A young model.
Bitch.
Joseph jumped to grab his key from the trim and opened his bedroom door.
“Was someone in here?” she heard him call.
Fiona pretended not to hear and if Rune heard, he was too busy peeking through the front blinds to answer.
Joseph appeared a moment later wearing a black vest covered in straps and strange pockets with the hilts of silver knives peeking from them.
Fiona couldn’t help but laugh.
Joseph shot her a look, his expression darkening. “You won’t be laughing at me much longer,” he said, too quietly for Rune to hear.
She snorted a laugh. “Suck it, little man.”
Joseph pulled weapons from his wall and slid the smaller ones into the available straps on his jacket.
“You made that yourself, didn’t you?” Fiona said, much more loudly, hoping to draw her father’s attention to the loon he’d hooked his wagon to.
Joseph didn’t look at her. “Yes. And I applied for a patent.”
“Good luck with that.”
Rune turned from the window. “I counted two but there could be more. They’re definitely coming this way.”
Joseph nodded toward Fiona. “Secure her in the shed out back. We can use her if we end up in a hostage situation.”
Rune nodded and grabbed Fiona’s arm, tugging her toward the back of the house.
They burst through a crooked screen door to enter the backyard. Fiona squinted in the sun. It had been a while.
“Dad. Stop.”
Rune paused and looked at her.
“Joseph’s going to get himself killed. I’m a hostage, I’ll be fine. And if we get caught I’ll vouch for you. I’ll tell the cops you were kidnapped, too. They are cops, right? They’re coming for me?” Fiona thought about the model couple she’d seen outside Joseph’s window.
Come to think of it, they didn’t look like cops.
Rune’s shoulders bobbed. “I don’t know.”
Fiona thought hard on what she wanted from the situation at hand.
Do I want to lose Rune yet?
The answer was obvious.
No.
I need him to show me how to get the power.
“You need to go,” she said, pushing him towards the back fence.
“What?”
“You need to go. I’ll point them in the wrong direction. Run that way.”
“But I have to go help Joseph—”
“Joseph is an idiot. He’s going to get us all killed.”
Rune looked pained. “Joseph has our list. We need those people.”
“I have the list.”
“What?”
“I have the list. I grabbed it while you were in the bathroom.”
Rune frowned. “You know, I thought your singing sounded funny but, to be honest, it’s hard to tell with the fan on.”
“I did it for us. In case something like this happened. You and I have a chance to get out of here. It’s you and me, Dad. We don’t need Joseph.”
Rune stared back at the house. “You have the list? You’re sure?”
“I do.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand again and dragged her towards the fence.
She dug in as the heel of Catriona’s cheap shoes snapped. “Leave me. You go.”
“No. I can’t.”
“They think I’m a hostage. They won’t hurt me. Then I can keep an eye on them and you’ll be safe. I’ll be your spy.”
Rune hemmed and then nodded. “You’re right. It’s a good plan.” He took her by the shoulders. “Be careful, Rabbit.”
Fiona gasped. Rune hadn’t called her Rabbit since she was little, during the happy times. The times before he fell mad.
She felt tears brim her eyes.
“You, too, Daddy.”
Rune kissed her on her forehead and then turned to run, looking like a long-legged spider as he clambered over the metal fence.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Broch opened his eyes.
Somethin’s different.
He looked to his right and saw Catriona lying beside him, the glow of the morning sun just bright enough to see the peach-fuzz scattered across her naked upper thigh.
She breathed in slow, steady inhales, a tiny smile across her beautiful lips.
My Catriona.
He held still, barely breathing, unsure whether to wake her and take her again in the glow of a new day, or let her sleep, peacefully, hopefully dreaming of his body against hers.
What was that phrase he’d heard the people at the studio say?
It was a tough call.
Before he could decide, her phone rang on the bed stand next to her and her hand reached out to grab it, her eyes never opening. Years of muscle memory acted as it thought it should.
“Hello? Hm? Oh.”
Catriona’s eyes opened and she looked down at her naked body and then at him. He suffered the urge to hide, worrying her expression would flood with regret. Instead, she blushed and smiled.
Happiness flowed in his veins, warming every inch of his flesh.
Then, she scowled, her attention stolen by the voice on the other end of the line.
“Really? Like now? Okay. Okay.”
She hung up.
“Whit is it?” he asked reaching out to stroke her hip with his fingertips. He couldn’t help himself.
“It was Anne. They found Rune and Fiona. She needs us to go with her.”
“Nae?” Dreams of a lazy morning in her kip dissipated like morning fog on a sunny day.
“Now.”
She rolled to him and kissed him, pushing him down so she could straddle him.
“That isnae fair,” he said, barely, as the breath was stolen from his lungs by a rush of desire.
“Of course,” she whispered, rolling toward him. “Now is so subjective.”
***
It wasn’t long until they arrived at Anne’s.
Should have been a wee longer.
Their time in Catriona’s bed had been too short. But he wasn’t the only one unable to resist finishing, so he didn’t feel too bad.
When Anne answered their knock, she immediately cocked her head,
