Chapter 7 Lachlan
LACHLAN
I’d just taken a sip of coffee when the piercing cry of a bagpipe’s opening note split through the office, startling me. The coffee missed my mouth and landed on my white shirt.
“Fuck.”
I, however, somehow managed to continually forget that Malcolm started outside my office at the same time every bloody day.
Striding out the door, I tried to hurry through the castle without being seen by members.
Occupancy was relatively low as my members preferred to stay in the summer and winter months.
However, my staff still went about their duties, trying not to look at the boss quizzically as I sped through the castle with a big, dirty brown stain on my shirt.
Of all people, I encountered Sebastian Stone on the gallery.
“Have you seen Gabriella?” Stone asked, referring to his fiancée.
The club admitted only TV and movie industry professionals and their spouses.
While Gabriella was in the music industry, she gained guest entry through her relationship with Stone.
He was an arrogant prick who everybody knew was fucking around on a woman he didn’t deserve, but he was a bloody good actor with a stellar reputation.
Stone was good at hiding how much of an arrogant prick he was, and we didn’t admit anyone into Ardnoch who would cause trouble.
I inwardly huffed at the thought of the mess we currently faced; at least we did what we thought were thorough checks before granting a member admittance.
By we, I meant my board, made up of me and three Hollywood stars: my friends, fellow actors Lucy Wainwright and Luther Ameen, and Hollywood legend, director Wesley Howard.
Wesley had directed my biggest blockbuster, a sci-fi action movie along the lines of Terminator.
We’d gotten along so well, we’d stayed in touch.
Wesley invested in Ardnoch and owned the largest multimillion-pound holiday home on the estate.
The irony of that was he also visited the estate the least of all its members, though his wife visited annually during the summer.
“No,” I answered as I moved past Stone. I glanced over my shoulder at him.
“The Spa?” Two buildings, a five-minute walk from the castle, erected in a contemporary style at odds with the castle’s architecture but in complete harmony with the woodlands surrounding it housed a gym and a spa and salon. Both were very popular with my members.
“I’ll have Wakefield call the spa to check. Hey, Adair?”
I stopped, turning to him.
Stone smirked. “Did I see Camille and Barton leaving yesterday?”
It took effort, but I kept my expression neutral.
Another reason the resort was quiet was because I’d informed my guests about the incidents.
Mac hadn’t wanted me to, but I couldn’t put my members’ lives in danger.
And there was the small matter of the detective inspectors showing up and insisting they might have to question the members.
I had shown them around the estate where the incidents occurred and handed over the evidence Mac had collected.
When they’d said they might have to return to interview the members, I knew it was time to inform them of the truth.
I hunted down all his guests and explained what had happened to Mac and that there’d been threats made on the estate, making it clear the threats were obviously geared toward me.
That my security team was working around the clock to keep everyone safe.
Half the members left, anyway. More than just Camille and Barton, which Stone would soon realize.
Those who stayed valued the privacy the estate offered over the danger.
That might sound crazy to some, but sometimes peace was worth any cost.
I’d hoped those who left the estate respected their membership enough to remain quiet about the situation. If my reputation was tarnished, if Ardnoch lost its reputation as one of the most prestigious members-only clubs in the world, I faced selling it.
An estate that had been in my family for centuries.
I shrugged noncommittally at Stone.
“You’ll notify me immediately if anything else occurs.” It wasn’t a question. It was a demand.
I bristled.
“I have to keep my fiancée safe.”
“You’re perfectly safe here.”
“Well, your head of security was stabbed, so I’m not too sure about that.”
“You’re welcome to leave.”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be groveling to keep us all sweet so we’ll stay?”
I strode toward Stone, towering a few inches above his six feet. Stone was a good actor. He didn’t flinch a bit as I bent my head toward him. “I don’t fucking grovel. Stay or don’t stay.”
“Nice attitude toward your members, Adair. Guess Gabriella and I will be leaving first thing in the morning. And I don’t think we’ll be back.”
“Do what you want. No refunds on your annual fee,” I reminded Stone as I walked away. And knowing how much Stone liked being top of the food chain, I threw over my shoulder, “And good luck finding a club with a reputation as illustrious as Ardnoch.”
