Page 38 of My Highland Fling
Tilly stepped forward.“We can have coffee inside the hangar.They have a machine.”
“Saber, this is Tilly.She works or used to work as Gabrielle’s chaperone and was in Edinburgh with her friend when the guards arrived at Glenkirk to retrieve Gabrielle.She has helped me to learn about Gabrielle’s fate.I tried to tell her I had friends to help me, but she insisted on coming to meet you.”
“I’m going with you to Russia,” Tilly said strongly, determined.“Gabrielle will require a familiar face.You might speak the same language, but if she’s injured or drugged or worse, you’ll need my help.”
“Tilly is correct,” Isabella said before Ramsay could argue.“A familiar face will help your girl.We’re strangers, so she won’t understand that we’re trustworthy.”
“Tilly, this is Isabella and her husband, Leo.Saber is one of our community leaders and is Leo’s older brother.Felix is another Mitchell brother, and this is Gerard, and the blond is Henry.They’re friends and ex-military.”
Tilly nodded and smiled, not perturbed by the towering men.“I would’ve picked you were brothers since you’re alike.You, young man,” she said.“Gerard, you’re obviously related too because you have the same beautiful green eyes as Ramsay.”
“No, ma’am,” Gerard said.“I believe it’s a Scottish trait.A lot of Scottish men and women settled in our region.”
Ramsay led the way.It was quiet, although several workers tossed insults at each other, audible from the hangar, but they remained out of sight.
“Let’s grab our coffee and drink them outside in the sunshine.I’d like to enjoy my first visit to Scotland while I can,” Saber said.
“Young man, you’re not leaving without me,” Tilly spoke with determination.
Saber grinned.“No, ma’am.Would you like me to carry a chair outside for you?”
“Yes, please,” Tilly said, mollified by his reply.“I believe I will use the facilities.Ramsay, you know how I prefer my coffee.”
“We’ll be outside, Tilly,” Saber said.“But once our pilot has refueled and done the checks, we’re taking off for Russia.We won’t dawdle.”
“I understand,” she said and hustled out of sight.
“I like her,” Leo said as Isabella got to work on making coffee.
“Does she know what we are?”Saber asked.
“No, Gabrielle and I were taking things slowly.She’s a royal princess, and…” Ramsay shrugged.“I’m not.”
“You’re a valuable member of our community,” Saber said.
“Family,” Felix said, speaking almost the same time as his older brother.
Humbled, Ramsay nodded.Felix and his wife, Tomasine, had given Ramsay shelter and a family life when he’d first started living in Middlemarch.He owed them.
Isabella dispensed coffee with quick efficiency.“Do you have plans for what happens after we grab her?”
Yeah.Ramsay had considered that.“It depends on what condition she’s in and what Gabrielle wants.I want to take her home, but I won’t force her.Every decision has to be her choice.Especially since her parents have foisted outcomes on her.Given everything, it made little sense to spill feline secrets.”
“I’m proud of you, Ramsay,” Saber said.“Let’s walk, and you can share what you’ve learned so far.”
“Tilly takes her coffee with milk.A flat white will be fine for her,” Ramsay said.
Gerard and Henry murmured in soft voices, accepted their coffees, and strolled outdoors.
“I might use the facilities too,” Isabella said.
“I’ll take your coffee.See you outside, sweetheart,” Leo said.
Saber picked up a chair for Tilly and wandered into the sunshine.
“Right,” Isabella said once they were together again.“Tell us about this man.I’ve done some research but have gaps.We can’t go in blind.I have several contacts we can use, but I’ve waited until we’d pooled our knowledge.”
“Adrik Popov is part of the Russian mafia, as were his father and grandfather before him.He rules a large territory and has ties to the Irish mob in New York.He has married several times to women younger than him, and each wife died—the first in childbirth.The fate of the others is unknown.There are rumors, but none substantiated.His men are well-trained and equipped.His home is a fortress and difficult to penetrate.We don’t have an estimate of numbers, but they’ll be formidable.We believe Adrik conducts most of his business from home these days.He’s in his early sixties.There are rumors about his health, but I didn’t find proof, and he traveled to Konstavia to marry Gabrielle.”
