Chapter 11 Tierney
The next morning, I climbed the hill to the B and B, my limbs heavy, like they were filled with rocks.
I’d slept poorly to say the least.
My phone call to Perri had consisted of her reassuring me I didn’t need to put my name in the article if I was afraid for my life. I’d replied that I was only informing her because she needed to know about the threat. That I was scared, but it didn’t mean I would back down.
“Halston Cole can go fuck himself,” I’d whispered hoarsely into my phone.
I’d heard the pride in Perri’s voice when she told me to take care of myself and to stay vigilant.
Still, I hadn’t slept. I was worried that whoever had jumped on a ferry to deliver a dead bird to me was still in Leth Sholas.
Ramsay was working on internal cupboards in the bedrooms so my guests would have places to hang their clothes.
I didn’t want bulky furniture in the guest rooms but rather clever storage solutions that would give the rooms a sense of spaciousness and allow us to create larger adjoining bathrooms for each.
Previously, guests had to share two bathrooms in the guesthouse and that wouldn’t work for modern hospitality.
I’d caught sight of Ramsay as I wandered through the house, but he’d seemed preoccupied.
An hour later, I felt superfluous to the activity. “What can I do to help?” I asked Quinn.
My contractor’s smile was kind. “Honestly … a lunch run. It would save the guys going down to Main Street.”
“Lunch.” I jumped on the idea. “I can do lunch. I’ll go get everyone’s orders.”
It took me twenty minutes to get around to everyone and I left Ramsay until last. Akiva wasn’t with him today and was probably with Annie at the voluntary Leth Sholas Lifeboat Service station which I now knew locals abbreviated to the LS.
I might have worried about Ramsay’s reliance on Annie, but I’d finally met her at the Fisherman’s Lantern and she was a seventy-two-year-old widow who volunteered full time with the LS as their station manager.
Finally, I approached Ramsay in one of the back downstairs bedrooms. “Hey!” I called out before I walked in to give him a heads-up.
The banging from inside halted. Ramsay stepped away from his work. He swiped a strong forearm over his forehead, wiping the sweat from it. His biceps flexed with the movement, and I experienced an answering tug deep in my belly.
Over the last few months, his beard and hair had grown again, but he’d trimmed both before they reached the yeti stage.
“Aye?” he asked, studying the sliding closet door he’d fitted.
He did not give me the courtesy of looking at me.
Apparently, my interrupting him was an annoyance.
“I’m on lunch duty. Do you want anything from the bakery?”
Ramsay kept looking at that damn door like it was fascinating. “Anything. Whatever’s left. Not fussy.”
“That’s extremely unhelpful.”
“A sandwich,” he bit out impatiently.
What the hell was his problem? I wanted to ask. To confront him and his suddenly shitty attitude toward me, but I was emotionally drained.
So damn tired.
Without another word, I walked out.
Quinn was outside conversing with one of the guys about the repair work happening on the roof.
I nodded at him as I passed to get to my car.
I’d taken to leaving it at the B and B since parking was tight behind my vacation apartment.
Once per day, at least one of the workmen teased me about the bright paint job on my cute little Suzuki.
Mind on Ramsay’s weird behavior, I opened the driver’s door, and it took me a second to process what was happening.
Worms. A horror movie abundance of worms, poured out of the car.
They hit my feet before I could react.
I squealed, jumping back, shaking my legs, shrieking as I kicked off the live worms. My yells of abhorrence grew louder and louder.
“Fuck!” I heard Quinn’s shout and then he was at my side. “Are you all right? Tierney, are you all right?”
I shuddered, pulling at my clothes. “Are they off?! Are there any more on me?”
He turned me efficiently, checking me over as I tugged at my tee, whimpering with revulsion.
“What the fuck?”
Both of our heads snapped toward Ramsay who’d obviously heard the commotion and come running.
He stared stonily at the worms slithering on the ground at my vehicle and wriggling over each other inside it. They’d filled the driver’s seat and floor of my Suzuki. Ramsay’s wolf-gray eyes snapped to me. “Worm bait.” His eyes narrowed. I saw understanding dawn. “The bird was for you.”
I shuddered, feeling nausea rise every time I looked at my vehicle. Leaning into Quinn, who’d put his arm around me, I shook my head.
“Deep breaths.” Quinn rubbed my back in comfort. “Come on, let’s get you some water while we wait for the police.”
“No,” I denied, pulling out of his embrace. “No police.” I was afraid if the police were called, this would find its way into the media. And despite the continued threat, I was even more determined that Perri publish the article.
Worm bait.
Halston Cole was warning me what I’d become if I didn’t stop.
Clearly he was getting desperate.
