Page 115 of Filthy Lovin Heroes

“Jaime saw her get in a car. And she gave him this.” She handed me a Lachlan badge that had been ripped.

No. No. No.

That couldn’t be right.

I turned around and raced to the study.

“Running away won’t solve anything.” Her words trailed after me.

In my study, I rummaged around the various drawers in the wooden desk.

Where the fuck was my cell phone?

With Holly around, I’d taken to leaving it in the study. I didn’t need to be constantly checking it for updates from New York.

There it was. I pulled it out, squinting. Shame flooded me as I checked my GPS app.

I’d slid a GPS tracking device, no bigger than a paper clip, into the liner of the coat before I’d given it to Holly. I hadn’t been proud that I’d done it, but I couldn’t stop myself. Knowing she was being stalked in New York made me powerless and a little crazy.

By the time I returned to the front hall, staring at the phone screen all the way, the clock had struck twelve. The hall was jammed with guests who’d had too much to drink wishing each other Merry Christmas. I ignored the slaps on my back and untangled myself from more than one sloppy kiss to push through to the front door.

I hadn’t figure out how to make her stay, but I wasn’t letting her out of my life again.

In my hand, the phone displayed her location and I stopped. According to it, she was still at Lachlan. That couldn’t be right.

Unless she didn’t have the coat.

I slammed my fist against a hall table, upsetting a trio of glass ornaments. They smashed to the stone floor and shattered into fragments.

She had gotten a ride from one of the cars waiting for guests. That meant whoever it was would be local. They wouldn’t be driving her to Edinburgh’s airport at least.

“Malcolm! Where are you going?” My mother called to me across a group of embracing couples.

“Holly left. I’m going after her.”

“Wait for me,” she called.

I shook my head, turning away. I needed to do this myself.

“Wait!” She broke through the couples to grab my arm. “Fergus swears he saw Ronan outside earlier. Be careful, Malcolm. Something isn’t right. I meant to tell you but I hardly believed it myself.”

Ronan?

What the hell was going on?

Suddenly it all made perfect sense. His skydiving trip over the Amazon, the estate’s financial troubles, and Holly having a stalker in New York. They weren’t random events.

My not-so-dead brother was behind the scene pulling strings.

I checked the garage for my Rover. It was gone. I pulled up my GPS on my phone. My vehicle was moving at a decent clip away from Lachlan. No doubt with Holly in it with my brother. Of course, my brother knew Lachlan and all the security codes; I never changed them after his death.

Which was fucking stupid.

I didn’t like any of it, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to tolerate him anywhere near Holly. Not only was she innocent, she was also mine.

Back in the house, I found my mother after I pushed my way through the crowd.

Out front, I glanced around our circular front drive jammed with cars. Off to the side, Fergus had the sleigh hooked up and was feeding carrots to the horses.

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