Angus

by Melissa Schroeder

  Ice closed over her heart, encased her spine. She had to fight the normal reaction. Shivering in fear because her brother-in-law’s name had been spoken.

  “You did?”

  “Yes, he said that you killed Ian without a reason and disappeared with the money.”

  “Yes, and I was living high on the hog in New York when you found me.” He didn’t say anything to that, but she saw a sliver of doubt in his expression. Just a sliver, though. “No, I didn’t disappear with the money. Did he happen to tell you the little side business that Ian and Dylan ran?”

  He shook his head but said nothing.

  “See, they weren’t always happy with the jewel heists. The art, the priceless vases…they couldn’t get those without me. Dylan didn’t like that. And, he didn’t like having to deal with fencing the trinkets I acquired. So, they started blackmailing people. Lots of people.”

  “Rich people.”

  “Oh, he would have a field day with your family, that’s for sure, but there is no way for him to prove those secrets you all keep.”

  She let her gaze touch each member of the family. The varying expressions were amusing.

  “He said nothing about that.”

  “Of course he didn’t.” She gave Angus the coldest smile she had, the one she used when something was tearing her apart. “And did he tell you of the plans they had when we were done with the Sweeney heist? Of course he didn’t.”

  The day her life had changed forever came back to her mind. The happiness of the day that had dissolved into a puddle of pain.

  “I came home early, the day before the heist, and heard them discussing my murder.”

  Phoebe’s quick intake of breath was the only sound in the room.

  “Are you saying that your husband was going to murder you?” Fletcher asked.

  She met his gaze. “Yes. They were quite proud of themselves. They hadn’t expected me to come home early but I had news, the most glorious news…but it was ruined when I opened the front door and overheard them. So, yes, I killed my husband. His brother is lucky he wasn’t there that night or I would have killed that bleeding bastard also.”

  “And just like that, you decided to kill your husband?” Angus asked.

  When she looked at him, her vision wavered and she realized she was crying. Dammit, she hated showing weakness in front of anyone.

  “Yes, just like that. If I had not been pregnant at the time, I would have gone in with him and killed us both.”

  “Why would you have done such a stupid thing?”

  “Because she knew what would happen,” Phoebe said. “You knew the spell you were doing would take your powers. So you were willing to sacrifice them for revenge.”

  Of course, she was the one who understood, knew just what it would have been for Maggie to live without those powers.

  “Yes.”

  “But you didn’t because you were pregnant.”

  She nodded. “So, without much time, I came up with a plan, and then I killed him. That is the person you brought into your home, but now you have no choice. You need me and I need the money you offered. That and the new identity for me and Jack. Just remember, I have killed when I felt threatened and I will do it again.”

  She knew that the Clan was indestructible, but Phoebe was not. They might not know she knew of their curse, but there was one person who could be hurt if she blew it.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Nobody said anything after Maggie left them alone. Angus still couldn’t process everything he had learned, not with the women he knew now. The cold, heartless woman O’Conner had spoken of.

  “Well, bloody fucking hell, Angus, what the hell have you done?” Fletcher asked.

  “What have I done?”

  “You brought a murderer into the house. Worse, you’ve shagged the bitch.”

  It was too much for him to take. The anger he had been feeling surged back to the surface as he lunged for his cousin. He got in a good punch to Fletcher’s jaw before his cousin had a chance to recover. They tumbled to the ground where Fletcher landed a good punch to Angus’ gut.

  “Stop that right now. Stop it this instant!” Phoebe yelled at them, smacking them both on the head. “I will not have you roughhousing in this house.”

  They ignored her, rolling around on the floor. Things crashed to the floor, breaking on impact.

  He felt large hands grip his shoulders and he was pulled back with a jerk.

  “Easy there, brother,” Logan said.

  Callum had a hold of Fletcher, who was bleeding from the lip. His head was pounding, his muscles aching, and he wanted a good shot of whisky. Hell, he was seeing double.

  “Fighting isn’t going to solve anything,” Phoebe said.

  “I don’t know, Phoebe, I think it would be okay to watch the idiots beat the hell out of each other,” Anice said. She was still sitting on Callum’s desk.

  “Thanks a lot,” Fletcher said. “Nothing like sisterly love.”

  Angus shook himself out of Logan’s hold.

  “And I want to remind you, Fletcher, Angus isn’t the one who found her. I was,” Phoebe reminded him.

  “But he brought her to the house.”

  “I’m sorry but can someone tell me what she did that was so wrong?” Anice asked in that calm voice of hers. It was damned scary when she talked like that.

  “She killed a man,” Fletch said as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

  “A man who planned on killing her and their unborn child. So, I am okay with that. And, let’s be honest, we need that emerald. We need her. Angus is the one at fault here. You should have never slept with her.”

  “I have to agree with her on that one,” Callum said.

  “You? Really? Every one of us said to stay away from Phoebe, but you didn’t.” He glanced at Phoebe. “Sorry.”

  “No, really, you were probably right,” she said smiling. “And, yes, Callum, you have no room to speak.”

