Beneath Highland Stars (Special Ops Scots #3)

Chapter 1

Finn

I nursed my whisky at the edge of the dance floor, watching my business partner, Alex Conroy, and his new wife, Ciara McBride—well, Ciara McBride Conroy now—sway together beneath the ancient wooden beams of Ardinmuir’s great hall.

If ever there was a setting for a happily ever after, the six-hundred-year-old castle turned event venue was it.

Alex’s bride looked like a bloody princess in the candlelight, and in his dress kilt and waistcoat, he looked like a character out of a romance novel.

The kind with a guaranteed happy ending, and not a single landmine hidden under the floorboards.

The pair of them glowed like they’d swallowed an ocean of stars.

Alex—always so controlled, so measured—looked fair to bursting with happiness, his hand resting on the small of Ciara’s back like it had always belonged there.

“Bloody hell, Echo,” I muttered into my glass. “You’ve gone and done it properly, haven’t you?”

The string quartet played something slow and sweet, notes floating up to the rafters where generations of MacKeans had celebrated their own unions. Alex whispered something in Ciara’s ear that made her laugh, her head tipping back, exposing the elegant line of her throat.

A knot formed in my chest. Not quite jealousy—I wanted this for them, Christ, did I ever—but something adjacent to it. Something like standing out in the cold and watching someone else’s windows lit warm and golden. A recognition of something I’d convinced myself I didn’t need. Didn’t deserve.

My gaze drifted to my scarred hands, to the empty spot beside where I stood. I’d come alone, of course. Always did. For all my flirtatious ways, there was no one who mattered. Hadn’t been in longer than I cared to remember.

This wasn’t what I wanted for you.

I ignored the feminine voice that echoed from somewhere in the past—a past I wished was dimmer than it was.

Instead, I focused on the couple on the dance floor.

The music swelled, and Alex spun Ciara in a circle that sent her dress billowing.

When she returned to his arms, the look that passed between them was pure, unguarded love. No walls, no defenses.

I tossed back the rest of my whisky, savoring the burn.

A hand clapped on my shoulder. “You’re next, mate.”

I shot Ciara’s brother, Ewan, some side eye. “What are you on about?”

My former squad leader looked out at the newlyweds. “You’re the last man standing, aye? Alex and I are both married. Callum will be right behind. Everyone has coupled up. So what the hell are you waiting for?”

I eyed the empty glass, wishing I had another. “It’s no’ like there’s exactly a line of women who are waiting to become Mrs. Finley Patterson.”

Callum Quinn, my other business partner, stepped up on my opposite side. “It disnae seem like you’ve been doing a whole lot of looking.”

I shot a placid look in his direction. “I’ve been a little busy starting a business with you lot and making it a success.” Out of Bounds Scotland, the outdoor adventure company we’d formed once Callum had retired, had taken most of our focus the past year and a half.

“Aye.” Callum nodded. “That was a reasonable excuse for the first year. But we’re well into the second now and growing by leaps and bounds.”

“We have your fiancée to thank for that,” I pointed out.

Parker Lawrence had strolled into our offices last year and saved our collective arses by becoming office manager when we needed one most. Somehow she’d tamed Callum’s grumpitude, and the pair had fallen in love.

I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t been there to see the transformation firsthand.

“Just because you and Alex have gone and got yourselves sorted, disnae mean I need to rush.” I tried to keep my tone light. “Some of us enjoy our freedom.”

Ewan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He’d always been too perceptive by half. It was what had made him such a good squad leader. “Freedom’s one thing. But you’ve not even had a proper date since you moved up here and opened the business. Not even a fling.”

“I’ve had dates.” Even I could hear how weak that sounded. Not a single one of those dates had I let past the first pint. Casual was easy. Safe. Nothing to miss if it vanished in the morning.

Callum’s one good eye fixed on me with uncomfortable intensity. “Aye, and how many second dates?”

I shrugged. “Just haven’t found anyone worth the effort.”

“Bullshite.” Ewan’s voice was flat. “You, who used to charm the knickers off half the women in any pub we walked into? The lad who once got three phone numbers in the span of ordering a round?”

I felt my smile grow tight. “Maybe I’ve matured.”

Callum snorted. “Or maybe there’s something else going on.” His voice dropped. “Look, we all came back with baggage, Finn. If something’s eating at you, we’re all here to help.”

