Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Although his expression remained calm, Ramsay shook his head at his friend. “You’re a fool if you can’t see she’s lying.”
I flinched and Ramsay caught it.
“What trouble have you brought to our island, Silver?”
Hurt, stupid hurt I shouldn’t feel because I, ultimately, barely knew this man, echoed through my chest. I’d thought his persistence was somehow him being protective of me.
Of course not.
He was merely worried about the village and its people.
Which meant he didn’t see me as one of them.
Maybe that’s how they all felt.
Maybe trying to start over in Scotland was the worst idea ever because I might have Scottish blood running through my veins, but I hadn’t been raised here, I didn’t sound like them … I was an American.
I wasn’t one of them.
The truth was if I thought I was endangering anyone here I’d leave, but I knew Cole was desperate. These sick threats were the actions of a frenzied, cornered criminal.
Deciding to ignore Ramsay entirely, I turned to Quinn. “Who can I hire to clean out my car?”
My contractor shot his partner a quick look before turning to me with a sigh. “I can get Forde here. He and his lads will clean it out and give it a thorough valet, as well as a safety check.”
“I don’t—”
Quinn cut me off with a wave of his hand. “It’s happening. I’m also going to check in with Murray to see if he can find out if someone he’s not familiar with bought a ton of bait down at the harbor. And I’ll talk to Jack, the harbor master. See if he’s noticed any unfamiliar faces hanging around. They have CCTV at the main ferry terminal. He could check that too.”
“I don’t want you to do that,” I insisted.
“Well—”
“I said no.” My voice rose with aggravation. “If someone is messing with me, then I am not going to give them the satisfaction of being bothered by it. Call Forde, tell him to send me the bill, and let me know when I can collect my car. Otherwise, do nothing.” I handed over my note for the lunch order. “Sorry, but someone else will need to get lunch.” With that I marched away from both men, hurrying downhill, grateful when they didn’t follow.
I made it back to my apartment in record time and as soon as I locked the door behind me, I divested myself of all my clothes and got into the shower. As soon as the warm spray hit my skin, the sobs I’d been holding in escaped. I cried out all my fear and frustrations—my loneliness—as I scrubbed my skin and hair until it hurt, making sure there was not a single worm anywhere to be found.
My eyes were puffy and red by the time I got out of the shower, and I could barely breathe through my nose from all the snot. I missed my mom and dad with a longing that almost took me out at the knees. I missed that feeling of knowing I had a safe place to land when life got shitty.
Blowing my nose, I took a calming breath as I dried off and changed into joggers and a tee. A check of the time told me it was a civilized hour in New York so I called Perri.
She picked up on the fourth ring.
Quietly, as calmly as possible, though I couldn’t quite stop the slight tremor in my words, I told her what happened.
“Are you okay?” Perri asked.
“A little shaken. But fine.”
“He’s scared and he’s making mistakes. Last night I got a phone call from someone using a voice distortion app. The fucker threatened to cut me up into little pieces if I didn’t stop writing the article.”
I blanched, sagging onto the couch. “Perri …”
“I’m not stopping. It’s not the first time someone has threatened to kill me over an investigation. The question is, do you need to back out? I’d understand if you want to.”
I remembered sitting across from Halston Cole at a gala for a charity he advocated for. I saw him in my mind, the memory of him making polite conversation with my mom and dad, so smooth and seemingly benevolent. He’d socialized with my parents. He’d won my dad’s trust and landed the position of CEO when my dad decided to step down.
His power, his legacy, was bestowed upon him by the same people he’d betrayed in the evilest of ways. Determination gritted my teeth. “I told you yesterday, nothing will stop me from bringing Cole down.”
12. Ramsay
My alarm went off on my watch, alerting me to the fact that I only had twenty minutes to get across to Leth Sholas before the tide washed over the causeway. I stepped back from the dresser I was working on, analyzing my work so far.
I’d studied the images I’d asked Cammie for. Silver had a very specific design in mind for the Welsh dresser–inspired piece to pay homage to her grandmother. Since it was one of the few problems in Silver’s life I could solve, I’d spent a few hours on it this morning.