Angus

by Melissa Schroeder

  The Laird is always in charge.

  The voice was in her head again and this time it wasn’t Rena. She pushed any and all thoughts about the Lennons aside. If she did the job like the she had planned, it should be easy enough.

  They waited for the band to strike the tune that signaled the host making his speech. That would make most people go to the ballroom. She watched as Meghan strolled around the room, talking to couples and groups of people to get them out of the area. That was one thing that made this so much easier.

  She stepped into the room where the displays were held. There were borrowed art pieces on the walls that were worth well more than the emerald he had sitting in the center of the room. It seemed odd that he would feature such an ordinary jewel, but then, Maggie had never understood men like Sweeney. They did things that made absolutely no sense. But she had always been a practical witch.

  “What are you waiting for?”

  “If anyone is watching, you don’t want to run right toward it. Plus, I’m waiting for the green light.”

  She motioned toward the light on the glass case. It was still blinking red, meaning the alarm would sound.

  “I thought you would rush in like in the movies.” She could feel his breath against her hair and she shivered.

  “First, we aren’t here in the middle of the night sneaking in. Secondly, we have two partners who will make sure that we can get in without a problem.”

  The moment she said it, the light blinked letting her know they could lift the case.

  Angus followed behind her as she walked to the case. As she neared it, she felt a jolt of memory that was not her own. She saw the jewel embedded in the hilt of a massive sword. It sparkled not because it was a gem, but from some inner magic that seemed to bubble over.

  “Maggie?”

  She shook herself, pulled out the rock she had brought with her, and conjured up the spell.

  Which once was one, is now two.

  She repeated it over and over until the rock in her hand now sparkled in her hand, resembling the jewel in the case.

  “Wow.” Angus said it as if he had been surprised.

  She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Did you think I wasn’t going to do it?”

  “No, it wasn’t that,” he said, not taking his gaze from her palm. “I felt it, the jolt of Magick.”

  Stop fooling around, sister, and get the jewel.

  “Lift the case.”

  Angus did as she ordered and she replaced the jewel carefully, making sure not to set off the sensors. Rena had blocked the alarms, but they would only hold so long. And while Sweeney did love the sound of his own voice, people would get bored. Angus set the case back down as she pocketed the jewel.

  “Now what?”

  “Now, we leave.”

  She sent a thank you to Rena and nodded toward Meg. The look Meg gave her told Maggie she would have to deal with her old friends soon, but they were going to make sure she made it out of the house with the jewel.

  Winding their way through the crowd, it seemed almost too easy. That always sent up alarm bells for Maggie, but she ignored them. The best thing to do was to get out now. Her spell on the rock would only last so long.

  They got up to the top of the stairs that led to the exit when Sweeney stepped in front of them. For a second she blinked, trying her best to keep her focus on the man himself and not the fact that she had a stolen gem in her purse.

  “Well, Lennon, it is truly a delight to have you here this evening.”

  Sweeney’s voice didn’t hide the fact that he was lying. He hated seeing them there and apparently knew exactly why they were there. She knew his type of man. Instead of calling security or the police, he would make a scene. They had to get out of there before he could reveal their purpose for coming.

  “Likewise. I wanted to show Maggie here your collection. She does love the finer things.”

  She nodded as he slipped his arm around her waist. A crowd had gathered. Of course it had. Both men were wealthy and well known in Edinburgh society. She felt a rush of heat against her back. Her two friends had come through again.

  “I noticed you missed my speech,” he said, as if he were Winston Churchill and everyone had been there to hear a great orator. Good Goddess, the man was so full of himself.

  “You can’t blame me.”

  “Is that a fact?” he asked.

  Angus winked at her. “Maggie wanted to see some of your paintings and well…I just can’t resist stealing a kiss from her in the dark.”

  There was a beat of silence, but she was sure she heard women sigh at his response. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Stealing a kiss, indeed.

  “I hate to run, but we have a family thing back at the house to get to.”

  Angus had laid down the law. Sure, Sweeney could have them searched, but it would make him look bad if he was wrong. From the look on his face, he wanted to rip them apart.

  “Of course,” he said, stepping aside.

  Angus slid his hand to the small of her back and led her out of the ballroom and then out of the house. Rena and Meg were hot on their heels. As they waited for the car to pull up, she turned to her old friends.

  “Thank you for the help.”

  Rena said nothing, just kept an eye out as if they would be attacked at any moment. Meg smiled and pulled her into a hug.

  “We need to talk,” she whispered in her ear. Maggie nodded as she pulled away.

  Belvidore arrived with the car and Angus held the door open for her. Within minutes they were on their way back to the Lennon household, but something just didn’t sit right.

  “Angus?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You said you talked to Dylan?”

  He nodded as he continued to look out the window.

  “Angus.”

  He looked at her.

  “What did you actually tell him?”

  “Why?”

  “He didn’t show up tonight and if he was in league with Sweeney, he should have been there.”

  “I didn’t tell him anything. He wanted to know about you and I told him that you and Jack were at the house.”

  Her heart sank and her head started to spin. “You told him what?”

  Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

  “I said you and Jack…what?”

  “He didn’t know about Jack.”

  “What?”

  “He didn’t know about Jack, he never knew. I hid it.”

  “But, you said he was after you for that.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the alarm that was now racing through her veins. If he knew about Jack, Dylan would do anything he could to get a hold of him. It had nothing to do with her son’s abilities and everything to do with making her hurt. Dylan would use her son to hurt her.

  “Maggie!”

  She opened her eyes, but her vision wavered. “I never said that. You all assumed that was the reason.”

  “And why wouldn’t you tell us the truth?”

  “Oh, I am sure you would have protected a murderer over a little boy.”

  They pulled to a stop in front of the house as Belvidore parked the car. Lights were blazing and Maggie’s fear turned to terror. Fear slithered into her gut as she saw the front door open.

  Maggie bolted from the car and rushed up the steps. Angus was right behind her and they stumbled into complete chaos as soon as they stepped into the front hall.

  “What’s happened?” Maggie yelled.

  Fletcher came rushing down the hallway. “He’s gone. They’ve taken Jack.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Maggie said nothing as Angus listened to how they had checked on Jack and found he was gone.

  As Maggie continued to be silent, he was starting to get worried. This wasn’t like her at all. He wanted to comfort her, needed to, but he didn’t have the right. From the concerned expressions on his family’s faces, they were worried too.

 
“I think she’s in shock, Anice. Get the blanket from the couch,” Angus said. He looked at Callum as he took the plaid from Anice and wrapped it around Maggie while she continued to stand there. “Tell me.”

  “He had been in bed since you two left. We kept an eye on him.”

  “But you didn’t keep an eye on him, did you? He’s missing,” Maggie said, simmering rage coloring her voice. “You didn’t do a very good job.”

  There was a beat of silence. He felt it like the others. Angry wind swirled around them.

  “Tell me where the fuck he is?” she said, her voice controlled, but the rage was still there.

  “I think he might be with his uncle,” Callum said, holding up a piece of paper.

  She came to him and grabbed the piece of paper. Her hands were shaking but Angus didn’t know if it was from her anger or fear.

  “The bastard.”

  “Do you know of the place he talked about?” Callum asked.

  “I can take care of this.”

  “No, you cannae. That is in a bad part of town.”

  The look she gave Callum suggested she did not agree with him. “Funny you should say that since it’s the apartment I shared with Ian and Dylan.”

  * * * *

  It took her less than five minutes to change her clothes. She was tearing downstairs when Angus caught her.

  “Slow down. We can’t go runnin’ in there filled with anger.”

  She looked at him and pulled on her arm. “I don’t have time for this.”

  “You don’t want to put Jack in danger by running in there like this. I’m going with you.”

  “It says to come by myself.”

  “Fuck that.”

  She blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “You are not going by yourself.”

  It was then she realized he had changed also, and was ready to go with her. She could argue, but she only had a few minutes to get over there.

  “And Belvidore is driving. He’s always good to take to a fight.

  She didn’t even want to know what that meant. She just nodded and they raced down the stairs and, hopefully, to save her son.

  * * * *

  Her heart was aching thinking about what Dylan could have done to her son, but she knew down to the depths of her soul, he was still alive.

  “I’m here, Dylan.”

  Angus wasn’t far away, but this was one thing she had to do on her own. Dylan was insane. And he proved it the moment he stepped out of the shadows, his hand on her son’s shoulder. Her brave little man looked to be holding up well, but then, she hadn’t expected anything less.

  “What do you want?”

  He smiled. “Well, the emerald will be the best gift you could give me. Then, this little one,” he said patting Jack on the shoulder. Her son winced but didn’t say a word.

  “Anything, but you cannot have my son.”

  “He’s my nephew.”

  “You’ve no family, you gave it up for the Darkness,” Jack said.

  A cold blast of evil swelled into the room. “You will learn that it is for the best.”

  The fact that Dylan could control his anger like that, the darkness that slid through his blood, was damned scary.

  She was ready to offer up the emerald and grab her son, but in the next instant, her world completely fell apart.

  Angus stepped into the room. “I believe we have a few things to talk about, O’Conner.”

  “Angus, what the bloody hell are you doing here?”

  “I’ve decided to ignore you.”

  “Isn’t that just like you.”

  “Yes, it is.” He looked at Jack. “How are you doing, Master Jack?”

  “He’s fine,” Dylan said.

  “I’d rather hear him say that,” Angus said.

  Dylan scoffed at that. “I think in this, I am in control.”

  Another blast of cold air threw both Angus and Maggie back. Maggie hit the back wall, falling to the floor. Her head smacked against a table. Pain radiated from that spot and stars formed before her eyes.

  “Maggie.”

  She heard Angus’ voice but her ears were ringing. “I’m okay.”

  They struggled to their feet.

  “I told you not to fuck with me before, Lennon.”

  She looked at Angus, seeing that he was okay, then looked at her son. His solemn expression broke her heart. No boy should have to deal with this. She turned her focus to Dylan.

  “I will not have you do these things in front of my son.”

