Legacy of the Highlands (31 page)

“What’s the problem? You used fake names when
you introduced us so she doesn’t know who we are,” Alex said, but
this spy business was more complicated than it looked and if Serge
was rattled, than she was too — big time.

“The people who followed you in Boston had to
know what you look like and would have emailed pictures of you back
here to prove they were doing their job. If Mairi saw those photos
on one of her visits to her “uncle’s” shop, she’d know I lied when
I introduced you as the Sloanes. My cover would be blown.”

“But that’s a long shot, right? You don’t
really think she’s involved, do you?” Alex asked.

“No,” replied Serge. “I watched her face and
the only thing I saw was curiosity and the same kind of interest in
Diego every female has. So, for the moment, let’s assume Mairi’s
the innocent she seems to be.”

“So what now?” asked Diego.

“It’s time to rattle their cages. I want the
two of you to go to Mackinnon’s shop. He’ll recognize you right
away, Alex — not from your first visit, but because of the
surveillance photos, which probably include Diego too. You’ll
introduce him to Mackinnon as Will’s brother and watch the old
man’s reaction. Ask him to tell your brother-in-law about the
family history the same way he did for Will. If I’m reading them
right, Diego will be the bait that draws them into our net.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Alex blurted out as her
heart began to race from a mix of anger, fear and caffeine. “First
of all, why do you think Mackinnon would believe that a man named
Diego Navarro could be Will’s brother? He’s not Diego Cameron, for
chrissakes. Give the guy credit for not being a total moron.”

“That’s why I brought a copy of the DNA test
with me,” said Diego smugly.

“You’re really getting on my nerves, wise
ass,” she shot back and decided to direct the rest of her comments
toward Serge who, after all, wasn’t a macho idiot.

“If Mackinnon buys that Diego is John
Cameron’s son, they’ll kill him, just like they murdered Will,” she
said, her voice cracking. “This is a horrible idea and I won’t do
it! I’m not going to help you commit suicide,” she shrieked. The
two men might believe that they could take care of Mackinnon and
Company themselves, but it was time for her to get off this thrill
ride. Diego would have a bull’s eye on his back as soon as
Mackinnon found out that he’s John’s son. No. She wouldn’t allow
it.

“I know this scares you, but please hear us
out before you reject this idea,” Diego said.

“Fine, I’ll listen. And I’m totally calm.
See?” Alex held out a hand that was rock steady. “You were
saying…?” she added sarcastically, with exaggerated patience, but
nothing was going to persuade her to change her mind.

“We agree that Mairi’s the wild card, but
only if she recognized one of us,” Diego began. “Serge registered
us as Barbara and Rick Sloane so even the hotel staff doesn’t know
who we are. Nothing is different from before we ran into her last
night.”

“And what about when we tell Mackinnon who
you are? What if Mairi sees us there and then tells him that we’re
Serge’s friends, the Sloanes?” Alex asked.

“That’s a lot of what ifs. Serge can keep
Mairi busy here. The last thing she’ll have on her mind is a visit
to her Uncle Jamie’s store if he does his job the way I know he
can. Right?” he said, turning to Serge who nodded.

“Am I the only rational person here?” Alex’s
face flushed as her exasperation reached new heights. “If Serge is
with Mairi, then the two of us are on our own. Bad idea.”

“You think I can’t protect us?” Diego lashed
out. “I can defend myself — and you — with a gun, a knife or my
hands, but it’s not going to come to that. Don’t forget,
Mackinnon’s not expecting us and one old man isn’t going to take us
on during the day in a busy store.”

Alex looked toward Serge for
confirmation.

“I wouldn’t send the two of you off unless
I’d already assessed the threat level,” Serge began with cool
confidence. “And if something unexpected happens, I have total
faith in my student. He can definitely take care of himself and
you, too. His only flaw, and the one that worries me most,” Serge
continued looking directly at Diego, “is that he sometimes has
trouble maintaining the detachment needed in combat, but maybe that
rush of adrenalin works for him.”

Diego crouched in front of Alex’s chair, but
she refused to meet his eyes as he began to speak softly. “Alex,
they were able to get to Will because his father never told him
about their family’s connection to these people. John didn’t let
Will know that he could be a target.” He wrapped his warm hands
around her cold fingers and waited patiently until she looked at
him. Her eyes were filled with tears, but he ignored them. “The
difference is that I’m prepared for them.”