But this really did mean someone on Glenvulin was doing his dirty work.
Who?
Ramsay strode over to me and Quinn as Quinn tried to talk me into calling the police. He cut his friend off, reaching out to grab me gently by the chin, forcing my gaze to his. “Who is threatening you, Silver?” he demanded gruffly.
Ignoring the shiver of awareness that tingled across the bottom of my breasts at his touch, I yanked my chin from his calloused fingers. I lied. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ramsay stared stonily into my eyes. “Bullshit.”
“Ramsay, mate …” Quinn placed a palm between us. “She’s had a shock. I don’t think an interrogation is going to help matters.”
“She doesn’t want to call the police, even though she’s had two threats made against her. You don’t find that suspicious?”
“I think it could be anything, including some miserable fucker who’s unhappy Tierney—an outsider, no offense—could afford to buy the guesthouse and they couldn’t. The CCTV equipment is on order and it should be here by the end of the week. That should deter any more of this nonsense.”
Although his expression remained calm, Ramsay shook his head at his friend. “You’re a fool if you can’t see she’s lying.”
I flinched and Ramsay caught it.
“What trouble have you brought to our island, Silver?”
Hurt, stupid hurt I shouldn’t feel because I, ultimately, barely knew this man, echoed through my chest. I’d thought his persistence was somehow him being protective of me.
Of course not.
He was merely worried about the village and its people.
Which meant he didn’t see me as one of them.
Maybe that’s how they all felt.
Maybe trying to start over in Scotland was the worst idea ever because I might have Scottish blood running through my veins, but I hadn’t been raised here, I didn’t sound like them … I was an American.
I wasn’t one of them.
The truth was if I thought I was endangering anyone here I’d leave, but I knew Cole was desperate. These sick threats were the actions of a frenzied, cornered criminal.
Deciding to ignore Ramsay entirely, I turned to Quinn. “Who can I hire to clean out my car?”
My contractor shot his partner a quick look before turning to me with a sigh. “I can get Forde here. He and his lads will clean it out and give it a thorough valet, as well as a safety check.”
“I don’t—”
Quinn cut me off with a wave of his hand.
“It’s happening. I’m also going to check in with Murray to see if he can find out if someone he’s not familiar with bought a ton of bait down at the harbor.
And I’ll talk to Jack, the harbor master.
See if he’s noticed any unfamiliar faces hanging around.
They have CCTV at the main ferry terminal. He could check that too.”
“I don’t want you to do that,” I insisted.
“Well—”
“I said no.” My voice rose with aggravation.
“If someone is messing with me, then I am not going to give them the satisfaction of being bothered by it. Call Forde, tell him to send me the bill, and let me know when I can collect my car. Otherwise, do nothing.” I handed over my note for the lunch order.
“Sorry, but someone else will need to get lunch.” With that I marched away from both men, hurrying downhill, grateful when they didn’t follow.
I made it back to my apartment in record time and as soon as I locked the door behind me, I divested myself of all my clothes and got into the shower.
As soon as the warm spray hit my skin, the sobs I’d been holding in escaped.
I cried out all my fear and frustrations—my loneliness—as I scrubbed my skin and hair until it hurt, making sure there was not a single worm anywhere to be found.
My eyes were puffy and red by the time I got out of the shower, and I could barely breathe through my nose from all the snot. I missed my mom and dad with a longing that almost took me out at the knees. I missed that feeling of knowing I had a safe place to land when life got shitty.
Blowing my nose, I took a calming breath as I dried off and changed into joggers and a tee. A check of the time told me it was a civilized hour in New York so I called Perri.
She picked up on the fourth ring.
Quietly, as calmly as possible, though I couldn’t quite stop the slight tremor in my words, I told her what happened.
“Are you okay?” Perri asked.
“A little shaken. But fine.”
“He’s scared and he’s making mistakes. Last night I got a phone call from someone using a voice distortion app. The fucker threatened to cut me up into little pieces if I didn’t stop writing the article.”
I blanched, sagging onto the couch. “Perri …”
“I’m not stopping. It’s not the first time someone has threatened to kill me over an investigation. The question is, do you need to back out? I’d understand if you want to.”
I remembered sitting across from Halston Cole at a gala for a charity he advocated for.
I saw him in my mind, the memory of him making polite conversation with my mom and dad, so smooth and seemingly benevolent.
He’d socialized with my parents. He’d won my dad’s trust and landed the position of CEO when my dad decided to step down.
His power, his legacy, was bestowed upon him by the same people he’d betrayed in the evilest of ways. Determination gritted my teeth. “I told you yesterday, nothing will stop me from bringing Cole down.”