The chef abruptly stopped. He swallowed hard. “Lachlan—”
“You’re fired. No ifs, buts, or maybes about it. I want you off this estate immediately.”
Guy had the audacity to look shocked. “Do I get a reference at least?”
A red mist crept into the corners of Lachlan’s vision. He seethed, holding it back. “You beat my sister. You’re lucky I’m not calling the police.”
The man didn’t seem to understand the peril he was in. “If you don’t give me a reference, my reputation is ruined. I left a five-star hotel for this job!”
Lachlan counted to five in his head. Then, “Not. My. Problem.”
“This is my career! And over what? Your whore of a sister!”
The word whore hit Lachlan with the impact of a punch to the face. He bowed his head, glared at his feet, tried to count again, got to three—
He lunged at Guy with a downward swing of his fist that knocked the piece of shit to the ground. Blood sprayed across the side of the stainless steel island from the force of the blow to his nose.
Groaning, Guy pushed up off the floor, and Lachlan helped him to his feet, hauling him by the front of his chef whites so the fucker dangled off the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Lachlan saw Jock stride into the room with two men at his back. Blood dripped down Guy’s nose and mouth, the former of which was already swelling up. “If I ever see you near my family again, I’ll end more than your career. Do you understand?”
Guy glared at him.
“Do you understand me?”
The arsehole nodded, and Lachlan shoved him at Jock, who caught and pushed him at the men at his back. The security guards each took one of his arms.
“Escort him so he can gather his shit, then get him off my estate. Make sure he never sets foot in Ardnoch again.” The men nodded. “Jock, wait a minute.”
Guy didn’t struggle against Lachlan’s men as they manhandled him out of the kitchen. He waited until they were gone to say to Jock, “I want it made perfectly clear to him that he’s not welcome in Scotland. Understood?”
His man understood. “On it.”
Once Jock was gone, Lachlan finally felt the pain in his knuckles and hissed as he flexed his fingers. Grabbing a bag of ice from the large walk-in freezer, he then went in search of Rafaella. He found her and the junior chefs in the small staff room off the kitchens. They looked a little pale-faced, and a lot concerned.
Lachlan didn’t explain, even though they all noted the ice pressed to his knuckles. “Rafaella, you’ve just been promoted to head chef. We’ll start interviewing for a sous chef next week, if that works for you?”
She nodded, wide-eyed. “Absolutely.”
“Good. Any problems adjusting to the new schedule, let me know.” He turned to leave, throwing over his shoulder, “There’s blood on the side of the island. I’d disinfect the whole thing and the floor and get rid of any food prep that was out.”
“Okay,” she replied in a tone that suggested he was a little crazy.
He felt a little crazy.
In fact, he was practically buzzing with animal energy that needed release.
Pulling his phone out of his back pocket, he dialed Robyn. She didn’t answer.
Fuck.
Ten minutes later, he’d changed into workout clothes and was beating the shit out of a boxing bag in the gym.
Sex with Robyn would’ve been his first choice, but apparently his American wasn’t as keen to see him as he was to see her.
It was probably for the best. He was due home to Arro in a few hours.
Just the thought of his sister and what she’d gone through had him hitting the bag so hard, a crack opened in the ceiling.
24
Robyn
A gentle Scottish mist attempted to cool my skin as I ran along the perfect golden sands of Ardnoch Beach. It was firm beneath my feet as I stuck close to shore, the water of the firth an arcadian soundtrack to my exercise. Lucy usually ran with me in the mornings and distracted me from scenery I knew I’d never get used to or take for granted.
Alone, I could revel in its beauty. I’d never seen sand like it and never thought I’d find it in Scotland. Miles of it stretched before me, a guide along the water as dark green hills loomed in the distance where the earth jutted out into the sea. Sunbeams cut through gray clouds, spilling angelic rays of champagne light across the water.
I’d needed this.
Some alone time.
Lucy had texted yesterday to tell me she would be in Edinburgh for a few days so to run without her. I’d texted her back but ignored the several missed calls I had on my phone.
One from my mom, and an unopened voicemail.
And two missed calls from Lachlan yesterday afternoon.
I also had a text message from Arrochar reminding me we needed to set a date for dinner together.
Life was starting to feel a little out of my control. Mac and I seemed to be speeding ahead into a relationship, and there was a part of me still terrified he would hurt me. Despite my feelings toward my mom, I also hated that we weren’t on good terms and wouldn’t be until I had the chance to speak with her face-to-face.
And Lachlan.
Jesus, I didn’t know what to do about him. My heart warily suggested one thing while my body urged me to throw caution to the wind.
My body was pretty loud about it too.
Ever notice how it’s always the moron who’s the loudest in the room?
And then there was, of course, the glaring, startling reality that Mac’s attacker and Lachlan’s stalker had still not been caught.
The run on the beach allowed me to shrug off my worries and just let myself be. But it didn’t take long for all my concerns to propel themselves back to the fore. Deciding the run was over, and to return to the trailer so I could proceed with my plans for the day, I upped the energy.
There was one person I hadn’t had a chance to talk to. He hadn’t been at the ceilidh. No surprise there since Lachlan was in attendance. Yesterday, I’d taken Mac for a drive, and we’d chatted about everything and nothing, including the case, and I’d asked about McCulloch and the land issue.
According to Mac, Collum McCulloch owned a small farm north of Ardnoch. But the family had insisted for centuries that they used to own land south of Ardnoch that bordered Adair land. It wasn’t a huge piece of property, but it was coastal.
It was Adair land now, and Lachlan’s members had homes on it.
The farm still existed northwest of the village, and it was where I planned to go.
Taking a quick shower and throwing on the nearest clean clothes I could find (not having on-site laundry was a pain!), I jumped into my SUV in investigation mode.
I thought on what a great day I’d had with my dad and how afterward when I returned to the trailer, I’d begun to feel anxious about it. Dad and I were cut from the same cloth. I noticed things about his personality that I recognized in myself. For instance, he had to know about my affair with Lachlan, but he didn’t lecture me about it. In fact, he didn’t even mention it. That was so like me. If I thought someone might be sensitive about something, I left well enough alone until they wanted to talk about it.
As we drove and he talked about his life with Lachlan and all the traveling they’d done, my wanderlust envied him. Mom had always been perplexed by my desire to journey to different places, but now I realized I’d inherited it from Mac. I just hadn’t been able to afford to do it.