  “We just have to find out what Dylan knows, how much he has invested in her losing her quest.”

  “She killed his brother. I’m fairly sure he wants her dead.”

  “That is an emotion I can understand.”

  He laughed.

  “We still need to find that out,” Callum said. “We also need to know who he is working with. O’Conner wasn’t always rich, but he seems to have a lot of disposable income these days. Fletcher, find out just where he is getting it.”

  “Maybe he made it. He is Magick.”

  “I’m not so sure of that,” Phoebe said.

  “What, love?”

  “It just seems to me that Ian might have been the one with the powers. If so, why didn’t Dylan find her? It would be easy enough if he was connected to their circles.”

  “Aren’t they all born that way?”

  “No. Not always. And nothing is said that they are blood brothers or had the same set of parents. Maybe a different mother or father…” she shrugged. “But one thing you have to remember is that she didn’t know if he would kill her even if he knew he was going to be a father. And she had been willing to lose herself to right a wrong.”

  He needed to be out of there, away from all of them. Quiet, solitude…some place to think. He started to leave but Logan stopped him.

  “Are you okay?”

  He nodded. “Just need to clean up.”

  He was half way down the hall before Phoebe stopped him. “Angus.”

  He stopped and turned to face her.

  “What?”

  She gave him an understanding smile. “You really shouldn’t be too hard on Maggie.”

  He blinked trying to comprehend what she was saying to him. “What?”

  “She retaliated the only way she knew how.”

  “How about go to the authorities?”

  “Oh, that would have worked out,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. She shook her head. “Just give her the benefit of the doubt. She was alone and pregnant. I cannot even fatho
m how that felt. Worse, the one person she thought she could trust was planning on killing her.”

  “She still killed a man.”

  “Good God, you Scots are hard headed.” She sighed. “She willingly used a spell that would doom her to live without her Magick.”

  “That’s a bad thing?”

  “It would be like giving up a sense to you or me. She did it for her son. That shows courage. And coming here? She knew it might expose her, but she came anyway.”

  “She needed our protection.”

  “You both might be telling yourselves that, but it isn’t completely true. Go on. I’ll check on you later.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “Every now and then it is better to let someone else take care of the little things. Just remember, don’t wait for it to be comfortable because nothing worth having came easy.”

  She left him standing in the hallway.

  He made his way up to his room, but found himself walking towards hers. He lifted his hand to knock and then he heard it. She was crying. It wasn’t something that he wanted to hear, something that made his own heart pained to hear.

  “You hurt her, Sir Angus.”

  Jack was standing beside him.

  “I didn’t—”

  “You broke her heart.”

  “Is that what she told you?”

  He shook his head and winced. “I feel it. She is my mother, and I am empathic.”

  Well, bloody hell. “I didn’t mean to.”

  “Yes, you did, but she doesn’t blame you. What you don’t understand is that she has always blamed herself.”

  He spoke in riddles again. Again, he was a boy who was older than his actual years.

  “You need to fix it. Make her better; keep her from being in so much pain. Since we came here, she doesn’t hurt as much, Sir Angus. It is her love for you that makes her happy.”

  He shook his head knowing the boy had it wrong. Maggie wasn’t in love with him. They had known each other less than a month and there was no way she was in love with him.

  Jack motioned with his hand for Angus to lean closer. “Don’t bugger it up.”

  Then he left him alone.

  He knocked on the door. The crying stopped. A long moment of silence passed. He realized she was going to pretend that he wasn’t there.

  He should feel relieved, but for some reason he didn’t.

  He knocked again.

  “Go away, Angus.”

  “We need to talk. If we are going to be able to do this, we need to talk.”

  “Tomorrow.”

  He almost turned away. It would be easier to deal with everything in the morning, when the pain of the night’s altercation had lessened. But just as he turned away, he heard Phoebe’s voice, whispering in his ear.

  Don’t wait for it to be comfortable because nothing worth having came easy.

  He put his hand on the handle and was relieved when it turned for him. He really didn’t want to deal with trying to break down the door. He opened it and found her sitting on her bed. There was little light in the room, except for the bedside table lamp.

  “I said go away, Angus.”

  “I didn’t listen.”

  “Don’t make me get mean with you.”

  He looked at the woman and smiled despite the situation. “You?”

  She flipped her hand back and a blast of cold air hit him with such force that he stumbled back a few steps.

  “That wasn’t that hard.”

  “I really don’t care enough to push it any further.”

  It had rattled him enough that he had to shake his head to clear it. “I think we need to sort a few things out.”

  “We have a plan, you stick to it tomorrow and everything will be fine.”

  “We have to—”

  “We don’t have to do anything but get your precious little emerald. Then, I will get paid, Jack and I will have new identities, and you will never have to deal with us again.”

  At one time, he would have wanted that. This afternoon, he would have been thrilled with the idea. But the thought of Jack and Maggie making their way into the world by themselves left a cold stone in the pit of his stomach. Not to mention, he didn’t think he would be able to walk the halls of the house without thinking of Jack telling him how he made his mother sleep. Or of that mother herself. He wanted her here, needed her next to him with a force that made him crazy.

