by Evie Hunter
‘I thought you’d be pleased,’ Niall said. ‘You were the one who was moaning about the babysitting assignment.’
‘Who’s replacing me here?’ He mentally ran through Niall’s list of operatives. Summer needed a professional, not some retired guy that she would chop into mincemeat. And please not Andy McTavish. He was a charmer with an eye for the women. The thought of Summer alone in a safe house with someone else made him want to kill.
‘Jamie McEntaggart.’ It took Flynn a moment to place the name, and when he did, he choked.
‘Are you crazy? That old fart. He can’t do the job anymore.’ Fuck, even Andy McTavish would be better than that old codger. He must be at least fifty.
‘Fug, tell me the truth. Has anything happened that was out of the ordinary? Have there been any more attacks?’ Niall’s voice was deadly serious.
‘No, nothing. It’s been quiet.’
‘Then I’m pulling you out and putting Jamie in. This is an urgent rescue job and I need you on the team.’
Flynn gripped the phone and said nothing. It was the sort of job he lived for, but everything in him rebelled at the thought of leaving Summer.
Niall’s voice changed. ‘Oh, has the brat beaten the Dom? Andy and I had a bet that she’d have you in love with her before the month was out.’
He choked. ‘In love? With that spoilt wee brat? Are you kidding me? Never going to happen.’ The bastards had been betting on him. He wanted to smash something. Preferably their faces. ‘I just don’t like leaving a job half done.’
His boss laughed. ‘Are you sure? There’s a lot of money riding on this, and there are a couple of days left before it falls due.’
‘Get me out of here and keep your nose out of my business,’ Flynn growled. He wasn’t sure what was between him and Summer, but it was their business. The thought of Niall and Andy and god-knows-who-else betting on them made him see red.
‘Okay, I’m sending a chopper to pick you up in about twenty minutes. You’ll go wheels up as soon as you get to Glasgow.’ Niall hung up before Flynn could protest.
Damn it. Flynn closed the phone and went indoors to pack. What the hell was he going to say to Summer?
Summer waited until she heard the front door slam before she emerged from her secluded corner of the conservatory. Whoever said that the truth hurt wasn’t joking. She had never been so unprepared for the words she had overheard. Each one was like a knife in her heart. Everything that happened between them had been a lie. Spoilt wee bitch, he had called her. How noble of him to want to finish the job, even when he couldn’t wait to see the back of her. How much he must have laughed while he pretended to care for her. How distasteful it must have been for him to fuck her.
And she had confided in him. Told him her deepest fears, her darkest passions, while he had played her like a fool. Encouraging her to believe that she was special, that he cared for her. She had almost begun to hope that they had a future together. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t rich. She didn’t care if he hadn’t got two pennies to rub together.
She had believed that he was an honourable man, but Flynn was worse than Adam. Much worse. At least Adam had wanted her for her money and her connections. She could understand that. Her dad often said that everything boiled down to sex or money.
How had she not seen it before? Flynn was just like her dad. They both compartmentalized their lives to the nth degree. Flynn would love her one day and hop on a plane the next without giving her a second thought. She would never know when she would see him again. Just like her father. She couldn’t do that again, not with him.
She had to get out of here. As she crossed the hall she spotted the telephone. With shaking fingers, she dialled Molly’s number. It was early, Molly was probably still in bed. ‘Come on, please, answer the bloody phone,’ she muttered.
‘Yo?’ a sleepy voice answered.
Summer closed her eyes. What was with the yo? Did Molly have to trend everything? ‘It’s me. Stop yo-ing.’
‘Summer, is it really you? Where have you been? You’ve been gone for weeks and –’
‘It’s a long story. I’m stuck in Scotland and I need you to come and get me. The place is called Turlochmor. It’s in the arse end of nowhere, so you’ll have to look it up on sat-nav. Please, Molls.’
‘Oh my god, are you in trouble?’
