“Arms,” Evan breathed.
Niall nodded. “We believe Seoras MacInnes has been using his network to facilitate the movement of weapons intended for the conspirators.”
Evan’s pulse pounded as he remembered the offer Fergus Key had made him. MacInnes wanted to use his estate. An estate that was strategically placed close to Edinburgh but rural enough to escape scrutiny.
Evan felt a cold clarity settle over him. If MacInnes secured his estate, it would not be to run a quiet smuggling ring. It would be the spine of something far more dangerous.
“Why are ye telling me this?” Evan asked cautiously. “I’m guessing it’s not out of brotherly concern.”
“We are telling ye because ye know more about Seoras MacInnes than any of us. And we thought that considering the threat he clearly poses to ye that ye might want to help us stop him,” Bryce said. “Why is he so interested in ye, Evan? Why did he send men to yer lands?”
“He wants to use my estate,” Evan replied. “Wants to make it part of his smuggling ring into Edinburgh. If I agree, all is forgiven and he’ll stop hounding me. If I dinna agree—” He spread his hands. “Ye know what will happen then.”
Bryce and Niall glanced at each other.
“So that’s it then,” Niall breathed. “The final link in the chain. The piece we’ve been missing.”
Evan looked between his brothers. “What link?”
“Do ye truly wish to stop Seoras MacInnes?” Niall asked.
“Ye know I do.”
“Then ye must agree to his proposal. Allow him to use yer lands.”
Evan stared, sure he’d misheard. “I beg yer pardon?”
“We’ve been trying to figure out his movements for months but he’s eluded all our agents, all our patrols,” Niall said. “Yetit seems that by coming back here, ye have provided him with an opportunity he canna ignore. Clearly, he hopes to exploit the divisions in our family to win ye to his side, enlist ye in his cause, make use of yer lands. And that givesusan opportunity. Ye can agree to his proposal, lure him close, close enough for us to finally get our hands on him.”
Bryce shook his head. “I think Evan already made his feelings about MacInnes’ offer clear when he kicked seven bells out of the man’s messengers.”
Evan’s mind raced. It was a risky plan, with a hundred things that could go wrong, but if it meant ending MacInnes’ threat once and for all, it was a risk he’d take. “I could tell him I’ve reconsidered,” he said.
Bryce studied him. “Ye know the risks? If he suspects a trap—”
“He’ll kill me,” Evan finished.
The words hung in the air. Ruby stepped in front of him.
“Absolutely not.”
Evan met her eyes. “Dinna ye see?” he said softly. “That future we imagined together? This is the way to make it happen. If I dinna do this, he will keep circling. He will never stop hunting me. This way, I have a chance of ending it.”
His voice was steady now. All the years of scams and shadowy deals had all been leading him back to this, back to where it had all begun. This was the cost. This was the risk.
Ruby’s eyes shone. “I can’t lose you,” she whispered.
“Ye are not going to lose me,” he replied. “I promise.”
Bryce cleared his throat softly. “If we proceed,” he said, “it will require precision. Timing.” His gaze sharpened on Evan. “And trust.”
Evan met his brother’s stare.Trust.It had been a long, long time since Evan had trusted anyone. But Ruby had changed that. She’d opened his heart, taught him that sometimes it was worththe risk. And yet, this was a whole other step. Trust his brother? After all that had passed between them?
“All right,” he said, lifting his chin. “I’ll do it.”
Bryce held his stare. “For Scotland.”
Evan’s mouth curved faintly. “For Ruby.”