  She flicked her hand and sent Dylan back a few feet. She knew it wasn’t enough to do with what he had done to the two of them, but it gave her enough time to reach her son. The moment Dylan stumbled back he released Jack. Smart boy that he was, he came running forward. She rushed toward him and grabbed him. She turned and found Angus right behind her.

  “Give him the emerald, do it,” he said.

  There was some reason they needed it, something that was so important to the Clan that they would do anything to steal it, but he was willing to give it up for her. And for Jack.

  His attention switched to behind her and in that moment, she felt the summoning of energy. Angus didn’t allow her to turn and face Dylan. He shoved her and Jack behind him and moved toward Dylan.

  “So, you have to use your Magick?” Angus said, as another blast hit him. He stumbled, but didn’t fall back this time. She wanted to be in there, wanted to stand and fight but she had Jack. She moved back and crouched, hiding Jack with her body.

  “Of course you do. From the moment I met you the other day, I realized what a coward you were.”

  Some of the energy seemed to dissolve in the room.

  “Why don’t you just take the emerald? Just go and leave us alone.”

  He pulled the jewel from his pocket.

  Dylan’s black eyes focused on the brilliant gem.

  “I’m sure you’ve been paid a price to get it back to Sweeney.”

  Dylan’s gaze rose to Angus and then his lips curved. Soon, evil laughter filled the tiny flat. “Oh, you think this has to do with Sweeney. Brilliant. You have no idea what is going on.”

  Anger surged through anger. He hated that they were there, that Jack and Maggie were being exposed to this. There was no doubt in his mind that Maggie had saved her life and Jack’s by killing her husband. It was a shame that she didn’t kill Dylan in the process.

  “I don’t care. I just want to get out of here.”

  “You can as soon as you give me the emerald. My employer wants it.” Then he heard a scream, felt the surge of energy, and watched in horror as Maggie was pulled toward the bastard. “This bitch is mine, though.”

  Maggie raised her gaze to his, tears filling them, along with a healthy dose of anger. He had learned once not to misjudge her, especially when someone put her son in danger. She shook her head and he knew she was telling him not to do it. To just leave her to him and get her son away, but he could not do that. He could not leave the one woman he knew was meant for him there to die at the hands of that bastard.

  “Sure,” Angus said, throwing the jewel in the air. Dylan screeched and ran forward, again, releasing his hostage, showing he wasn’t that smart. Angus took advantage of Dylan’s distraction, grabbing the bastard by the waist and catching him off guard. They fell back on the floor and he heard the sound of the jewel hitting the ground. Dylan shoved him away and went after the emerald. The moment he scooped it up, he turned and punched Angus.

  Angus fell back and then felt a burning. It was as if someone had taken a poker to his chest. It radiated from the spot, threading through his blood and he felt as if every bit of his life was being pulled from him. In the next instant, though, it was gone. That horrible screech of Dylan’s filled the room and he fell back. Maggie went after him then. Angus was still blinking, trying to get his head screwed on straight as he watched her. It was like watching a master at work. With each wave of her hand, Dylan screamed, Over and over again, she sent waves of e
nergy hitting the man. He stumbled back, but he still had that damned emerald in his hand. As he fell against the window, she said, “Give it back, Dylan, you’re no use to your Dark Master now.”

  Angus finally stumbled to his feet and tried to stop her.

  “No. I will never give it to you.”

  Then, he waved his hands. Angus fell, and there was a yell. Cold air swirled in the room as sparks of dark fire seemed to light everywhere in the room. Suddenly, the cold was replaced. Angus blinked as he watched Jack step up beside his mother. Warmth filled the room, a golden glow of goodness seemed to blot out the evil that permeated from Dylan. Again, the horrible scream sounded.

  “No,” she yelled, rushing forward. Dylan was falling back to the window, his eyes rolled back in his head, the jewel still captured in his fist.

  Angus tried to concentrate on what was happening, but his head started to spin and he fell back again, hitting one of the tables in the room and falling to the ground. The sound of two sets of feet came rushing toward him.

  “Angus,” Maggie said, tears dripping from her voice. She sat beside him and leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Don’t you dare die on me. You aren’t supposed to die.” She leaned closer and he thought he heard, “I love you Angus McLennan. Don’t leave me now.”

  His world faded to black.

  * * * *

  Belvidore helped get Angus into the car, ignoring her instructions to be careful. “One thing you need to learn, my lady, is that it takes more than a fight and a little Magick to hurt a Lennon.”

  She said nothing but gave him a look before climbing into the car after Jack had settled on the seat in the front of the car. She normally didn’t allow it, but they had no choice at the moment. She settled Angus’ head in her lap. His eyes opened slightly.

  “Hey, there Maggie May,” he said sounding slightly drunk.

  “Hey there, yourself.”

  “I think you are very pretty.”

  “He sounds weird,” Jack said.

  She ignored him. “How do you feel?”

  “Like I tangled with a Black Witch and won. How about you?”

  “The same. I’m sorry. I lost your emerald. We couldn’t find it after Dylan fell out the window.”