Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
F redrick
The moment I saw Freya, I had to have her.
When her brother worried about her safety, I knew I could be the husband she needed, give her the world, and protect her. And I would have what I wanted and needed, and she would be mine.
No heartstrings attached.
The vision of beautiful Freya, fiercely protective of a child in her arms, instantly shifts my reality. I no longer care about what I want. The wedding can wait. The only thing that matters is Freya and the girl in her arms.
Speaking with my security, I found we couldn’t insulate the incident from public knowledge. Things were already complicated for Freya after representing Jack. Now, being handed a baby by a member of the Hoax in broad daylight just before the man’s execution, the islander’s tongues will be wagging.
We don’t know if the two men from the Hoax saw him hand Freya the baby or if they have any interest in pursuing the little one. We need more information. “We must meet with the Kings, face to face, and decide how to move forward.”
“I was thinking the same.” Her green eyes blaze bravely. “We’ll go to Norse Garden. Direct the driver there, now.”
“I have, and I’ll send word to Callum to have as many Kings there as possible.” He had been distant on the phone, most likely confused by Freya’s further interaction with the Hoax.
“Ask Fiona to gather the things the baby will need for now—diapers, clothing.” I check a tag in her clothing, telling Fredrick her size. “What do babies her age eat? Fiona will know.”
“Security cleared us for this meeting.” I think of the pain and tension between her and her family. “Are you sure you’re ready to go back there?”
“I love Callum and Fiona. I trust my brother with my life. And yours, and hers. I’m one of the Kings; they’ve vowed to protect me. As for the rumors? Small towns have more upsides than not, but I cannae deny my lovely wee island suffers from gossip. I no longer care what people think of me. For the moment, we need to be in Glasgow with the Kings to figure this out. I’ll not put this baby in harm’s way.” Her voice breaks. “Pearl has already lost her father.”
“Pearl?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t keep calling her girl and wee one. She deserves a nickname until we find out who she is.”
“Of course.” I run a finger over the baby’s round cheek, feeling its baby softness. “Pearl because she plays with your necklace?”
“She likes my necklace so much…and it’s silly, but with her luminescent skin and dark hair, her face is like a little pearl, encapsulated in a dark oyster shell.” She gives me a pensive look. “Have your men had any luck tracking down information on the father? Ross Macdonald, you called him?”
“Yes, the Kings know him as Ross Macdonald. As with any of the other members with a previous criminal record, he was given a new identity when he joined the Hoax, so it will take some time to find his given name. The Kings are tracking down information on the mother and any other blood relatives they can find. It isn’t easy. The Hoax is very good at covering their tracks.”
“Do we know why he wanted to speak to me at the club that night?” She peers down at little Pearl, smiling as the little one gives a content sigh in her sleep, nestling deeper against Freya’s chest.
“There are a few theories our informants have put together. Some think he was trying to leave the Hoax. He’d heard you’d represented Jack Maclean and knew you didn’t make the connection. One theory is that he thought you could help him somehow.”
Her eyes widen. “From what the Kings know so far, they think Ross seeing me on the street today was random?”
“They think he was running away, right then, right there. And he was being followed. That it was fate that made our paths cross at that moment. He saw you and either trusted you or was desperate and, recognizing you, handed her off for her safety.”
She shakes her head, whispering, “Kismet.”
“Seems to be.” I don’t believe in fate. Now is not the time to start another disagreement between us.
“Gah. What will people say now?” She glances at me, steeling her nerves. “You know what—I don’t care. I don’t freck—stinking care.”
We sit quietly for a moment. She rests her head on the back of the headrest, closing her eyes, privately diving into her thoughts, most likely mentally preparing herself to face everyone after all this time and trauma.
Fiona and Callum greet us at the door. After a quick round of greetings and reluctantly handing Pearl off to Fiona, Freya and I sit side by side on one end of the long table in the Great Hall, ready to work.
Only Callum joins us. I want to ask where the other members of the Kings are.
I don’t.
Either distracted by her need to protect Pearl first or too overwhelmed to notice the empty room, Freya’s first question is, “What’s everyone saying about what happened today?”
“The stories are so ridiculous, I’d laugh if I weren’t so angry about them.” Callum runs a hand over his beard.
“Tell me your favorite,” Freya demands dryly.
He winces. “You’ve been with the Hoax since the age of sixteen, acting as an informant for them, spilling the secrets of the Kings.”
“Och! No!” Freya says .
“It gets better,” Callum says. “The baby you’ve brought here?—”
I interject on Freya’s behalf. “We’ll call her Pearl for now.” Freya shoots me a grateful look as her brother continues.
Callum adopts the new name. “Pearl—Pearl Macdonald—a love child of Freya and Ross. Even though Freya’s figure could never be described as anything other than ‘willowy.’”
“People are ridiculous. I should know. I’m the queen of petty gossip.” She quickly looks at me, adding, “I mean, I used to be. In my younger days.”
Callum continues, “Hence, Pearl inherits Freya's pale skin. Freya has had to hide Pearl until now in her attempt to remain an undercover member of the Hoax.”
“Why would I expose Pearl now?” Freya asks.
“Ross was going to defect. That part is true. Knowing he was in trouble, you lovers planned this handoff,” Callum explains.
“Careful there. Choose another word,” I groan.
“There’s one you might like better, then, Fredrick. One that is a wee bit closer to Ross’s truth.”
“Lay it on us,” Freya says.
