Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
I shoved him playfully and he laughed, the sound warming me in all my feminine places. “I’m not coming to your son’s game like a … like I’m your … you know.”
“Och, no one will think that.”
“No,” I insisted firmly.
“Then join us for dinner afterward.”
“I have to get the ferry home. Sorry.”
Quinn grimaced but thankfully let it go.
28. Taran
“There is no such package, there is no such thing as not being able to send it across the ferry for insurance purposes, and no one from this post office would have called you regarding it,” the woman behind the Perspex window snapped.
My cheeks flushed at her nasty tone as Quinn and I stood at the desk with a queue of people behind us. I pressed my phone screen against her window. “Here. This is the post office’s phone number, is it not?”
With an impatient roll of her eyes, she took a second before leaning forward to peer at it. She frowned. “That is our number. But that doesn’t prove someone called you regarding whatever it is you’re talking about.”
I gaped at her. “Why on earth would I make it up?”
“You’d be surprised by the stories I hear in this building.” She waved a hand at us. “Now I can’t help you any further, and I have customers to see to. Actual customers, not silly women with silly stories. Have a good day.”
Infuriated by her appalling customer service, I gritted my teeth and replied, “I hope you have the day you deserve.”
I heard Quinn stifle a laugh at the same time his hand curled around my elbow to tug me away from the counter. “Can you believe the cheek of it?” I huffed as we walked outside. “She was unhelpful from the moment we stepped up to the counter.”
“I hope you have the day you deserve,” Quinn repeated, shaking his head on a grin.
Amusement cut through my irritation. “Well, it’s true.”
“I’m going to use that.”
I let out a little laugh before heaving a massive sigh. “What a waste of a ferry ticket.”
“Why would someone phone you from a post office to lie?” Quinn pulled me to the side as tourists tried to get past us. The post office was on a busy street in Oban, bustling with traffic and pedestrians. Most of the town’s busiest thoroughfares were narrow between the stores, so there was a one-way system in place for vehicles. Despite the rain-slicked pavements and the early hour, the weekend tourism meant we had little privacy for this conversation.
Frustrated I’d come all this way for nothing, I said, “I have no idea.”
“One second.” Quinn held up a finger before he pulled out his phone. I heard the dull ring of it and then the faint sound of someone answering. “Ramsay, quick question.”
I raised an eyebrow as I listened to Quinn’s side of the conversation.
“Can someone call from a number but trick the system into thinking the call is coming from a different number?” Quinn frowned as he stared at his feet, listening to whatever Ramsay said. His eyes shot to me as he nodded and relayed for my benefit, “It’s called ID spoofing. Many scammers use Voice over Internet Protocol technology to manipulate the information that appears on your caller ID display.”
Unease shifted through me as I realized what Quinn was getting at.
“Is there a way to track down the real caller?” He nodded at whatever Ramsay said. “It was Taran who got the call.” He informed his friend about this morning’s events and what had led me to coming to Oban. Our surroundings were too loud for me to hear Ramsay’s response, but Quinn had grown quiet, listening. Then he spoke again, “No idea why, but if we can find out who made the call, maybe we’ll discover why … it could be just a prank, but with everything else going on …”
My mind whirled as I turned from Quinn, taking a few steps away as I tried to think why anyone would make a call like that. What was the purpose?
It did get me on a ferry away from Leth Sholas. I paused, heart picking up pace. Did someone want me off Glenvulin? Or here in Oban specifically?
As I spun to voice my concerns out loud, it took my brain a second to register the hard clamp around my waist. It was only as my feet left the ground I realized I’d been grabbed. Fear shot through me. “Quin—” A sweaty hand clamped down on my mouth as I was dragged backward down a narrow lane between the buildings.
“Taran!” I heard Quinn’s roar as I struggled in my captor’s grip, kicking and bucking, trying to slow them down. A dull pain exploded across my head and I slumped, momentarily stunned.
When my focus returned, my heart leapt at the sight of Quinn. He ran toward us, his face a mask of fury, and more pain ricocheted across my bottom and elbows. It took me another second to realize my attacker had dropped me like a sack of potatoes on the cobbled wynd.