Page 6 of A Rogue to Watch Over Me
“Yer brother knew agentlemancould not defend ye.”
Slowly, she shook her head. “You’re worse than the charlatans who seek to profit from my grief.”
“What do ye think I have to gain from this?”
“I do not know, Mr. MacLain. Nor do I care to find out. But I’ve heard enough—you need to leave.”
“Not until you understand the danger ye’re facing.” He needed to choose his words carefully, but he could not turn away from the ugly truth. “Yer brother’s death was no accident. Ye know that, just as well as I do.”
Amelia went still. The color drained from her cheeks. “How cruel of you to twist the knife.”
An invisible fist dug into Logan’s gut. He hadn’t intended to cause her pain. But at the moment, he had no choice. He had to convince her to accept his protection.
“We both know the truth. Paul was murdered. And I have good reason to believe ye’re now a target.”
*
“Again, I mustask you to leave, Mr. MacLain.”
Pulling in a low breath, Amelia steadied her racing pulse. If the arrogant rogue thought to frighten her, he was sorely mistaken. In those bleak days after her brother’s death, she’d had quite enough experience with those who preyed upon the vulnerable. She’d learned to steel her spine and send the swindlers and cheats on their way. This was no different. She could not fathom Logan MacLain’s true motives, but she had no tolerance for unsettling claims. Protector, indeed.
“I cannot do that.” His gravel-edged words were firm with resolve.
“Please go.” She bit the words between her teeth. “Now.”
“Paul feared ye were in danger. He trusted someone—someone I do not know—to contact me when the threat became clear.” Fierce determination blazed in his dark eyes. “Yer brother asked me to watch over ye.”
“You speak of danger as if some dastardly villain lurks in the shadows. You must realize I have no reason to believe you.”
“Aye, I do. When I received the first letter last night, I dismissed the message as so much rubbish, nothing more than a cruel prank. But when the courier brought Paul’s watch to me, I took it as proof that he’d trusted someone to seek me out. I believe the message is genuine. And I will not cast aside my duty to watch over ye.”
His gaze betrayed no hint of duplicity. Still, he had to realize that his claims were beyond belief.
“Tell me, Mr. MacLain, why would my brother send for you, of all people?”
“I owed Paul a debt, one I vowed to settle. I intend to see it through.”
“Rather odd that he had not spoken to you in nearly a decade, wouldn’t you say?”
“Our paths were different,” he said. “But Paul knew I was a man of my word. He knew he could trust me, no matter what had gone before.”
“You speak of paying a debt to my brother. That’s quite the opposite of what I usually hear.” Amelia let out a sigh. “If you lost to him at cards, I have no desire for your money.”
“It has nothing to do with cards. Or money.” MacLain plowed long fingers through his straight, dark hair. “I owe yer brother my life. Were it not for him, I’d have been long dead and buried.”
Poppycock.Biting back the unladylike word, Amelia marveled at the gall of the man. Logan MacLain was not the first person who’d tried to deceive her since her brother’s death. But Mr. MacLain’s approach was far different from the rest. How dare he seek her trust with false claims of loyalty?
Did the rogue take her for an utter fool? She’d adored her brother, but Paul had never aspired to be a hero. Let alone one who’d saved a man’s life. Even while they were children raised in a staid household, Paul had been wily and clever. He’d grown to be a schemer, a gambler, a man true to very few. Amelia might have been the only one Paul trusted. Even so, her brother had kept much of his life well concealed. Many of his activities remained a mystery, even to her.
But she certainly knew better than to believe the balderdash spewing from Logan MacLain’s mouth.
Swallowing against a bitter lump in her throat, she glanced at the gold timepiece cradled against her palm. “I do want to thank you, Mr. MacLain. You have my gratitude for returning Paul’s watch to me.” She forced herself to meet MacLain’s dark gaze. “But it is cruel for you to persist with this bizarre charade. Please do not disturb me again.”
“I will leave ye. For now.” He turned to the door. “If ye need me, send for me. Any time of the day. Or night.”
“I assure you, Mr. MacLain, I will not be darkening your doorstep.”
“Do not be so sure.” He threw her a look over his shoulder as he walked away. “Trouble is coming. I sense it in my bones. When ye need me, ye know where I’ll be.”
