“Monsieur,” Armand said. He turned to face his head of security.
“What did you find out?”
“The Scots are legitimate. Angus is the head of their IT department—and newly married, like he said. Logan handles the creative side of their business. He handles most of their campaigns. His companion is bothersome.”
“Yes?”
“Meghan Campbell.”
The name wasn’t surprising. Not by much. He had felt a shift, something in the atmosphere, just like the last time she had appeared. He had been stupid then. Still, he could not fight the surge of anticipation that sped through his blood. It had always been like this around her. His baser instincts always seemed to take over. It was more of what she was, rather than who she was.
“And they are staying at her apartment?”
“Yes. Do you want me to alert the authorities?”
He shook his head. “No, they are up to something, but I do not want to tip them off.”
Armand nodded. “Is there anything else?”
Pierre shook his head. “No.”
When he was finally alone, he pulled out a cigar and lit it. This was definitely another crinkle in the plot. His mobile buzzed and he sighed. He knew who it was. The same person who called to tell him to buy the sapphire. The one person he owed most of his wealth to.
Instead of answering, for once, he ignored it and enjoyed his cigar.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Logan stepped into the shower and let the scalding hot water be his penance. He wanted more than anything to take back his actions earlier. Well, not all of them. Making love to Meg was getting to be as important to him as well…breathing.
But he shouldn’t have taken her so roughly. He had always been able to express his feelings through words or art. Now, though, he was overwhelmed by emotions. He couldn’t even come up with words to describe what was going on inside his head.
As he soaped up, he had to admit he was becoming somewhat obsessed with her. He had a job to do, but he was more interested in making love to Meg than actually doing the job. He had laid in bed for several minutes, watching her sleep, thinking how his life had changed in just a few days. For a man who had lived for two hundred plus years, Logan wasn’t easily surprised.
Meg had thrown him for a loop.
The door to the shower opened. He turned to find Meg standing there, completely naked. Surprising him once again.
“Sneaking off in the middle of the night, McLennan? Not very nice of you.”
“I didn’t want to wake you up.”
It was the truth. It had taken all his control to force him out of bed and away from her. He had wanted to do nothing more than to wake her up and make love again.
“Hmm,” she said, stepping into the shower. “Are you going to tell me what was going on earlier?”
She shifted her hair, and he saw bruises on her arms. He realized that he had left marks on her.
He lifted his hand and smoothed his finger over the delicate flesh. “I’m sorry.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “No worries.”
“I shouldn’t have taken you like that.”
“I’m not fragile, Logan. Far from it.”
“But you are.”
She frowned at him. “Hey, dammit, now you are making me mad,”
“You’re mad that I’m upset for hurting you?”
“It was glorious. And I give as good as I get. I’m pretty sure you have marks on you. I don’t want you to think that I am some kind of fragile little girl who wants to be taken care of.”
Anger surged again. It was nonsensical and stupid, but he couldn’ seem to fight it. “Why not?”
“Why don’t I want to be taken care of? Because I am a woman and not an invalid.” He wanted to argue with that, but true to her nature, she surprised him. “Here,” she said handing him a wash cloth. “Do my back.”
He stood there for a second, then he did as she ordered.
“Are you going to tell me what you were talking about earlier?
“What?”
“When you said something about us.”
“Oh,” he said, as he moved the cloth over her shoulders.
He had been sitting in the kitchen and she had referred to herself as part of the Clan. “You said us. When we were talking about the jewel and mission…you said us.”
“So?”
“You put yourself with us. You’ve always talked about it as if you were outside of the group, although you are part of us, just like Maggie and Phoebe.”
She seemed to freeze. “Like them, huh?”
There was no emotion in her voice, her tone as still as her body. He sensed something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “Yes. You’re one of us.”
Was he pushing too hard? He wanted to tell her everything he was feeling, but this definitely wasn’t the time or the place. They had a lot in front of them, and he needed to make sure she wasn’t distracted.
“And we are not a bad group to be part of, if you ask me.”
“Is that a fact?”
“Yes,” he said, turning her around to face him. With her hair slicked back and no makeup on she looked…just as he had always seen her. Or how he now saw her now that he could see beneath the surface. Innocent, stripped of the artifice she used to shield herself from the world.
And his. She might not realize it at this point, but she was his. She would just realize it at some point.
“I bet you have no idea all the interesting things I can do with soap.”
Her lips curved and her eyes twinkled. Bloody hell, he loved her.
As he grabbed the wet, giggling woman, he promised himself to make sure she knew it when they returned to Scotland.
* * * *
Anice returned to the table holding two pints and slammed them down. She eyed her companion for the night and said, “Bloody hell, we should have never come out on a Friday night.”
Rena took the mug and sipped at it. “Then why are we here?”
“I needed out of the house. You followed me here.”
