He shrugged with a smile. “We’ve still got a few hours of daylight, if you feel like a bit of a hike.”
“Give me a sec, and I’ll get changed.” With a huge smile and a jolt of adrenaline pounding through her veins, she trotted off to the room she was staying in.
And swallowed her scream.
Chapter Eight
Cat’s stifled cry had Iain running up the stairs, taking them two and three at a time. He caught her just as she burst out of her room, quickly taking her in to make sure she wasn’t hurt. “What’s happened? Are ye all right?”
She nodded, but had yet to speak. When she finally did, it was through a jaw clenched tight with anger. “He was here. James.”
He stepped past her and into the guest room, immediately taking in the scene. A dead dove lay in the middle of her bed, staining the covers with its blood, the curtains billowing in front of an open window.
“I’m sorry I didn’t check your room. I hadn’t wanted to invade your privacy. And you think this is also James?”
Cat nodded. “He used to call me his little dove. It could be a coincidence, but since we already think he broke in, I doubt the bird’s an accident.”
“Aye, I agree. I’m starting to think he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. Breaking into my home and threatening my guest? I’ll not stand for it.” He’d be damned if he was going to let it happen again. “He’ll not get away with this, Cat.”
“Damn right. If he thinks this is going to scare me off, then he’s in for a rude awakening. Are you still up for that hike?”
He loved her determination, but worried these disturbances were affecting her more than she was letting on. Still, the sooner they found the necklace, the better. “You can move into the room across the hall. If ye want to grab yer things, I’ll clean this up.”
Her hand was gentle as she brushed his arm, her gaze finding his. “Thank you.”
She left his side to gather her things, but he could still feel her touch lingering on his skin. What the hell was he doing? He cursed himself for growing attached to her. Their ruse had done more than get the village talking—it’d shown him just what it would be like to have her at his side. And damn, but he wanted her.
Under normal circumstances, he’d keep it casual—not that he’d have given her a second look before all this began. That wasn’t to say that the girl wasn’t gorgeous, because she was. But the parade of models he’d been dating were more his style. And yet… he’d never been so annoyed, so interested—and he sure as hell couldn’t remember ever being so turned on.
Well, if nothing else, they’d help each other find the jewels, and keep each other entertained in the process. She was nothing more than a fleeting interest fueled by the mystery and excitement of a treasure hunt.
He grabbed the covers and sheets off the bed, the bird bundled within, and took them out to the trash, after a passing thought that he should call the police. There’d be little chance of them doing anything more than filing a report, so he quickly dismissed it. The last thing he needed was his name in the tabloids, and he knew if they caught wind of it, they’d somehow manage to spin it into a maelstrom of a story and bring them attention they could do without if they were looking for the jewels. Not to mention they’d latch onto Cat as his latest fling. He could only imagine her reaction to that.
By the time he got on his hiking boots and grabbed his jacket, Cat was coming down the stairs in a warm sweater and jeans that hugged every curve on a body one wouldn’t normally expect on a historian. “Ready?”
She grabbed her jacket from the coat rack and put it on, flicking her hair free from under her collar. She’d been wearing it down since he kept yanking out her hair clip every chance he got, under the guise that she shouldn’t look like she was working if they were pretending she was on a romantic getaway. Truth was he hated to see her trying to tame her locks, when those curls clearly wanted to bounce free.
“Ready.” She gave him a smile, but it seemed forced.
“Are you sure you’re doing all right? We can leave it for tomorrow, if you’re not up for it. It is rather late for a hike.” He was worried about her. The implied threat of the dead bird would be enough to have most abandoning the project and bolting from town. Yet here she stood ready to soldier on, as if she hadn’t a care in the world.
“You worry too much, Iain MacCraigh. Now, come on. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let James find the necklace first.”
The rain settled into a fine mist. Being born and bred a highlander, the weather didn’t tend to bother him much, yet he wasn’t alone on their adventure, and suspected Cat would be frozen to the bone by the time they made it back.