Recklessly Mine (The MacTavish Heirs)

by Arianna Fraser

Her partner ambles over to us. He’d been talking to my neighbors, and as expected, no one heard or saw anything until I screamed. “One question,” he asks, “everyone says ye were screaming for your mum. But ye live alone, aye?” If Detective Christie’s eyes rolled any further back, they’d be lodged in her brain stem. “Here’s your chance to detect, Detective Roy. Do ye see all these women here?” She gestures to my neighbors. Meera set down her soup ladle long enough to put on some shoes and the other women from my building are still standing close. “In a neighborhood like this - no offense, Miss Blair -” “None taken,” I shrug. “A woman screams ‘Mum!’ because every soul possessing a set of ovaries is gonna come charging out of the house, even if their wee one is present and accounted for, even if they dinnae have a bairn. It's a bone-deep instinct,” she lectures him.

She presses something into my hand, leaning close enough to nearly bump noses. “Here, take this. It’s my black obsidian arrowhead for protection and clearing negative energies.”

“It was so fast,” I say, “I’ve never seen either one of them before.” This part is true. “And the person who managed to kill ‘em both within seconds?” Shuddering, I take another gulp of tea. “The guy in front holding my legs got pulled away and before I could even get my feet under me, he’d taken the man who’d been dragging me backwards as well.” “So it was a man?” She leans forward. “I dinnae know, whoever it was never said anything. But I canna imagine a woman doing that much damage in seconds.” I think about it. “Though that would be brilliant, wouldn’t it? With your training, I’m thinking ye could.” She shrugs modestly. “Not that fast, I fear.” The detective is good, I’ll give her that.

“Never a feck-up! Reckless, aye. Unhinged? Certainly. Do ye get the job done in a way that makes Mum and Da’s hair turn grey? Aye. But ye get it done, every time.”