“I left for the same reason you did. Callum and Phoebe needed some alone time. Little Jack is spending man time with Fletcher—whatever that is. But there is something else bothering you.”
Bugger. The half-fae was too perceptive. “I feel out of sorts.”
“That is understandable.”
“It is?”
“You need sexual release.”
Anice choked on her drink.
“Why are you talking about sex?”
“Maybe because you avoid the subject. Humans.” Rena said the word with such disdain that Anice smiled.
“What about humans?”
“You are preoccupied with sex, but you are so puritanical when people want to talk about it. Well, except for your brother. He talks about it a lot.”
“Yes, he does.”
“That man is watching you,” Rena said.
“What man?” Anice asked, looking around. It only took a second to spot Gavin McWalton.
“He wants you.”
The breath seemed to back up into her lungs, and she felt her entire heat up as if it were on fire. “Oh, I don’t need this right now.”
“Him or me.”
She turned around and glared at Rena. “Both.”
“Good evening, Anice,” he said.
“I’ve told you not to use my first name.”
“My apologies.” He looked at Rena. “Gavin McWalton.”
Rena continued to study him. “Yes, Anice told me. I believe you should go away.”
“Okay,” he said. He then turned his attention to Anice. “I’ll see you around, Ms. Lennon.”
As he walked away, she watched him. He wasn’t at all like the other lairds that had ruled the McWalton Clan. In fact, he seemed almost normal…which made him suspicious.
“Stop all the thoughts,” Rena said.
“What?”
“I told Meg we were going to have to w
ork with all of you, but you especially.”
She studied the fae for a second or two, then said, “You heard what I was thinking?”
Rena nodded. “You are very shouty with your thoughts.”
Glancing back at Gavin, who had returned to his corner, she asked, “So, what about him?”
When Rena didn’t respond right away, Anice turned to face her. For the first time, Rena looked worried.
“What?”
“I am not sure. I could not read him. It does not mean anything. Humans can hide their thoughts, and it would make sense that he would. They have dealt with witches before. ”
“Nothing?”
Rena shook her head. “Except for his thoughts about you. You should really pay more attention to the man. He wants to do all sorts of things to you.”
Anice’s face flamed. “Yes. The McWalton Lairds always seem to have it out for me.”
Rena looked like she wanted to talk more about it, but Anice moved onto other subjects and tried to ignore the hulking presence of Gavin McWalton.
* * * *
Gavin sensed the shift in the house when he entered it. It was no longer the pleasing flat he had found for himself and a handful of servants. There was something cold and angry there.
“I see that you have finally returned, boy.”
He looked at the man who had controlled him for most of his life and felt the same insane cold dread shifting through his blood. There was nothing even remotely human about the man anymore—if there had ever been.
“What are you doing here, sir?” Gavin asked, trying his best not to let the bastard know how much he despised him.
“You are not moving fast enough. You need to strike the McLennans and hard. Especially now that they have those witches with them.”
“Patience, sir. I promise you will be rewarded.”
“Why can they no’ be destroyed now? Now, I want it now!”
He sounded like a three-year-old prat. If the man could do it himself, he would, but, Gavin thought, looking at the wheelchair and his sunken eyes, breathing was too much for him almost. That’s what dark Magick did for you. It made you powerful, but little by little, it stole your soul, leaving nothing behind but a rotted core.
“Stopping them now will not be as rewarding, I promise you. Let them form attachments, it will be that more painful in the end.”
The older man studied him for a second or two, then nodded. “I will leave you now. I will be back, though.”
As his caregiver wheeled the old bastard out of his flat, Gavin left the hall and went to his library. He watched as they helped the man into his Rolls and then drove away.
He thought when he got into this he knew what he was doing it for…now he wasn’t sure.
He headed over to the whiskey and poured himself two fingers. Years of planning were in place. They had always known from the start that the Clan would find their way to the diary. For decades, the McWaltons had been ready.
Gavin had been told early in life what his role would be. He had accepted it, understood it, but now…
He should be focused on destroying the McLennans. Instead, he was thinking about the way Anice looked when she smiled.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Logan left Meg sleeping in bed and made his way downstairs in search of some coffee. He’d been a coffee lover since his first trip to Italy years earlier. A very sexy patron had introduced him to cappuccino. He had been a fan ever since.
He stepped into the kitchen and found Maggie there, sitting at the table. Silverware danced in the air around her, as she moved her hands back and forth. She was faced away from him, so she didn’t see him. Logan watched the parade of silver and smiled. The witches didn’t practice their Magick in front of them that much. He assumed it was because they worried that it would upset them in some way.
As he continued to watch, he had to admire her concentration. One knife was parallel to the ground and spun like a top.
He must have shifted his weight, because the floor beneath him creaked and all the silverware dropped to the table with a clatter.
