Page 76 of Edinburgh Escape
Callum’s breath caught. “Were you hit?”
“No,” Maggie said.
Fearghas, Jack and Ewan arrived. They tried opening the door with all of them pulling hard with their hands. It didn’t budge. A minute later, Ace showed up with a tire iron in his hand.
Callum wedged it in between the doors and pulled hard, leaning all of his weight into the metal bar. The door burst open, and Maggie fell into Callum’s arms.
He dropped the tire iron to the ground and gathered Maggie close to him. Ewan swept Bryce up in his arms and held him close as the boy buried his face against his brother’s chest. “I was scared, but I tried to be brave,” he said with a catch in his voice.
Maggie leaned over and touched Bryce’s arm. “You were very brave. You broke my zip tie. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“We were brave together,” Bryce reached for her hand, “because we’re family.”
As he stared at the three redheads holding each other, Callum’s heart swelled. “Like family,” he whispered, a family he’d love to be a part of. Though Douglas Drummond had been a bloody bastard, his children had turned out all right despite him.
“What about Rory?” Ewan asked. “Did you see my cousin in there?”
Callum placed a hand on Ewan’s shoulder. “I’m pretty sure he was the guy who opened the overhead door.” He shook his head. “He didn’t make it.”
“I’m sure we’ll get the call later this evening.” Ewan hugged Bryce closer. “As angry as I was that he put our family in danger, I didn’t wish for him to die that way.”
“He got us out of the warehouse,” Callum said. In his eyes, the man had redeemed himself at a heavy cost—his life.
“As well-meaning as the rescue effort was,” Ace said, “I’m not sure the Scottish police will look the other way at the weapons we brought into the country.”
Behind them, the truck that had brought the Donchenko Bratva to the warehouse spun in the middle of the road and took off in the opposite direction. No one else emerged from the building.
Callum looped his arm around Maggie’s waist and hurried her to where they’d parked the cars. They tossed the weapons into the trunks, climbed in and took off down a back alley, not emerging onto the main road until they were well past the incoming police cars.
Maggie sat in the front seat, holding Callum’s hand all the way back to Drummond estate.
When they arrived at the manor, Bryce was reunited with Fiona, who cried as she held her little boy.
They gathered in the kitchen where Cook had prepared food for all of them. After Fiona took Bryce up to his bed, the others stayed up late, talking about the mission until the adrenaline waned and they wandered up to the bedrooms Mrs. Jones had prepared for the additional guests.
Callum walked Maggie to the door of the bedroom they shared.
“You’re staying,” Maggie said.
He pulled her close and kissed her gently. “I thought I’d lost you, and it nearly broke me.”
“I thought I’d never see you again. Bryce and I were working on finding our way out when the bullets started flying. I didn’t think you’d find us in time. All I could think about was that I wanted to be with you.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “But I can’t. I don’t trust myself.”
“We can make love and then sleep in different beds. You’ll be close, but far enough away you won’t hurt me.”
“I can’t ask you to live like that.”
“You don’t have to ask me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m telling you it’s what I want.”
“You deserve a better life. A better man. One who doesn’t try to kill you in his sleep.”
“Do I get a say in this?” she asked.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “No.” Callum knew what he had to do. He had to walk away, though every fiber of his being wanted to stay. “I’ll sleep on one of those fancy sofas in the sitting room downstairs. I’m leaving with Ace and his crew tomorrow.”
Maggie’s eyes widened. “That’s it? You’re going to leave?”
