Chapter 8 Visitors From The Past
Visitors From The Past
Niall held himself still, fighting his bear’s orders to attack. His brothers were up to no good and hadn’t denied his charges. He grabbed the business card the cop had given him from his wallet and started pushing buttons.
“What are you doing?” Colin’s eyes were wide and held a trace of shock.
Niall didn’t allow himself to indulge in petty satisfaction. He went for the jugular. “Calling the cops.”
“Knock it off,” Euan snapped. “Family don’t turn their brothers into the cops.”
“Even if they took potshots at innocent people out for a relaxing walk?” Niall asked, his tone calm, even while his bear bucked at his iron control.
The more Niall thought about it, the more his conviction grew.
He was right. His older brothers wanted something from him.
He changed tack, again going for direct. “What do you want?”
Euan shot a glance at Suzie. She stared coolly back, her expression not changing, even when Euan leered at her.
Enough! “What do you want?”
“We want to speak with you in private.”
“Yet you approach me in a pub.” Niall didn’t bother hiding his sarcasm. And he realized something else. During the years apart from his family, he’d grown and acquired balance when it came to his brothers.
They were ruffians, and if he let them, they’d walk all over him.
Not happening.
“You wouldn’t speak to us at that castle,” Colin said.
“Why don’t I give you half an hour?” Suzie stood before Niall could offer an argument.
“Since arriving in Scotland, I’ve developed a taste for tablet.
It’s a bit like the condensed milk fudge we make at home.
We call it Russian fudge. The sweet shop stocks it, so I’ll grab some now.
Oh, and I want a couple of postcards.” She smiled sweetly at his brothers, but her eyes remained cool. “Thirty minutes.”
Niall took a moment to admire the sway of her backside before she disappeared outside. His gaze raked his brothers. “Clock’s ticking.” He took petty pleasure in seeing Euan’s mouth drop open.
“Aren’t you gonna invite us to sit? Buy us a drink?” Colin demanded.
“No.”
Colin blinked.
Niall picked up his beer. “Buy your own drinks.”
Euan jerked his head at Colin, and he slunk toward the bar. He returned with two pints of frothy ale.
Niall scrutinized his brothers. They had changed little, and their brawling had stamped their faces with scars. Their clothes bore dirt and wrinkles, suggesting they’d slept rough. Finally, when neither uttered a word, he said, “I thought you wanted to talk.”
Euan and Colin exchanged an uneasy glance. Euan checked the men and women nearby, but no one was paying them attention. “We need money.”
“No,” Niall said without hesitation. He knew his brothers well. They’d keep pushing if he gave in to them, even a little. He doubted they’d changed. “How did you find me?”
“We’ve always known,” Euan said.
Niall snorted. Until now, they hadn’t thought him valuable. His mind went straight to his honey, and he wondered at their timing. “Is the rest of the family here?”
“Not yet,” Euan said, his words a veiled threat.
“Why won’t you give us money?” Colin asked. “We’re family.”
“When it suits you,” Niall said. “I won’t give you a penny, so I suggest you leave.”
Euan and Colin exchanged another of those glances. Niall, who’d become excellent at reading body language, frowned. If he didn’t know better, he’d assume someone or something had scared his brothers. And that didn’t jibe with his memory of them.
“Was there anything else?” Niall prompted.
“Can we stay with you?” Euan asked.
“No,” Niall said. “You made my life hell when I was younger. You made me eat last, and I had to sleep on the floor. When I got a job, you stole my wages. Why would I give you anything now when I escaped that?”
“Family sticks together,” Colin said.
Niall didn’t rein in his snort of derision.
“Really? That’s the line you’re gonna take with me now?
I’ll make this even clearer for you. I have worked for everything I own and continue to work to support myself.
Unless you’ve changed radically, I doubt you have a job, which is why you want my money.
How did you obtain the airfare from Canada? ”
His brothers refused to meet his gaze, which tweaked his suspicions. He made a mental note to call a contact in Canada because knowledge was forearming. He wouldn’t trust his brothers, no matter what assurances they gave. Experience had taught him well, ensuring no foolish repetition.
“Never mind,” Niall said. “Listen well. You are not welcome in my home. You stole my childhood pocket money. It won’t happen again.”
“But we’re your brothers. We were joking around,” Colin said.
“I don’t care what schemes you have going. Leave me out of them. You showed no concern for me as a cub, and nothing has changed.” Niall spotted Suzie. “Goodbye.”
His two brothers hovered, shock flashing over their faces before they went expressionless.
Colin took half a step closer. “But we’re—”
Euan closed his meaty fist around Colin’s forearm, stopping him from saying more.
“Let’s go. It’s obvious Runt thinks himself too good to associate with us now.
” He whispered something to Colin that Niall didn’t catch, and Colin ceased his fight.
He went willingly with Euan. Niall watched them until they vanished out a side door, every muscle in his body tense and ready for flight.
For a moment, his brothers’ arrival had tossed him back to his childhood, and the same feelings of inadequacy and helplessness had filled him. Hatred and shame. Determination to remove himself and not get sucked into their lives.
Yeah, he’d felt like the runt again until Suzie had squeezed his knee. The reassuring touch had righted him and made him remember Runt had been past Niall. The Niall he’d grown into was the man he wished to remain.
He had pride in his achievements and friends.
A mate.
