Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Anger churned low in my gut. “Is she all right? Did he hurt her? Where is she?”
Brodan was silent for too many seconds. Then, “She’s fine. She pepper-sprayed him in the eyes and he took off.”
“Good girl.” I relaxed marginally.
My friend snorted. “I beg you not to say those words to her. No, on second thought, do it. Preferably in front of me.”
“Short of entertainment these days? Is becoming a father not entertaining enough?”
“Aye, all right, you moody bastard. Sloane and Callie are fine. Sloane came to the hospital with us and stayed for the birth, but I had one of the men come from the estate to escort her home.”
“Why didn’t you call me to come get her?”
“Well … she asked me not to.”
I jerked back like the fucker had hit me. That stung. I didn’t know why since I’d made up my mind to stay away from her.
“Anyway, she’s fine. She’s home. Lachlan is going to look into whether Hoffman might be behind it.”
“Why do you think it wasn’t a mugging?”
Brodan sighed. “Walk … any other day, I’d want to discuss this, but Sloane is fine, my brother’s dealing with it, and I want to celebrate the arrival of my wee boy for today. Just for today. So I’m going to get back to my wife and son. He’d quite like to meet his uncle Walker soon.”
Uncle Walker.
Fuck.
Agitated but touched, I replied, “Text me when Roe’s up for visitors. I’ll be there.”
“Uh, wait a second. Roe wants to talk to you.”
Frowning, I waited as Brodan passed his phone to her.
“Walker?” Monroe’s voice filled my ear.
“Congrats, Roe. Happy for you.”
“Thank you.” I could hear the smile in her voice but also the exhaustion. “Lennox is eager to meet his uncle Walker, so why don’t you pop by the house this evening?”
“You’ll be home then?”
“Lennox and I are doing well so they said we can go home this afternoon.”
“Are you sure you don’t need rest?”
“No, I want my son surrounded by his family as much as possible. That includes you, you know.”
Emotion thickened my throat. “Aye, okay. I’ll be there.”
“Great. We’ll see you soon.”
She hung up and I stared at my phone, my mind already racing to Sloane and Callie. If Hoffman had sent someone after her, I’d kill the prick. But maybe it was a mugging. What the hell was she doing in Inverness on a Friday night, anyway?
I itched to call her.
“Why didn’t you call me to come get her?”
“Well … she asked me not to.”
Fuck.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d held a baby in my arms, but there was no getting around it when Brodan planted his son in mine and left him there.
Lennox Adair was a big baby, and I wondered how Monroe could have been carrying him inside her wee body for so long. He had the chubbiest cheeks I’d ever seen and blue-gray eyes the size of marbles. He wriggled restlessly in my hold, his wee fists curled, arms stretching, his legs kicking beneath the blanket he was wrapped in. I bent my head to his and his eyes widened as I commanded gently, “Settle, wee yin.”
He immediately stilled in my arms.
“That’s some trick.” Brodan snorted from where he sat on the arm of his sofa. Monroe was curled up on the couch under blankets, resting her head on his thigh as she watched me with her son.
“It’s all in the voice,” I said, holding out a finger to Lennox.
He grasped onto it and showed me his gums.
“He likes you.” Monroe beamed. “He likes Uncle Walker.”
“Well, who wouldn’t?” I said dryly.
After a few more minutes of holding my “nephew,” walking him around the large living room of my friend’s home, the doorbell rang. Soon the room was filled with Adairs, and Lennox was slowly passed from aunt to uncle. I could admit only to myself that I’d hoped to see Sloane and was worried when she wasn’t there.
Not long after the arrival of their family, I’d left the room to use the downstairs loo and when I came out, Monroe was blocking my way.
I frowned, concerned. “Should you be up?”
She waved off my worried question. “Forget about me for a second. I need a big favor from you.”
“All right.” I nodded.
“I need you to look out for Sloane.”
I stiffened. “Monroe—”
“Last night wasn’t a mugging. He didn’t go near her purse. She dropped it on the ground and he still attacked her, Walker.”
Anger rushed through me. “Hoffman.”
“Possibly. She said he was too tall for Hoffman, but you know he’d hire someone to do his dirty work.” Roe nibbled on her lip and took a step toward me. “But it might not be Hoffman. I … I can’t go into it because it’s not my story to tell, but there is someone else who might want to hurt Sloane.”