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"You're clear to go up," Gabriel's voice said into their earpieces.

Sin led her to the foot of the staircase. "You know what to do." He reached out and stroked her cheek. "It will be fine."

Her job was to watch for anyone coming toward them and distract them.

She watched as he ascended the stairs and listened to the man speaking. He began to hand out awards.

"You have a gentleman approaching, Charlie."

She went to a portrait that was nearby and acted as if she were studying it. It was the older gentleman from earlier. "Mr. Gallagher," she said sweetly.

"Broke away, did you?" he asked.

"I thought I would grab the opportunity to look around while it wasn't crowded."

"Ahh." He came over to stand beside her. "A lassie after my own heart."

She clenched her hand into a fist to hide its shaking. Hurry up, Sin, she thought to herself.

* * *

Sin pulled his sgian dubh, small knife, from a strap around his calf. It was calmer up here, the pale blue walls not as opulent and fussy. The print hung in the corner in a simple black frame. He looked around, but no one was there. The anticipation he had felt for most of the day turned to worry. He used to love the thrill of the game but not now. There was no excitement, just concern for Charlie and how she was getting on. He carefully cut the picture away from the back of the frame, the paper old and richly woven. He stored it in a large sealable bag, then he rolled it up and slid it into an inside pocket on his jacket. He pulled out a picture of Oor Wullie, a famous Scottish cartoon character, depicting a wee lad with spikey hair wearing dungarees, who was always causing mischief and placed it in the frame, hanging it back up.

"I'm headed down," he said quietly.

"You're clear."

He left the room and made it to the top of the stairs. Mr. Gallagher was walking away from Charlie. She looked up at him nervously. He headed down and took her hand. A service door opened, and two waiters came out with trays of food. Sin pulled her into an alcove and kissed her, hoping to block their view. Maybe it was the surge of adrenaline, but he didn't stop, pushing past her lips with his tongue until she surrendered to him. His fingers grabbed the back of her head, curling into her hair, and his other hand pinned her arm above her head. A moan escaped her as he continued his assault, desperate and needy. Someone cleared their throat behind them. Sin pulled back, staring into Charlie's shocked yet expectant face.

He gave her a wink before he turned around. "Ms. Parker," he said charmingly. She was holding a glass statue. "It looks like congratulations are in order."

"Uhmph." She stormed off. "Of all places…"

"Let's go."

They made their way to the main hall and went down the staircase leading to the garden level, passing by the shop and restaurant.

"Charlie," a voice called out.

Sin felt her slow down.

"Charlotte," the voice said again, low and questioning. "Wait."

"Don't turn around." He put his arm around her waist. "Keep going."

They continued out onto East Princes Street Gardens, cutting around The Mound. Sin chanced a glance over his shoulder; no one was following them. "Gabriel?" he said into his microphone.

"Carmichael is on it."

The car was up ahead. "Charlotte, who was that?"

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