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)
But could I bear to lose her like I lost them without trying? Without trusting that maybe she’d think better of me than I thought of myself?
So lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t realized Sloane had left Callie at the stall with Regan and Eilidh until I saw her heading toward me. Toward the coffee van.
She wore a cream knit beanie hat over her long hair, her cheeks pink with cold. Her winter boots flashed beneath the long skirts of her dress and her cream winter coat hung open, a heavy knit scarf the only thing between her and the winter air.
Beautiful, I thought.
Had I told her that enough?
Her gaze moved up from the ground and met mine.
Sloane halted in the middle of the bustling crowd, the color leaching from her cheeks.
Then she abruptly turned and headed back toward the stall.
To avoid me.
To get away from me.
My hands clenched at my sides, and I took a step forward before I stopped myself.
Was this how it was to be, then? To bump into her on the street and have her treat me like a stranger? Like how it was with my parents?
The thought wrecked me.
I walked away before I did something impulsive. On instinct. Without thinking.
I couldn’t do that with Sloane. With Callie. I had to know for certain what I was capable of giving because they were the last people on earth I ever wanted to hurt.
Thirty-Eight
WALKER
Life was empty. It hadn’t felt that way before her, before them, but now it felt cavernous and lacking.
Sunday I took a bracing run on the beach and then worked out at home. The rest of the day I wandered around my too big house wondering what they were up to.
Monday morning, I drove onto the estate and parked next to Sloane’s car. It happened as Brodan had promised. I couldn’t think of anything else but her, and it was infuriating and uncomfortable and—
I needed her.
Staff members practically leapt out of my way as I marched into the castle that morning. They seemed to take one look at my face and turn on their heels to avoid me. Good. That was my preference.
However, avoiding all human contact was impossible, and I was called to a meeting with Aria and Jock. Lachlan was still preoccupied at home with his wife and child and plans to launch a whisky distillery with Brodan, which meant Aria was taking on more and more of the everyday running of the estate. She’d called us into her office first thing.
As Jock and I entered the opulently furnished room, Aria rounded the table and held out a tablet to us. Jock took it, and I read the screen over his shoulder.
It was a news article on North Hunter.
Jock muttered a curse under his breath as we read it.
Apparently, when North was thirteen years old, he and his friends were responsible for the death of a homeless man. Details were vague, but it painted North in a very bad light.
“He’s here,” Aria announced as we looked up from the tablet, her expression decidedly unhappy. “Mr. Hunter has chosen Ardnoch as the place to hide out during this scandal and, as a paying member, he has every right to do that.” She sounded like she wished he didn’t. “He arrived at the crack of dawn, and I can only assume it won’t be long before the paparazzi descend at the gates.”
“We’ll add extra security at all entrances,” Jock said. “We’ll also test our drone perimeter.”
“Good.” Aria exhaled heavily. “More members will arrive soon for Christmas, and having the tabloids as a welcoming party wasn’t really on my gift list this year.”
“Some people,” Jock huffed, staring at the tablet before he handed it back to her. “But he’s a member, so we have to protect him.”
I frowned at that, remembering the man who willingly dove in to help me protect Sloane when it wasn’t his job to do so. “North was a child,” I reminded them both. “A thirteen-year-old child, and the tabloids have provided no detail. What we do know is that North Hunter helped me protect a woman who means a great deal to me from a predator when it was not his responsibility. As far as I’m concerned, I owe him. I’ll protect him because I’m paid to, but also because of the man he’s proven to be now. We of all people should know not to trust everything we read.”
Jock and Aria both look sufficiently chastened and stunned.
“I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you say in one go.” Amusement curled Jock’s lips. “And you’re absolutely right.” He turned to Aria. “We’ll take care of this.”
I moved to follow him out of her office, but Aria stopped me. I glanced back at her.
She narrowed her eyes. “A woman who means a great deal to you?”