To Have A Heart (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite Book 7)

by Rebecca King

  “I will keep watch over the back yard then,” Callum said.

  He turned to open the door only for the door to suddenly slam open so fiercely it bounced against the wall and fell off its hinges. Before Callum could step out of the way, a thick, burly figure dressed completely in black charged into the room. Callum cursed as he was taken down in a flying tackle and slammed into the floor with such brutal force it stole his breath. Dazed, he was at first helpless to do anything to defend himself against the beefy fist that slammed into his face, or the second. Will’s boot kicking his assailant in the side of the head prevented the third.

  With his attacker unbalanced, Callum turned over and levered himself upright enough to land a punch under the thug’s chin that made his head snap back. Will kicked him again but was distracted by a second attacker who raced through the door and tried to take Will down in a tackle. But Will stepped out of the way and landed several punches in quick succession that rendered his assailant useless.

  Both Callum and Will managed to free themselves in time to watch a third man enter the room.

  Will removed the gun from his belt. Just as the attacker reached him, he took aim and shot the man in the stomach at point-blank range. The man grunted and began to gurgle before slithering slowly to the floor. Will stepped over him and looked at Callum who was now eyeing the door behind his attacker, and Mallory’s room beyond it, with a ruthless purpose that made his opponent blink.

  Mallory launched off the bed when she heard the first loud blast. It was so unexpected that she was physically shaking by the time she reached the door. Rather than yank it open, she eased it open just enough to be able to see around it. What she saw made her blanche and immediately close it again.

  Once inside the room, she looked wildly around for something – anything – she could use to defend herself. Her worst fears had come true: her attackers had arrived to fetch her.

  “The last thing I am ever going to do is go with you anywhere,” she hissed.

  Mallory grew strength from the knowledge that Callum was just across the hallway. Given the grunts and groans she could hear coming from the room across the corridor, he too was fighting – a physical battle with the man who had burst into the tavern: Edward. She would recognise that gnarled, spiteful face anywhere. It was one she truly disliked, or rather the person behind it was. Edward was cruel; by far the worst of Melrose’s employees because of his cruelty and yen for physical violence toward the helpless.

  “Well, not this time,” Mallory seethed.

  Hating the fact that she was cowering in a room doing little to help Callum, Mallory looked about the room for something she could use as a weapon. Her gaze fell upon the only thing that was of use: a poker. Hefting it, she marched resolutely across the room, and eased the door open once more.

  She cried aloud when she saw Callum in the doorway of the room opposite, being slammed bodily into the ground by a large, beefy man, whose pudgy fingers then curled tightly around Callum’s throat. Callum clawed at the man’s wrists but couldn’t dislodge him. Edward, meanwhile, was brawling with Will, who was doing his best to get Edward in a headlock. The men were so busy physically wrestling that they didn’t notice Mallory leave her bed chamber, or Sir Hugo leave his.

  When she caught movement out of the corner of her eye, Mallory look at him. Sir Hugo put his finger to her lips and cocked his gun. He tried to take aim, but the men were moving around too much for him to be confident of taking a shot that wouldn’t hit his colleagues. For now, all he could do was watch them brawl, and hope the men from the Star Elite were better fighters.

  Callum cursed when he clawed at the thick wrist but couldn’t get the man to let go of his neck. The heavy bulk of the man’s weight was enough to suck the life out of him without the cruel hold the man had on his throat. Callum tried to reach his knife in his boot but could not reach past the man’s girth. Instead, he was left to fumble in the man’s pocket. Thankfully, the man hadn’t been as clever as he thought he was and had left his gun in his pocket. While the thug was determinedly trying to strangle him, Callum slid the gun free of its confines and cocked it.

  Thankfully, the grunts and curses of Will and his opponent fighting beside them blocked the sound of Callum’s gun. The beefy thug trying to strangle the life out of Callum didn’t even feel the steel press into the side of his head, he was so transfixed on claiming his victim’s life. Callum tightened his finger on the trigger and prayed that the gun was loaded.

  The loud blast of gunfire immediately eased the pressure of the man’s hands off his throat leaving Callum free to breathe. Unfortunately, Callum was then stuck beneath the dead man’s bulk, vulnerable to Edward, who stepped forward and immediately kicked him in the head. All Callum could do was try to protect his head from Edward’s second boot.

  Mallory watched Edward kick Callum and felt a fury that came from her soul overwhelm her. Without thinking, she lifted her poker and charged forward. The force with which she brought the iron rod down on Edward’s back was enough to make even Sir Hugo wince, but Mallory didn’t stop. She slammed the poker down on Edward over, and over, again until finally, she cracked him on the side of his head so hard that Edward had no choice but to stumble out of the way. Mallory kept hitting him, even when Edward fell to his knees and curled up to protect himself.

  Callum launched to his feet. When Mallory would have hit him again, he caught the poker and gently took it off her.

  “That’s enough,” he murmured. “You can’t kill him.”

