Shoulder the Skye, page 20
Carlyle strode back in. “Where are the secret tunnels in the manor?”
“There aren’t any,” Bronwyn answered.
“There has to be,” Carlyle stated firmly.
Elias slid his gaze to Bronwyn because he knew what she was thinking. “Nay.”
“It’s the only way,” she told him.
Carlyle looked between them. “Every bloody house like this has hiding compartments. Where are they?”
“Follow me,” Bronwyn said as she hurried from the room.
Elias brought up the rear as everyone raced up the stairs. They had just reached the second floor when someone pounded on the door. He paused and looked below. “We’re no’ going to have time.”
“They can’t get in unless I give permission,” Bronwyn said, out of breath as she ran.
She skidded to a halt in front of the second to the last door on the right and yanked it open. Bronwyn didn’t look at anyone as she put her hand out and said, “Nochd, reveal.”
Elias glanced at his friends, watching their varying expressions as the air began to twist and turn and the hole opened between the dimensions.
“Get in,” Bronwyn demanded before the gap had expanded all the way.
Elias didn’t hesitate to jump through. Sabryn was next, then Finn. Carlyle met Bronwyn’s gaze for a heartbeat before joining the rest of them. Bronwyn’s eyes then slid to Elias. He wanted to reassure her, but he didn’t get the chance as she closed the hole.
“Okay. What the fek?” Finn demanded.
Elias turned to his friends, who stood looking at the prone, sleeping form of Beth. “That’s Bronwyn’s cousin, Beth. She’s who Sydney is searching for.”
“I assume Bronwyn is going to release us?” Carlyle asked.
Elias blew out a breath. “Of course.”
“You say that, but I’m not sure I believe it.”
“Enough,” Sabryn hissed angrily and walked a few steps away.
She turned her head as if listening. As Elias grew quiet, he picked up the sounds of footsteps descending the stairs, mingled with loud, persistent pounding on the door. Suddenly, the banging stopped.
“What can I do for you, DI Frasier?” he heard Bronwyn ask.
Within moments, Finn and Carlyle had moved next to him and Sabryn.
“We’ve been knocking for some time,” Frasier replied.
Bronwyn’s voice was calm as she said, “It’s a rather large house. I was upstairs.”
“Are you alone?” Frasier demanded.
Elias grinned when Bronwyn answered, “Nay. I’m here with you and the twelve police officers behind you.”
“You know what I mean,” Frasier snapped. There was a pause before he continued. “I have a warrant to search your house.”
Sabryn turned her head to Elias. “It’ll look odd if she doesn’t allow them inside.”
“She will,” he told his friend in a soft voice.
Sure enough, they heard Bronwyn say, “Help yourself, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t leave a mess.”
Just in case those in the house could hear them, the Knights remained quiet and still as they listened to the stomping of feet as police fanned throughout the house. Doors were thrown open one by one. Elias whirled around when the door to their room swung inward. They couldn’t see anyone, only shadows, but they could hear everything clearly.
The sounds were magnified between dimensions. Thankfully, the person searching left the room quickly. It was a long time before the noise of the police died down, leaving only Bronwyn with Frasier.
“I take it you didn’t find what you were looking for,” Bronwyn said.
Frasier’s voice sounded weary and on edge. “Where is he?”
“Who?”
“Elias MacLean.”
“I have no idea.”
Frasier sighed loudly. “Look, Bronwyn, do yourself a favor and tell me where he is.”
“I just told you, I don’t know. You’ve searched the entire manor. If he was here, you would’ve found him.”
“I can get a warrant for the grounds.”
“I have nothing to hide. I don’t know who told you that Mr. MacLean was here, but they sent you on a wild goose chase.”
Frasier went silent for a moment. “I hope, for your sake, that you’ve no’ gotten mixed up with him.”
“I assure you, I can handle my affairs. If you’re finished, it’s time you left,” Bronwyn replied.
It wasn’t long after that Elias heard the front door close.
Carlyle then turned to Elias. “Exactly where are we?”
“Between dimensions.”
Finn’s face was pale as he spun toward him. “You’re joking.”
Elias shook his head.
“This is what Bronwyn uses the blood magic for?” Sabryn said.
Elias twisted his lips ruefully. “Actually, this was always her magic. Becoming drough allowed it to strengthen.”
“We’ve seen drough use the surge of power for many things,” Finn said. “Never something like this.”
Carlyle nodded slowly as he faced Beth. “I think I understand why Bronwyn didn’t want to tell us.”
Their discussion was interrupted by air that began to swirl. Elias moved to the doorway. As soon as the gap widened, his gaze landed on Bronwyn.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Elodie was pissed. Every time she attempted to talk to George, the woman managed to find a way to get out of it. It was becoming ridiculous. As well as obvious that George had no intention of speaking with her.
Worse was her sister. Edie seemed distracted and easily angered of late.
“Are you okay?” Elodie asked from across the breakfast table at her sister’s.
Edie forcibly set down her gin and tonic. “That’s the third time you’ve asked me that in the last ten minutes.”
