Chapter 14
ARRO
Sunday afternoon, I convinced my brothers to drop me off at my place when Thane took Arran to collect his borrowed SUV. I needed to be alone to figure out my feelings about these notes, and I knew if I went back to Thane’s, Mac would show up after dropping off Eredine.
It was just as well we didn’t have a family meeting to discuss what the hell was going on because Robyn and Lachlan returned from their honeymoon the following day and, despite being jet-lagged had insisted everyone meet at their house after work that night.
Marcello took me to the work site and then dropped me off at home that afternoon, so Eredine picked me up to go to my brother’s.
And curiosity got the better of me. I’d asked her if she and Mac talked about anything when he drove her home, but she shrugged and said, “Not really.” Prying would suggest I cared what Mac did or said, so I didn’t pursue the questioning, even though something in her demeanor made me feel like she wasn’t quite telling the truth.
Lachlan and Thane lived in Caelmore in almost identical homes Thane had designed.
The small estate on the outskirts of Ardnoch had no other houses around because the surrounding land belonged to me, Arran, and Brodan.
It waited there for us to build our homes on it if we so wished.
And with a view out over the firth, I had to admit, I saw my future here, with a husband and family, living close to my brothers.
Not that I’d admit that to Lachlan and Thane, because they’d start building the bloody house right away.
Overprotective as they were, they wanted me closer.
Now more than ever, and I didn’t blame them one bit.
Ery pulled up outside Thane’s house, and I knew by the many cars in both of my brothers’ driveways that we were likely the last to arrive.
As I got out of the car, I noted a new black Defender that I didn’t recognize, and wondered who it belonged to.
Before I could ask Ery if she knew, Regan opened the door to her and Thane’s place.
“Hey, you okay?” Regan asked as I reached her.
I gave her a hug and lied, telling her I was fine.
“Bullshit,” she murmured but gave me an understanding smile, her dimples barely indenting her pretty cheeks before disappearing again.
“Where are the kids?” I asked as we stepped inside the hallway.
“Watching a little TV before bath time.” Regan gestured toward Lachlan’s. “I just wanted to pop my head out and say hey, but everyone is next door. Thane’s already there.”
“You go be with them.” Eredine shrugged out of her jacket. “I’ll watch the kids.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.”
Suspecting Ery was evading anything to do with the investigation, I gave Regan a pointed look. “Let her.”
Regan studied Ery for a second, mulling something over in her intelligent gaze.
I remembered before she first arrived in Ardnoch, Lachlan had called her a vapid princess.
It wouldn’t be the first time my brother was one hundred percent wrong about a person.
He’d been wrong about Robyn in the beginning too.
“Okay,” Regan decided. “Arro, why don’t you head next door? If the kids see you, you’ll never get away.”
I laughed under my breath, knowing it was true, wishing I could see them. Eilidh and Lewis always brightened my day. But I decided to wait for Regan outside, wanting someone with me when I walked through my big brother’s door.
A few minutes later, after Regan had left Ery with the kids, the two of us let ourselves into Lachlan and Robyn’s.
“In here!” I heard Lachlan call.
I’d missed him.
Kicking off our shoes, Regan and I strolled into the open-plan living space, much like Thane’s in architecture but different in style. While Thane’s had a more traditional feel to the kitchen, Lachlan’s kitchen was ultramodern, with clean lines, hidden handles, and all.
My family gathered in his living room, and my gaze zeroed in on Mac. He watched me, almost predatory, from his seat on the recliner, and I quickly looked away as Lachlan and Robyn stood to greet me. They’d already seen Regan, so I was lucky enough to be showered with all their affection.
“I hope you enjoyed your honeymoon, despite all this crap,” I said apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it,” Robyn assured me. “We had a great time.”
“Though we were eager to get home by the time we found out what was happening here,” Lachlan admitted. “Robyn plagued me about five times a day to change our flight, and nothing but sex would shut her up. It was exhausting.”
Robyn shot him a dirty look, and he flashed her a wicked grin.
“It sounds like you were very worried,” I observed dryly.
My brother’s wife was serious as she said, “We really were. I’m glad we’re home. Let’s talk about it.” She gestured to the massive corner sofa occupied by Thane, Regan, and Arran.
“Can I get you a drink, Arro?” Lachlan offered.
“I’m all right, thanks.”