His bear released a satisfied chuff, and Niall felt his lips kick up at the corners. They were on the same page, with Suzie their objective. Niall wasn’t sure he could compete against her goal to attend university, but she’d agree to stay until his honey hit the stores. That was a win.
Suzie approached the table, several shopping bags in her hands. “I purchased a sweater and some underwear. I need more things, but I’ll have to wait for a bigger shopping center.
“You can come with me to Edinburgh next week when I speak with the owners of a gym chain,” Niall said. “I was hoping they could help me test my product on the sly.”
“Oh?” Suzie set her packages on the empty chair to her right before she reclaimed her seat.
“Their gyms all have juice bars and serve healthy snacks. I wondered if they could use the honey as an ingredient in several of their products and observe the changes.”
“How will you keep it secret?” Suzie asked.
“The gym owner was short of money and seeking a partner. I’m the partner who helped him. I prefer to approach him in person, but I’m positive he’ll help.”
“Sneaky,” Suzie said. “It looks as if the kitchen is ready to open. Do you think we could order now? I’m starving.”
“Did you check the menu?”
“I decided on fish and chips, although the steak and kidney pie sounded tempting.”
“That’s what I usually order. You can try some of mine.”
Suzie’s broad grin smoothed the last of his ruffled feathers, and he resolved not to think about his brothers until he and Suzie returned to the castle.
He wanted to focus on this beautiful shifter and start the wooing process.
He and his bear had a challenge before them, but that didn’t daunt Niall because he thrived on challenges.
“Did you find your tablet?” he asked.
“I did. The sweet shop owner makes it herself, and she’d just put out a fresh batch. I bought enough to share. Do you have a sweet tooth?”
Niall huffed out a laugh. “I’m a bear. It goes with the territory.”
“I’ll need to use the gym every morning and perhaps start swimming again.”
“Feel free to access the basement gym and heated pool anytime.”
“Thanks.”
Suzie’s beam had him smiling in return. Heck, his mouth was hurting with all this uncharacteristic smiling. His bear huffed, amused, while Niall shook his head.
“Will your brothers cause trouble?”
That knocked the amusement out of him. “Yes, they can’t help themselves. None of my brothers or sisters believe in hard work when taking the fruits of someone else’s labors is much easier.”
Suzie’s expression held sympathy, and it warmed him inside. Apart from Cameron, no one had ever cared about him before. He’d had to fight and struggle to reach his current position.
“Do you think your brothers shot at us?”
“They didn’t deny it,” Niall said, tightening the grip on his beer. “They would’ve loudly protested their innocence but shrugged it off. It was as if I mentioned the sunny weather.”
Suzie snorted. “Were they trying to scare us?”
Niall threw up his hands and almost sloshed beer over the table. “Who knows how their minds work? Maybe they wanted to frighten us. Me.”
“They sounded desperate when they asked for money.”
Niall tapped his free hand on the tabletop, his fingers striking one after the other in a rhythm.
When he realized what he was doing, he stilled.
Hell, he was regressing to old ways. Bad habits that let others know of his inner turmoil.
But seeing his brothers again had plunked him right back to childhood memories and the uncaring cruelty they’d dealt him because he was unable to defend himself.
He’d gone without food because he ate last and…
Enough, dammit. He couldn’t afford to let them into his head.
Niall considered Suzie’s words. Yes, they’d almost pleaded toward the end.
He recalled their love of gambling, and that made him wonder.
“I need to set a private investigator on their tails. Someone to watch Euan and Colin, and another in Canada for the home front. I would do the job myself but prefer to focus on work.”
“That makes sense. Do you have anyone in mind? Could we contact them now? My gut says you should move quickly and not worry about family disloyalty or anything stupid.”
Niall grinned. “Thanks for the advice.”
“Should I order our meals while you make your phone calls?”
Niall reached for his wallet and handed her two fifty-pound notes. “Order us another drink, too. The barman will remember my drink since I’m a regular.”
When Suzie hustled off, Niall inhaled and pulled out his phone.
The investigator who’d conducted the security clearances on the people who had offered to test his honey had done quick, efficient work.
He’d contact him to tail Euan and Colin and ask him for recommendations for the overseas part of the assignment.
He dialed and hung up after a productive conversation.
Both tasks were underway, and Niall was confident of having the information he’d sought quickly.
Suzie sat, writing a postcard, and she glanced at him. “How did that go?”
“I can focus on my business and not worry about my brothers or family. And enjoy eating dinner with a beautiful woman.”
“You flirt,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes.
Niall laughed, his feel-good mood from earlier returning.
Another first for him. In the past, he would’ve gone straight home and stewed about what mischief his brothers intended.
The worry remained, yet it was manageable and less debilitating than before.
Suzie was an excellent influence or maybe it was the fact she was his mate, and she had quickly become vital to him.
He’d noted the way Euan and Colin ogled her.
They lacked respect for women and thought them suitable for only one thing.
Niall knew better, and although he’d ensure that his brothers were never alone with Suzie, she’d be capable of taking them down.
Physically, she was strong. She’d kept up with him and hadn’t broken a sweat during their walk.
She hadn’t panicked when they’d faced danger.
His bear released another one of his chuffs, the sound full of the same satisfaction that flooded Niall. They’d chosen a strong woman who let nothing or no one intimidate her.
Now, they had to woo her and entice her into staying with them. Niall glanced at Suzie, ensnared her gaze, and winked. Let the games begin.