Bound by Blood (Cauld Ane Series) (21 page)

Samantha couldn’t stop the quiet hiss that escaped.

He frowned. “I’m sorry, love. That was unkind.”

“If you’re really this upset about it, I’ll cancel.”

“Really?” he asked, hopefully.

“No.”

“Shite,” he said. “I don’t need you to cancel. But I do need you to be careful.”

“I will be.” Sam checked her watch. “I need to go. Where’s Alasdair?”

“He’s on his way up.”

She nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

“No. You’ll see me tonight.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, stop by when you get home.”

“It might be late.”

Kade groaned. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

Samantha smiled and looped her arms around his neck. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know how I feel about you…you know my commitment, so I don’t understand where your reservation is coming from. I can only assume it’s based on information I don’t have. If it were simple jealousy, I’d feel it.”

Kade settled his hands on her hips and sighed. “The issue is that I don’t know enough about this Cole fellow.”

“What did you find when you investigated him?”

“Not much. Nothing more than what you know, actually.”

She ran her fingers through his hair absently. “So then what’s the problem? He’s obviously not a liar, so that should give you some comfort, right?”

“The fact that we can’t find out anything more than that
is
the problem. It’s as though his dossier has been scripted. Put there for those looking, but no other information, and that’s a red flag.”

“Honey, you’re trying to find something bad where there isn’t anything. I think I’m a pretty good judge of character, and I don’t get a weird vibe from the guy. He’s a friend, and everything’s going to go great tonight.”

“It will if he keeps his hands to himself.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“It’s him I don’t trust, love.”

“Kade, he doesn’t think of me as anything other than a friend. Seriously. How about we invite him over for dinner before he has to go home? He’s here for a few more weeks, and I’d love it if you two became friends.”

The doorbell pealed and Kade kissed her quickly before heading toward the door. “All right, love. We’ll host a dinner party for your friend.”

“Thanks for being so supportive,” she droned sarcastically.

“Any time,” he said and pulled open the door.

Connall stood with Alasdair on the other side.

Kade frowned. “Con?”

“Sorry to barge in,” Connall said.

Something silent passed between the men and Kade stepped back. “Come in.”

What’s wrong?
Samantha wondered.

Kade glanced at her and shook his head.

She stared at him.
Can you hear my words? Actual words?

He nodded.

Sam’s mouth dropped open.
I thought we could only do that when we’re touching.

So did I.

Connall interrupted their exchange by greeting Sam, giving her a warm hug. “Is my brother letting you off the leash tonight?”

Sam chuckled. “More like I gnawed my way through.”

“Well done.”

“Are you ready, Dr. Moore?” Alasdair asked.

“Ah. Yeah.” She shrugged on her jacket and turned to Kade. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Aye. If you need me, call me.”

He kissed her quickly and Sam followed Alasdair to the car. She slid into the backseat and secured her seatbelt. As Alasdair started the car and pulled out onto the street, Sam decided to do a little experiment.

Hey, I love you, silly man.

She waited for several seconds and just when she was about to give up, she heard him.

I love you too.

Sam sighed.

“Dr. Moore? Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” She caught his eye in the rearview mirror. “You don’t have to stay when you drop me off. You can come back later.”

“I’m not dropping you off. I’m joining you.”

“Wh-what?” she stammered.

“Don’t worry, Dr. Moore, you won’t even know I’m there.”

She pulled out her cell phone and punched in Kade’s number.

“Yes, love, he’s going to stay,” Kade said as he answered the phone.

“No, he’s not. Tell him he doesn’t have to.”

“He bloody well does have to stay, and we’ll not discuss this any further.”

“Kade, I’m a grown woman. Are you seriously telling me I’m required to have a babysitter everywhere I go?”

“Only when you go somewhere without me.”

“I didn’t sign up for this,” she snapped.

“Sweetheart, I’m in the middle of something with Connall, can we talk about this when you get home? I promise, I’ll explain.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “’Bye.”

She hung up and tried not to squeal in frustration. She pushed the button for the privacy window and dialed Pepper.

“Sam?” Pepper sounded tired.

“Oh, sorry, it’s early, huh?”

“Yeah, but that’s okay. What’s up?”

Samantha groaned. “I now have a babysitter.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kade has assigned me someone to go with me on my night out with Cole.”

“Like a bodyguard?”

“More like a freakin’ wet nurse!” Sam snapped.

Pepper chuckled. “You’re a bit old for breastfeeding, aren’t you?”

“Pepper!”

“Sorry.” Rustling sounded in the background and then she heard Pepper yawn. “Let’s break this down logically, okay? Did you or did you not get attacked just a few days ago?”

“So?” she grumbled.

“So, do you think maybe Kade’s just being a good boyfriend and making sure you’re safe? He’s got a lot of money, so he has resources most people don’t.”

“That doesn’t give him the right to watch me every second of every day.”

“I personally think it’s really romantic,” Pepper said.

“Coming from the eternal bleeding heart,” Samantha complained.

“Look, I get that you need your down time and that you haven’t had any in a few weeks, and I get that you’re an emotional wreck, but you’re the one who said you trust him implicitly, so what’s this really about?”

Sam felt tears threaten to fall. “I can’t tell you.”

