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For Maeve.
She didn’t deserve Harold any more than I did.
THIRTY
ALEC
We took the first bus toward Barcelona in the morning, just in case the drunks had gone to the police after all.
As we settled into our seats at the back of the bus, I gathered Esther up with her head in my lap and her legs stretched out over the rest of the back seat. There were so little people up and out that early that we were alone at the rear of the bus, with a few hours to go before we hit the city.
I’d used the stolen phone to book us into a luxury hotel for our remaining few nights in Spain. The suite looked out over the city, with an eight seater sunken hot tub on the rooftop terrace accessed only by our suite. I’d also instructed them to leave champagne, condoms, and a generous amount of lube. I hadn’t forgotten her last request to go back to Harold with none of her holes remaining virginal.
But for now, I was glad to just have her in my lap, a bag stuffed full of snacks and nothing to do but luxuriate in her in for a few hours.
‘What did you tell them about where you found me?’ Her question was out of the blue, drifting up toward me as I toyed with her soft hair.
‘I just told them I found you in Spain.’
‘Good, can you avoid telling them where?’ I lifted a brow at her question.
‘Why? Are you going to run away again?’
She shifted to look up at me and fixed me with a sad smile. ‘No, but I don’t want anyone coming down on Eva and Jock. They were good to me.’
‘I don’t think anyone’s going to bother coming all the way out here for that.’
‘Then you are underestimating Harold.’
‘Okay, I’ll let them think I tracked you down in the city.’
‘Thank you.’ Her smile sent a wash of light into my chest. ‘What will you do when you’ve freed yourself from me?’
My fingers stilled in her hair as my stomach roiled. Being free of her was the last thing I wanted. I wanted to stow her away and take her home with me, telling the McGowans and Harold to fuck right off if they thought I was going to let him have her. But then we’d both have to run. Was it too early to know if this thing between us could last? Esther felt so right in my arms, so utterly perfect for me, but was it just proximity and desperation driving her into my bed? I feared so.
‘I’ll go home. Keep working for your dad for a bit, and maybe decide to start my own business.’
‘What would you do? Freelance killer for hire?’
I looked around the bus wide eyed as she said it, only to be warmed by her laughter.
‘No. Something legitimate that I don’t have to hide. I’ve been lingering in the underbelly of Glasgow for so long, I thought I was stuck there. But what if I didn’t need to live under the radar, avoiding the real world? I’ve never known normal, but with every passing year I want it more. Want to have the house and the family and be doing bloody school runs without worrying that someone will snatch up my family for some sort of revenge.’
Esther turned in my lap so she was fully looking up at me, her fingers toying with the seam on my t-shirt. ‘And who is the lucky lady who has your kids in this dream?’
You. But it couldn’t be you. We’d never be given the peace to live together. We’d be hunted down, and you’d be dragged back to him. And me? Well, I’d be dealt with permanently.
I needed to change the subject before emotion dragged me into its grasp and left me teary-eyed in front of Esther.
‘Let’s not worry about the future. Tell me about growing up. Your life is so wildly different from mine that I can’t even imagine your childhood in that big ass mansion.’
‘It was pretty good when we were little. My bed was a fancy bespoke princess castle with a tower and slide and everything. I loved that bed. After mum was killed, Dad lost any sense of frivolity he’d ever had and had it all torn out and replaced with beautiful, but very sensible rooms. Mum lit up his universe, and when she went, it just crushed him. They used to pack us up and take us to the beach at a moment’s notice if the sun dared shine. We’d eat soggy sandwiches and buy ice cream and stay there until the sun dipped in the sky. They were so in love, and seeing it made me want that for myself. That love you’d just do anything for.’
‘Why didn’t he look for revenge?’
‘He did, at first. Until Harold killed my eldest brother. Malcolm Jr thought he could blaze into Harold’s place and just shoot to kill. He learned that someone like Harold expects people to be trying to kill him due to him being an utter cockwomble of a human being. It broke Dad when Malc died, and he just wanted to keep us all out of Harold’s way.’
I stroked along her jawline, smiling as she turned to kiss my palm. ‘Why does he hate your family so much?’
