Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Artair

"The phone has been compromised. My guess is the lass came here with it already tampered with."

Alan had messaged Graeme to have me call him on an old payphone in the next town over. I thought it was a crazy request. I leaned against the glass of the small booth. Now I felt like an idiot. It made perfect sense that there would be a tracker on her phone. I'd wondered how they knew to look for her in Scotland, but assumed they'd hacked into the airport database when she dropped out of school and just followed her here.

This was not the case. If they had access to her phone, they also had access to everything she had stored on there. I had a sinking feeling that Luna had stored her passwords in her Samsung notes.

"Bloody hell!"

"Exactly right. But I have a plan on how this can work in your favor, and in hers."

"I'm solution-oriented, Alan, share away."

"You have a gala fundraiser tomorrow night at the Kelvingrove Art Museum?"

"How did you know that?"

"Because Miss Luna added it to her Google calendar. That means those arseholes also know. When you see her," he continued, "let her know that you are setting up Blacktop and need her help. Tell her to alert her high-end account followers that she will be premiering a live video stream of her feet wearing a pair of shoes they won't want to miss. That this will be livestreaming from Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. If they want access to the live stream, they have to sign up and she will provide them with a link."

They were going to use her as bait, and as much as I wanted to say no, this might be our only chance.

"I guess I'm taking the lovely Miss Luna shoe shopping."

Alan chuckled. "Make it count, Artair. I'd buy a pair of the most exclusive shoes you can. She can do sneak shots during the day tomorrow leading up to the event to entice those high-bidding clients that this is on the up and up. Maybe she can even add that she's leaving Scotland in a few days and needs the funds. She'll know what to say to get her patrons to support this."

"What guarantee do I have that Luna will be protected?"

"Don't worry, lad, all of Scotland Yard will be on this if I get my way. Just keep your guard up, but act natural. We'll be watching."

I hung up and headed back to the house. It was still early in the day, and I assumed Luna was still asleep. Graeme was just pulling into the parking lot out front of the castle at the same time. I'd booked him to take Luna and I shopping as she needed a dress for tomorrow night's gala event.

"You're just the man I wanted to see. How do you feel about escorting your little lass to Kelvingrove tomorrow night for the fundraiser?"

His eyes narrowed. "Why are you asking me to bring Donna to a fundraising event?"

I outlined the conversation I'd had with his Uncle Alan and stated that I'd feel better knowing I had someone of his ex-military caliber at my side just in case something went wrong.

"Aye, of course I'll come. I'm not sure about Donna, however. She's irritated with me at the moment."

"Why don't you invite her on our shopping outing and tell her you want to purchase her a new gown for the gala event? Luna really liked Donna, and I know she could help smooth things over and get her on board."

Graeme's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Are you paying for this gown?"

"I am paying for everything and getting your cousin to be our driver. I want you looking like you are there as an attendee in your own right, not as my employee. I have to fill Luna in on what's happening, and in the meantime, you let Donna know we'll pick her up in an hour. I'm transferring twenty-five thousand pounds into your account, Graeme, so let her be a princess for the day and get spoiled rotten."

The tension he'd been displaying evaporated, a smile spreading on his face. "It's a date then." I'd barely had time to take a step when I heard him speaking with Donna.

He apparently liked her more than I'd been aware of, and it made me all the more determined to get to the bottom of what had been causing the two of them issues.

"There's my sexy minx." I found Luna in the solar room drinking coffee.

"You're just in time. I ordered breakfast and it should be here any moment."

My heart swelled. It felt good to have her do that and wait for me. "Thank you, lass." I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like the dead." She giggled. "There is something to be said for sleeping in a castle that is nestled in the woods. It's so quiet, and so different from campus. I didn't realize until I spent a few nights here how poorly I'd been sleeping and how much my overall energy was being sapped just by living in such a busy place."

I took my seat opposite her just as a member of my kitchen staff brought in a tray laden with all kinds of goodies. "Here we are, Miss Luna, do you need anything else?"

"This looks amazing, Rose, how could I possibly need anything else? Thank you."

Rose blushed and looked about to answer, but then glanced at me, nodded her head and hurried away. Well, that was interesting. My staff was comfortable with Luna in a way they'd never been with me. She really was a breath of fresh air.

"I have news."

"Oh? Good news, I hope." She took a bite of her shrimp Benedict and moaned. "Oh my god, Artair, you know your cooks are amazing. You should give them a raise."

I took a bite of my breakfast and found it good, but rather boring.

"Let me try a bite of yours." She cut a bite, making sure there was a balance of bread, egg, sauce, shrimp and bacon on the fork and then leaning over, put it in my mouth. The flavors exploded on my tongue and I found myself moaning.