“He’s right, Alex.” Serge sounded so certain,
but there were too many unknowns for her to buy into it. It
terrified her that Diego was willing to risk his life. She’d never
be able to survive another body being lowered into the ground. Was
vengeance really that important? After all, nothing they did would
bring her husband back.

When she finally looked up, she realized that
both men were waiting for her to say something. “You’re both wrong.
We should go to the police, tell them everything and let them take
care of Mackinnon and whoever else is involved. They’re
professionals; we’re not.”

“The so-called professionals haven’t made an
arrest yet. We’ve dug up most of the evidence and we’re going to
follow through on it,” said Diego. “Maybe we’ll bring in the
authorities at some point, but not yet.”

Alex sighed and began to stretch her neck
from side to side as she pushed herself out of the deep chair, then
touched her toes. Even that minimal amount of movement made her
feel better. “Can we take a break? Maybe a run will help me work
off some nerves and then we can try this again.”

“Good idea. You two go, but stay alert,”
Serge warned. He recognized that for now Alex and Diego were each
firmly dug into their positions and unlikely to budge. He didn’t
want to waste any more time as they argued. “I managed to place a
bug in Mackinnon’s house and haven’t listened to the overnights
from there yet. I’ll do that while you’re gone.”

After Serge hustled Mairi out of the hotel the night
before, she’d directed the taxi driver to drop her off at
Mackinnon’s cottage instead of at her parents’ house. Whenever she
was upset, she could count on “Uncle” Jamie for good advice.

Serge’s abrupt dismissal had wounded her, but
hurt quickly turned to anger at the insulting way he’d treated her.
He acted like she was good enough for a shag, but not the sort he’d
want for company when he was dining with his fancy friends. Not
just that, but she’d been stupid enough to spend her entire
paycheck on a new dress to impress him and the dolt hadn’t even
noticed!

If Steve Spencer thought he could use Mairi
Graham and send her away when it suited him, he didn’t know her
very well. Her Da had told her often enough that she’d cut off her
nose to spite her face and that such behavior was childish. Maybe
so, but it felt good to retaliate, even if it was she who lost in
the end.

Steve’s friends had seemed like a nice enough
couple. The woman was friendly and the husband was as handsome as a
film star. But then Steve had tossed her out and so she was on her
way to Uncle Jamie’s instead of spending the evening with her rich
American and his posh friends.

Mairi saw with relief that the lights were
still on in James Mackinnon’s small house. He hardly ever went to
bed early, but it was after nine and he was getting old. He
answered her knock quickly. “Mairi girl! What a nice surprise. And
don’t you look lovely tonight. Have you been to a party, lass?”

Her throat tightened and she threw her arms
around his neck and sobbed as he drew her inside and onto the front
room’s shabby, threadbare sofa. “There, there, lass. Has some bloke
broken your heart then? Shall I throttle him for ye?”

She nodded, then blew her nose when he handed
her his handkerchief.

“You don’t know the half of it Uncle Jamie,”
she said when she regained her composure. “Did Da tell you that I’d
met an American who offered me a position as nanny at his house in
Florida?”

“Aye, he did mention it. Are we talking about
the same man who you sent along to my shop the other day? The rich
one with stores all over Florida?

“Aye, that’s the one. I forgot that you met
him. What did you think of him?”

Mackinnon’s bushy, white eyebrows rose and
fell with a life of their own as he considered her question. “The
man seemed decent enough. There’s something about him though — I
can’t put my finger on it — but it’s a feeling that all’s not quite
as it seems. After my many years in trade I have a canny sense
about people and there was something off about this one.”

“Da says he doesn’t trust any man who’d offer
a job to a girl right after meeting her. Why he might even plan to
sell me into white slavery! Imagine that. When I brought Steve
home, he asked a lot of questions about young Jamie running off to
America and then leaving sudden like for John O’Groats. He was even
curious about you and why your James is in jail. I thought it was
just chat and his way of getting to know the family better, but it
was all very strange. I was daft to believe Steve would take me to
America. After tonight it looks like I’ll forever be stuck here in
Scotland.” She took a sip of the hot tea Mackinnon had poured for
her. “Do you have any biscuits? I could use a sweet.”