  It took Mallory a few moments to snap out of her horror and realise what she had been doing. In the time Mallory had been hitting Edward, Will had dispatched his opponent and had stepped closer, but hadn’t intervened. He knew that Mallory had been dealing with the trauma Edward had brought her.

  “You know him, don’t you, Mallory?” Sir Hugo asked quietly from the doorway.

  Mallory nodded.

  “Was he the one who kidnapped you?” Sir Hugo stepped into the room.

  “He is called Edward. I don’t know if it is his first name or his last, but he is the one who took cruel delight in calling me names and withholding food. He isn’t averse to punching the kidnap victims. In fact, he is the kind of heinous cretin who takes enjoyment in tormenting women, verbally and physically,” Mallory whispered. “He needs to be locked away.”

  Edward took that moment to look at her. His face was twisted into a cruel mask of hatred which only faltered a little when he saw that Callum was holding the poker.

  “Do you know something, Edward? You are nothing but a coward, and a bully of the worst kind. You are not strong. You are a thief and a liar. You haven’t stolen the lives of men. You have stolen the lives of women who are weaker than you and have gotten your friends to help you. The damage you cause to people’s lives is wholly unjust, put together by a manipulative bunch of lying thieves who think they can do what they like to people whenever they are behind closed doors. I feel sorry for the worthless soul you are. You deserve to spend the rest of your days in prison, with no choices of your own, no life of your own, while being told what to eat, say, think and do. If that kind of life is good enough for your victims, it is good enough for you. You deserve to rot in Hell.”

  Callum listened and was extremely proud of the calm, matter-of-fact way that Mallory had spoken to one of her captors. It assured him that she could recover from the rampant abuse Edward and his kind had subjected her to. She wasn’t beyond being able to fully heal and pick up the threads of her life and weave a beautiful, brilliant new future free of other people’s cruelty and malice. He just hoped that Mallory would allow him to be a part of it. He wanted a future with her. In just a few days, he had seen a strength of spirit in her that he had never witnessed in anyone else, especially someone who had endured what she had been put through. Moreover, what she had gone through hadn’t made her bitter, or cynical. Instead, it had renewed her determination not to allow Edward and his kind to wreck her future. No matter what i
t took, Callum suspected that Mallory would do everything possible to bring Edward to justice and if that meant helping the Star Elite then that is what she would do – like she was right now. In just a few short phrases she had made Edward stop. He was staring at her with nothing more than cold contempt but hadn’t tried to argue or object to what she had said. Callum doubted her words had even scratched Edward’s cruel surface, but at least he had listened. Callum didn’t doubt that Edward now saw someone he couldn’t bully anymore. He still stared spitefully at her but didn’t stand up to challenge her. Instead, he raked her with an insulting look and glared at her.

  Mallory tipped her chin up and stared coldly back. She refused to be cowed by him. She wasn’t afraid of him anymore.

  “I am not going to keep fighting you for my right to life. I don’t care what you think you are, you have no right to steal my life. I am going to use my knowledge about you and your gang to make you face justice. It doesn’t matter what lies you tell to try to justify what you have done. You will face justice for your crimes. You will be locked away for daring to think you are above the law. Justice has to be served at all times, and it must be served to you,” Mallory continued. “There is not one rule for one person and one rule for another in this country. There is one law in this country, and everybody must abide by it, including you. A criminal is a criminal and will be inclined to continue their criminal ways if they can evade justice for their crimes. You, Edward, are nothing more than a bullying coward who is prepared to do whatever you have to do to avoid going to gaol for your crimes, even if you have to kill your victim to silence her.”

  “But that is the point, Mallory. Anybody who abuses someone’s life, or steals any aspect of it, has no respect for it. They will kill the victim to silence them. That is what criminals like them do because to them their victim’s life is worthless. They see a victim, not a human being. They see someone they can control, bully, and abuse, not someone who should be allowed to go about their business. They think they are exempt from facing justice because they are a superior kind of criminal who can tell lies about people.”

  “He will lie about what he has done. His kind always does. They pretend they are tough and strong, but they will do everything possible to avoid having to face justice because they are nothing more than snivelling cowards. They will lie, blame their victim, and generally do everything possible to pretend they are someone else. In fact, they are criminals, pure and simple; the underbelly of society who think they don’t have to live within the law. The second they involve themselves in controlling someone else’s life, they steal it. They steal choices, lives, hopes, dreams, and futures without a qualm. Nobody, no man or woman has the right to do that.”

  Edward turned to stare spitefully at Mallory, who now stood shoulder to shoulder with Callum. The silence that faced Edward was condemning. He knew he would not get any sympathy from anyone in the room, and neither would his colleague, who was awkwardly stumbling to his feet, clutching his injured head.

  “The Star Elite and the War Office are never going to allow you to walk free,” Sir Hugo said to Edward.

  “We aren’t going to allow you to walk out of here, Edward,” Callum added. “You are off to gaol.”

  Edward shook his head. “I am here to recover the missing young woman, that’s all. I haven’t done anything wrong. Melrose wants her back. She stole money from him.”