"You're right, this is fantastic. I guess I just never noticed before."

Luna giggled. "Well, that's no surprise," she muttered through a mouthful.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Seriously? You never notice how incredible your world is, so why would you notice the food?"

She shoveled in another mouthful, moaning her pleasure. If she kept that up, I'd be hard as a rock and forcing more of those lovely sounds from her. She'd given me an accurate assessment though; until her, I'd never noticed anything. I was living like a man in a dream then she popped the bubble and woke me up.

When we were done with our meal, I laid out the plan for the day and, as expected, she was happy to hear we'd be spending time with Donna and Graeme. "It's like a double date!" she cried, clapping her hands excitedly.

"Aye, it is, but there is a purpose, so let me explain the second half of the plan." By the time I was finished, she had just enough time to get ready to go. While she did that, I booked a private appointment for the women at the Jimmy Choo store in Edinburgh. If that's what her clients liked, that was what they would get.

We pulled up in front of Donna's flat, and she waved excitedly through the window at Luna, who returned her wave with equal enthusiasm. A small smile tugged on Graeme's lips, the first genuine one I'd seen in a long time. If nothing else, I hoped this little outing would prove fruitful for both he and Donna.

He jumped out of the car and tugged open the passenger door. Once Donna was tucked into her seat, he did up her belt and kissed her hand.

"Awww, that is so cute," Luna commented from beside me. Donna barely stifled a laugh at Graeme's groan. He closed her door and got in the driver's seat, sending Luna a look of annoyance in the rearview.

She just giggled.

True to her word, Luna took advantage of filming her feet in various Choo shoes, but only offered a picture of the shoes she chose, telling everyone who wanted to see her wearing them to sign onto the link she'd sent.

We all agreed that the limited-edition Jimmy Choo/Jean Paul Gaultiers in silver were stunning and looked amazing on her. Donna almost cried for joy when Graeme purchased her the matching pair in black.

At Harrods of Scotland, Luna found a Jenny Packham turquoise-and-silver evening gown that hugged her curves and showed off her cleavage. My jaw almost hit the floor when she came out in the revealing mermaid-esque dress. Donna, as her biggest supporter, clapped and cheered when Luna modeled it, while I wanted to find a shawl and cover her up, but in the end, that dress won and Donna settled on a shimmering black design by Stella McCartney.

With everything ready for tomorrow evening, we could relax. I ordered a private dining room at The Kitchin for the four of us. Donna and Luna giggled and shared stories and experiences, and became loose-tongued the more wine they drank.

Graeme and I exchanged looks several times, mostly when their stories involved reckless behavior, which most of them did. I could only imagine what Donna's night would be like after we were dropped off. Graeme and I were very similar-minded, which had made our employer/employee relationship pretty much seamless over the years, although we'd never been on a double date before. I pondered the reasons why we'd never been social, which brought me to thinking about the rest of my staff. What did I really know about them? Not as much as Luna, who they all seemed taken with.

A few hours later, Graeme dropped us off at home and Luna was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. I was a bundle of nerves and stayed up late in my office going over details. This is where my OCD reared its ugly head. I was very mindful of my issue, but knowing the statistics of what happened to women the world over made me determined to keep Luna safe at the Gala and reiterating the details in a loop was actually soothing.

The next afternoon, Graeme's cousin, Percy arrived in the limousine right on time. Graeme and Donna were already inside, having been picked up first. He looked way more relaxed than yesterday, and I surmised they'd gotten over whatever issue they'd had.

I helped Luna into the vehicle, wishing I could keep her home and safe instead of taking her into danger, but my logical brain agreed that this was an opportunity to rid her of her stalker once and for all.

Luna had checked her account just before we left. Nine of her top ten clients had registered. Alan had already checked out those nine, and all of them were clean. It had to be the tenth account that belonged to Blacktop, but we couldn't do anything until we had proof.

When we arrived, I took Luna's hand, holding it firmly in mine. "No matter what, lass, don't leave my side."

She tried to make light of my words. "Aww, would you miss me?"

I tugged her to a stop, letting Graeme and Donna go ahead of us. "Don't even pretend this is just a gala, and your safety and future aren't at stake. I need you safe, Luna, because yes, I would miss you."

Her eyes softened as she gazed at me. "I would miss you too, Artair."

I claimed her lips, putting all my internal strength and intention to keep her safe behind the kiss. When I pulled back, her eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Come on, Daddy, let's go catch a bad guy."

Despite the seriousness of our situation, I chuckled at her daring. If I got the honor of keeping her, she'd be the death of me, but what a glorious death it would be!