“I’d be a naive little girl if I trusted the system. Major Jackson is using me as a scapegoat to cover for his crimes. He managed to get the drugs from Afghanistan to America for years. So imagine how many people he must have in his pocket in the military. And now that he murdered a US officer, he’ll be even more ruthless.” She shook her head. “No. I cannot take him on alone.”
“Perhaps nae. But why don’t you ask your brothers to help? Jonathan was in the military, too. He knows people, doesn’t he?”
“Right.” Amber snorted. “Jonathan doesn’t want anything to do with me. He sold our house after Dad died, and everyone lives their own lives.”
Amber was still a teenager when their mom died, and the family had started to fall apart. After their dad’s death two years ago, they’d stopped meeting for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Kyle was a kick-ass lawyer in New York. Daniel was in San Francisco last time Amber had heard, still trying to sell his sculptures.
“But still,” Aunt Cristel said, “if you ask for help… Kin is kin.”
“Maybe that’s how it is in Scotland. And I can’t thank you enough for helping me. But if I went to Jonathan for help, he’d be the first to rat me out to the authorities.”
Aunt Christel covered Amber’s hand with her own, and Amber squeezed it back, her caramel skin looking even darker compared to her aunt’s pasty complexion.
“Surely, nae, dear?” Aunt Christel said.
Amber sighed. “He wouldn’t risk his ass for me. He has the right connections in the military, I’m sure, but he also has two kids and a wife and a beautiful house.”
“But—”
“Police! Police!” Rob cried.
Everything moved in slow motion. There was the distant rustle of car tires and engines. The front door swung wide, and Rob stood in the doorway, his silhouette black against the sun. “Police!” he shouted.
Amber jumped to her feet, jostling the table, and the coffee mugs and porridge flew off from the impact.
Aunt Christel cried, “Back door!”
Amber ran, her feet heavy, as though she were moving through a swamp. It was like she were trapped in one of those nightmares where she couldn’t get away from a killer.
The hallway flashed by, and she reached the old, mahogany door. Unlocked, thank God! She raced out past the barn, into a field of oats. Her ragged breathing was louder than anything in her ears. Where was she running? Where should she go?
Away. She’d wait for a while and then come back to Aunt Christel’s to get her things. Then she’d leave. Go to the woods. Somewhere. Anywhere.
She wouldn’t be punished for something she hadn’t done.
Behind her, cars revved. She glanced back. They were coming right through the field after her. Amber gasped, adrenalin spiking.
Before her was a grove. They wouldn’t be able to get through in their vehicles. She sped up. Thank God, she jogged every day and did combat training, but she still couldn’t win a footrace against cars.
She flew into the grove. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the shade of the tress after being in the sunny field. She ran through the trees before she had to stop and catch her breath, her lungs desperately expanding to get more air in. She looked around. Thirty feet or so in front of her, an asphalt road ran from the left to the right, and across it, farther away in the distance, something like a castle stood between trees. Right, the ruined castle her aunt had told her about. Behind it, was River Lochy.
The cars behind her turned. They’d need to take quite a detour to get on the road.
She ran again, across the empty road, then down the ditch on its other side, almost twisting her ankle.
Not today.
She made it past the trees and the bushes to an almost ruined wall of the castle that had two round towers on each side. There was an arched gate in the middle, and through the courtyard was another small gate. If she could just get there, maybe she could hide in the bushes behind it. The river was on the other side of the far gate. Although it was very broad, maybe she could swim across it. She was a good swimmer…
She ran inside the square courtyard. On every corner was a round tower. A red-haired woman stood in the middle, and the scent of lavender and freshly cut grass hit Amber. The woman wore a long green cloak and a medieval-looking, dark-green dress.
“Here, lass.” The woman gestured towards the black entrance at one of the towers. “They’ll have a hard time finding ye here.”
Amber stopped and bent forward. She put her hands on her knees and panted. Her lungs ached and burned, and a piercing pain pulsated in her side.
“Who are you?” she said.
“I’m Sìneag. I ken ye’re in trouble. Trust me. Ye dinna have much time. They’re coming.”
Tires screeched against the asphalt. Voices.
“Arghhh!!” Amber cried. She must be insane to trust a complete stranger, but there was no way she’d make it to the river in time. They could easily catch up to her on the other side anyway. “Come on! Show me.”
Sìneag nodded and ran first, showing the way. They raced through a doorway and into the tomb-like darkness of the tower. Sìneag went quickly down the crumbling stairs into a complete blackness. Amber clutched at the wall, barely seeing anything. Rocks rolled from under her feet. Her shoes slipped, and she almost fell several times. Finally, she slid to a stop when the stairs reached the uneven ground. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw Sìneag standing there, waiting for her.
“Come, lass, a little farther,” she said.
A heavy feeling settled in Amber’s stomach. She felt like Little Red Riding Hood being called deeper into the woods by the wolf. She looked up. Somewhere up there, people were looking for her, people who wanted her to be punished for a crime she didn’t commit. She supposed going farther under a ruined castle to save herself didn’t sound like such a bad idea compared to being caught by them.
She kept following Sìneag, and it got darker and darker. The scent of wet stone, earth, and mold enveloped her. Water dripped from somewhere.
Sìneag took Amber by the hand. The woman’s palm was cool and soft.
“Come here. I ken this place. We’ll sit here and wait. Sooner or later, they’ll be gone. Then ye go out. Aye?”
She tugged Amber a few steps to her left and down. Amber put out her hand and found a cold, rough stone wall. She slid her hand down as she sat on the ground. Her breath rushed in and out quickly, and she made an effort to slow it down.
“How do you know this place?” Amber whispered.
“Ah, I ken it well. Have been here many times. There’s a rock that interests me in the foundation.”
Amber almost asked about the rock, but adrenalin was pumping through her blood. Any minute, they could find her. She listened for the sound of any steps or voices, but so far, everything was quiet.
“Why did you help me?” Amber asked softly. “How do you know I didn’t escape from prison or haven’t stolen something? Are you not worried about why the police are after me? Did you see in my eyes that I have a heart of gold or something?”
Sìneag laughed a little. “Aye. Something like that. I supposed ye canna tell me what ye’re really running from?”
Amber sighed. “It’s probably in your best interest not to know. You may be an accomplice by hiding a criminal.”