“High strung, are you?”
“Aye.” I sigh. Jesus, but it feels good to talk to him. I didn’t realize how much I depended on his leadership and guidance until we were three thousand miles apart.
“I don’t blame you, Lachlan,” Keenan says. “Mam’s been sick now for days, and my first thoughts go to whether or not she’s really sick, or if something else is happening.”
I frown. “Fiona had the same thought.”
“Did she?”
“Aye.”
“Bloody hell,” he mutters. “Much easier to fight when you can see your enemy, isn’t it?”
“Aye.”
“I think it’d be easier if you were here,” he says. “You’d have the protection of the Clan. You’d have the brotherhood at your back.”
“Aye, and not the purchased protection of the Boston Clan.”
“Exactly. And you’ve no idea who could’ve targeted her?”
“Calum says he has ideas. Supposed to fill me in tonight.”
“Good,” Keenan says. “Update me, of course, will you?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t care what time it is. I’ll wait up. And Lachlan?”
“Yes?”
“They’ll come when you least expect it. I’ve been in this position too many times before and know exactly how they act. It’s never outright, but insidious and malicious. Watch everyone. Trust no one. And when your gut instinct says something’s wrong, listen to it. You’ve got that intuition for a reason.”
I nod. “Will do. Thanks for that, Keenan. And let me know how Maeve is, will you?”
She’s the mother of us all, and it breaks my heart that she’s ill.
“Of course,” he says warmly, clearly affected by my concern for his mother.
We hang up the phone, and I look ahead of me. I’m surprised to see the guy who knocked her over with his friend. Something silver glints in his pocket. He looks over his shoulder at me, and I swear he’s lost that boyish fear he had before. He looks almost mocking. I’m on my feet before I know it, walking after him. Did he take Fiona’s phone?
Bloody hell, if I follow him, she’s inside with only Calum’s guard watching her. I can’t leave her, but I can’t pursue the bastard, either. I watch him enter the building and curse under my breath.
Chapter 15
Fiona
I practically fume though my entire class, which is a waste of time and energy. I’m not even sure why I’m so irritated. At first, I think it’s Lachlan that I blame, for being so controlling and bossy. But I know who he is. He’s in charge. He’s comfortable that way, and it’s in his blood. It’s why he was inducted as a high-ranking member of the Clan. At least that’s what Sheena’s told me.
Sheena. She didn’t sound good on the phone this morning. Is it just my imagination, thinking that someone is after the women of the Clan? It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Ms. Hurston?” I look up in surprise at my professor, as if I’ve just remembered I’m in class.
Thank God I studied last night and read the first selections chosen in the syllabus.
I look out the window and sigh, then sit up straighter. Lachlan isn’t where he was a moment ago. Where’s he gone? I can’t text him since I’ve lost my damn phone. I frown at the paper in front of me.
I came here to find my way. I came here to get my education, so I wouldn’t have to be beholden to the Clan for any more than I already have been. But now, I’ve been claimed by Lachlan. I’m his.
His.
I hold the locket at my throat, clasping it in my fist as I stare out the window.
Was it a mistake coming here? I left the Clan, and the Clan followed me here.
Is there any escaping?
I shiver when I remember his words in my ear just before class. “The only marks on your body are mine.”
It seems like an eternity waiting for the bell to ring, and when it does, the idle chatter of the girls around me annoys me.
I’m worried about whether or not my mobster boyfriend’s alright, whether my adopted mother in Ireland’s still ill, and whether I’ve lost my phone or it’s been stolen from me.
It’s then that I realize. It isn’t just Lachlan that I’m angry with. It’s me.
I leave class on a mission to find him when I hear his voice right beside me.
“Fiona.”
I look to see Lachlan right by the door, the look on his face murderous.
“What is it?”
“The guy that knocked you down had your phone.”
“Are you serious?”
“Aye.”
“And you didn’t get it?”
“And leave you here unattended?”
I lower my voice. “I’m not unattended, Lachlan. There are three armed guards