“Ross did want to leave the Hoax. He must have known about the few other members we’ve trusted enough to take into our fold. I think he wanted to talk to Freya to see if it was possible to bring him aboard. In return, he would help you by telling everyone the truth; you were targeted and knew nothing of Jack’s involvement in the Hoax. ”
“I like that one best.” Freya nods. “Everyone else has decided what is true without sticking to facts. I’ll do the same. I choose that story to be the real one.”
“And what part do I play in all these legends?”
Callum offers me his grin. “You’re her henchman. You do her bidding. Blinded by Freya’s beauty and blissfully unaware of her traitorous nature.”
“Nice.” Freya turns to me. “Though I do like the idea of bossing you around.”
I shoot her a stern look. Turning the conversation, I ask, “Have they found the mother?”
I feel Freya bristle beside me at the question.
“Not yet.” Folding his arms on the table, Callum shakes his head. “We’ve no idea who she is or her whereabouts, nor will we till we find Ross’s birthname.”
“She could be gone,” Freya offers.
“Or, scared of Ross and in hiding. Hopefully, we will find the mam and the wee one’s family. It’s best for all parties involved if the baby returns to the mother and the Kings close this chapter.”
For everyone but Freya, I can’t help but think. She’s grown too attached, too fast. Losing the little girl to an uncertain future will be difficult after the trauma bonding they’ve done today.
Freya eyes her brother, asking the question I know has been on her mind. “Where are we on the Jack Maclean case?”
“There has been a wee bit of good news in that department.” Too quickly, Callum adds, “And a hard truth as well.”
I glance over at Freya. She looks as if she’s frozen. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer and warming her.
I say, “Good news first.”
“Part of the Ross theory you liked must be true because before he disappeared, word did get around from someone on their side that you were a target, that they knew your close connections were with the elder Mr. Maclean, and you didn’t know about Jack.”
“Thank God.” She collapses against me. “That is good news.”
My heart sinks as I guess what’s coming next. I tighten my hold around her. Callum forces himself to meet his sister’s gaze. “Freya…”
She straightens. “Callum. Come out with it.”
He strokes that beard like it’s his only comfort. “I don’t know how to say this?—”
She narrows her gaze, her courtroom voice coming out. “Just say it then. Please.”
He shakes his head. “The Kings have taken a vote. We cannae longer risk having you in the inner circle.”
Now I understand the empty room.
I’ve heard the whispers. I felt this vote coming. Still, I’m in disbelief that the family could turn her out of their inner workings.
My voice booms through the hall. “I didn’t get a vote. ”
Callum locks eyes with me, sadness in his voice. “We dinnae need it, brother. The numbers were unanimous.” His Burnes green eyes return to Freya’s. “Save for mine.”
The deafening quiet of tension fills the vast space.
Finally, Freya breaks the silence. She passes her hand over the table, placing it over Callum’s. “I thank ye for that, brother.”
“You’ll still have the Kings’ support and protection, of course. We will never break our vow. In time, things will blow over. Your name will be cleared, Freya. Thanks to Ross, it’s already begun.” He flips his hand over, grabbing hers tight. “You know I’ll always trust ye, Freya. With my life.”
“Same.” She gives him a sad, brave smile. “Always.”
I know her heart is breaking, but she straightens her posture, steadies her tone, and says, “We’d best be on our way.” Pushing her chair back, she stands. I join her.
“We’ll just grab Pearl and be on our way—” She looks up at me, her eyes locking on mine. “On our way home.”
Her final word hangs in the air: home, a beautiful sound. She’s officially accepting Wee Inverness as her place of belonging and me as her person, leaving Norse Garden Estates behind. Gratitude washes over me—Freya and me, against the world. Or, better yet, nestled in our own little world that we’ve both come to love, offering one another the comfort and acceptance we so desperately need.
“Let’s go home.” I lean down, kissing her lips.
Callum breaks the moment. “That’d be best. Unfortunately, the Kings cannae offer protection to a child of a member of the Hoax.”
At the mention of Pearl, Freya goes warrior. “Even when her father was executed? A refugee, given no hope.”
Still a loyal leader of the Kings, Callum answers her with a solid, “Aye.”
“Even if it’s a wee one we’re talking about protecting?” Freya crosses her arms over her chest, darting him her “big sister” stare. I’ve seen her use it on Callum before.
This time, Callum doesn’t waver. “Aye, Freya. It’s not possible.”
He rounds the table to take Freya in his arms. “I’m sorry?—”
“Stop.” She quickly rises on tiptoe, kissing his cheek before pushing him onto me for goodbyes so she can wipe the tears from her eyes privately.
His gaze meets mine as he gives me a firm handshake. “I know you’ll take care of them both.”
“With my life,” I say.
Callum says, “I’ll be in touch.” We embrace briefly before leaving the room to collect Pearl and say goodbye to Fiona.
My future with the Kings was not discussed tonight, nor do I care to.
My loyalty lies with Freya. If Freya is out of the inner circle, I will also extract myself. We are a package deal. We leave the Great Hall, and she holds my hand tightly.
She knows my thoughts. “Thanks for always being at my side. ”
I give her hand a reassuring squeeze. It was so lovely to hear her say the words. I ask her, “Freya, tell me, where are we going?”
“Home, Fredrick. Let’s go home.” She gives my hand a return squeeze.
After a tearful goodbye between her and Fiona, we leave, Pearl sleeping in her arms. She’s quiet on the ride home, her face trained at the window. She’s lost her community, now her place in the Kings. Soon, she will lose that precious baby in her arms, as well.
Freya’s strength first drew me to her; as I said, she’s a sword, and I’m more than happy to be her shield. Even a goddess warrior has an Achilles heel, hers being the love of her people. Even with those ties healing, Freya has her breaking point.
I fear we’re growing dangerously close to that line.