The bastard.
“Where did she go?" I'm aware of the fact that I'm more concerned about her than I am about him. But she's the one that's defenseless. She's the one that needs my protection. Where has she gone to?
"I don't know, son."
"Didn't you see her?”
“I was taking care of your father. But Nan says she took a car.”
She took a bloody car? What the hell was she thinking? My God, when I get ahold of her…
But maybe she's afraid. Maybe she thinks she hurt my father, or she was afraid that he would come after her, just like her brother did. My God, I could kill him.
"We'll find her," I tell Mum. "Keep me abreast of what's going on with Dad."
"I will, son, I promise. Stay safe. Can you come home soon? Or do you still have work to do in town?"
"We are nowhere near finished here. But I promise I'll be in touch with you soon as I can. Text or call me the second you find anything new, aye?”
"I will. Stay safe." Her voice trembles with emotion, and I know that it's been too much for her to see her husband hurt, Cairstina leave, and her fear for her sons’ safety as well. I sympathize, but what's most important right now is that I find Cairstina. I can't imagine what she's going through.
The only safe place in her world is the Cathedral, but surely she wouldn't go there?
I turn to my brothers and Lachlan. We've made it to the empty house, but of course there's nobody here. And we need to find a place to go. We need to find a clue, when my phone buzzes with a text from Cairstina. The relief I feel from hearing from her is immediately swallowed by the fear I feel when I read what she has to say.
No.
I turn to the others.
"Dad's been hurt. Cairstina got into a row with him, he fell and banged his head.” I don’t tell them she pushed him. No one needs to know. “I just got off the phone with Mum. I also got a text from Cairstina. She somehow overheard the Aitkens, and they say that they're going after Islan and Paisley. The question now then, is where are the girls?"
"They were supposed to be studying with Fran,” Mac says. "Not sure if that's actually where they went. You know how they are, especially Paisley. If she had somewhere to go and she didn't think that we wanted her to go…" His voice trails off.
“My thought precisely." I turn to Tate. “Can you call Fran? See if she knows anything?”
“Of course. But honest to God, Leith, if what Cairstina says is true…” He grimaces. I’m thinking the very same.
“Aye. If what she says is true, where we go next is the bloody fucking Aitkens.”
“This will be war.”
“Of course it will, but it also means they’ve thrown in the gauntlet if they've gone after my sisters. And I won’t allow that."
Unlike us, the Aitkens do not value anonymity. They live in a huge house near one of the ruined castles of Inverness, attended by large staff, surrounded by a pool and a high gate and massive security.
“If we go there unarmed, without the proper back up, we're sure to be ambushed.”
“It's a risk we may have to take." I don't want to discuss this anymore, because what I really want to do is go find Cairstina. I'm torn between looking out for my sisters and looking out for my bonnie lass. I need to find her. I called her, but it goes to voicemail. In frustration, I call again, and this time it's actually answered. She doesn't speak, of course, but I can hear an oily voice that’s vaguely familiar.
It takes me a minute to realize what I'm hearing. Is that her brother? Bloody hell.
“Hello? Hello?” But the phone disconnects.
"Cairstina answered her phone, and I heard her brother in the background. I think he's got her.”
Mac stares at me. Why the bloody hell would he have her?" I quickly tell them what Mum told me.
"If she knows anything at all about the Aitkens, it could be more useful having her with us than going straight to their house. Could be a trap, though, for all we know,” I admit.
I think this through, and I don't have to think long because I know if I can find Cairstina, see that she's safe, find out what she knows, then I can find my sisters next. "But I don't know where she is. All I know is that she's with her brother. Could be bloody anywhere."
“Could be,” Mac mutters.
“But there was a chime in the background…” My voice trails off as it all becomes abundantly clear at once. The chime. The chime of the Cathedral.
I turn to face my brothers. “She’s at the Cathedral, I know it.”