Ignoring Mac’s penetrating gaze, I sat down on the sofa and was joined by Robyn. Lachlan took the armchair next to Mac’s recliner.
“Oh.” My eldest brother got up again and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a fob. “Before I forget.” He handed it to me, and I took it as he explained, “Black Defender outside is yours to use until you get yours back from the police.”
“Thanks.” I smiled gratefully. “They said by the end of the week, so I can return this to you then.”
“Maybe see how you like driving it first.” Lachlan sat back down. “It’s safer than your old one.”
I had a sentimental attachment to my Defender, which we both knew. “I can’t get rid of Dad’s car.”
Lachlan gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “We’d put it in storage. I just want you safe.”
“It is safe,” I insisted gently.
“This one is safer and it would make your big brother sleep better at night knowing you’re in a safe vehicle.”
Damn him. He pulled out the big guns there.
“We’ll talk about that later,” Robyn said, drawing my focus. Her expression was hard, determined, and I recognized it from when she was investigating Mac’s stabbing. “Any word from the police regarding prints?”
“No prints so far. They want to do a few more interior checks, but I don’t think whoever did this broke into my car.”
“We need to think about where this is going next,” Mac put in, and I forced myself to look at him.
Our eyes met and held, his roiling with emotion I didn’t want to contemplate.
“The next note,” he continued, his voice a wee bit gruffer than before, “was WHY WON’T YOU SEE ME?
It was written on Post-it notes all over Lachlan’s stage office.
It’s when the tone of the notes changed. ”
“But should we be looking at this from the same perspective as before?” Regan asked. “I mean, this could just be some asshole playing a prank.”
“That’s true,” Arran agreed.
“Yeah, it could be.” Robyn nodded. “But considering what this family has been through this past year, we need to be extra cautious. For now, we’re taking this seriously, so I want suspects.”
“I’m with Robyn,” Mac said.
I didn’t look at him this time. It was too difficult to stay numb when I looked at him.
“Suspects, then?” Lachlan asked. “Thoughts, Arro?”
“I can’t think of anyone specific.”
“There’s that Duncan guy,” Arran said.
“Duncan?” Mac’s voice was like a whip.
“A guy at work.” I glowered at Arran. “But not someone I suspect. He’s a bit of a misogynistic dick, but that’s a personality flaw, not an excuse to indict him.”
“But you said he’d looked into you,” Arran argued, and then turned to Mac and Lachlan. “He made a comment about her thinking she was above everything because of her family, because of you and Brodan being movie stars.”
“I’m adding him to the list.” Robyn produced a tablet as if out of nowhere and scrawled his name across the screen. “Surname?”
I reluctantly gave it to her but added, “I don’t think he’s a strong suspect at all.”
“Duly noted.”
“I’m leaning toward a crazed fan of Lucy’s,” Mac continued. “I’ve already got our PI investigating any known or obsessive Wainwright fans. We’re still trying to get someone to go in and speak with her to see if she’ll tell us anything useful, but she’s denying visitation.”
Robyn noted all this and mused, “Why you, Arro? I think we should talk about that as a starting point. No one else has received notes, so our clue to who this is lies with you.”
Thane sighed. “If it is a crazy stalker fan of Lucy’s, it could just be that they’ve fixated on Arro because she’s the only adult female Adair. Or was until recently.”
“She’s also gorgeous,” Regan added. “Could be fixated on her because of her looks, as sad and shallow as that is.”
I smirked unhappily. “As much as I appreciate the compliment, I think it’s more likely that they saw me as the weak link.
Perhaps a man who sees women as the weaker sex but recognizes Robyn isn’t an easy target, considering she’s the reason Lucy failed to kill her and Lachlan.
” I flinched just thinking about how close I’d come to losing my big brother.
How close Mac had come to losing his daughter.
Our eyes met like two magnets, and I saw the fear roil in his beautiful, dark gaze. He remembered too.
I looked quickly away before he pierced my numbness.
“Why not Regan or Eredine, then?” Robyn prodded the theory.
“We’re not family,” Regan answered, and Thane could’ve gotten whiplash with how fast he jerked his head to glare at her. She hurried to explain, “I mean, not officially Adairs.”
He grimaced and glanced around at us all. “We’re psychoanalyzing a ghost. All this is just guessing. We need more information.”
“Working on it,” Mac replied through gritted teeth. “Believe me.”