Summer bit down on her lower lip. It was good to hear a friendly voice, but she couldn’t talk for long. If Flynn suspected that she would leave the moment he was gone, she would be in big trouble. ‘I can’t talk. I’ll be …’ She paused. She had no idea how big Turlochmor was or what was in the town. ‘I’ll be at the post office in Turlochmor at 3 p.m. tomorrow.’ Everywhere had a post office; it couldn’t be hard to find it.
‘Don’t worry. Of course I’ll come.’
Shaky with relief, Summer replaced the receiver and hurried up the stairs to her room.
Twenty minutes later, the sound of a helicopter landing almost blew in the windows. Summer was used to choppers – her father used them all the time and she’d flown in her share – but this one was loud and mean-looking. It landed beside the house, the wind from rotors flattening the grasses in the pebble garden.
She debated staying in her room, but that would be admitting she cared. Besides, a tiny part of her hungered for one more glimpse of Flynn, even if he was walking – no, make that flying – away from her. She joined the family in front of the house.
The door of the chopper opened and a red-haired man clambered out. Once he was on the ground, he lifted his suitcase out carefully.
Flynn emerged from the house, his battered rucksack over his shoulder, and approached the other man.
Summer couldn’t hear what he was saying through the noise of the chopper, but Flynn brought him over to her. ‘Summer, this is Jamie McEntaggart, your new bodyguard. For god’s sake, don’t give him the sort of grief you gave me.’
Grief. She had given him grief. In that moment, Summer hated Flynn.
Flynn embraced his mother. Morag clung to him, tears running down her face. ‘Please son, be careful. Don’t take any risks.’
Then he punched David on the shoulder. ‘Look after everyone. And don’t get married until I get back. You’re too young to rush into things.’
David shoved his hand away. ‘For fuck’s sake, Flynn, I’m not a baby. You’re not in charge of me and you don’t know what’s best for everyone.’
Lorna threw herself into his arms. Flynn allowed her to weep hysterically for a few moments, and then pushed her over towards David.
He moved towards Summer. She took an instinctive step back. She didn’t recognize this mood of Flynn’s but she could see it was dangerous. He hesitated, then said, ‘We’ll talk when I get back.’ He gave her one last look before turning and hopping into the helicopter. He was in it no more than a minute before it took off and headed upwards.
Summer stared at it as it got smaller and smaller, until it vanished altogether.
Morag dried her eyes, blew her nose and straightened her shoulders. The shocked mother was gone, and the gracious hostess was back. She inclined her head to the new bodyguard. ‘Come along, Mr McEntaggart, we’ll sort out some sleeping accommodation for you.’
It looked as if she had a new bodyguard – but not for long. After supper, she pleaded a headache and wished him goodnight. She wasn’t lying, she did have a pain. A big aching one, where her heart should have been. On the way to her room, she ran into David.
He took in her ashen face. ‘Don’t worry. Flynn always comes back.’
‘Why does everyone assume that there is something going on between us? I’m just a job to him.’ She hadn’t meant to snap at David but his sympathy was more than she could bear. She brushed past him into the kitchen, away from his perceptive eyes, and busied herself pouring a glass of water.
She wasn’t prepared when he came up behind her and enveloped her in a hug. Summer put the glass on the counter and turned in his arms, burying he
r face in the warmth of his sweater.
He held her tightly and murmured against her hair. ‘Just say the word, and the minute he comes home I’ll drag him outside and let him beat the crap out of me.’
She raised her head and managed a half smile. ‘Thanks for the offer, but no. I’ll be fine.’
‘Has he hurt you? Do you want me to speak to him when he gets back?’
Summer shook her head. ‘There’s no point. There’s nothing left to say.’ She made her way to her room and threw herself onto the bed. It was a long time before her eyes closed.
After a night of staring at the ceiling, she slept late and when she woke the alarm clock told her that it was almost noon. She tumbled out of bed and headed for the shower. There was no point in packing; it would alert her new bodyguard. Besides, she didn’t want to see any of this stuff again. There were too many memories.
The house was quiet. There was only her and McEntaggart.