“Aw, honey, you can tell me anything. I don’t understand what’s so bad you can’t tell me.”

“I know,” Sam said. “I’m sorry, but I can’t, and I think that’s what’s driving me crazy. I can’t share the biggest part of my life with my best friend.”

“You know this just makes me more curious?”

“I know. It would do the same to me.”

“Will you be able to tell me when I get there?” Pepper asked.

“I hope so.”

“Okay. Well for now, I have to trust your judgment about this Kade guy. If you love him as much as you say you do, then he must be pretty incredible, right?”

“Yeah, he is.”

“Then trust him. I’m sure you’re blowing the whole bodyguard thing a little out of proportion.”

“Whose side are you on?”

Pepper chuckled. “I’m on the side that keeps you safe.”

“I swear I feel like I’ve been dropped into some James Bond movie. Coming from our little town, I would have never guessed that I’d move to Scotland, fall in love with a billionaire, and run the risk of being kidnapped. It’s all very overwhelming.”

“He’s a billionaire?”

Sam snorted. “That’s what you took away from that?”

Pepper laughed. “It’s not like you didn’t grow up with money, Sam.”

“No, I know. But Daddy never had security or drivers at his beck and call.”

“Listen, this is all temporary. You’re going to have an amazing time with this Cole guy…I’m jealous, by the way. Two hot men in less than a month…not fair.”

Sam stared at her hands. “I wouldn’t call Cole hot, necessarily.”

“Kade sure as hell is. I haven’t seen Cole yet. How about you take a picture tonight and send it to me?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Are you off the ledge?”

Sam sighed. “Yes, I’m away from the window.”

“Good. Cut your man some slack. If he had some weird agenda, you’d know about it. You always do.”

“You’re right. I guess it just irritates me that he’s making these judgment calls without talking to me.”

“You never were good at being taken care of. Even as a kid you hated being treated like a child.”

“When was I ever a kid?” Sam challenged.

“You’re kind of acting like one now.”

“I’m ignoring you now.”

“Okay, so long as I got my point across.” Pepper laughed. “Talk to Kade. You’ll figure it out.”

“I can’t wait for you to get here.”

“Me neither.” Pepper yawned. “For now, though, it’s two hours before I’m supposed to get up for work, so I’m going to say good-bye.”

“Sorry, friend.”

“No worries. You’ll make it up to me when I fall in love.”

Sam laughed. “Damn straight.”

“Have fun tonight. Remember to take that picture.”

“I will. ’Bye.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SAMANTHA HUNG UP, shoved her phone back in her purse, and lowered the privacy glass. Alasdair smiled at her from the rearview mirror. She felt decidedly better, which meant she felt a little less like yelling.

Who do you want to yell at, love?

She jumped, startled by his voice so strong in her mind. She pulled her phone out again and dialed Kade’s number.

He picked up on the first ring. “As strange as that is for me, I quite like the surprise it causes you,” he said.

“I bet.”

Kade chuckled. “You have to admit, it will come in handy when we want to talk about people behind their backs.”

Samantha couldn’t stop the laugh. “I didn’t take you for a gossip.”

“With this new ability, I might just start.”

The car slowed and Alasdair informed her they’d arrived.

“I’ve got to go, Kade. We’re here.”

“I love you. You know that right?”

Samantha sighed. “Yes, I know.”

She hung up without saying it back, more to make a point, but then felt so guilty, she closed her eyes and whispered it to him anyway.

Hafa gaman, elskan
.

Which means?

I’ll tell you when you get home.

Brat.

Alasdair opened Sam’s door and she asked him what Kade’s words meant, surprised to see the large man blush. “It means, ‘have fun, baby.’”

Sam smiled. “Oh. Thanks.”

“I won’t be far, Dr. Moore,” Alasdair said. “But I’ll try to stay out of your way.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Cole waited by the front door and grinned as he made his way to her. “Hey there, beautiful.”

“Hi,” Sam said. “How are you?”

He kissed her cheek and gave her a hug. “I’m good now that I’m seeing you. You look great.”

“Thanks. Are you ready to lose?”

“Never going to happen.” Cole held the door for her and followed her inside the bar. “How do you feel?”

Sam smiled. “Ready for some football.”

“Excellent.”

Sam followed him to a secluded booth in the back corner of the bar and took her seat.

* * *

Kade slapped the file onto his dining room table and rose to his feet. “Do you think he’s working for Ármann?”

Connall shook his head. “It’s much, much worse. He’s FBI and working with Interpol and MI-6.”

“Why?”

“Someone flagged our financial interests, and with the closing of the intern program so soon after it was started, someone’s put a wee word in their ears that something fishy’s going on.”

“What does the intern program have to do with money? There wasn’t much allocated.”

Connall opened the file and slid it toward Kade, his finger resting on a highlighted line. “According to this, a million was transferred into the intern program and then right back out, but not back to the main account.”

“Where did it go?”

“We don’t know. Duncan’s looking into it.”

“Shite, Con. You, Brodie, and I are the only ones in this bloody company with the authority to move money around. You didn’t notice?”

“Did you?”

“No, damn it. I would have had to sign off on this.”

Connall shook his head. “Not necessarily. You have to be informed of anything being paid over one hundred thousand, but moving money from account to account is fine for anything under one point five million.”