Page 36 of Protect Your Queen

“That’s correct. But St. Michael’s isn’t the only one that does that.” No, of course not. Rich people all had their own secret meeting places in plain sight, right? “Your sister is going to Julliard. You don’t think that they look after their own, after they graduate?”

“Not to the point of covering up extrajudicial executions…” I grumbled.

“Well, that’s their problem, not ours, aye?” I could practically hear the smile over the phone. “Maybe they’re not thinking big enough.”

Christ the man was good-natured. Not like his grumpy wife. I wondered how that dynamic worked.

“Do you think your client is a good person?” he finally asked, his voice serious.

“Yes.” I didn’t hesitate. It was an easy answer. She had been a brat to me. But hurt people hurt people. She was obviouslyverywounded.

“Do you think she deserves to live without a target on her back?”

“Yes.” Again, the answer was easy.

“Do you see any other way to make that happen, other than to eliminate the threat?” I heard him sip on something, and I imagined him taking a drink of Scottish whiskey. “And what is the most expedient way to do that?”

I thought about the glacial pace of our judicial system. I thought about how many times bad guys got away. How many were locked up, only to be released again? How long would it take Detective Delgado to track down the shooter? Assuming she didn’t turn around and point the finger right at Jestiny?

Callum MacLachlan was right.

Whatwasn’tright was how easily I was able to get on board with it. The moment he asked me if Jesdeservedto live without a target on her back, I was ready to pick up my pitchfork and string someone up.

Larks can’t sing when they’re caged. They need to be free and in flight.

Right now, my little Songbird was grounded by so many things - the target on her back was the least of them - and I was a slave to music. I needed to help her unleash her song. There was nothing more important, or more moral, than that.

“Is this going to be a problem for you?” Callum asked, gently.

“No, sir.”

“Good man.”

Iheard a sip on the other end and I rubbed my temple. I finally had to ask, “Are you drinking? Isn’t it like… eight in the morning in Scotland?”

“Aye, probably. But I’m flying the twins to LA.” So that was the sound of the engine, then. He was on a flight. Probably a private one. “I am all time zones at once, and it’s five o’clock somewhere.”

“Flying to LA? Why?” Was my boss coming to check on me? Jesus. Was I, the babysitter, getting babysat?

“To see my in-laws, so they can have some time with the twins.” I hated jumping into a company where half the personnel had known each other from birth, and I was coming in blind.

“You mean… Lea and Leo?”

“No, lad,” he chuckled. “Mytwins, Lilo and Lola.”

I scratched my head. “So, you married a twin and had twins?”

“There’s a genetic component to having multiple births,” Callum said with a sigh. “Which is why we’re only going through this once. With our luck, the next set will be triplets, and then I’ll never get any work done.”

I shuddered. Not that I didn’t like kids. I wanted plenty of my own, one day. But the idea of twins and triplets? It made my balls shrivel in fear.

“What strangely suspicious timing,” I said, finally realizing something, “you coming to the States, right after all of this…”

“Get some rest, Ambrose. You’re in for a long haul,” he chuckled.

“What would you have done if I wasn’t okay with hunting?” I pondered, largely because we were having such open dialogue. “What if I’m vegan, or something?”

“Truly? I never thought about it,Delta Force. Hmm.” It sounded like he was contemplating that possibility for the first time. “Lea said that you were the man for the job, and she’s rarely wrong.”

---