Chapter 58
Justice
While parked along the curb of the MacKenzie home, reality sinks in. The man I’ve fallen for is organizing a mass murder this evening. That’s in addition to the two lives he took yesterday before claiming me all over the house and moving me in.
There’s a knock at the window, and I glance over to see Brody’s middle-school-aged brother.
“Hey . . . Lachlan.” I open the door.
“Hi.” His eyes, which are more green than blue, brighten in astonishment.
“I remembered right. How are you?”
Lachlan deadpans, “I almost died this morning.”
I gasp. “What happened?”
“Rory.” His mouth tenses. “I have a peanut allergy. He put peanuts in my oatmeal.”
“Poor baby” is all I can muster.
“I told Cam. He didn’t care. Leith always helped him retaliate with Little Brody. Will you help me?”
“Ummm.” I mentally list the rest of his brothers. Jake is the youngest. Rory is younger than Lachlan. So that leaves Jamie, the fifteen-year-old momma’s boy. I ask, “What about Jamie?”
Lachlan blinks a few times. “He’s not a normal older brother.”
“Oh . . . kay,” I reply as Lachlan stuffs his hands into his jean pockets and meanders down the street. Where there’s an opening in the trees, the sunlight stretches over him. That was a bizarre conversation.
I stroll toward the front door, staring over my shoulder at the handsome young man when the door opens.
“Och, my bairn’s in one of his moods,” Nan mutters. “Did Lach ask ye for help?”
“Yeah . . . I guess he did.”
“He’s in his heid, right now. When he returns, we’ll need to keep an eye on the laddie. He’ll try to take a knife to Rory. Already a little scientist, but Lach’s strategic. Come.” She opens her arms.
“I’ll try to remember that.” I hug her.
Nan presses a friendly kiss to my cheek. “Yes, do. Lachlan’s a good boy until provoked. The quieter he is, the more dangerous—same as Camdyn. Rory’s our wee chemist. Jake and Mia are thick as thieves—as long as they’re not watching something inappropriate on YouTube. Jamie,” she grins, “he’s . . . I’ll not have a problem with Jamie because he’ll not involve himself in clan affairs. Cam, Lach, and Rory were about Jake’s age when they learned their way around our favorite devices.”
Devices? A tingle creeps down my spine. She’s referring to torture contraptions.
“Enough on that, ye come into this house and tell me wit you’d like to eat for lunch.”
I smile my appreciation. “I’m not hungry.”
“Nonsense, I’ve a fully stocked kitchen. By the time I’m done cooking, ye will be hungry. I suspect . . . Chevelle will be hungry too.”
I catch the gleam in her gaze. “Oh, is she here?”
“Och, not yet. C’mon, is our Chevelle pregnant?” Nan becomes affectionately insistent. I laugh, following her through the house into the kitchen. Her desire to cook until I’m hungry reminds me of my grandma, who slaved in the kitchen to watch her family enjoy a meal.
Tucked away at the breakfast nook, Jamie taps a pencil in the center of his textbook. He offers the faintest hello, returning his attention to homework.
“What’re you studying?” I ask, settling on a stool at the island.
“Pre-Calculus.” It’s technically not a brush-off. But I guess he’ll have to warm up to me again.