The Scotch Queen (Scotch 2)

He kept his eyes on the road, his hand on the wheel.

I shouldn’t have respected a response from that, but I got my hopes up anyway. “If Bones had taken me, do you think Vanessa would have been left alone?”

“I have no idea. He took her out of vengeance, so having you may not have made a difference. He could have gotten bored of you right away and killed you. Who knows?” He said it nonchalantly like my murder had no significance.

“Wow…he really is evil.”

“They call him Bones for a reason.”

I didn’t want to know why, so I didn’t ask. I looked out the window again. “When is this party?”

“Two weeks from Saturday.”

I hoped he wasn’t going to take me as his date. He took me the Holyrood thing, which was pretty high-profile. But maybe he would take his French diplomat or whatever. The idea of him taking someone else bothered me, but I refused to admit it—especially to myself. “In Scotland?”

“Yeah. The distillery is in Edinburgh.”

“That’s nice…” I wanted to ask if he was taking me, but I didn’t want to bring it up.

“Are you ready to talk about last night?”

I thought that was buried. “No.”

“Too soon?”

“No. I never want to talk about last night.”

He drove down the country road, passing small houses with acres of land and crops. It was a cloudless day, and the sky was a clear blue. The sun shone through the window and hit both of my thighs, making them feel warm. “We’re going to be together for a long time. You may as well make the best of it.”

“Make the best of it?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah. I could be your friend if you gave me a chance.”

“Sorry, I’m not friends with criminals.”

He smiled like he had a comeback sitting in the back of his throat. “But you’re related to one?”

That jab hurt. “I didn’t have a clue, and you know that.”

“But you still love the guy, right?”

“Of course.” I was offended by the question.

“Even though he breaks the law every single day?” he asked. “Even though he kills people?”

“He doesn’t kill people,” I said defensively. I purposely looked out the window to avoid his gaze. In reality, I really had no idea what Joseph’s criminal activities included. All I knew was stole intelligence from Crewe and tried not to pay for it. He tried to cheat a man out of four million dollars. That was the extent of my knowledge.

“And you know this, how?”

I didn’t. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“Too bad,” he said. “Your only relative lied to you. He got into a bad business even though he knew you could be used against him. He did it anyway. Me, on the other hand, I’m always honest. You’re gonna get the truth from me even if you don’t want to hear it. I’m the most trustworthy guy on the planet. You can always depend on me to deliver my promises. I’m a pretty powerful ally to have, Lovely. You should take advantage of that.”

He must have struck a nerve because I suddenly felt lonely. I took his words to heart because I knew they were true. I even said them myself. Crewe was the only man in the world powerful enough to protect me. Only if he allowed me to leave would I escape. If he didn’t let me go, I should make the best of the situation.

“So talk to me.”

“Why do you care?”

He turned on another country road, his thick tires blowing up dust from the side of the road. The engine roared to life as he hit the gas and got back up to top speed. “Because I care about you.”

“We have different definitions of the word.”

“You’re like a pet, Lovely. I want to take care of you so you’ll last a long time.”

So I was just a toy in his eyes. “I’m gonna get old and wrinkly one day.”

He turned to me and winked. “You’ll still be pretty damn hot. I can tell.”

I rolled my eyes and ignored the charming comment. I knew he would be a good-looking older man. He had all the right features to stay beautiful. When he was older, he might even be sexier.

“So, tell me about your dream last night.”

He was going to apply pressure until I broke. Since he was the only person in the world I socialized with, I was at his mercy. If I hadn’t had him for companionship, I would have gone crazy months ago. “This a two-way street.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Then it needs to be a two-way street. If you want my friendship, you have to give me yours. That’s how it works.”

He focused on the road like he was considering what I was saying. “Interesting arrangement.”

“Wow. You must not have any friends if the concept is foreign to you.”