Chapter 19
NINETEEN
ALEX
Because I’d promised Ciara, I didn’t go immediately from Ardinmuir to Braemore to beat the ever-loving shite out of Brodie Drummond. But God, I wanted to. He’d made her afraid and uncertain, which had no doubt been the entire point of that wee stunt with the dead flowers.
I never wanted to see her with less than the ball-busting confidence she’d had from the moment we met. Not because of some entitled gobshite who couldn’t take “no” for an answer.
Whether there’d been words attached or not, the flowers were an implied threat. One the local police were taking seriously now that they were aware of the situation. As we’d expected, they couldn’t take any actual action without verifiable proof that the package had come from him. Even I, with all my less-than-legal skills, hadn’t been able to backtrack and prove that he’d been behind it. But there was zero reason to believe they’d come from anyone else. Who else had motive to harass her?
I had an array of security components on order. I could’ve gotten them quicker if I’d gone to Glasgow or Edinburgh in person, but I didn’t want to leave her alone, and I wasn’t ready to ask such a thing of Finn or Callum. For her part, Ciara was sticking close to home and close to work, unless she was with someone else. She didn’t like it, but the precaution felt necessary to me. At least until I could do more to ensure Drummond wouldn’t come at her again.
That was the whole reason I was here today. I’d be having a word with him about what was and was not acceptable behavior from this point forward. Without using my fists, sadly.
I’d hacked into Drummond’s work calendar, finding a time he’d be in the office at the insurance agency. I’d spent the past hour exploring this area of the village, noting any security cameras and the line of sight from each business in the vicinity. I knew from my prior research that there were two other employees who worked for the same agency. They were what kept me from simply walking right in as if I were a prospective client. But I wasn’t here to make a scene. I was here to make a point.
As the lunch hour drew near, Drummond stepped out of the office, headed up the street toward one of the local pubs, precisely in the direction I’d expected. No one else was paying attention. Even Drummond himself was buried in his phone as he walked. Easy pickings.
The moment he passed my location, I reached out to snag him, dragging him into the alley and behind a dumpster. I released him with more force than necessary, so he stumbled back up against the wall of the building. No matter how much I itched to, I wouldn’t touch him again. Not unless he made a move first.
Surprise and a momentary flash of fear gave way to rage. Red flushed his cheeks, and his hands curled into fists. “What the fuck are you on about?”
I kept my hands open, my stance loose, unconcerned. My calm would aggravate him even more. “We’re having a conversation, you and I.”
“I have no interest in talking to you.” He made to move by me, but I shifted position, proving that I had him neatly boxed in. The color in his cheeks darkened.
“That’s fine. You just have to listen. You’re to cease all contact with Ciara. No more notes. No more gifts. No more dead flowers.”
Something flickered over his face at that. There and gone again in a flash, but it was enough to confirm for me that he was our culprit.
“You can’t tell me what to do. It’s a free country. And you have no proof that I’ve done anything.”
“What I have is a record of increased, unwanted contact with Ciara. She’s repeatedly told you that your relationship is over. But you persist in continually showing up where she is, even when you shouldn’t be there.”
“I had every right to be at that concert.”
“Sure you did. But skulking around, hiding because you’re stalking your ex-girlfriend? It’s not a good look.”
He bowed up again. “I’m not stalking her! I’m not some kind of creep. I love her.”
Love.
I nearly plowed my fist into his face then and there. “That’s not love. That’s obsession. She’s not a thing you can own. Not a prize to be won. She’s a person who can make her own choice, and you weren’t it. Sorry, mate. But you’re not. And she made that decision long before I came along. Just admit that you’ve lost and accept your defeat gracefully.”
“There’s no law against trying to win her back.”
My smile was cold and deadly. “There’s the law of me. You don’t want to cross me, Drummond. I have a certain set of skills, and I can assure you that you do not want me to turn them in your direction. Because I can and will make your life a living hell without ever laying a hand on you if you don’t leave her alone. It’s over. You lost her. And that’s the end of it.”
“You can’t threaten me. I’ll go to the police.”
“Feel free. We’d love to have you go to the police to counter all the reports we’ve made about your activities. That won’t be a good look for you, either. If there’s evidence somewhere linking you to all the harassment she’s been enduring, I’ll find it. There’s no backtracking or cleanup you can do that can hide you from me. So go on with your sad, lonely wee life. I don’t give a fuck. But stay away from Ciara.”
He’d lost several shades of color by the end.
I didn’t wait around for a verbal confirmation that he understood the terms. It wouldn’t have been worth the breath used to utter it. Only time would tell if a more direct approach would solve the problem.
In the meantime, I’d be standing between him and Ciara.