That this came from Callum, who’d carried perhaps the most baggage of us all, hit me hard. What did it say that even he’d been able to process and heal, when I’d had far more time in civilian life?

Ewan moved in a little closer. “Look, I ken you took the news about Charlie hard.”

At the reminder of the latest of our former squadmates to die in the line of duty, I wished viciously for another drink. One to drown the ache, then another to chase the ghosts.

The funeral had been almost two weeks ago. Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I nodded. “Aye.”

We all lapsed into silence for a moment, out of respect for the man who’d save all our arses at one time or another. Didn’t I owe it to him to do the one thing he’d asked of me?

“Charlie wanted me to have Ajax.” The words spilled out before I could think better of them.

I’d barely had time to process the news myself.

Ajax was Charlie’s military service dog.

The Belgian Malinois had served with our squad for several years, becoming as much one of the team as any fellow two-legged Marine.

Callum paused, his glass hovering halfway to his mouth. “Truly?”

“Aye. I got contacted by the handler who took over for Charlie after he… after. The poor lad hasnae been functional since. Hasnae been able to do his job. He’s listless and depressed.

So they’re retiring him. Apparently, Charlie left word that if anything happened to him, they should contact me.

” I sucked in a breath. “I’m going to take him. ”

Ewan and Callum exchanged a look. I couldn’t blame them.

I hadn’t taken on additional responsibilities for a living thing other than my squadmates in years.

Not even a plant. Not since my epic failure to keep her safe.

But dogs were loyal, weren’t they? They didn’t leave unless someone gave the order. They didn’t walk away when you failed.

Despite the weight of that, I couldn’t leave Ajax to the whims of fate. There was no guarantee he’d end up in a good home. Better he stay with someone he knew than the alternative. No man—or dog—left behind.

“Well, I think it’s grand.” Was Ewan’s voice a shade too forcefully cheerful? I couldn’t quite decide. “When do you get him?”

“I go pick him up next week.”

Callum chuckled. “Even from beyond the grave, Charlie’s going to be your best wingman.”

I frowned at him. “What?”

“There’s nothing like a dog to get the attention of the ladies. Add in war hero to that, and you’ve got it made.”

“Uh-huh. And what ladies would that be?” Did they imagine I’d be trolling the village with Ajax on a leash, extolling his virtues to any lass who’d listen?

“Maybe not ladies, but one specific lass, at least.” Ewan looked pointedly across the great hall.

I knew exactly where he was looking, and I couldn’t quite stop myself from following his gaze.

Dr. Saoirse MacGregor looked good enough to eat. Her spectacular dress was some sort of shimmery blue fabric that hugged her willowy curves and showed off her strong, sculpted back with a complicated series of laces that my fingers itched to pluck and unravel.

Of course, she’d show up looking like every mistake I wanted to make twice.

She was always gorgeous, but this was a big change from the jeans and wellies she habitually wore because of her veterinary practice.

The hair she usually tamed into a tail was loose around her shoulders.

A waterfall of honey blonde that looked like silk.

That exquisite, fine-boned face had been enhanced by some sort of female magic that made those deep green eyes look like a siren’s.

Her bold red lips were currently curved into a smile I was seldom witness to.

She was brilliant, talented, devoted to her friends.

And for reasons that I didn’t understand, she’d decided on-sight that she hated me.

Ever since that first meeting, we’d been clashing every time we were in the same room together.

Which was more often than I’d like, given that we traveled in the same friend groups.

She was besties with both Ciara and Parker.

They were always hanging out together, so we saw each other often, which meant we needled each other all the time.

Our collective friend group had decided that meant we were perfect for each other.

Or at least that we needed to go to bed to work out our differences in a more constructive manner than bickering.

In the privacy of my own head, I could admit that her posh London boarding school accent absolutely worked for me.

The snobby attitude, however, did not.

Realizing that my mates were still waiting for a response, I rocked back on my heels. “I dinna think the dog would make a difference with that one. She’d be more likely to date him than me, if I were even interested.”

“Aye. Right,” Callum murmured.

I fixed him with a flat stare. “She disnae like me.”

Ewan huffed. “Every woman likes you.”

“Exactly. Which just goes to show there’s something wrong with her.”

The pair of them actually snickered.

“So glad I can be of amusement to you.”