‘You’re awake then. They’ve gone to Turlochmor to do some shopping. They should be back late this afternoon.’
‘Damn, I wanted to go with them. I could do with a break from the house. I don’t suppose you’d like to drive me into town?’
McEntaggart raised an eyebrow. ‘Not a chance. Niall said you were to stay here until the job was over.’
Bugger. She thought that because he was older, he would be a pushover. There was one thing she could try. ‘You don’t understand. I need to go to the pharmacy.’
He shook his head.
‘I really need to go to the pharmacy. For some Tampax.’
A slow, red flush climbed up the older man’s neck and Summer almost felt sorry for him.
She gave him her best pleading look. ‘I only need to go to one shop. We can be back in less than an hour. No one needs to know.’
‘Well, I suppose it is only the village.’
Summer hated lying to him, but she had to get out of here. By 3 p.m. she would be on her way home again. She hurried to her room; there were only a couple of things she could take with her. She shoved them into her pocket.
As they took the road out of the glen, she risked a final glance behind at the loch. In the distance she could see a small, dark shape near the water. The croft. Blinking away the threatening tears, she turned around and concentrated on the road ahead.
Turlochmor was a one-street town of dour grey buildings and cheerful shop fronts. It wouldn’t take long to explore every inch of it. A red delivery van was parked outside the pharmacy and McEntaggart was forced to drive up the street to find a parking spot.
‘You can drop me off here. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.’ Without waiting for his agreement, she opened the car door and strode down the street, searching for the post office. As she crossed a side road, she heard a car horn.
The green jaguar looked out of place in the small country village.
‘Summer!’ Molly opened the passenger door.
Heart racing, Summer hurried down the side street and clambered into the car. Molly hugged her. ‘Oh thank god. I had no idea where you vanished to and Robert was so worried about you. Weren’t you, darling?’
Summer was almost afraid to turn her head. She glanced in the rear-view mirror. Lounging in the back seat was Robert Fielding.
29
The drive back to London was different to the ride north almost a month before. Molly kept up an endless stream of chatter all the way about Wimbledon, weddings and who was dating who in the party set. Summer couldn’t remember which stick-thin blonde was which and she didn’t care. All she could think about was Flynn. She tried to smile and appear interested, giving the occasional nod or monosyllabic response while parrying questions about why she had been in Scotland
They stopped at York for an early dinner, passing the car park where she had met Niall and the others. Summer felt a pang of shame when she remembered what a spoilt bitch she had been then. How much a month could change things.
Robert took them to the Blue Bicycle, a little restaurant near the canal. The exquisite fish starter was served on slates. It was the finest meal she had eaten for a month, but she would have given anything to be sitting at the rough table at the croft, drinking tepid scrumpy and eating trout fresh from the loch. She pushed her plate away.
Molly pressed her hand. ‘You’ve hardly eaten anything. Are you feeling all right?’
She shook her head and tried to summon a smile. ‘I’m fine. It’s been a rough month.’
‘It’s over now. Don’t worry. Everything will be back to normal when we get to London. You’ll see.’
That was the problem. She didn’t know what normal was anymore. Her old life of shopping and endless parties seemed facile and empty. Just how many pairs of Louboutins did a girl need, anyway?
‘Has your father returned from America?’ Robert asked. ‘Will there be someone at the London house to meet you?’
She hadn’t thought of that. Her dad was still in Atlanta, but some alone time would be good. She needed to think about her future. ‘I’ll be fine.’
Robert took over the driving when they left York and Summer took the opportunity to nap. When she woke they were outside Molly’s apartment. Summer climbed out of the car and stretched.
‘Are you sure you won’t stay with me for a few days?’ Molly asked. ‘I hate to think of you being alone.’
‘I’m fine, Molls,’ she said, hugging her friend. ‘Thanks for coming for me. I’ll ring you in a couple of days and we’ll catch up.’
‘You better,’ Molly whispered. ‘And I want to hear everything.’
Robert opened the passenger door. ‘Climb in, I’ll drop you home.’
