With Cat, it was different. Taking care of her wasn't a chore. No, it made him happy.
And maybe, despite it all, he could have the loving, stable family he'd always dreamed of.
Several hours later, when Lachlan was told his sister was waiting for him inside the Protector's main building, he began to doubt everything again.
Oh, aye, he'd called Sarah a few times since arriving on Lochguard. Once simply because he wanted to check in on her, but the other two times because Cat had asked him about how his sister was doing.
Not that the calls had ever been long or overly involved. He and Sarah weren't anywhere near as close as they'd been as children.
And while he'd secured permission for Sarah and her boys to visit, it wasn't supposed to be for a few weeks yet.
Which meant something had to be wrong.
As soon as he entered the Protector building, he went to the reception desk and said, "Where's my sister?"
The young dragonman said, "In the visiting room."
He didn't know the layout of the Protector building well, but he'd been to the visiting room before. It was where non-clan members conducted business with Lochguard, and Lachlan had held some of his event-related meetings there.
Reaching the correct door, he stopped, took a deep breath, and knocked before entering.
Sarah had her back to him as she stared into the long mirror along one side. "Sarah?"
At his voice, she turned around, and his stomach dropped at the fear in her eyes, the same blue as his own.
He walked over. "What's wrong?"
She glanced at the mirror. "Are we alone?"
"I don't know. But if anyone's there, you can trust them. I promise."
His sister didn't trust easily, much like Lachlan until he'd found Cat. So his words might not be enough.
He almost put a hand on her shoulder to try to comfort his sister, but resisted. She looked about ready to jump out of her skin. He softened his voice. "I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong."
She studied him a second before murmuring, "You seem different."
"I am different." Thanks largely to one dragonwoman. He added, "Now, tell me what's going on."
She took out an envelope and handed it to him. He noticed it merely had her name on the front of it, nothing else.
Before he asked where she'd found it, he opened it and read it:
Your two sons would be great recruits for the dragon hunters. Tell your brother to stop the event, or we'll take your boys when you least expect it. Talk to no one but your brother. If you try to contact the police or the DDA, then your husband may have a fatal work accident no one can explain.
As soon as Lachlan finished, a mixture of fear and rage rolled through him. "When did you get this?"
She bit the nail on her thumb before answering, "Last night. Someone put it through the mail slot on the front door."
A million questions raced through his head, but he couldn't do anything until he knew who she'd told. "Am I the only other one to see this?"
She nodded. "Rob's working on a job site over in Falkirk and won't be home for several days. And I didn't think it was something I should risk discussing over the phone."
Rob Carter was her husband, and for once, Lachlan was grateful for the bloke working away from home so much. Rob had pretty much always avoided Lachlan, which hadn't been hard to do in the beginning since Lachlan had been drunk and self-absorbed when his sister had met and dated the man before marrying him.
But from what little of the man Lachlan knew, he was rash and often acted without thinking. He also tended to blame either Sarah or their sons for any sort of failing.
While he'd often wondered if he could've stepped in and protected his sister back then, Lachlan couldn't change the past. All he could do was focus on the present. "And what about your boys? Where are they?"
"At school for now, but they're going to stay with Rob's parents afterward." She took a step toward him. "Will you cancel the event, Lachlan? Tell me you will."
He wanted to say yes, but he needed more information. And to talk with Finn. "I know the letter says not to talk with anyone but me. However, I really need to discuss this with Lochguard's clan leader. He needs to know what's going on."
The fear returned to her eyes. "But Lachlan, my boys. You can't risk it."
He moved closer and finally took her hand. "Remember how you trusted me when we were younger? Can you do that again, Sarah? Just for this? I've been working with the Department of Dragon Affairs for a long time, and I can tell you that the dragon hunters aren't the most trustworthy lot. There might be another way to protect your family, but I can't assume anything until I talk with Lochguard's leader. And, to be technical, the letter didn't mention anything about the dragon-shifters."
She stared at him for a few beats, and it took everything he had not to order her to trust him.
He was one of the main reasons she was so hesitant, after all; their father was the other. But if she said no, he'd have to do something to convince her because doing what the dragon hunters demanded probably wouldn't end well.
The hunters may have been quieter the last year or two as the Dragon Knights had stolen most of the headlines. But the Knights had been taken down for good and were no longer causing trouble.
As a result, the dragon hunters probably felt they needed to step up their game again or the dragon-shifters might succeed in swaying public opinion more to their side.
And given the years the hunters had lain in wait, planning their next moves, he didn't think whatever was coming would be good.
His sister finally spoke again. "You mentioned that you have a bairn on the way now, aye?" He nodded. "Would you risk his or her life by talking with the clan leader if the situation was reversed?"
He didn't miss a beat. "Aye, I would."
He'd gotten to know Finn through their meetings every week. The dragonman could be annoying at times, but he loved his clan dearly. If there was a way to help family, Finn would do it.
She nodded. "Okay. But promise me you'll find a way to protect my boys, Lachlan. Please."
He gently squeezed his sister's hand. "I promise. I won't let anything happen to them."
After a few beats, Sarah nodded. "I'm going to try trusting you. Just don't let me down again, Lachlan. If anything happens to my sons, I won't survive it."
His sister's uncertainty was like a knife to the heart.
But he understood her hesitancy.
No matter what it took, Lachlan was bloody well going to make his promise a reality, whatever it took. He hadn't been there when his sister had needed him, back when she'd dated the arsehole Rob, and he'd been too drunk to notice before she married him, and he refused to flake out again.
So once he told his sister to stay in the room and ordered some tea and biscuits for her while she waited, he went to find Finn.
Chapter Sixteen
A short time later, Lachlan waited for Finn to finish reading the note to Sarah before asking, "What should I do?"
Finn sat back in his chair. "Aye, well, there are only two real choices here. The first is to cancel the event, but I'm guessing you don't want to do that if you can avoid it?"