Instead of a drunk driver, I meet a pair of deep-green eyes, a wealth of red hair, and a man so apologetic with his thick brogue
, I melted. Stupid but true. The man wasn’t used to driving on our side of the road, had lost his way, and instead of stopping, was trying to reprogram his GPS as he drove.”
Jenny’s face smiled and her eyes lost focus for an instant. “He was blaming himself, angry, speaking so fast, his words blurred. It made me laugh. It caught his attention and he started laughing, too. I accompanied him to his hotel and as I was driving away, he jumped out of his car, throwing his keys at the valet, running toward me. He asked if I wanted to go out for dinner. Two years now, almost three since then. The rest is history.”