Page 44 of Moonlit Nights & Northern Lights
The raw fear in his thoughts was so visceral it made my stomach clench. Behind all his bravado was someone genuinely terrified of facing whatever awaited him in Scotland.
“I’ll do it.”
The room fell silent. It took me a moment to realise those words had come from my own mouth.
Everyone stared at me as if I’d grown a second head. Rory’s mouth actually hung open, which would have been satisfying under different circumstances.
“I’ll accompany Rory to Scotland to support the investigation. With appropriate compensation, of course.” I flicked my eyes to Seb, who nodded once. “Double should just about cover it.”
Double my typical wage wasn’t nearly enough to spend days on end trapped in close quarters with Rory Thorne, but it would have to do.
“You’d do that?” Rory’s eyes were wider than saucers, and I glared at him before he started profusely thanking me or something equallyhorrifying.
I nodded once. After all, my mother could use the extra money to finally renovate her garden like she’d been talking about for years. Plus, I’d never been to the Scottish Highlands—in fact, I’d barely been away in years. Not that this was going to be aholiday, of course.
Kit approached me, squeezing my arm with surprising gentleness. “Thank you. I won’t forget this.”
I swallowed down the urge to promise him that Rory would be safe with me. Because where Rory was concerned, I’d make no such promises.
“When can we leave?” Rory asked, suddenly perking up like a puppy offered a walk. His eyes were alight with purpose, all traces of his earlier distress vanishing.
“I need to call my boss and make up some sort of emergency,” I said, already mentally drafting the conversation. In truth, I’d never asked for time off before, and still had most of my holiday days banked up. DCI Harris would probably fall off her chair when I requested leave.
“Monday?” Rory looked so bloody hopeful that I found myself nodding.
Shit.I’d just willingly volunteered to go to the furthest northern location in the UK with the person who hated me most in the world. What the hell was I thinking?
“Brilliant!” Rory clapped his hands together. “That gives us tomorrow to prepare everything. Felix will pull up every map of the area, and I’ll have time to find my kilt—”
“Your what?” I choked.
“My kilt,” he repeated, as if I was the one being ridiculous. “Can’t show up to a formal Highland pack gathering without proper attire. It would be like you turning up to a crime scene in your underwear.”
Felix snorted from behind his laptop.
I rubbed my temple, already feeling the familiar pressure of a headache building. This was madness. Complete and utter madness.
And yet, as Rory’s face continued to beam over at me as if I were his saviour, I couldn’t quite bring myself to dread it.
“So it’s settled,” Seb announced with finality. “Rory and Maxwell will leave Monday for Scotland to infiltrate the gathering and gather information about Dev Bassi.”
A moment of silence settled over the room as the reality of the plan sank in.
“Though…” Rory said, his brow furrowing as he looked between me and Sebastián. “How exactly is Theo going to get into a pack gathering? Human outsiders won’t be welcome.”
“Right,” I said. “I can hardly introduce myself as a police escort.”
“But…” Rory’s cheeks flushed slightly as he glanced around the room, then back to me. “Well… I mean… you could pose as my boyfriend?”
The words hit my brain like they were travelling through mud, each syllable taking an eternity to register. When they finally connected, I felt as though someone had pulled the floor from beneath me.
“B-boyfriend?” I croaked out, my voice embarrassingly strained.
Priya and Flynn both dissolved into poorly concealed sniggers. Flynn even had to turn away, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
My mouth went desert-dry. Could I take back my offer? The thought of pretending to be romantically involved with Rory Thorne made my stomach twist into knots I couldn’t begin to untangle.
“Would that be a problem, Detective?” Seb asked, one eyebrow arched perfectly. Was this… entertaining him?
