“Brody Boy, I was a pure mess until I arrived. Now, I’ve had a moment of enlightenment when Erika discussed the fellowship occurring tonight. Which I am to assume is on her behalf? Asmydaughter was the only person hurt during the incident.”
“I’m fine, Da!” Erika exclaims. “Big Brody nor Nan would ever let—”
“I am not finished,” he cuts in, rubbing thoughtfully at his jaw.
“Wit’smore to say? Ye’ll believe a frilly party has saved our relationship?” Big Brody’s hand sweeps across the room. “A party. Let me say this. I was yer friend when ye were stillsookingyer mam’s tit!”
“Brody,” Nan sighs. “We’re in the presence of the weeweans.”
“So? A chat should’ve been between auldpals to voice their concerns. Or if ye want, I’ll share another scenario, Ewan. If I had any inkling that my bairns’ lives were in jeopardy, or Erika, a gathering wouldn’t save the man in my crosshairs. But a party! Heh, Leith where are thefeckin’balloons?”
My gaze vaults between the two older gentlemen. When Ewan opens his mouth again, he’s not addressing his daughter or his oldest friend. I roll my eyes.This asshole.
Nan sits forward, softly cutting into his monologue. “Ewan, ye’ve a right to be livid regarding the events surrounding Erika being shot. As ye can see, Big Brody’s torn up about it himself. We’ve tried to address the matter with ye—”
Erika huffs. “All I need is a few weeks of physical therapy, Da. ‘Twas an exit wound, missed my liver and other vital organs. McFarland and MacKenzie clans are invincible.” She lifts her glass of lemon water. I start to lift my wine as a show of support.
Her attempt falls on deaf ears. Nan glares up at astill standingEwan. A searing red flush burns across her cheeks as she scoffs. “To tell us that ye mean—”
“I considered it, yeah,” he replies, flatly.
“Och,ye meant to part ties? But now yer senses have returned!”
“Wheesht, Nan!” Big Brody commands firmly. “As for ye, Ewan, I dinna appreciate this, mate or nae! We’ve trusted each other all our lives. While this is not a discussion I’ll be having before my bairn and his wee bairn,let me tell ye, I’ll be having words with ye tomorrow. Shove that look up yerarse.”
Ewan snubs him with a scoff. “Not possible. My plane is refueling as we speak.”
While they continue to argue, Leith leans in. “They’re cutting into the window we had prepared, Chevelle. Let’s go.”
On the opposite side of me, I caress Mia’s cheek and press a kiss to her forehead. I’m clasping Leith’s awaiting hand when Ewan states that the McFarlands and MacKenzies require a real union.
A marriage.
“C’mon, hen,” Leith quietly escorts me to a door with an exit leading onto the beach. The second we step into the salted air, Ewan makes a bold declaration. Erika will marry a MacKenzie. Not just any MacKenzie.
“Oh my, did Ewan say Little Brody?” My pace falters along the cement dock, shock shooting down my spine.
“Aye, mybrathairand Erika haveshiteto deal with.”
When Leith clasps my hand, I stall. “But Justice! She’s sitting right next to—”
“Hen!” Leith has a firm grip on my cheeks. “I’ll call Camdyn down. Ye can go comfort Justice.”
A flash of hurt crosses my face. His broad shoulders drop, as well as his harried demeanor. Leith gazes down at me. A look of love and devotion shines in his gorgeous cerulean eyes. His palms settle along my waist. The warm touch alights my entire body, and he descends on me with a kiss that scorches through me. A kiss dominates my entire senses until Leith’s my sole focus, the center of my universe.
“Hen, I’ll need ya focused.” His tone epitomizes encouragement. “The only fear I have in life is losing ye or Mia. I’ll say it one last time, Chevelle, I’d rather do this with ye at my side. If yer heid’s not in it, I’m willing to mend this problemforye.”
He’ll fix the problem without me.For me.Leith will die for me, kill for me. He’ll give me the entire world. In fact, over the years, he’s mended my throbbing soul. My heartbeat quickens in my chest while he holds out a hand, beckoning me to follow.
Chapter 65
Chevelle
Five minutes—three hundred seconds.That’s all the time necessary for the entire abduction of Fausto and Ophelia. The entire sequence of events transpires similar to the video games Leith and I were once addicted to. I’m in the driver's seat of a vehicle that Camdyn parked around the corner from the restaurant. He’d pulled a GTA right before the event and switched the plates.
In the passenger seat, Leith forks his fingers through a lock of dirty reddish-blond hair in his eye. He types on his laptop.
“Drive faster. Two corners, bend right,” he orders.