“Your point?”

I ignored his harsh tone. “Is Eredine a deliberate target because of your relationship with her?”

“For fuck’s sake,” he gritted out. “A man holds a woman’s hand to comfort her and suddenly they’re in a relationship?”

“No need to get defensive.”

“We’re not in a relationship. Eredine is a longtime friend of the family and a valued member of our staff.”

Eredine nodded in agreement. Such sadness in her eyes.

“Okay. Then I guess we can assume the stalker is just making the rounds. And, Eredine, you didn’t see anyone leaving the studio before you got there?”

“No one. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

“Thank God she didn’t see anyone,” Lucy spoke up. “Can you imagine what might have happened if she’d turned up while that person was there? Look at what happened to Mac.”

Eredine inhaled sharply.

“Lucy,” Adair admonished.

The actor winced. “I’m sorry. I just meant it was a good thing Ery didn’t see anything.”

I studied the way Eredine seemed to fold in on herself, frowning angrily at the coffee table.

Call it a cop’s instinct, or a woman’s instinct, but she was definitely afraid of something. Possibly frustrated by that fear too. Maybe I was projecting.

Whenever I was afraid, it pissed me off, and I’d find a way to arm myself.

When I was fifteen, I’d gone on a fifth date with a junior I’d been crushing on forever. That night in his car, he’d pushed me to go to third base. When I’d said no, he’d fought me and touched me without my permission. I was furious, humiliated, violated … and scared.

But instead of letting the little shit win, I told my stepdad what happened. Seth dealt with the boy’s parents, but he also enrolled me in a mixed martial arts class. Because his parents came down hard on him, that boy and his friends taunted me for months. Then one day, near the end of the school year, he came at me in the parking lot.

I took him down with what I’d learned, and he was so humiliated, I never heard a peep out of him again.

It empowered me.

And it had given me more confidence as a female cop to know I could handle myself against stronger perpetrators.

It wasn’t the answer for every woman.

But it could be.

“Eredine.” My softer tone drew her eyes back to mine. “I know when something like this happens, we feel violated. It’s not just our space that’s violated, it feels like we have been.” Her eyes narrowed, and I could feel her drawing away so I hurried on. “I do mixed martial arts. I started training when I was fifteen after some shithead got the better of me.” Her expression relaxed into understanding. “I’m going to be here awhile, visiting my dad, figuring all of this out. I could teach you self-defense.”

Her surprise was obvious.

Adair butted in, “Teach her?”

I didn’t look at him. This wasn’t about him. “Teach you some self-defense moves that actually work in real-life situations. I know it made me feel better prepared going out on the streets of Boston every day. It’s not just about self-defense. It’s about the confidence it gives you. I took back my power when I started training.”

Interest lit her eyes but was just as quickly shut out by mistrust. “Thank you, but I’m okay.”

I kept my expression neutral, my tone relaxed. “Well, you know we could train in your studio between your classes. It’ll be fun.”

She scowled ferociously.

I was losing her.

“Eredine …” I leaned forward. “Let me help you take that space back. We’ll make it yours again in no time.”

There was that flicker of fire in her eyes again. Her chin jutted stubbornly—she reminded me of me. “The studio is my space. I don’t need to take it back.”

“You heard her.” Adair’s tone had a slight bite to it. It was then I recognized his expression. He looked at Eredine much the same way he did Arrochar. Like a sister. My curiosity pricked. How had they come into each other’s lives?

“If Eredine won’t train with you, I certainly will,” Lucy said.

All three of us looked at her in surprise. “You want to learn MMA?”

“Sure. I’m taking a year out from working after an exhaustive eight years of nonstop filming, and Ardnoch is my favorite place.” She smiled sweetly. “I’m going to be here, so why not? It might come in handy for future roles. I could play a badass with authenticity. And what’s more authentic than a real-life badass female cop teaching me how to defend myself?”

Something told me Lucy only offered to train with me in an effort to convince Eredine too.

In that moment, I decided I liked Lucy Wainwright. A lot. And not just because she’d called me a badass. Though I loved the sound of it.

“Maybe Ery would be kind enough to let us use the studio when her classes are out?”