Only the best of the best became members at my home.
And Stone knew it.
I doubted he and his pop-star fiancée were going anywhere.
Still, this day was turning into an absolute shit show.
First, Robyn Penhaligon showed up at the hospital and gave me cheek. The woman couldn’t make it any clearer how little respect she had for me.
Irritating woman.
And then I’d returned to the estate to discover word had reached Roman Bright about the incidents and he’d canceled his annual “May Stay” at the estate until further notice. Roman was Hollywood royalty. His membership was important.
Stone’s little dig had pricked my insecurities.
But if I let any of these people smell blood in the water, they’d go in for the kill.
I had to make them feel like they needed me and not the other way around.
They admired strength, popularity, and prestige, especially if it came with that elusive thing called privacy.
But they also weren’t morons, and I didn’t blame Roman for not wanting to be at Ardnoch.
We needed to solve the case of the mystery stalker.
Fuck. My life sounded like a bloody Nancy Drew novel.
Although I owned a house on the edge of the Adair land just outside Ardnoch, sitting on the firth next to Thane’s home, I rarely stayed there. I kept a room at Ardnoch, one of the smaller suites on the third floor, because I liked to be on-site as much as possible.
“You need a life outside of this place, Lachlan,” Arrochar had said more times than I could count. She’d repeated the same words only yesterday. “You need more to your life than Ardnoch. I’m worried about you.”
There was no reason to worry.
We would figure out who was causing all the trouble, Robyn would go home, and everything would return to normal.
The door to the Countess’s Suite opened, and Lucy Wainwright stepped into the corridor. The suite was not far from mine and was one of the best in the castle. It would be. As a board member, Lucy got dibs. Whenever I knew she was coming, I made sure the Countess’s Suite was available.
She gave me the glamorous smile that made her fellow Americans fall in love with her. “Hey, you.”
I slowed to a stop. “Afternoon. Heading down for lunch?”
“Yeah.” Lucy closed the gap between us and touched the stain on my shirt. “What happened here?”
“Malcolm.”
She chuckled, her blue eyes glittering. “Again?”
I gave a huff of laughter. “Yes.”
“You hired him.”
“You said it was a good idea.”
“It is. The members love all things Scottish. That’s one of the reasons they come here.” She wrinkled her nose. “Well, maybe not for the haggis.”
“That’s a matter of opinion.” Personally, I enjoyed a bit of haggis. “How are you about all of this?”
Lucy heaved a heavy sigh as she pushed a hand through her red hair, holding it back from her stunning face. “I was okay until Mac. Do you think it would be weird if I visited him today?”
“Why would it be weird? I’m sure he’d appreciate it.”
Lucy Wainwright was a name synonymous with Hollywood.
She’d gotten her break eight years ago starring alongside me in one of my last action films. While I would go on to retire, Lucy took on more serious roles and became the latest Hollywood sweetheart, bagging herself an Oscar within three years of breaking out.
We’d remained friends because Lucy understood what was important in life.
She hadn’t gotten swept up in the fame game and all the bullshit that came with it.
So I asked her to become a board member.
She loved Scotland and adored Ardnoch. Our friendship swerved for a while two years ago when we began a casual affair.
We’d had sex for months before I decided any longer would be dangerous to our friendship.
Lucy was one of those rare people who, like me, didn’t want anything more serious; she agreed that to continue might ruin our friendship.
We amicably broke off the affair. Lucy started seeing another actor, and I returned to casual dating.
Not long ago, I’d begun a long-distance, casual thing with Leighanne, a makeup artist I’d met during a visit to Glasgow.
Having Lucy in my life for almost a decade meant Mac was well acquainted with her. He wouldn’t find it strange that she cared enough to visit him.
“Arrochar said his daughter is here,” Lucy prompted.
My earlier agitation rose to the fore. “She’s here.”
“You don’t sound too happy about that?”
“She’s a pain in the arse. And her being here … I just … he doesn’t need that right now, you know.”
Lucy patted my chest. “Lachlan, maybe she’s exactly what he needs right now. Don’t you want Mac to spend time with his daughter, finally? I know if it were me and I had a chance to work things out with my dad, I’d want to.”