Chapter 12 #2
The petrol station Dougal works in is one of the few in Inverness with a large snack and drink bar, so while patrons mill about, we enter the store and blend in.
“Snag me a packet of crisps, Lou,” Mac says with a grin, clearly enjoying his ability to boss Leith around.
“I’ll shove the packet of crisps up yer arse,” Leith mutters with an eye roll, but he grabs a few flavors nonetheless. “You want anything, lass?”
Oh aye. I give him a small smile, and point to a bar of chocolate.
He gives me one of his rare smiles back. “That’s my girl. Likes her sweets and chocolate, eh?”
I nod, then feel my eyes go wide as he grabs a large fistful of sweets.
“Fizzy drink for me, Lou,” Tate says, giving me a wink when he meets my eyes. The door shuts, and I realize with a jolt of fear that we’re currently the only ones in here.
Leith goes to the front of the store, snacks in hand, and plunks them down on the counter. I’m way at the back, between Mac and Tate, surreptitiously shopping, but watching.
“Y’alright?” Leith asks, taking out his wallet.
“Och, aye,” my brother says in his sullen way. “You?”
Mac walks away from me and sneaks behind me. I look away, since I don’t want to bring attention to him.
“Eh, am pure done in,” Leith says, scrubbing a hand across his face. “Been drivin’ damn near a day. Supposed to meet me mum up at the Cathedral, but can’t find it on the GPS. You know where it is?”
My brother scowls, still ringing up the food. I pretend to be thoroughly occupied rearranging the packets of sweets.
“Up the road,” Dougal says, but he gives him no more further information, the prick. “Not sure how you can bloody miss it.”
“Quiet church, is it? She said not a lot of visitors these days?” Leith asks. It may be my imagination, but I swear I can feel his anger emanating even from here.
“Aye.” Dougal blows out a breath. “That’s four and a half quid.”
Leith throws the money down, and my brother picks it up, punches things on the register, and the drawer swings open.
“You know anything about the priest there?”
My brother gives Leith a curious look. “No.”
The door to the shop opens, and a beautiful blonde walks in.
“Hello, there,” Mac mutters under his breath. I blink in surprise at how stunning she is, curves and legs for days, and a mane of hair that would make any woman envious.
Leith nods, takes the food, and goes to head out when the pretty lass turns to him. She sees Leith and smiles widely. A strange, unfamiliar sensation warms my chest when he nods back to her. Why is he even looking at her? And why do I care?
“Hello,” Leith says. “Y’alright?”
“Aye,” the bonny lass says. “You?”
He nods. “Was just asking the friendly help here about the Cathedral. Have an errand there. Mum wanted me to get some pictures as we were passing through, says she remembers the church from when she was a wee girl.”
He flashes her a disarming grin that would make any woman hand over her bloody knickers. I want him to look at me that way. Hell, I’ve already handed him my knickers.
Have I made a mistake? He plays the part of an innocent so bloody well it’s unnerving.
“Careful, lass,” Tate whispers, giving me a teasing look. His eyes twinkle at me. “If you break the damn display, we’ll have a scene on our hands.”
I look down in surprise. I’m gripping the shelf so hard my knuckles are white. Is it that obvious how I’m affected? I swallow hard, wishing I could speak so I could deny that I’m at all emotionally invested in what’s going on.
This is not affecting me.
I am not affected!
Sigh. Oh, but I am. So bloody much it scares me a little.
Leith and the woman are having a lively discussion, and from where I stand, I can see Dougal watching them with narrowed eyes, the arsehole. He trusts no one. I watch as he turns from Leith and takes a swig from a flask he’s got hidden behind the counter.
I’ve envied girls who had brothers who protected and cared for them, even the ones that’d have rows and argue. Still, they knew they were allies, just like these men I’m with now. They’d argue and fight, even with their sisters, but it was clear they cared for one another.
“Excellent. Thanks very much for the info,” Leith says, giving the woman one final grin. He beckons to me from the back, and I go out the second door, the one furthest from the register, with Tate.
“Got them.” Mac jingles keys and gives me a wink when he meets us by the car.
“The girl filled me in a wee bit,” Leith says.
“Not sure who she is or how she knows so much, but she was willing to tell me quite a bit. Not only told me where the church is, she says there was a bit of a skirmish there recently, though no one knows who was behind anything. She gave me more intel than I hoped for.”
“Is that right?” Tate asks, stroking his chin. “Odd, William said there wasn’t a word about it online. Wonder how she knows?”
I text Leith.
Could it be that she knows the men who were attacked?
He frowns and nods. “Aye, Cairstina. Could be.” He tells the others what I said.
“Can’t imagine a beaut like that would have anything to do with those fuckin’ arseholes,” Mac says, playing with Dougal’s keys.
“You never know,” Tate says with a smack to Mac’s arm. “Some bonnie lasses have terrible taste in men. Take Cairstina, for example.”
I spin around to glare at him and for once, I don’t need my words to communicate with him. I flip him off with a flourish, which makes Mac smack his knee and even Leith crack a smile. Tate shakes his head at me.
“So Dougal’s an arse, that much is clear. Knew that already, though,” Leith says, muttering under his breath. “Now, we kill time in Inverness until he realizes his keys are gone. He’s off work in an hour.”
He glances over at me. “You’ll be in the car for that.”
The door to the shop opens, and Dougal stumbles out, just as a woman with a baby in her arms steps into the shop. He lets the door slam right in her face and she needs to jump back to avoid getting hit with the door.
“Fucking douche,” Mac mutters. “I hope you let me get a good smack in?”
Leith is watching him through the window. “I’ll think about it.”
We drive into the city, and I quite like this vantage point. I feel sexy as hell in my outfit, and I’m riding with three attractive, powerful men. Sure, maybe they’re criminals, but right now, I don’t fucking care.
I can see the steeple from the Cathedral, and an odd pang hits me. It feels like I’ve lived another life since that night in the graveyard, as if the Cairstina who hid in the shadows when they came was another woman. How many times do we live in one lifetime?
I have so many mixed feelings about the church. My only friend lives here, but will he know me? Isn’t he in danger if he does?
“Go ‘round the back, Mac. You know what to do,” Leith says. I imagine they’re making sure the body they brought here was properly disposed of, with no evidence left behind. “Tate, you spoke with your contact, aye?”
“Aye. Should be all set then.”
“Christ, it looks different here in the light of day, eh?” he says to me.
I frown at him and send him a text, raising my brows with what I hope is an icy look.
He reads the text and smirks. I quite like that look on him as well.
“Aye, lass, I won’t take the Lord’s name on sacred ground, if it pleases you.”
I nod. I’m not a religious person, but I do have some principles.
Once they’ve got everything sorted, we head to the parsonage through the back door. Leith produces a key, slides it in the lock, and turns it. I’m afraid we’ll scare Father MacGowen, but they seem to know what they’re doing.
I love the parsonage. It’s ancient and dated, but filled with a sort of peace that only comes in a place like this.
An elderly parishioner keeps it clean, coming by once a day to tidy things up, mop the floor, polish the banisters with lemon-scented oil.
The unease I felt at seeing my brother begins to dissipate.