She was about to protest when she realized that she had nothing but the clothes she stood up in and no one to call. Summer slid into the passenger seat and waved to Molly. Robert was silent as he negotiated the late night traffic and she could feel her eyes closing again.
‘So, you’ve finished with your little Scottish adventure?’
‘What? Um yes. There’s no need for me to stay there any longer. Dad is back in a couple of days.’
‘He’ll be glad to have his precious little girl back, hmmm? Although your boyfriend really should have seen you safely back to London.’
She didn’t bother replying. Robert might be Molly’s Dom, but that didn’t give him the right to question her and there was no way that she would discuss Flynn with him.
He took his eyes off the road for a moment to give her a speculative glance. ‘I think a month in the country has changed you.’
If only he knew. Each time she closed her eyes, her mind was flooded with images of Flynn and their time together. Late nights in front of the fire, the scent of his soap, the feel of his rough hands on her skin. She blinked the images away. It was all a lie. Stop thinking about him.
They pulled up at the gates to the house and Summer put in the code to open them. The house was in darkness and she doubted if any of the staff were still up.
Ever the gentleman, Robert stayed while she rang the bell and waited. Flynn hadn’t thought to pack her keys and even if he had, they would still be in Turlochmor. No lights came on in the house. She rang again, keeping her finger on the bell and listening as it echoed in the hall. Why wasn’t there someone on duty?
‘Let’s try round the back,’ she suggested.
‘I’ll go,’ Robert offered.
Just then a light came on in the hall and the door was opened by a bleary-eyed Malcolm. When he saw her, he stood to attention and pulled his woollen dressing gown around him. ‘Miss Summer, we weren’t expecting you until Wednesday.’
‘Change of plans,’ she announced.
‘But, but you don’t understand, madam. The chef is on a night off and …’
Summer followed him down the hallway into the sitting room. Despite her tiredness, Summer wanted to laugh. Chef? She had been catching and cooking her own food for the past month. She would manage to do battle with a well-stocked larder and a twenty-first
century kitchen. A giggle escaped when she noticed the perfectly ironed crease in Malcolm’s pale blue pyjamas.
‘She’s just overtired,’ Robert assured Malcolm. ‘We’ve had a long journey.’
‘I see.’ The frosty expression on Malcolm’s face belied his polite response. ‘Will you be staying, sir?’
Robert looked to Summer for her approval. The last thing she needed was a guest, but she couldn’t really expect him to drive back to the other side of the city at this hour of the night. ‘Of course, please stay. You’ve done enough driving for today.’
‘One of the guest rooms on the first floor is ready, madam, or perhaps you’d like me to prepare the adjoining –’
‘The first floor will be fine. That will be all, Malcolm.’
He inclined his head stiffly and left the room.
Even in a full-length dressing gown, Malcolm still managed to look disapproving. The cheek of him. Did he really think that she wanted Robert in the adjoining room, or that she would sleep with any male guest? She really would have to speak to her father about him.
As the door closed, Robert put his hand on her shoulder. She spun around, stumbling against him and Robert’s arm slid around her waist. ‘Of course, I wouldn’t mind sharing with you.’
‘What?’ she shook her head, willing her brain to work. What was Robert up to? Did he really think that she would let him touch her? ‘But you’re Molly’s –’
‘Molly is mine. There is a subtle difference. Perhaps you’d like a demonstration.’
He propelled her backwards until her knees hit the edge of the couch and she struggled not to fall. Summer pressed her palms against his shoulders and shoved hard. Robert was stronger than she imagined. Her hands met solid muscle and he barely moved an inch. ‘I said stop.’
‘I know you don’t mean that.’ Robert grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged her head back. His mouth slammed down on hers and he tumbled them onto the couch.
She struggled to breathe with the combination of his weight crushing her and his seeking mouth. Summer thumped her fists against his back, trying to dislodge him. He dragged his mouth away. ‘What’s the matter? You weren’t so fussy with the Scot.’