Fire Maidens Scotland (Billionaires & Bodyguards #6) - Anna Lowe Page 0,54

at the far side of the glen. You can just make out the roof of the main building. See it?”

She nodded. “Does the security force stay there?”

“Some stay in one of the two villas, but the rest bunk here, in the barracks.” He pointed to the low stone building near the pier. A smile played over Lachlan’s lips as he pointed toward the hills. “Duncan is the exception. He and his bagpipes have been assigned the small shelter up there.”

It sounded cruel, but she could easily picture the gentle giant grazing happily, keeping an eye on the island through the shaggy forelock that fell over his eyes.

“We run constant patrols from the land, air, and sea,” Lachlan went on. “The mountains, the remainder of the valley, and most of the coast are Trevor’s property, all untouched by our operations. You won’t have anything to do with our guest.”

Guest. She snorted under her breath. A seemingly harmless word for such a high-security prisoner.

Henry drove up in a Jeep. “Would you like a lift to the house?”

Whew. He meant Trevor’s house. Holly had been worried she’d be assigned to the barracks. Which had its appeal, given the good company of the others. But in her mind, Gleninnis was synonymous with Trevor’s pretty little cottage on the south shore. It wouldn’t feel right to bring his ashes anywhere else.

“I’ll walk, thanks. Mungo needs it after all that driving.”

In truth, she was dying to stretch her wings and fly, but Lachlan had been adamant about that. They had to maintain a low profile during their stay on the island, which meant no shifting.

She did accept Henry’s offer to shuttle her backpack and a box of supplies over, leaving her free to walk Mungo the half mile to the house. Lachlan followed close behind.

“You’re not going to assign a security detail to follow me everywhere, are you?”

“Good idea,” he said, turning to the others.

When she opened her mouth to protest, Lachlan broke into a wide grin. “How did you put it? Oh, yes. ‘Gotcha,’” he said, mimicking her accent.

She play-smacked his arm. “You…” She meant it as an accusation, but it came out a gentle tease. And whoa — why was she blushing?

Maybe because he was grinning playfully. Unburdened, if only for a moment. Looking at her like a man in love, the way he had when they’d met a decade earlier.

“Amore,” Tony chuckled as he strode past with a box of supplies.

Holly jerked back to her senses. Amore. Was it the real thing?

You know it is, her dragon murmured. And Lachlan does too.

Her heart swelled with hope she tried desperately to rein in.

“Still,” Lachlan continued, growing more serious. “I must insist you have some protection at all times, even if it’s not an entire security detachment.”

“I have Mungo.”

He laughed, and there it was again. That little hint of something other than an emotionally stilted son of an overly strict father. “Er, no. You need at least one proper guard. Just in case.”

Her chest warmed. Wait, was he suggesting…?

Still, she held out against hope. If he assigned her Tony or Henry, she’d scream.

“Me.” His voice was perfectly even and professional, but his dragon glittered in his eyes. “If you don’t object, of course.”

She stroked her chin. “I don’t know. Maybe Duncan. He does have those bagpipes…”

His eyes flared, and she broke out laughing. “Gotcha. You, my dear dragon, will do nicely.” Then she threw her hand over her mouth. Had she just said that?

Liam walked by, laughing. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”

Holly turned beet red.

“Still, you two should get cracking.” Liam grew more serious. “You know, before that storm moves in.”

Holly looked up. The clouds did look ominous, and Liam was right. They had to get to business. Her sneak peek at Trevor’s letter was enough to know she had a long string of instructions to follow before scattering his ashes from the hilltop at sunset. That was, if the storm held off long enough…

“Ready, Mungo?” She set off, waving goodbye to the others.

“See you soon,” Gemma called between trips into the barracks.

Holly flashed a smile. “See you soon.” As she and Lachlan walked off, she dropped her voice. “She’s awesome.”

Lachlan smiled, following her. “Quite literally. She’s a Fire Maiden. You know about them?”

Holly nearly stumbled over her own feet. “Wow. Gemma only mentioned working with community groups in London. And, yes. Trevor told me about Fire Maidens — descendants of a great dragon queen, right? But he said there