  “I…”

  When she turned and finally looked at him, he felt even worse. Her eyes were swollen, her face splotchy, and her nose was bright red.

  “What do you want? Do you want to know exactly how it felt to cast the spell that killed him?”

  “No, I don’t want to know.”

  She ignored him. Of course she would. “Well, I’ll tell you, it killed me. It ripped my fucking heart out. But I didn’t have a choice.”

  “You could have hidden.”

  She laughed at that, but there was no humor in it. “Do you have any idea how powerful he was?”

  “Not as powerful as you.”

  “No, he wasn’t, but pregnancy for a witch makes her vulnerable. She leaves herself open for attack.”

  “So you thought killing the father of your son was smart.”

  She looked beyond him at the door he knew led to Jack’s room. He turned and was happy to find the door closed.

  “He knows.”

  “You told him.”

  She gave him a look that would shrivel a lesser man. “I did not. He was born knowing things he should never know.”

  “How do you handle that?”

  She shrugged. “It is just the way it has always been.”

  “Are you going to talk about it?”

  “About what?”

  “I accused you of killing your husband.”

  “I did. I would do it again today.”

  “Because you thought he was going to kill you, yes.”

  “You didn’t hear him. Dylan and Ian sat there, discussing my murder as if they were trying to decide where to have dinner.”

  “I really don’t want to hear this.”

  “You asked.”

  “No, I wanted to discuss my accusation.”

  “News flash, Angus, we don’t always get what we want. Live with it.” She tossed her hair back over her shoulder. “I came home and I was thrilled. See, I had just confirmed I was pregnant and the man I thought was my soul mate was calmly discussing how to kill me. And you want to know the worst part about it? His brother, the one who wants me dead now, that one? He tried to talk him into just letting me take the rap for the break in. He wanted me to rot in jail, but the man I had given myself to, the one I helped rob his way across Europe, well, he was the one who said they needed to kill me. A loose end. A loose fucking end is what he called me. So, yes, I killed him.”

  “You lost your temper.”

  “No. I did not.” She shook her head. “Oh, I was furious. So furious I wanted to scratch his eyes out.”

  “But?”

  “That was too good. And by the time I came to my senses, I had a plan. I let him go in, I let him think everything was going well, and then, I let the spell do the work. It was cold and calculated, and I don’t regret it.”

  This was not the woman he had spent an afternoon with, the woman who laughed with him, made love with him.

  “Just go. We have a big day tomorrow and I need my rest.”

  This time, he said nothing else and did as she asked. Getting the emerald was all that mattered.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “You look different,” Jack said as Maggie put on her earring. It sounded more like an accusation than a compliment

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” She asked. When he didn’t answer right away, she glanced at him. He was studying her in that way he had.

  “It’s okay. Your hair and eyes…they fit you better now. Before, you looked boring.”

  “Well, thank you very much,” she said a
s Anice laughed. “Get a load of himself here telling me I looked boring before.”

  Anice shook her head. “I have a feeling he was talking about your Magick. Now that you’ve started using it again, you fairly sparkle.”

  She looked at herself in the mirror and barely recognized herself. It was as if everything she had been through the last few years didn’t happen. Anice had styled a riot of curls on top of her head. The makeup, she hadn’t forgotten how to do that. She moved and the dress shimmered.

  “Oh, wow,” Phoebe said as she breezed into the room as if she had done it for years.

  Once they found out about her situation, Maggie hadn’t expected them to even acknowledge her presence. She had been wrong. They treated her as if she were one of the family. For the first time in years, she felt that she and Jack had a place to belong.

  “You look wonderful,” Phoebe said, her voice filled with awe and her eyes filled with tears.

  “Oh, God, you’re crying. Why are you crying?” Anice said, sounding as if she were irritated by the situation.

  “I don’t know. I find myself so overemotional these days. I think this situation is just starting to get to me.”

  Maggie shrugged, grabbing a tissue and handing it over to her. “I was that way when I was pregnant with Jack. Cried at the drop of a hat. The day I woke up with brown hair and eyes, I cried all day. My eyes were so swollen, I could barely see out of them.”

  Silence filled the bathroom. Anice looked at her.

  “Well, that has nothing to do with Phoebe,” Anice said. “She’s not pregnant.”

  Then she looked at Phoebe. The former professor’s face was bright red.

  “Phoebe?”

  “I’m two months late,” she said in a rushed voice barely above a whisper. Then she laughed. “God! That felt good. I never thought I would be able to say it to someone else.”

  “You haven’t told Callum?”

  She shook her head. “I just took the test yesterday.”

  “Oh my God,” Anice said. “Callum is going to be thrilled.” She rushed forward and pulled Phoebe into a hug. She pulled back and looked at her. “I’m going to be an aunt!”

  “Really, a second cousin,” Phoebe said.

  “Oh, let her have her fun, Phoebe. She wants to be an aunt, let her be a bloody aunt.”