Page 87 of Be With Me (Adair Family 4)

Lachlan stared at me, stunned.

After a moment of awkward silence as he looked to Arran and over his shoulder at Mac, Lachlan turned back to me and nodded slowly. “All right.”

34

ARRAN

It was easier to merely concentrate on the morning breeze caressing my sweat-slickened skin. To watch the golden sand compact under my feet, feeling the rhythmic, gentle rush of the water to shore, inhale the salt air, and watch the sun break through the clouds in rays of soft light.

Dark green hills loomed in the distance where the earth jutted into the sea, reminding me I was running away from Ardnoch.

That thought cut through my intense focus on the run and my surroundings.

Ery.

I glanced to my side and noted she was nowhere to be seen. Panicked, and I stumbled, glancing over my shoulder. Relief replaced the panic as I saw her about a hundred yards behind.

Uneasiness shifted through me. I wanted to keep running, but I forced myself to stand still, to wait for her to catch up. Then I noted the time on my watch and realized we needed to head back, anyway. Jogging to meet her, I couldn’t look at her face for too long. Behind her, a dog ran into the water. Their owner was a dark dot farther down the beach toward the caravan park. This place would be busy by midday.

“You just took off,” Ery said as we met.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “We need to get back.” Before she could ask any questions, I ran. Guilt stopped me from outpacing her, and we kept stride as we headed back down the beach toward the car park.

I could feel her looking at me, but I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to think about the fact that I was staying with her at her lodge because she’d received a new gift every day since I got the email mentioning her. All the gifts came with cards that insinuated the person would see her soon. Ery was handling it better than I might have imagined, considering her traumatic past. But she was quiet and despondent, her fear hidden behind the forced smiles.

All of it because of me.

I’d brought this shit back into her life. I’d blithely ignored that I had famous brothers and that people took photographs of me. It wasn’t the first time. I’d had peace from it in Thailand, but after Lachlan became a big action star, Arro and I ended up in magazines and online articles too. It didn’t happen often, but it happened.

And I’d come home and acted like that stuff didn’t touch me, even knowing there was an arsehole journalist kicking around the village. So focused on being a fucking caveman and making sure everyone knew Eredine was mine, I’d kissed and held her in public without thinking of the consequences. Without thinking about her need to stay out of the limelight, her need for privacy.

Just like when I ran into the water in Thailand four years ago because all I was thinking about was myself and what I wanted in that moment. And Colin died from my selfishness.

Now I’d put Ery in danger too.

I’d break if anything happened to her. And if anything happened to her because of me, that was the kind of break I’d never come back from.

We still had no answers to who was behind this. The latest email tracked to the same internet café in Bordeaux, so Nylah was trying to access their CCTV. She would send me footage from the exact moment the email was sent so I could check to see if I recognized anyone. Until then, we were in the dark.

Before I knew it, we were running up dunes and back into the beach car park. I kicked my toes against one of the SUV’s tires to loosen the sand from my running shoes and was aware of Eredine on the passenger side doing the same.

We got into the car, and as I switched on the engine, she touched my forearm.

I stared at her elegant hand instead of her beautiful face.

“Arran … what’s going on?” she asked quietly, worry a tremor in her voice.

Swallowing against the lump in my throat, I couldn’t muster up a fake smile and a “nothing” for her.

All I wanted to do was to protect her from whoever was harassing me.

And that meant getting her out of the line of fire.

* * *

EREDINE

My nerves were shot as I dressed for work. Arran had been distant all week, but this morning was worse. He’d run ahead of me on the beach, as if he’d forgotten I was there. And then he’d refused to talk in the car on the way back. I was beginning to feel like a ghost, and I was losing my patience.

Anger and frustration bubbled up, mostly because anger was easier than fear. Frankly, I was terrified I was losing Arran. I didn’t know why, but I knew when someone was pulling away from me.

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