Across the utilitarian prison visiting room, my ex-wife advanced. Gaunt, she winced as she lowered herself to sitting.
Her gaze stuck to the table.
I’d last seen her several years ago, when she’d only been inside a short time. The difference between my energetic friend and this lass startled me, and I could only stare. Prison had ravaged Liv. I barely recognised her.
“Do ye have any money?” she asked. “You’re allowed to give me twenty quid.”
“Already organised with the office,” I murmured. “It’s good to see ye.”
She bobbed her head, still not looking at me. “I’m in on my own now.”
It took a second for me to work out what she meant. The mindset of being jailed was entirely alien, though I’d thought about it from time to time. “Your own cell? That’s good.”
Liv raised a shoulder.
“Our lass is thriving,” I said fast, because I knew this would hurt.
I hadn’t told Caitriona, but Liv had rejected Isla at birth, refusing to hold her. At the time, I’d hated it, but I understood, too.
Life had been a tragedy for Liv from beginning to present day. Isla was just another part of that. I’d sent pictures and updates, but Liv had never asked a single question.
It gave me greater reason to love Isla, as no one else did.
She didn’t respond, so I pressed on.
“Your brothers are out of jail. I need to know if they’ll come after us.”
Finally, Liv raised her head. “They havenae been here. Even if they tried, I wouldnae see them.”
“I need to know how much of a threat they are to Isla.”
Liv frowned, then jerked a thin shoulder. “I cannae say.”
“Do they write to ye? Email? Telephone?”
“No.”
“What about her birth father?”
“You’re her da. No one else wanted her but ye.”
Exasperated, I dug my fingers into my hair. This wasn’t getting me anywhere. At least I knew Liv hadn’t been contacted, but that didn’t help me understand if they were hunting us.
“When ye came to me, pregnant and scared, ye said they’d take the bairn. Ye put the fear of God into me over her safety.”
A smile curved Liv’s mouth. “I bet you’ve moved mountains to look after her. No man would have done more. Do ye have a wife? A mother for her?”
“No.” To say I wanted a specific woman for that role would be unkind.
“Get one. Settle down and stop this panic. Ye always took things to an extreme.” She stood, her hands on the table. “I’m tired. I have things to do. Are ye sure ye left that money?”
I jumped up. “I did. Wait.”
She kept moving through the seats. “Dinna come back here.”
A guard buzzed the door to let her out. I could do nothing but watch her go.
Outside, I retrieved my phone and keys from the prison locker. A text message waited from Caitriona. Ah Christ, even the sight of her name boosted me from the low of the visit. Then her words warmed me further. She said I was right about everything, and she’d be back tomorrow. Fuck, that couldn’t come soon enough.
A missed call and voicemail also waited, from Gordain.
I listened to it as I returned to the car.
He offered me the job as head of the rescue service permanently.
Killing the call, I slid into my seat and stared into space. I’d gone from extreme worry about Liv’s family to…what? Confusion, as a minimum.
Had she used my protective instincts to safeguard her bairn?
Had she even been at risk, or just playing me in the way she knew how? My mother’s flight from Da when we were kids was no secret. My protector status had been prominent even at school.
Liv had loved me as a teenager. She hadn’t said as much, but I knew the moment I told her I was signing up to the RAF. She went missing not long after.
Now, she still faced extensive prison time. I’d asked after her sentence, and she had years to serve.
I pieced through all I knew. I’d taken Liv in without hesitation. Married her to give the bairn my name and protection. I’d raised Isla on a military base then moved her on the moment I feared for her safety.
Had it all been for nothing?
No. I’d never regret anything to do with Isla.
If no one was chasing us… That meant so much. But I couldn’t be sure of anything until I’d had those words from Liv’s family.
I drove an hour north then, in a lay-by, grabbed the burner phone and readied it to send an email to Blair.
One from her loaded as I started to type.
Lochie, someone has been sniffing around your old base. Unknown male. Be aware.
Then my personal phone blared with an incoming call.
Isla’s school.
My heart pounded, and I snatched the phone, answering it.
“Mr Ross,” the kindly voice said. “I’m calling to check the collection arrangements for Isla today. We have a person waiting to take her home, but they aren’t on your list.”
I rubbed my eyes. “They should be. Mathilda McRae, aye?”
“This is a gentleman, hence the call. Ye only have Cait and Mathilda preapproved. He doesnae have the password.”
My blood chilled. “Who?”
“A Mr McRae. I must admit, I dinna know this young man, and there I was thinking I knew all the McRae boys.”
A warning sounded in my mind, and sickness shrank my stomach. “First name?”
The school receptionist put her hand over the receiver and asked the question.
The man’s faint voice made it to me. He had a Scottish accent, but something wasn’t quite right.
“He says he’s Ed McRae,” the woman replied.
Ice slunk into my veins. There was no one of that name on the estate. Caitriona had gone through all her relatives. No Ed or Edward came up.
“What does he look like?”
“Early twenties, fair. Excuse me? Hold up a moment.” She switched to addressing the stranger.
A thump sounded. Then a yell.
Fear spiked, and I smacked the steering wheel with the flat of my hand. “Do not let her go with him. Whatever ye do, Isla cannae leave with this person.”
After a moment, the woman came back on the line. Her voice quivered. “He forced the door.”
“What? Go after him.”
“No, no. It held. He’s gone, taken off at a run. Who is he? What shall I do?”
Gone didn’t mean fled. He could be checking the other exits, or for a window to smash. Fuck! “Call the police. Keep Isla safe. I’ll make arrangements and call ye back.”
I hung up, panicked, and searched my mind for a solution. A stranger was at my daughter’s school. They’d used a fake name.
I dialled Cameron, speaking before he’d even greeted me. “I need your help. Isla’s in danger.”
“Tell me what to do.”
I explained the situation, my fucking voice shaking. “I need ye to go with Mathilda to the school to pick up my daughter, then take her to the castle and stay with her until I get there. I’m hours away but I’m coming.”
“On it. Hang on, I’m with Ally.” Cameron stated the issue in short sentences then came back on the line. “Ally’s calling Mathilda now. Callum is home. He’ll take her there, and we’ll meet her. Leave this with us.”
Relief permeated my fear, but what a time to rely on my new friends.
I’d been complacent five minutes ago, but now could only see a potential abduction attempt.
My phone buzzed as I gunned the engine, and I answered the call on loudspeaker, pulling out of the lay-by.
Gordain’s voice came down the line. “Lochinvar. Did ye get my message?”
“I cannae talk now,” I barked.
“Fine man, call me back and let me know if ye want the job.”
Fuck. I couldn’t. Not with a direct attack underway. Like stretched elastic, I snapped straight back to my original plan.
“I cannae. I need to take my daughter and leave tonight. I’ll talk to ye about my replacement later.”
“Lochinvar,” he started.
I killed the call, all my concentration on getting home.
We had no choice now. The moment I got back and had Isla in my protection, we had to go.
