Page 63 of Hollywood Games
‘So, without further ado, we’re going to begin with the title track from the album, entitled “The Heart of Scotland”. This one’s for you, Mr Bauer,’ she said, fixing Brad with a radiant smile. Sam turned to Jamie and gave him a wink. He looked down at his guitar and plucked out the first notes. The crowd fell silent. Brad leaned forward expectantly. Sam’s voice started, soaring like an iridescent bird over the heads of her audience. The audience sighed as they let themselves be transported to a Scotland of romance and dreams. Sam wove her spell around them and Jamie joined her, his eyes closed. When the song finished, the room erupted with claps, cheers and whoops. Brad was on his feet yelling loudest of all, punching the air and exclaiming ‘hot damn!’ Sam turned to Jamie who managed to turn the corners of his mouth up, despite looking as if he was about to vomit, then introduced the next song.
In the end, they’d managed to write nine songs together. No one would have been able to tell they’d written them so quickly. The music was classic, timeless, evocative and tugged on people’s heartstrings. ‘The Heart of Scotland’ was so catchy they played it twice as an encore, with the crowd joining in each chorus. By the time the gig had finished, the simple love song was sounding more like a rugby chant, and the biggest men in the room were crying and hugging each other. Zoe and Fiona sniffed away tears, whilst Morag was bawling like a baby and being comforted by Clive.
As the final strains of the music died away, Brad was on his feet again, rushing to speak to Sam and Jamie. From his body language, Zoe knew their music had hit the spot. He was gesticulating wildly and had pulled Crystal with him to furiously scribble notes. The rest of the crowd knew Brad came first, so stood back whilst he vigorously shook their hands, then made his way out of the pub.
Brad leaving was the cue for everyone else to pile on, burying Sam and Jamie with back slaps and goodwill. A few of the more drunk young men wanted Sam to autograph their chests, and she was soon separated from Jamie, who sat back, looking utterly shell-shocked. The bravest and drunkest of Kinloch were talking at Kirsten, but she was clearly adept at dealing with unwanted advances, as within five minutes she had managed to convince them to have an arm-wrestling competition. As the men dragged a table through from the other room and sat around it taking bets and shouting, she slunk away, making a beeline for Jamie.
Zoe watched with gritted teeth as she simpered at him, her breasts thrust into his face. Within a minute she was sitting, his guitar on her lap, Jamie behind her, showing her how to play simple chords.
Sam pushed her way through the pub to Zoe and Fiona’s side. ‘What the actual fuck does she think she’s doing with him?’
Fiona necked another shot. ‘Why do you care? It’s not like you’re interested,’ she replied mildly.
Sam’s mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.
‘But, Fi, look what she did to Rory!’ exclaimed Zoe. ‘Do you want her as a sister-in-law?’
Fiona shrugged. ‘She’d get him out from under my mum’s feet, plus she’s loaded. I always said my brother would ruin some poor woman’s life, so he might as well ruin hers. I’m going to get another drink. Want one?’ She walked unsteadily towards the bar and Sam turned back to Zoe.
‘If you don’t do something then I will,’ she hissed.
Zoe cracked her knuckles and her head from side to side. Game on. Fired with adrenaline, she set out to avenge herself and her hot boyfriend. Unfortunately for vengeance, Kirsten and Jamie saw her coming. In a fluid movement, Jamie lifted his guitar off Kirsten and placed himself in front of her, giving her the chance to flee the pub.
‘Aww, Jamie,’ Zoe whined. ‘I was all psyched for my first ever pub brawl.’
‘You’re proper Scottish now, Zo,’ Jamie grinned, pulling her in for a hug.
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30
Out at the cabin Zoe slept like the dead, as usual. Rory, on the other hand, accustomed in the army to sleeping with one eye open, didn’t have such a restful night, but it was most enjoyable. He lay back smiling, listening to the distant sounds of an owl on the hunt, the closer sounds of mortars going off, an angry dog on the rampage, and the manly screams of members of the press as they ran for the hills.
In the morning, as Zoe slept on, he went to check the perimeter, resetting the wires, making a note of what needed replacing, and fed Bandit. When he’d arrived the previous evening to set wires across the track, he’d found a dead bird on the porch, a long red curl tied around its neck. He’d set light to the hair to determine it was synthetic, presumably taken from Kirsten’s wig. He was never going to tell Zoe about this little gift. He wasn’t worried about Vlad, but didn’t want to freak her out. When she’d arrived back from the concert and told him about Vlad and Kayleigh, his mind was made up. He didn’t care what Brad or his mother might say or do. As soon as he was back at the castle, he would find Vlad and kick him out.
As he drove them down the hill towards Kinloch, Zoe’s phone beeped with notifications and she took it out. ‘It’s Margaret from the bakery. She wants me to pop in. Can you drop me there and I’ll see you at the castle later?’
‘Of course,’ replied Rory. ‘But can you ring me the moment you’re done and I’ll come and get you?’
Zoe looked at him as he pulled the truck to the side of the road. ‘You don’t need to do that, it’s fine, I’ll walk up.’
Rory’s stomach cramped with unease. Until Vlad was out of Kinloch, he needed to know she was safe.
‘Indulge me.’ He pulled her to him, pressing his lips to hers. He held onto her tightly, pouring his love into the kiss, dipping his tongue into her mouth when she moaned and opened to him. He kissed her until she was breathless and boneless in his arms.
‘Please?’ he whispered as he finally lifted his head. Her eyes were hooded and hazy, her cheeks flushed. She nodded.
Back at the castle,on the hunt for Vlad, the first person he ran into was his mother. She took his arm in a grip of steel and dragged him into the empty library. When the door was shut behind them, she slapped a newspaper into his chest. ‘Look at the state of you. Not only does it appear you’ve been brawling, but you’ve managed to disgrace yourself in public, yet again.’
Rory unfolded the newspaper to see a crazy naked man leaping off the front page, his eye black and a livid wound on his forehead. He couldn’t believe the photographer had managed to get such a clear shot as he was running away. They had surmised the injuries were the result of Brad Bauer getting his revenge, and made much of the fact Brad had received military training when he was filming the war film Rory and his army friends had taken such umbrage to. The only saving grace was they had covered his modesty with a picture of a huge sword rather than a tiny dagger. Rory didn’t know what to say, so threw the newspaper in the fireplace. ‘I forbid you to have anything more to do with that man.’
She stared at him in astonishment. ‘You,forbidme?’
‘Yes. You should be grateful so few people know.’
‘My dear boy, do you think I’m ashamed of my relationship with Bradley?’
‘You’re not?’
