Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
There would be no court case for anyone because the evidence was so overwhelming. All Fraser and I had to do was make a written statement, testifying against Joshua Hughes and the Walsh brothers.
Davis was certain there was no more danger for my family, but DI Smith had mentioned Hughes had made threats against me during his arrest.
Therefore, I couldn’t quite settle, even weeks later.
Especially as Nick Huston had once more escaped their clutches.
The feds had tracked him to the South of France and the fucker managed to get away again.
I wondered if one day I’d ever be able to live my life with my family without looking over my shoulder all the time.
Even as on edge as I was, I wanted to be present and enjoy our time together. As per usual, while we wandered through the fair, my phone vibrated constantly with emails, texts, and calls about work. Finally, I reached into my pocket to switch it off.
“There’s Nee and Cammie.” London tugged on my hand.
Sure enough, our friends stood near the pigpen where pig farmers from all over the islands put forth their prize sows.
Forde and Ramsay stood off to the side, drinking what looked like Gilly McCook’s “famous” shandies. Every fair, and during the Highland Games, Gilly, an elderly islander born and raised here, opened her shandy stall. No one knew exactly what was in it, but her shandies were delicious and light on the alcohol. You could have a few and never feel drunk. Sometimes I wondered if there was beer in it at all.
Nee and Cammie chatted with Aodhan, who seemed to be enjoying the female attention. Shakespeare stood vigilant at Aodhan’s side, staring determinedly ahead at nothing. Then I saw Akiva lying down at Ramsay’s feet, side-eyeing the mastiff, and I realized Shakespeare was hilariously trying to avoid Akiva’s gaze.
I squeezed London’s hand. “Go. I’ll catch up with the boys.”
My wife threw me a dazzling smile before she hurried over to her friends. The sky was a clear blue today, a perfect day for the fair, but the ground beneath us was still muddy and slushy from all the rain we’d endured before the event. My wellies squelched as I made my way over to Forde and Ramsay.
“All right.” I nodded. “Have you noticed Shakespeare?”
Ramsay’s lips quirked ever so slightly. “I have. He knows who’s boss. Nothing wrong with that.”
I chuckled as I glanced back through the crowds to check on Kelly again. She thankfully remained with her friends at the milkshake stall.
“Still can’t relax?” Ramsay asked. I’d call it his usual perceptiveness, but everyone knew I was on alert. I’d refused to participate in any of the pipe band’s gigs this summer and had turned down doing a gig here at the fair. There was no way I was leaving Kelly and London alone, and I didn’t want to be distracted with music in a big crowd like this where anything could happen.
I shook my head. “I’d feel better if we knew where Huston was.”
His expression turned grim. “Aye, I know. Working on it.”
I didn’t push because he had his own priorities, including his pregnant wife and the house he was building for her on Stòr. “Where are Quinn and Taran?”
“At the house site.” Ramsay grimaced. “We had a slight issue with the window size. Quinn said he’d deal with it because Taran couldn’t make it to the fair, anyway. She’s got a dress fitting in Glasgow with Heather.”
“She didn’t want London, Tierney, and Cammie to go with her?” London hadn’t mentioned it, and I was glad because I’d have worried sick about her the entire time.
“Nah, they’re all sorted, apparently.”
Quinn and Taran’s wedding was only five weeks away.
“Heard from Jill yet?” Forde asked, attempting to sound nonchalant.
The thought of my ex-wife still made my blood boil. However, as London reminded me constantly, a mother like Jill was better an absent parent than a present one. Not even a few days after the Walsh brothers’ arrest, my solicitor contacted me. Apparently, Jill sold the house a week before “the mission.” My solicitor had only just found out from Jill’s.
And Jill was missing.
The police were looking for her as she was a key witness in the case against Dorian and Joshua.
She’d left. No word to her daughter.
Just gone.
What kind of mother did that?
Kelly had been despondent at first, but her friends kept her busy over the summer holidays. Whatever miraculous resilience existed within my daughter kicked in. Again. She’d promised she was fine. In fact, “I’m glad,” she’d said. Kelly assured me she felt safer knowing Jill wasn’t around to cause custody problems. Still, I worried about her. London had suggested a back-to-school shopping weekend in Oban as a pick-me-up, and I hadn’t the heart to say no. Therefore, we would travel over to the mainland in a few days’ time. I’d booked us a waterside lodge at a holiday park just outside the town center.