A Highlander for Christmas Read Free

course.”
    “Of course.”
    “But as we both know, this will mean multiple security clearances. To succeed, every aspect of the project will have to be high profile, and the art world can be damnably cutthroat. The scrutiny will be fierce, and once Maggie Kincade’s connection to her father comes out—” Nicholas made a tight sound of anger. “But she’s the best designer alive. We want her .”
    Jared could well imagine the result. Security was security, and there was no way Nicholas could hide the truth from the people who made a business of protecting England’s public buildings and the safety of the royal family “What do you want of me?”
    “Check the designer out. I’m certain that she had nothing to do with what happened, but if there’s any hint of criminal involvement, or if she has knowledge about those missing gems…” He bit back an oath. “In that case, I want to know now, before things go any further.”
    “And if I find nothing?”
    Nicholas picked up a vellum envelope from the desk beside him. “Then I want you to give her this. It’s an invitation to present her designs here as the highlight of our first exhibition.”
    “And you trust me to make the decision about her innocence?”
    “Without question.” Nicholas held out a folder. “Here’s a photograph and her address. I’ve also put in a background profile and your air ticket to New York.”
    “Presumptuous, aren’t you?” Jared glared into the fire. “What makes you so sure that I’ll go?”
    “Because you always pay what you consider to be your debts. You’re insufferable when it comes to that streak of honor. I won’t deny that this exhibition is important to Kacey and me, but you’re entirely free to accept or decline as you choose. Of course, this will make all the difference to Maggie Kincade’s career.”
    “I’m not interested, Nicholas.” Jared rose to his feet. “I can’t afford to be.”
    “Why?”
    Jared shoved his hands into his pockets, frowning. “I have my reasons.”
    “I’d like to hear them.”
    “Damn it, leave it alone.” The words were harsh with suppressed violence.
    “I would if I were anyone else. Or if you were anyone else. But as you know, it’s a Draycott trait to be stubborn as sin itself, and I know you too well to be turned away by a little Scottish hostility.”
    Jared rubbed his wrists, remembering bamboo handcuffs and wet ropes. He drew an angry breath “I’m not the same, Nicholas. Thailand changed me.”
    “Changed you how?”
    He wouldn’t leave it alone. Jared hadn’t really expected that he would. Yet how did you begin to explain things from a nightmare, things that most people considered to be part of the twilight realm of science fiction?
    Jared rubbed his wrists, choosing his words carefully. “It happened after one of the beatings. They cut a vein, and I bled for quite some time. No one came. It was night and I remember being cold—and then I remember being nothing at all.”
    Jared felt a glass pressed against his fingers. Frowning, he downed an inch of superb whisky. It might help him to complete the story he was about to tell.
    ‘‘ Go on.”
    “I died that night, Nicholas. No pulse, no heartbeat. I bled to death on that cement floor and no one knew.”
    Dimly he heard the clink of glass and realized that Nicholas was downing his own drink. Perfectly understandable, since it wasn’t a particularly pleasant story to hear.
    “God rot their callous souls.” Nicholas touched his shoulder for a moment, and Jared managed—just barely—not to flinch at the contact.
    Even in that brief moment of touch he sensed the weight of his friend’s worry, which Nicholas had tried damnably hard to hide for weeks.
    Jared closed his eyes, fighting the weight of contact and the rush of bleak images. “You needn’t worry about me so much.”
    “I don’t—”
    “Yes, you do. You’re afraid I’ll do something drastic, but you don’t need to be.”
    Nicholas