Here Comes the Rainne Again (Invertary 6)

She really wished he’d stop saying that. It made her want to put her fingers in her ears and sing la, la, la until he gave up.

Rainne stepped back from the bed. “No we don’t. Everything is fine.”

“I’ve been thinking.” Alastair completely ignored her. “Last night brought clarity. I’ve been an idiot.” His eyes were dark with emotion. “I’m glad you came back, Rainbow.”

She shook her head. “No. Don’t be. I shouldn’t have come back here. It was selfish of me. I didn’t think it through. I didn’t realise my actions would rake up so much pain for you.”

The damn man rolled his eyes at her. “Don’t over dramatize this Rainbow. I’m fine. I’ve dealt with it. Part of me thought you were like my mum. I realise you

aren’t. Issue closed.”

Rainne gaped at him. “That’s just...nuts. You can’t get over a revelation like that in a matter of hours.”

“You want me to go into therapy for years, only to come to the same conclusion when I’m done?”

“You don’t know what...”

“If you tell me one more time that I don’t know my own mind, I’m going to lose the plot entirely. I’m not an idiot. I know what I damn well think!” He took a deep breath, winced and then scowled at her. “I’m glad you came back. I’m glad you had the courage to ask me to try again. I want to. I want you.”

The words sounded more like a threat than a romantic declaration.

“Even if that were true.” She ignored his frown. “How could it work between us? I didn’t think this through before I came here. I didn’t think about the practicalities, let alone the emotional baggage we’d need to deal with. Your life is here and mine is in Glasgow.”

“We can figure that out,” he said.

It was her turn to roll her eyes. “You made it clear years ago that you never want to leave Invertary. You dreamed of a life here.”

“What if I want more?”

“Is that even possible? We’ll never get past our trust issues. Let’s face it. You’ll always be waiting for me to leave you. I can see that now. I could promise you forever and you wouldn’t believe me. You don’t trust me. And that’s on me. I hurt you.” She bit her bottom lip for a second, aware he was watching her intently. “It was a dream,” she said at last. “You were the dream. Those few months we had together were the dream I kept coming back to, wondering what might have been. But there are some things that are better left in the past. I realise that now.”

“No—”

“Yes. At least coming back gave us a chance to talk things through.” She tucked her hair behind her ear as she backed towards the door. “It’s good to get closure.”

He let out a rumbling growl. “Closure?” He jerked towards her but grunted and plopped back down, his face even greyer than before. “What the hell are you talking about, woman?”

Whatever Rainne would have said next was lost when the door crashed open. A guy she didn’t recognise rushed in. He had a knife in his hand. Rainne froze. The man grabbed her arm and pressed the knife to her throat. His eyes were cold and sharp. There was a scar across his cheek, making his mouth seem lopsided. He was dressed in medical scrubs and his feet were bare.

“Get away from her!” Out of the corner of her eye she could see Alastair struggling to get out of bed.

Rainne wanted to tell him to stop. He was going to injure his lung again. But she was frozen. She felt a sharp sting at her throat, which made her whimper.

“You,” the man said. He had an accent. European. “You’re the one who came on the snowmobile. Where is it?”

Rainne stared at him. Her brain couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Her limbs were limp. Her voice wasn’t working. All she could think was that Alastair needed to stay in bed. She had to tell him to stay there. Everything else was blank. Confused. Blocked.

The sharp bite of pain at her throat intensified. She whined.

“Leave her alone!”

There was a crash to the right of Rainne as something toppled to the floor, but she couldn’t turn her head to see what. She couldn’t take her eyes away from the terrifying man.

“Don’t touch her. Get away from her, you bastard.”

The guy turned his cold eyes on Alastair. “One more step and I slit her throat.” He sounded calm, as though he was asking for sugar in his tea rather than talking about killing someone.

Not someone.