As he rummaged in the kitchen for the box of
cookies, Mackinnon took a quick nip from the bottle he kept on the
kitchen counter. He was startled by her mention of both his Jamies
— son and grandson. There was no reason for Mairi’s American to be
interested in them unless…no, it couldn’t be.

“Tell me what’s troubling you lass. You may
be young, but you’re a keen judge of character. You thought this
man was all right and now you don’t. Did he try some funny business
with you?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. Maybe it’s my
fault. I stopped in at his hotel tonight for a pint. We hadn’t
arranged a meeting or anything, but I’d bought a new dress
and...”

“Ah, so you’re sweet on the man. He’s a bit
old for you, isn’t he, and he has a wife and bairns back in the
States. Mairi, you wouldn’t be so foolish as to take up with a
married man, would you lass?”

“Ach no, Uncle Jamie. I wanted to see him is
all...to have a chat about the nanny position, you know?” But the
pink blush that crawled up her neck to her cheeks was a dead
giveaway of her true intentions and it didn’t go unnoticed.

“So what happened? Did ye find him?”

“Oh, I did, yes. I caught sight of him on his
way to the hotel’s restaurant. He was with two Americans — business
associates of his he said — and he introduced me, but then he
rushed me out of the hotel like he was ashamed to be seen with me.
I couldn’t join them, he said, because they had to talk about some
deal they were working on. So after he tossed me out like rubbish,
I came here.” She reached for another biscuit and brushed the
crumbs from the first off her lap.

“Associates of his you say? I can’t imagine
that stores in Florida do enough business in Scotland to cause
three of them to be over here at the same time,” he said, as he
rubbed his chin. “I’m surprised there’s even one, truth be
told.”

“They’re working on some other venture, not
the shops. It was coincidence that they met up, Steve said, as they
happened to be in Scotland on holiday. They seemed nice enough,
especially the woman. She’s beautiful and her husband is a handsome
devil.”

“Were you told their names?”

“Yes. Let me think for a minute. I remember
that hers was Barbara and his…” she chewed her lower lip as she
thought. “Oh, I’ve got it! Barbara and Rick Sloane. That’s it.
She’s tall and slim with auburn hair and she wore the most
beautiful emerald and diamond wedding ring. Must have cost a king’s
ransom. I noticed it because I couldn’t help gawking at her
handsome husband and she put her arm in his to let me know he was
taken. Her eyes are a beautiful light green which is why she’s
partial to emeralds, I suppose,” she said innocently.

“And this devilishly handsome man. What did
he look like?”

“You seem awfully curious about a pair of
strangers Uncle Jamie.” She raised her eyebrows and waited for an
explanation.

“Just making conversation, lass, that’s all.
And like your Da, I don’t quite trust your American so I’m
interested in his friends.”

“Ah, well then. To answer your question, I
thought the man was a film star or at least a model. He’s that good
looking and his clothes fit like they were made for him. His body
was as fine as his face, I don’t mind saying.” Mairi blushed again
as she realized she might have revealed a bit too much to someone
who still saw her as a child so she hurried on. “Let’s see...he’s
tall, a wee bit taller than his wife and has lovely black hair and
dark eyes that seemed to be laughing. I can’t blame his wife for
hanging on to him. I would do the same.”

“They sound like a fine pair and I’m sure
they would have enjoyed your company,” he said and patted her hand
paternally. “Do you think you’re well enough to go home? I’m old
and tired and it’s soon to bed for me, but I’ll see you safe home
first.”

Instead of returning to his house after he dropped
Mairi off, Mackinnon drove to his shop. He unlocked a battered,
black file cabinet in the store’s cramped back office and removed a
photo of Alexandra Cameron and Diego Navarro strolling arm in arm
on a Boston street. He placed the picture on his desk and stared at
it. Mairi’s description fit these two perfectly. Could it be? And
if it was them, why were they in Scotland, especially in the
company of the Florida businessman who was so interested in Mairi
and asking about young Jamie? Perhaps the American’s curiosity
about his shop and the Mackinnon family was not so innocent after
all.