Fire Maidens Scotland (Billionaires & Bodyguards #6) - Anna Lowe Page 0,67
Trevor deemed such precautions necessary at all, at a time before Enzo Lombardi had come into custody?
Dear Holly, the last letter had started…
We’ll begin with a “game” you might not enjoy, but it is necessary. I have many loyal friends, but also a handful of enemies. The following clues are for you, and you only, for I wish the answers to be revealed only to you and those you trust intimately.
“Congratulations,” Holly had laughed and kissed Lachlan when she’d read that part. “That means you.”
His dragon gave a satisfied rumble, and his blood rushed at memories of how they’d spent their time in bed earlier that day.
“I’m honored,” he’d murmured, kissing her hand. “Truly.”
If only words could convey the depths of his emotions.
Still, was the hour they’d spent solving Trevor’s riddles truly necessary? He hoped not. Trevor had left a series of questions, each leading to a different clue in the house. Lachlan and Holly had pulled up floorboards and flipped through books to reveal further information — all based on frustrating clues no amount of logic or brainpower could crack. Only Holly knew the answers, and even those took her time to puzzle out while Lachlan looked on helplessly. Clues like, Remember the cattle drive your uncle Willis took us on? There was a place he called the Magic Canyon, though the map showed a different name. Add the digits of that latitude and longitude, multiply by ten, and subtract by the date of Mungo’s birthday. Next…
The riddle had gone on in that vein, eventually leading them to a page in a book. That led to a second clue, and a third, and so on. Some of the answers came to Holly immediately, while others took her a while to recall. In the end, she’d pieced everything together and discovered a letter concealed behind a framed photo near the fireplace — a photo showing Trevor, Ava, and their son Terence as a child.
Read at Bard’s Rock at sunset, the envelope’s label said.
Which was why they were high on that rocky outcrop just in time for sunset — with Mungo firmly on his leash.
“Trevor loved this spot,” Holly whispered.
Lachlan could see why, given the incredible view. He’d never been one for sunsets, but he wished he and Holly could enjoy the scenery under better circumstances. To his left were the lights of the distant barracks, and the occasional stirring in the island’s tall grass reminded him of shifters walking their patrols. At the bottom of the slope was Trevor’s house, facing the pretty bay…
And Lombardi is in that villa down in the glen, the vigilant part of Lachlan’s mind reported. Get on with it already, and get your mate somewhere safe.
He motioned to the letter. “We’ll be losing the light soon. Better get started.”
Holly glanced at the urn they’d brought in anticipation of scattering Trevor’s ashes. With a deep breath, she opened the letter and read silently. Then her brow furrowed, and she handed him the letter.
“Would you mind reading? It makes it easier for me to picture Trevor talking to me. Same cute accent, you know.” She chuckled, but there was a nervous hint to it, as if something in the letter put her on edge.
Lachlan took it and read aloud.
Dear Holly,
Please excuse the sleuthing that brought you to this time and place, and apologies if my measures prove unnecessary. I hope to God they are. Thank you for your patience, and well done for finding these final letters. I knew you could do it!
The time has come for you to hear the rest of my story and learn how it connects with yours. There is much you don’t know, and much that has been kept from you, dear girl, though it pained me to do so. There was no malice in my intentions, only the desire to protect you.
Holly leaned against Lachlan’s side, and he slid an arm around her. That sounded ominous, indeed.
First, a word of wisdom — if it can be called that — from an old man who holds you dear. Words I never uttered in person because the time had not yet come. Your time had not yet come. But now, my days are numbered, and there are things I wish you to know.
Remember the letter to be read under the yew? In it, I spoke of love, life, and regret. I also mentioned a story for a different time. A difficult story I have been putting off, but one I must now tell.