She turned around and gave him a dirty look. “Really, Logan, quit lurking.”
“Ooch, I’m sorry.” He shook his head trying to clear it. His ears were still ringing. “That was bloody loud.”
Maggie gave him a look he’d seen her give Jack a time or two.
“Serves you right.” She smiled. “I made coffee.”
He smelled it then, the rich, deep scent of roasted beans. “Thank God.”
He grabbed a mug and went to pour himself some coffee.
“I was doing so well before you showed up,” she said pouting.
He’d dealt with Anice for long enough to know that it was better to ignore the pout. “Where is my brother?”
“He ran out to pick up some fresh bread. I’m going to weigh another stone before we get back to Scotland, but I will not regret it. How can I? Fresh French bread in the morning…you have to be insane not to love it.”
He smiled. “You barely weight more than a feather, Maggie.”
And that was the truth. His sister-in-law was a tiny woman, even after having a son. Her slight stature was deceptive though. He didn’t know many women as tough as his new sister-in-law.
“Thank you.” She narrowed her green eyes as she looked at him. “Why are you even out of bed?”
He loved her. She was straight forward and sometimes a little blunt. And perfect for his brother. Logan smiled, not even trying to hide his happiness. “Meg’s sleeping.”
“Ah.”
He watched as she drank her coffee. He wanted to know more about Meg, but he wanted to be careful not to cross any lines. He hesitated for a second and the crafty witch picked up on it.
“What?”
“I’d like to ask you a few questions about her past but only what you are comfortable with answering. “
She held out her cup and he filled it to the brim. “Okay.”
“Meg seemed to get really upset when I yelled at her last night.”
She smiled. “Women tend to do that.”
He rolled his eyes. “No. She seemed genuinely…” He searched for a word and the one he found made him uncomfortable. “She seemed frightened.”
Maggie took a sip of her coffee and studied him. “You were shouting?”
“Yes. Well, we always shout.”
She smiled, then it faded. “Meg’s told you a little bit about her childhood, I assume.”
He nodded.
“I loved her father. He was a force of nature, that one. But there was always a dark side there. One that seemed to be enhanced with the number of pints he tossed back.”
“Was he Magickal?”
Maggie shook her head. “Not really. He had some abilities, but they were so watered down. Her father’s side of the family didn’t exercise their powers for anything but con jobs. Her mother was the real talent in the relationship, from what her father said.”
“So, he used her powers to con people. And Meg’s,” Logan said with disgust.
“Oh, don’t go all high and mighty on me now, Logan McLennan,” Maggie said with a little heat in her voice. “I did the same. Sometimes, you have to work with what you have. And, I know that they never really conned good hard working folks. Her father was particular about who they worked the con on. Very particular. He researched their marks.”
He filed that bit of information away for another day. He had a theory about how Meg had met up with Morin all those years ago, but he wanted to know more about that haunted look he had seen in her eyes the night before.
“So, back to that dark side.”
Maggie made a face. “Her father was a drinker. And when he drank too much, he got a little too free with his slaps.”
Logan had always been slow to anger, but apparently not where Meg was concerned. It rolled through his blood, burned a hole in his gut.
“Now, don’t look like that.” Maggie shook her head. “Bollocks, I shouldn�
��t have told you.”
“No. It’s important.”
“Meg never really told me. I just know that there were times we would see each other and she would have a bruise here and there. I didn’t ask because she didn’t say anything.”
“And why didn’t you ask? What kind of friend are you?”
“The kind who was getting knocked around just as much or more than she was. We didn’t have an easy life, Logan. I know that most of you have no idea what this is like, or maybe you don’t remember when you were on the run, but all of us, Meghan, Serena, and I, all had no real family. We were on our own much earlier than we should have been. The one thing that Meg had going for her was that she had her father until he died.”
“She was lucky to have an abusive bastard as a father?”
Maggie shook her head. “Oh, you five are so hard headed. You might have been on the run very early in your life, Logan, but you all had each other. We have never known what it is like to be without a support system. You have been together for all this time, but when push came to shove, the only person Meg had was her father. He might have been a drunkard, but he also loved her unconditionally. You don’ know how rare that is until you live a life without it.”
He couldn’t fathom life without his brother and his cousins. They had lived through dark times. Losing their family, their Clan, but they always had each other. Even in those first days as Callum fought to live on that horrible seaside voyage to the Continent they had all leaned on each other.
“And so, when we all shout at each other, Meg is okay with it. But since you were directing your irritation at her, she was nervous.”
“I’d never raise a hand to her.”
“Meg doesn’t think you will either, but years of conditioning makes it hard on her.”
She rose and rinsed out her cup, as Logan slowly digested everything he had heard.
“She really cares for you, Logan. Please, don’t let her down. So many men have in the past.”
Logan Page 10
