Page 12 of Edinburgh Escape
She ran her finger down the list of names and stopped at his. “Ah, here you are.” She gave him his car and room assignment. “You’re welcome to wait in the lounge until boarding at ten thirty.” The middle-aged brunette waved her hand in the direction Maggie had disappeared.
“Thank you, but I prefer to be out here.”
Her eyebrow rose. “It’ll be over an hour until you can board.”
He nodded. “Thank you.” Rather than argue with her, he walked toward the lounge. Instead of entering, he stopped beside the door and peered through the doorway into the room beyond.
Maggie had taken a seat at a round table with a family of three: mother, father, and their teenage son. Already, she was talking animatedly with them, smiling, her eager excitement to be in a different country hard to resist.
Callum watched for several minutes before leaning his back against the wall and relaxing. She was safe, surrounded by other passengers. After twenty minutes, the train eased into the station, coming to a stop.
Passengers disembarked and hurried toward the exit. The cleaning crew went to work, quickly preparing the cabins for the guests who would be sleeping on the trip to Edinburgh that night. As soon as they were finished, one of their staff reported to the attendant that they were ready to board.
Callum eased back into the shadows and watched as the passengers flocked out of the lounge and went in search of their cars, Maggie among them. He followed at a distance as she walked along the platform until she arrived at their assigned car.
When she turned to step onto the train, she glanced in his direction.
Callum lowered his head and slid into the shadows.
Maggie hesitated a moment, her brow dipping low. Then she gave a slight shake of her head and entered the car.
He watched as she walked past the windows on the narrow corridor and stopped in front of one of the doors. Using her key card, she opened the door to the compartment and shoved her roller bag in first. Once she’d stepped inside and closed the door, Callum made his move.
Quickly boarding the train car, he hurried along the same corridor, stopping at the door before Maggie’s. He waved his key card over the scanner. It didn’t work. He tried again. This time it worked. As he pushed through the door, Maggie’s door creaked open. Callum managed to get inside before Maggie emerged. He left the door cracked just a little. Not enough she could see inside, if she was looking that direction, but enough where he could hear her movements.
Footsteps sounded in the corridor. Heavier. Possibly a man’s.
Callum tensed, ready to spring into action if the man posed a threat to Maggie.
“Oh, good,” Maggie said. “Are you one of the train stewards?” Maggie called out.
“Yes, ma’am,” a deep voice answered. A man dressed in the Caledonia uniform stopped in front of Callum’s door.
“The toilet in my cabin won’t flush,” Maggie said.
“Let me look at it.” The steward moved past Callum’s door.
Maggie eased past the man, coming to stand in front of Callum’s door.
He peered through the narrow slit he’d left open, admiring the pretty American’s coppery hair and trim figure. At least what he could see of it. He wished he’d told her he’d be on the same train. He could have invited her to the dining car for a nightcap and extended their time together. Then he could keep an eye on her out in the open, rather than playing a ridiculous game of hide and seek.
Now, if he chose to let her know he was in the same car, she’d think it too much of a coincidence, even stalkerish.
“It’s all sorted, lass,” the man said.
Maggie left her position in front of Callum’s door. “Wonderful,” she said. “Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure. If you need anything else, you can always find one of us in the dining car throughout the night.”
The steward didn’t walk by Callum’s door this time. Instead, he continued down the corridor to the end of the car.
Callum eased his door open wide enough to catch a glimpse of Maggie going into her compartment.
When the door clicked shut behind her, Callum glanced in both directions and went back into his small room, which had bunks on one side and what passed for a bathroom on the other. A tiny sink attached to the outer wall beneath the only window looked out over the train station platform.
More tired passengers passed by, rolling suitcases or carrying backpacks. As the scheduled departure time neared, the ground crew hurried stragglers along.
Eleven-thirty came and went, but the train remained on the platform. Callum left his door open slightly, monitoring the passageway, alert and ready to respond.
