Among the Heather (The Highlands, #2)

Sucking in a breath, I clicked play on the video. Someone had digitally circled a young boy as he stood back from the others who beat on Gil MacDonald. I’d heard the story directly from North, but actually seeing it, seeing how small he was, broke my heart. I watched as he dove into the crowd of boys, pushing them off the man and getting into a rough tussle with whom I assumed was Darren Menzies. The other boys joined in, beating North. Gil took that opportunity, just as North had said, to run, but the boys abandoned their fight with North to chase after him. North staggered to his feet, clearly badly beaten, and chased after them. The footage switched to a different CCTV camera where you could see Darren chasing Gil into traffic. I flinched as the van hit him.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, my heart aching for North.

The article focused on exonerating North, but it didn’t matter. They were dredging it up again, making him relive this thing that had scarred him deeply.

“You all right?” Walker asked.

“I hate the tabloids.”

“Aye, me too.” He sighed heavily. “Look, all the articles I’ve read are apologetic and favorable toward North. This might be a good thing for him.”

“For his career,” I corrected Walker. “Not for him. This is just making him relive it all again.” Realizing my tone and words gave too much away, I was a little sharper as I said, “I’ll contact Mr. Hunter and make sure he’s aware. You, Jock, and the team should prepare for visitors at the gate.”

“We’re on it.”

After we hung up, I stared at my cell phone. I didn’t want to call him to explain this. It needed to be face-to-face. They could do without me at the castle for one day. I could answer my emails from home, and anything else Wakefield could deal with. I was five minutes away if they needed me. Decision made, I gathered my stuff and hurried upstairs to North’s room. When he opened the door, he was wearing workout gear.

He seemed surprised to see me so soon. “I was just heading to the gym.”

“We need to talk,” I told him solemnly.





I’d decided North’s well-being was more important than my professional reputation, and I wouldn’t overanalyze that either. Without explaining myself, I told Walker that North would be at my place if they needed us. Sloane’s partner didn’t make a big deal out of it, but I had no doubt he’d tell Sloane later. We wouldn’t have told security, but with the paparazzi most likely on their way, Walker and his team needed to know where North was. I informed Wakefield I’d be working from home today and to call if he needed me.

Then I’d waited in my car for North as he packed an overnight bag. He appeared in the gray morning light, face grim, and my agitation grew. I just wanted to get him to my place to make sure he was okay. The anonymous email I’d received that morning paled in comparison to what he was going through.

A while later, we sat together on my couch, North staring out toward the water with a mug of hot coffee between his hands.

His cell had been ringing nonstop since we left the castle. They had just woken up in the US, so it had taken them a little longer to hear the news. First his publicist, then his agent called, then a lot of friends who had abandoned him these past few months. Cara, apparently, had been trying to get him back before this, and she called so many times, it compelled North to block her. I didn’t overanalyze how satisfied I felt by that.

His inbox, in general, was filled with apologies.

“What are you thinking?” I asked quietly.

His gaze flicked to me, and I hated the weariness I saw there. “That I can’t believe this is being dredged up again.”

“It’s different this time,” I told him gently. “Everyone can see you tried to stop it.”

“You watched?”

I nodded grimly.

“Fuck.” North shook his head, agitated. “You shouldn’t have had to see that. No one should have. Gil’s family shouldn’t have to see it. The fucking tabloids don’t care who they hurt.”

An alarming surge of tenderness and admiration filled me. North didn’t care if this cleared his name. He cared if people could be hurt seeing the video. The police had reported the footage missing from their evidence archives, so someone had been paid to steal it.

He put down his mug and stood, pacing beside me. “Who would leak that? Who would do such a thing?”

“Who would gain from it?”

North halted and looked sharply at me. “I would.” His expression tightened, and he yanked his phone off the table. “No, no fucking way.”

“North, talk to me.” I stood, grabbing his wrist before he could dial whoever he was planning to call.

“It’s like you said. Who would gain from it? I would. The studio would rehire me and everyone on my team would make a lot of money if this spy franchise were to take off.”

Understanding, I still didn’t remove my hand. “But you can’t go accusing anyone because you won’t ever know for certain if one of them got hold of that footage. All you’ll do is cause more drama and strife among your team. It’s done now. It’s out. As difficult as it is, you have to make peace with that.”

He glowered, but I knew it wasn’t at me. Then North’s expression changed as quickly and dramatically as the Scottish weather. Pain etched his features. “I feel like I’m going to spend my whole life paying for that night. And maybe that’s the way it should be.”

Without thinking, I clasped his face in my hands, the bristle of his unshaven cheeks prickling my palms. “You did nothing wrong. You tried to save a man. But you were just a child, North. And you have to learn to forgive yourself.”

He wrapped his hands around my wrists, but not to pull away. Instead, he leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.

I stayed there with him, holding him, letting him take whatever comfort he could from me. And despite all my alarm bells ringing that I was allowing intimacy I wasn’t ready for to deepen between us, I could not pull away.





Nineteen


ARIA





“Who were you as a teenager?”

I looked up from the soup and sandwich I’d thrown together for a late lunch to find North studying me curiously. It had been an emotional morning, and North had taken a walk on the beach for some fresh air. I’d stayed back, to give him time to think, and so I could work through the emails piling up in my inbox. I also spoke with Lachlan to update him on the situation after Jock called to tell me that a few paps had arrived at the gates. There weren’t as many as the first time because apparently, the paparazzi were only interested in you if the world was hating on you.

I couldn’t lie to my boss, especially since security already knew, so I told him North was with me. “It might be difficult for me to ask him to leave if this is a problem for you,” I told Lachlan. Thankfully, Lachlan was perfectly understanding.

“It’s nobody’s damn business why North is at your place. It’s complicated for you because your social circle includes the people in this industry. I know this isn’t in character for you and I know you won’t make a habit of it, so I can only assume you and North have become friends. That’s not my business.”

Friends.

What an inadequate word for whatever we were.

By the time North returned, I’d cleared the work that was a priority, glad for the distraction. And I couldn’t think about the awful email I’d received this morning. Clearly, someone out there wanted to hurt me, and there were a few people it could be, but they weren’t worth my energy. I’d wanted to focus on making sure North was okay without overthinking why his welfare was so important to me.