Edie might have requested the lunch date last week, but from the moment she’d arrived, Elodie got the feeling that her sister didn’t want her here. Something was going on with Edie, but Elodie couldn’t pry it out of her. The chasm between them seemed to be widening instead of narrowing, and Elodie was at a loss for what to do.
“I keep asking because it’s obvious something is wrong,” Elodie replied.
Edie sighed dramatically. “Just because I’m not in a good mood doesn’t mean anything is wrong. People have bad days.”
“You haven’t been yourself these past few days.”
“How would you know who I am? You only just reentered my life. You didn’t care for the fifteen years before this.”
Ouch. That was brutal, but it was also true. Elodie tried a different approach. “I realize we haven’t been a close family, but things have changed.”
“Aye, apparently, they have,” Edie mumbled under her breath before reaching for her drink.
Now it was Elodie’s turn to stare angrily. “If you have something to say, say it, Edie.”
“Fine, I will.” Her sister sat up in her chair and parted her lips, but she didn’t speak.
Elodie leaned her forearms on the table, concern replacing her ire. “I can’t take back the past and my actions, but I want to move forward to a different place. You’re my sister. You can tell me anything.”
“Can I?”
“Of course.”
“Do you share everything with me?”
Elodie reached across the short distance and covered her sister’s hand. “Other than the specifics of my sex life, aye,” she said with a grin.
Instead of reassuring Edie, it only seemed to anger her.
“Don’t,” Edie stated and leaned back, pulling her hand from Elodie’s. “I’m the one who has held this family together. I’m the one who went to visit Mum. I’m the one who kept in contact with you and Elias. Neither of you did any of that.”
So this was what was wrong. Elodie licked her lips and nodded in agreement. “I know. You’ve always been good at things like that. My life was a mess, Edie. You know that.”
Edie’s blue eyes were hard and cold as she stared. “And now it isn’t?”
“It’s better.”
“Why?”
Elodie hesitated. She couldn’t tell Edie the truth because her sister wouldn’t understand what had transpired between her, Elias, and their parents. It was better if Edie never knew the horrors of that day. If Elodie could save her sister from that, then she considered it a win. “Scott,” she finally answered. “Having you and Elias in my life again.”
“Even with Elias wanted for murder?”
Elodie was fast losing patience. How she wished Elias was here to help her handle whatever was going on with Edie. “I don’t believe our brother killed anyone. I know you don’t either.”
“Do you?” Edie asked and looked away. “I don’t know him anymore. I don’t think I ever did.”
Elodie struggled for a response as Edie rose and poured herself another gin and tonic. Elodie had no idea if this was normal for her sister, and that was on Elodie because she didn’t spend as much time with Edie as she probably should.
“How are my niece and nephew?” Elodie asked, changing the subject.
A smile played on Edie’s lips as she leaned a hand on the kitchen island. “Busy with school and friends. They’re always going. It’s a good thing I’m able to drive them everywhere. Their schedules are very busy.”
“If you ever need help, let me know.”
Edie’s gaze was soft and kind when she looked at Elodie. “Thank you. I’ll do that.”
“And Trevor? How is he?”
Edie’s lips pinched for an instant. “Working.”
Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good. “Why don’t the two of you plan a date night soon? Scott and I will watch the kids. Better yet, take a weekend. That way, I can have the kiddos all to myself for a wee bit,” she offered.
Edie nodded, her interest seemingly piqued. “That sounds like a good plan. Let me talk to Trevor. He’s been working entirely too much lately. I think that’s why we got into an argument this morning.”
Ah. So that was the problem. The few times Elodie had been around her brother-in-law, he couldn’t keep his hands off Edie. The love they shared was apparent to anyone who looked.
“It’s easy to get caught up in work,” Elodie said. “A weekend away, where the two of you can reconnect sounds like exactly what you need.”
Edie returned to the table and sank heavily in the chair. “Maybe. I’m just so angry all the time lately. I bit his head off this morning because he had to cancel our lunch yesterday and tomorrow. To top it off, there was a last-minute meeting he had to take in Oban today that goes into tomorrow, which means he’s away tonight.”
“Come have dinner with Scott and me.”
Edie shook her head. “Thanks, but no. I’ve already planned to get pizza. I need to sort myself out before Trevor comes home. Even the kids pointed out how I’m always snapping at them lately. Things just seem…off…and I don’t know why.”
“So much has changed,” Elodie said. “I returned to Skye and fell in love with Scott, Druids were murdered, and Elias came home. That’s a lot, sis. For anyone. Even you, Wonder Woman.”
That caused Edie to chuckle. “I’m far from Wonder Woman.”
“You say you don’t work, but you handle eight different rental houses and all the issues that go with them while taking care of two kids, your home, and your husband. Aye. You’re definitely Wonder Woman in my book.”
Edie laughed, a slight blush filling her cheeks. “Stop.”
With the mood lightened, Edie turned the conversation to the kids for a bit. It was only after they ate their grilled chicken salads that Elodie decided to bring up George.
“You’re doing that thing,” Edie said.
Elodie swallowed as she frowned. “What thing?”
“That thing with your eyes where you try to watch me covertly while determining when it’s the right time to ask me something. You’ve done it since we were kids.”
