Chapter 23

Knowing that Jack had run up against the typical stone wall of corruption, I suggested that he share his intel with the Judge and ask him about our guests. We could keep them on board, away from prying eyes, but eventually someone would leak our names and location, and then the same people who hired the killers to run over the sailboat would come and do the same to us.

To protect our boat against becoming a sitting duck for our enemies we pointed the yacht north and headed for Scotland. Fiona and Nan were understandably frightened to remain near where the four of them were very nearly murdered. In the back of my mind I thought that Castle Wellington would be a good place to make a stand if it came down to it.

Garner spoke with our security folks back home, and they arranged to have a helicopter pick us up while the yacht was in international waters. The yacht went back to Nassau and the five of us and Baby Girl headed to my castle.

The trip home was painless, as the helicopter picked us up about forty miles off the coast of Scotland. Once we were inside and all visitors shown their rooms, Fiona and Cecily disappeared into the solarium for a chance to relax and watch the sun set over the fields. Nan and Robin decided to have a nap.

Baby Girl was thrilled to be home. We slipped off for a long walk, reacquainting ourselves with the lands. My little girl found all sorts of animals to play with, while I let her roam and run and have a good time. Eventually we both tired and the boys picked us up in a quad. When we returned to the castle, I headed for my suite to catch a little rest and before I got washed up and settled down, Nan knocked at the door and let herself in.

“I heard you come in. Your home is lovely...” She was unsettled and seemed very nervous. I decided to let her figure out what she wanted to say, instead of helping her get the words out. It took a little time, but she finally found words to communicate her mission.

“My daughter thinks you are ‘awesome.’ I’ve never seen her so taken with a man before. Usually Robin is a bookworm. She hasn’t been on twenty dates in twenty years, and all of the sudden she tells me that she can’t wait to sneak in here and hand you her panties.”

Nan was attractive. She had an open, happy face with a radiant smile when she wasn’t a terrified global industrialist. Her body was just about right for her frame and her breasts looked inviting as could be. She was also about twenty years older than me, which was why she was trying to convince herself that I should be interested in her daughter and not be thought of as a candidate to warm Nan’s bed.

The next few minutes were full of half sentences, unfinished thoughts, and unspoken truths. I got so tired of waiting for her to figure out that it was ok for her to be attracted to me, that I kissed her with lots of gusto. Nan reacted to being kissed by attacking me. It took her about two seconds to decide that she wanted me, and she wanted all of me right then.

Nan spent hours negotiating a truce between her mind and her body. Her body was all in, over the top, and an aggressive participant in good sex. Her mind kept playing tricks on her to lessen the impact of good sex. It was mind over climax – or climax over mind – for hours and hours and hours.

Nan had a middle-aged body that kept up with me while we stretched ourselves to see how high and how hard she could come. Her nipples stood out like erasers on an oversized pencil while I tormented them, while Mr. Johnson sawed in and out. I enjoy sex but it’s not a religious experience for me.

Nan’s conscience seemed to want her to declare us an eternal couple and start making wedding plans. The single woman in her just wanted a nice good screwing. The emotional woman wanted to be protected from their enemies and felt honor bound to reward me for coming through for them. The logical woman in her just wanted to enjoy the moment and figure things out from there.

I wanted to get my ashes hauled.

Baby Girl wanted to find some sheep to herd.

The universe wanted to keep throwing me into other people’s lives to fix things only the universe knew about.

Eventually Nan ran out of stupid things to say, Baby Girl stretched out on her big pillow and I drifted off to sleep. It was the perfect ending for everyone.

Until the people who killed Fiona’s husband came after us.

It was very late when I heard the sound of glass breaking. There was something off about the noise. If a tree limb hit the window, it would make a very distinctive sound. What woke me wasn’t that.

When more glass broke I realized it was gunfire.

I shook Nan awake and bullied her into the strong room off my suite, leaving the door ajar so I could hustle Cecily, Fiona and Robin, along with Baby Girl in with her. Once they were secure and I was dressed and armed, I tore through the house to check on my security people and get a handle on what was going on.

Garner met me as he charged up the main stairs to warn me. Seeing me up, dressed and armed for war made him smile. He spoke softly but with urgency. “Lord Terrance, we have an incursion. Several armed men set off our perimeter alarms. Once the lights all flashed on, they gave up any intention of stealth and began firing into the security shed, killing both men on duty.

“We’ve slowed them down using some of our more sophisticated toys, and it looks like three are out of the game altogether. We seriously outnumber them because all of us from the yacht followed you here to offer additional protection while figured out just what happened to your guests and their boat. Right now, I’d say they are clearly aware that we have them at a strong disadvantage.”