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He glowered, his lip curling. “Will the walls hold? Are ye kidding? My castle has withstood sieges from armies. These stone walls are impenetrable. No fucker will touch ye under my roof.”
Then he was gone, and I twisted the big key in the lock and pulled Ariel into my arms.
We slid to the floor.
Breathed.
It took a long moment for my heart to calm.
“Sorry about your car,” she uttered against my chest.
“I don’t care about that as long as you’re safe,” I replied.
“You loved it, though.”
I loved her more.
I couldn’t say, but neither could I deny it to myself for a second more.
What had started as the need to avoid her had turned into repeated clashes, wanting nothing more than to be near her, to know she was safe. The hunt for her after her car was hit had kickstarted something in me, and now, I was so far over the line it had become invisible.
I fucking loved her, and if it killed me, I’d protect her.
A walk-through of Callum and Mathilda’s solar showed me we were alone. From their lounge windows, the red glow of the fire far below filled the night.
Ben and Valentine updated us on the search they’d commenced. On Ariel’s camera view, the fire brigade extinguished the blaze with water piped up from the loch.
By the early hours, a smouldering pile of metal was all that was left behind.
The police showed up, and Callum brought them to the solar. We scrolled through the video feed’s history but saw nothing. My car was parked right at the edge of the camera’s range.
No movement until the blast apart from thirty seconds before, when a small animal slunk past the edge of the screen.
A fox, perhaps.
Whoever set the fire took care to stay out of view.
A patrol was arranged for the rest of the night, and Callum returned to us again, his lady with him. She held out her arms for Ariel, holding her close, a surrogate grandmother to a lass in need.
Likewise, Callum gave me an unexpected hug.
A wave rushed me, the need for comfort and for someone to say it would all be okay, a sense I hadn’t had in a decade after my ability to gain family comfort was lost.
I didn’t stop him ruffling my hair.
We moved to their sofas.
“The police agree it’s arson,” Callum told us. “That was no accident.”
Ariel stuffed her hands under her legs, her expression bleak. “This is my fault. It’s bad enough that Jackson’s car has been destroyed, but what if the castle had caught on fire? Multiple families live here, and they were all in danger because someone’s chasing me.”
Mathilda hushed her. “This is the fault of the person who set the fire, and them only. Stone can be cleaned and cars can be replaced. You two can’t. The most important thing is that no one was hurt.”
She was right. I’d clung to that car as it had been my only real possession. I had a decent salary now. A first paycheque I’d barely spent.
My shoulders sank. “Thanks for sheltering us.”
The lady of the castle’s gaze slipped from me to Ariel, her expression knowing. “It’s better if you stay here for the night, just until the smoke dissipates and the scene cools down. You can have Lennox’s old bedroom.” She summoned a small smile for Ariel. “Together, I mean.”
