Just like that, the guard slammed shut over his face. “No one who could do this.”
“Lachlan … I’m just trying to help. I promise.”
I didn’t know if it was because I’d used his first name or if my softer tone worked wonders, but he let out a long, weary sigh and slumped into the armchair near his bed. “There are only two people on the estate I’ve slept with. Gabriella Ruiz is one of them. But it was years ago.”
My brain ticked over. “Isn’t she here because Sebastian Stone is a member?”
“Yes.”
“And does Stone know about your past relationship with his fiancée?”
Adair smirked. “It was hardly a relationship. But yes, he does.”
“And his attitude?”
“Shitty.” He gestured to the laptop in my hands. “But Mac has noted that, and his security team have been keeping a close eye on Stone.”
“Okay. And the other person?”
His expression clouded over. “It’s not her.”
“Who?”
I could see the muscle flexing in his jaw. Jesus, he really didn’t want to tell me. It was a shock, then, when he admitted, “Lucy.”
My eyebrows nearly hit my hairline. “Lucy Wainwright?”
“You sound surprised.”
“It’s just … Lucy Wainwright. Wow. I wouldn’t have thought you were her type.”
“What does that mean?”
“I just … I mean, she’s very … I don’t swing that way, but if I did, Lucy Wainwright would be the home screen on my phone, you know? She’s smokin’. And you …” I was just messing with him, but oh my God, it was so worth it to see him affronted.
“And I’m …?” He held out his hands, palm upward, openly offended by the unsaid insinuation that he wasn’t attractive enough to sleep with Lucy Wainwright.
“I’m sorry.” I swallowed my laughter. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sure plenty of women find you attractive enough to forgive the lack of sense of humor. I mean, Gabriella Ruiz obviously did, and she’s gorgeous, so why not Lucy?”
“I have a sense of humor. I have—for fuck’s sake.” He scowled up at the ceiling. “Why the hell am I letting her bait me?”
Covering my grin with my hand, I watched Adair as he finally returned his eyes to mine.
Realization dawned on his face. “You’re awful, you know that?”
Yet his tone suggested otherwise.
Awareness zinged between us and just like that, my smile slipped. Discomfited by the moment, I straightened from the door and cleared my throat. “I, uh … I take it from how Lucy was with you today that things ended well between you? Or haven’t they ended?”
Adair was all business again as he pushed up off the armchair. “Things ended with Lucy over a year ago. It was amicable, and we’re still very good friends. You saw how she was with Eredine. There’s no way she would put Eredine in that position today.”
“Something happened to her, didn’t it? To Eredine. In the past.”
Lachlan stared stonily at me.
Protecting her.
I got it.
Still, I said, “My offer to teach her MMA is genuine. It might help her.”
“If anyone can talk her around to it, it’ll be Lucy.”
The mention of Lucy again reminded me we were still no closer to a list of suspects, although Stone was the beginning of one. He had the motive, however flimsy, and the money to acquire a hacker. He wasn’t a strong suspect, though.
Deciding I needed to have a deeper look at Mac’s files, I motioned to the door. “I’m going back to the village. I’ll return tomorrow for my training with Lucy. If you have time, it would be great if you could write up a list of all your current staff, all the members who have stayed here in the last eight weeks, and notes about anything personal between you and them that you can think of.”
“Oh, is that all?”
Ignoring his droll tone, I sighed. “I need to be thorough.”
“Fine.” He marched across the room to open the door, motioning for me to exit first.
“You don’t need to walk me out.”
“Yes, I do.”
I’d like to think it was because he was a gentleman, but I got the distinct impression it was because he didn’t want me to wander the castle alone.
Adair still didn’t trust me.
I couldn’t expect it. I rarely trusted anyone until I’d gotten to know them better.
However, I had to admit, if only to myself, that Lachlan’s determination to treat me as an outsider stung.
It stung more than I’d like.
10
Lachlan
He and the board selected their members carefully at Ardnoch, which meant they tried to avoid A-listers with a reputation for being difficult, people who believed the world revolved entirely around them.
That meant issues with members’ bad behavior were few and far between.
Mostly because Lachlan made it his business to anticipate the needs of his members.
It didn’t mean problems, no matter how silly they might seem, didn’t arise.
“I don’t think I’m understanding the issue, Agnes.” He stared impatiently at his head housekeeper.
Lachlan was informed half an hour ago that Robyn was on the estate, this time to train Lucy in self-defense. This information agitated him. He vowed to stay away from the source of said agitation, but to his utter irritation, he itched to make sure she wasn’t up to any nonsense while his back was turned.
That meant Lachlan had little to no patience to deal with Angeline Potter, British actor and current darling of a mammoth streaming service, insisting on extra shortbread in her room. They filled a crystal jar of locally made shortbread every day as part of the housekeeping service. In the evening for turndown service, they left locally made chocolates in little gift bags on the members’ pillows and a hot toddy on their bedside table.
It was little touches like