“Thanks for telling me.” Elodie wiped her mouth with her napkin. “I’ve been trying to talk to George for days about Elias, but she won’t talk to me.”
Edie shrugged as she lowered her fork. “I don’t think I’d want to talk to the family of the man I was accusing of murder.”
“I want to know why she thinks Elias did it. Don’t you?”
“If she had proof, the police would’ve already arrested him.”
Elodie rolled her eyes. “George should’ve gone to the Edinburgh police, but she didn’t. Why? That concerns me. Why come to Skye and make those claims?”
“The one thing I know about Elias is that he’s resourceful. He always has been. If he’s innocent—”
“If?” Elodie repeated, shocked that her sister would even suggest that.
“—he’ll prove it.”
But Elodie couldn’t let it go. “You got the same email I did from Elias. He’s innocent.”
“Then why run?”
“Because he’s being framed!” Elodie hadn’t meant to yell, but she didn’t think she needed to spell this out to her sister, of all people.
Edie dabbed at the corners of her mouth. “We don’t know the facts of the case. We don’t know the evidence.”
“We know our brother.”
“Do you, though? Do you know Elias? Do you know who his friends are? What about his favorite food? What about the name of the company he works for? Because I don’t know any of that.”
Elodie blew out a breath. “He’s our brother.”
“That doesn’t make him innocent.”
“I may not know the answers to your questions, but I know Elias has a good heart. He was here for me when I needed him.”
Edie’s gaze intensified. “Oh? And what did you need him for?”
Damn. She’d nearly said too much. Thankfully, Elodie had something to fall back on. “I told you the mist came for me and Scott. It nearly killed us both.”
“Aye, and how Elias happened to arrive at the right time to help.”
“That’s right.”
Edie tossed down her napkin and got to her feet. “I’ve been battling a headache. I need to lie down before I get the kids.”
“Let me help you clean up then,” Elodie offered.
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”
Elodie had never been ushered out of her sister’s house before. As she drove back to the cottage, she thought over the conversation. Something had upset Edie, and Elodie was beginning to think it was Elias. Or was it her, and Edie couldn’t say, so she blamed it on their brother?
As Elodie drove past the police station, she spotted Theo Frasier climbing out of his vehicle. She pulled into the lot and rolled down her window as she stopped the car near him.
“Hey, Theo.”
He looked drained as he stuffed his hands into his coat to brace against the wind. “What can I do for you?”
“I wondered if I could come inside and have you show me the evidence you have against my brother.”
He looked away, shaking his head. “I can no’ share anything in an ongoing investigation.”
“Elias isn’t a killer,” she insisted.
Theo briefly closed his eyes. “Right now, I just want to talk to him. Let him know that, please.”
“He said it wasn’t him.”
Theo’s dark eyes jerked to her, narrowing slightly. “When did he say that?”
“In an email.”
“When were you going to tell me about that?”
She clenched the steering wheel anxiously. “I just did.”
“Bloody hell, Elodie,” he said, half-turning away. He swung his head to her. “I need to see it. Immediately.”
She pulled out her mobile and opened her inbox. Then she handed the device to Theo. “There it is.”
He read the short email twice and then sent it to himself. He handed the mobile back as a smattering of rain pelted him. “We will find him. I’d hate to charge you with obstructing an investigation.”
“I gave you the email,” she reminded him.
His lips flattened. “So you did. Doona wait next time you hear from him.”
“You have to think it odd that George came here accusing Elias.”
Theo ran a hand over his mouth wearily. “I think a lot is odd right now. Please convince your brother to talk to me.”
“He’s not talking because he doesn’t think anyone will listen to him. At least that’s my thought.”
“Get him to come in, Elodie. Please.”
Theo turned and walked away. She watched him for a moment before she rolled up the window. As her wipers cleared the windscreen, she saw a man and a woman sitting in a car, watching her. Something about them made a chill run down her spine.
Elodie hadn’t been to Hell and back to lose her family now. She’d do whatever she had to in order to prove her brother’s innocence.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
So much had changed. Bronwyn wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She couldn’t say she had gotten used to being alone because did one ever really get used to that? But she had accepted it.
Then, before she knew it, Elias was in her life, and she was spilling all her secrets. She still couldn’t understand why she had done that. Perhaps, subconsciously, she had known there was something between them, something that went deeper than just physical attraction. Or she could just be bullshitting herself about that reasoning. She really couldn’t tell anymore.
Because she had put Elias and the other Knights in the space between dimensions without hesitation. Maybe she had lost her mind. That sounded plausible. If she had gone daft, how would she know? She had been alone. Now, with others around, it was finally coming to light. It was the only explanation.
“Bloody hell,” Finn said, his eyes wide with awe as he walked back into their dimension. “That was...”
Carlyle quirked a brow in a very British-aristocrat way as he paused beside her. “You’ve left him speechless. I didn’t think it could happen.”
“Damn, girl,” Sabryn replied. “That was amazing. You could’ve warned us you had that kind of power.”
All Bronwyn could do was look at them in confusion. No one mentioned Beth. Yet. The questions were coming. She knew it.
