the door. “What part?”
Tony gave Holly a meaningful look, then turned to his friend. “Time to do my part. I’ll get my car.” With that, he strode out.
Holly stared after him, and Lachlan cocked his head.
Give him another chance. Give both of you another chance.
Holly took a deep breath, then forced a smile. “Let me just get Mungo. I’ll be right back.”
* * *
The drive to the coast only took a few hours, but to Holly, every minute was an eternity. She second-guessed every comment, every decision she’d made in the last twelve hours.
No regrets, her dragon whispered.
Stunning Highland scenery blurred past, but much as she tried, she couldn’t focus. Lachlan drove in silence, his eyes darting every which way. Tony followed in a Land Rover, not too close, not too far, making her even tenser. Apparently, her heart wasn’t the only thing in danger. Her life might be, too.
A helicopter hovered over the motorway interchange, and at first, she assumed it was monitoring traffic. But when Lachlan steered the Austin onto the motorway, the helicopter inched forward. Five minutes later, it was still overhead, following them west.
“Don’t worry,” Lachlan said as she craned her neck for the third time. “He’s with us.”
She gaped. A helicopter? Why?
Then it hit her. Additional security?
“Whoa. Seriously? For us?”
“For you,” he grunted, then spotted her look of alarm. “Think of it as for Trevor. That’s what this is all about.”
She gulped. “Just how dangerous do you expect this drive to be?”
“I don’t expect anything, but then again, I didn’t expect what happened yesterday. Hopefully, it’s all an unnecessary precaution, as was sweeping the car and your luggage.”
She pictured a broom and a dustpan, confused. “Sweeping for what?”
“Tracking devices. All negative, mind you.”
So that was what that the slight delay in the morning had been, when Tony appeared from behind the car with a small device.
She glanced at the urn. Had Trevor had any idea what he would be getting her into?
Time ticked by even more slowly after that, and every car on the highway looked suspicious.
“Look.” Lachlan lifted one finger from the steering wheel to point. “Flowers. Would you like to pull over?”
She stared. Wow. He really was trying, wasn’t he?
“No, but thanks,” she said softly, making sure the words didn’t come out as snippy as earlier that day.
“Ben Nevis,” he murmured a while later, pointing to the mist-shrouded mountain. “Have you climbed it?”
She nodded. “Once or twice.”
Lachlan looked over, and she itched to tell him more. Like the fact that she’d actually summited six or seven times — three of which had been leading groups of the visually impaired. Or how incredible it felt to stand on the peak — even with her eyes closed.
Instead, she held her tongue. Did Lachlan really want to know? Did he care?
When a truck appeared ahead, coming toward them, they both tensed. Lachlan’s knuckles tightened around the steering wheel as they passed. But, whew. No horns blaring, no swerving. No murder attempts — not on them, nor Tony. Holly petted Mungo, relaxing again.
Lachlan didn’t seem to relax, though. On the contrary, his brow furrowed, and he checked his watch. Repeatedly.
Holly made a face. Checking their ETA, no doubt. Did he even notice the scenery?
When a road sign appeared ahead, Lachlan rubbed his chin the way he did when making up his mind. A minute later, an exit loomed, and his jaw clenched. He slowed and swung left as if to exit, then jerked the car back to the main road, making Mungo stumble.
“Sorry,” he murmured, reaching back to pet the dog.
Holly tried not to stare. What was up with him?
A moment later, his phone rang, and Lachlan answered, looking up at the helicopter.
“Aye, I know that was the exit. Small change in plan. Tell Tony.” He hung up the phone in a Take that gesture.
“Everything okay?” she ventured.
“Perfect,” he grumbled.
She kept her eyes on the road, trying to piece it all together. Lachlan hated changing plans. Was something wrong?
Apparently not, because a short time later, he motioned around and mumbled, “Nice, isn’t it?”
It was lovely, especially now that the road paralleled the silvery shores of Loch Eil. But since when did Lachlan care about such things?
“Beautiful,” she murmured, wondering what was going on.
Then he slowed down, and she glanced around. Had the speed limit changed? Tony pulled up alongside, looking over in concern. But Lachlan just waved him back into position, murmuring, “Another eight minutes.”
Holly looked around. Eight minutes to what? The coast was at least thirty