When I pulled back, I couldn’t help but murmur, “Your hair smells amazing.”
London let out a wee laugh of surprise as I released her from my hold. “My one little luxury. It’s this expensive shampoo and conditioner that stops my hair from frizzing. Natural redhead.” She shrugged almost shyly.
“I like it,” I offered gruffly, looking at my pint so she didn’t recognize the desire thrumming through every inch of me.
“Well, I’ll leave you all be.” Aodhan gestured to the bar. “Remember to order more drinks.”
We chuckled as the older man wandered off with Shakespeare to a table in the corner where some of the older members of the island community sat together.
“Do you think that will be us in thirty years’ time?” Cammie asked.
“I hope so.” Tierney leaned into Ramsay. “I don’t want to be anywhere else but here.”
I glanced at London, wondering if she’d feel the same way in ten years’ time.
“Hey, did anyone else catch the news tonight?” Cammie inquired.
We all shook our heads.
She grimaced. “Britain has a new serial killer.”
Taran leaned in. “Where?”
“That’s the thing. They think this person has been active for four years, but they’ve been committing murders all over the country, so it’s taken them awhile to piece it together. They think the first one was committed just outside Aberdeen.”
A somber mood fell over us at the disquieting news.
Cammie grimaced. “The police in Newcastle finally put together that all of these murders have the same MO.”
Forde pulled out his phone and typed into it with speedy thumbs. “Shit, Cam’s right.”
“Did you think I was lying?”
Ignoring her, Forde read out the article. Five women had been murdered over the course of the last four years. Two of them in this year alone, and it wasn’t even summer yet, so the police were worried the situation was escalating. The women ranged between the ages of eighteen and forty years old and the police said they were of a similar coloring and build. Forde read out the few details that had been published regarding their violent deaths, and I shuddered to think of the sick mind that could commit such atrocities.
“Chilling.” Tierney was wide-eyed. “I think of serial killers being a domain of the US, not the UK.”
“We’ve had our share,” Ramsay muttered. “But they’re rare. Though … we did have one a few years back. A copycat killer. He copied a serial killer from a TV show. Even targeted the screenwriter’s girlfriend.”
“I remember that.” Cammie gaped. “That wasn’t that long ago. What the bloody hell is happening to the world?”
Silence fell over the table until finally Forde spoke. “Well, this is a fucking depressing conversation.”
“Does everything have to be all sunshine and roses?” Cammie crossed her arms over her chest, tone defensive.
I’d noted a cooling in their friendship over the past year, and it didn’t seem to be getting any warmer. Though I was curious what had caused the rift, it was none of my business, and I had a lot of my own business to concern myself with.
“Apparently not when you’re around.” Forde flashed her a feral grin.
“One of these days, someone is going to ram one of your drumsticks where the sun doesn’t shine,” Cammie snapped.
“One can only hope.”
I covered a snort of laughter with my fist, pretending to cough, and I heard London’s breathy hitch at my side. A quick glance revealed the corners of her mouth twitching desperately against a laugh.
Cammie narrowed her eyes. “Ass play? Really?”
I coughed even harder as Quinn let out an expletive and squeezed his eyes shut, clearly in pain at the sound of those words leaving his wee sister’s mouth.