They exchanged looks and shook their heads. “As far as I’m aware,” Lachlan replied, “Jared is his daughter’s son. His daughter lives in the Lowlands. They aren’t close, and I’ve never seen a grandson around Ardnoch.”
“Well, he’s here now.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Jared fits the description of Mac’s attacker, as did my attacker. And his eyes …” I explained about their brilliant green. “Easy to identify a criminal in a small village with eyes that color.”
“Jesus Christ.” Mac ran a hand through his hair. “I honestly never thought for a second it was him behind this. And to pull in his grandchildren to help?”
“We have no evidence of this,” Lachlan reminded us. “And as enraged as I am right now, I won’t go around accusing a man who has already been hurt by my family.”
“I won’t either,” I promised him. “Not until I have concrete evidence.”
“McCulloch isn’t a stupid man,” Lachlan mused. “Why send someone to attack you the very same day you paid him a visit about the investigation?”
“Counting on me not having told anyone?” I shrugged. “Assuming it wouldn’t matter because I’d be dead after they were through with me?”
Mac flinched, and Lachlan’s eyes blazed with some indecipherable emotion. “You’re not staying on this case.” He stared at me aghast when I silently dared him to stop me. He looked at Mac. “Tell her.”
Mac took one look at me and sighed heavily. “She’s a grown woman. And as terrifying as tonight was, she handled herself. Better than even me,” he said, gesturing to his stomach.
“I had time to react, Mac,” I said, ignoring Lachlan’s mounting ire.
“I won’t order you off the investigation,” my dad continued, “but you’re not staying here now that you’re a target.” He flicked a piqued and pointed glance at Lachlan. “The only place you’re safe is the castle.”
“No arguments,” Lachlan commanded before I could speak.
I bristled at his tone. “I’ll stay there because it’s the right decision, not because you think you’re my boss.”
Tension crackled between us as he held my gaze. We shared a silent conversation.
The words weren’t clear, but the message was. He wanted me to do what I was told. I had no intention of taking orders.
The wordless argument crackled with contentiousness and not a little hint of sexual tension.
Mac cleared his throat. “Right, then. We’ll wait outside while you pack your things.” Grabbing the sleeve of Lachlan’s jacket, he forced Adair out of the trailer.
I stared around the place.
The trailer door was fine, so the intruder must have picked the lock.
Moving toward the bedroom, I bit my lower lip at the damage to the door. I’d have to pay for the repair work.
Once I’d packed all my stuff and hauled the bags to the exit, Lachlan reached in to take the luggage from me. I carried my pin board. As if reading my mind, he said, “I’ll talk to Gordon about the caravan. He can invoice me for the repairs.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I murmured.
His tone was arctic. “Yes. I do.”
Mac insisted on driving my rental, and the Range Rover followed us to Ardnoch Estate. It wasn’t the first time I’d driven up to the castle at night, but it still took my breath away to see it lit up. I’d noted the lights situated innocuously around the perimeter and discovered their purpose one night when I departed later in the evening than usual. Soft, golden light enveloped massive areas of the sandstone, leaving the rest in shadow, and the overall effect was atmospheric, ghostly but enticing.
“I wish I had my camera out right now,” I murmured.
Mac gave a small huff of laughter. “That’s what you’re thinking about?”
I smirked. “I’m not going to mope over this. Nearly dying messed with me for a while, but it didn’t crush me. No bastard will ever get inside my head like that again.”
He slowed the vehicle to a stop outside the mews, pride glowing in his hazel eyes. “My daughter is fearless.”
“Not fearless,” I whispered, remembering my fear clearly less than two hours before.
“No,” he agreed. “Wrong word choice. My daughter is courageous.”
I was unable to hide my smile as I opened the passenger door. “Okay, I’ll take that.”
Hearing his chuckle relieved me. I didn’t want Mac to fret about me while he still healed. Mental well-being was as much a factor in recovery as physical health. He was nearly recovered, and I didn’t want anything to get in the way of that.
After retrieving keys to a room, Lachlan and Jock insisted on carrying my stuff upstairs, and I found the time to ask the man who was filling in for Mac if he ever went home to his husband and child.
“I was at home. We live in the village. Mac called me.”
I frowned but my dad explained, “Nearly everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise. We trust Jock, Pete, and Kyle because they’ve been with us the longest.”
Pete and Kyle were the two men who had accompanied Jock in the back of the Range Rover.
Lachlan led us to a room on the third floor.
The room opposite his.
Mac’s brow furrowed, presumably about this arrangement, and to be honest, I was pretty disconcerted by it myself. Why would Lachlan want me this close? Other than for easy access, of course, I thought wryly. But surely, the guy didn’t want me in his space all the time.
I wanted to ask for a room near Mac when my dad beat me to it. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to put her in a room on my floor?” he said as I stared around the opulently furnished space. It was a nice step up from the trailer, that was for sure.
“Why would it?” Lachlan said, dumping my suitcase by the antique wardrobe.
“Because you already have security watching the floor.”
Lachlan pointed toward the door. “There are cameras on this floor too.”
Unlike the security cameras outside, the interior cameras dotted around the castle’s common areas were discreetly hidden so the members didn’t feel like they were being watched. Most bedroom corridors didn’t have cameras on them, but Lachlan had a camera installed on his because of the stalker and one on Mac’s for the same reason.
“But a key card is required to access my floor,” he insisted.
“This will do,” Lachlan maintained.
See, this was why Lachlan and I were not a good idea.
“This is fine,” I assured Mac. “Thank you for coming to get me.”
Sensing my desire to be alone, Mac hugged me tight, kissed the cheek that wasn’t swollen, and told me he’d see me in the morning. Jock patted my arm in a friendly, “I’m glad you’re okay” gesture, and they walked to the door together.
Mac looked over his shoulder at Lachlan who hadn’t moved from his spot near the wardrobe. “Are you coming?”
“In a minute.” Lachlan gave him a reassuring nod, a long look passing between them.
My dad glanced at me, expression unreadable, and then reached for the handle and closed the door as they departed.
I’d understood that look between Lachlan and Mac.