  “You liar,” Mallory hissed. “I was always kept below stairs.”

  Sir Hugo lifted a hand to urge her to be quiet.

  Callum stepped closer to Edward.

  “Now we know that is a lie,” Callum murmured. “I also now know that you haven’t heard that Melrose is dead.”

  Edward stared at him.

  “He died this afternoon, an – accidental – drowning, I suppose you would call it,” Callum mused. “You are not going to get any money for your work.”

  Edward looked at Mallory.

  “It’s true. He fell from a bridge and drowned,” Mallory added.

  Suddenly, Edward let out a bellow of rage. He lunged forward and slammed a thick shoulder against Callum’s waist but, rather than try to slam him onto the floor, continued to push forward, propelling Callum backward and toward the window.

  “Callum!” Mallory cried.

  Sir Hugo hobbled after them but was no match for Edward’s fury. Callum couldn’t regain his balance enough to shove against Edward’s weight. He was propelled backward until he was almost at the window. Thankfully, Edward stopped, but only so he could use his fists.

  While Callum wrestled with Edward, Will found himself caught up in another skirmish with his opponent. Taken down by a punch to the side of the head, Will quickly scrambled upright again, and landed a few punches of his own. While the men brawled, Sir Hugo motioned for Mallory to move away.

  Mallory refused to leave Callum, though. She looked around the floor for the poker, but it was beneath Will’s opponent.

  “We have to do something,” she cried.

  But there was nothing in the bed chamber except a bed. Suddenly, Mallory remembered the sacks that had been used to cover her in the back of the cart. Snatching up a blanket, she gathered it up and held it against her chest.

  She watched the brawling men wrestle for a moment. The second that Edward crawled to his feet, Mallory dropped the blanket over his head and shoulders, and tugged the ends as tightly as she could. Edward’s mumbled curses were barely audible as he tugged at the thick material and tried to break free. Distracted as he was, he couldn’t defend himself against the punches Callum slammed into his stomach. Edward hunched over, doing his best to protect himself, but Callum then turned his attention to the outline of Edward’s head until Edward hit the floor with a dull thud.

  “Step back.” Callum waved Mallory away when Edward lay still. “Don’t be fooled.”

  Mallory dutifully stepped away from Edward and watched Callum bend down to lift the blanket. Before he did, he glared up at Mallory.

  “Use that other one to help Will,” he ordered.

  Mallory dutifully picked up a sheet and gathered that against her chest. Quietly, she approached Will’s opponent. Although he didn’t stop fighting, Will watched Mallory. When she was close enough, Will paused. The thug’s world instantly went black when Mallory draped the sheet over his head. He cursed viciously and staggered around while he tried to yank the sheet off and didn’t see the heavy fist Will swung at him.

  The loud crack of a bone breaking was enough to make even Callum wince.

  They all turned to watch the thug waver a little, before he crumpled to the floor and didn’t move again. Will didn’t even bother to check underneath the sheet. The blood staining the material assured him the man wasn’t likely to get back up again for a while yet. Instead, Will folded the cloth over and tied it at the back so that even if the man did wake up, he wouldn’t get free for a while. Will then looked up at Callum, who turned his attention to the still motionless Edward.

  “Go and see to Sir Hugo. Make sure he hasn’t been snatched or something,” Callum urged quietly.

  Will cursed when he looked around and saw that Sir Hugo had vanished. Without a word, he marched across the hallway.

  “Stay there,” Callum growled at Mallory.

  Cautiously, he lifted the blanket off Edward’s head. Edward didn’t move. Callum removed the blanket completely and stepped away from him, but not far enough. Edward suddenly rolled over and slammed a leg into Callum’s ankle. Unbalanced, Callum fought to remain on his feet only for Edward to kick him in the back of his other leg.

  “Damn it,” Callum growled.

  By the time Callum had regained his balance, Edward was on his feet, surging toward him once more. Callum returned Edward’s punch and landed a boot in the middle of the man’s stomach. Unfortunately, Edward saw Callum’s boot and didn’t just catch it, he clung on to it and refused to allow Callum to put his foot back down. Callum leaned forward and punched him in the side of the head. Edward c
hose that moment to surge forward and slam a heavy shoulder into Callum’s stomach again. Unbalanced, Callum stumbled backward, clutching Edward’s shoulders.

  “Callum!” Mallory screamed as she watched Callum being propelled backward at a speed that was simply horrifying.

  She lunged after him when she realised what Edward planned to do. Whether Edward intended for them both to go or not nobody would ever know. When Edward continued to force Callum backward, he was bent over at the waist and more determined than ever to get Callum onto the floor for another beating – maybe. What he managed to do instead was propel Callum backward with a speed and strength that slammed Callum not just into the window, but through it. The weight of both men’s bodies against the fragile glass was enough to shatter it. The lack of glass offered no resistance to the men, who were helpless to stop gravity propelling them out of the window.

  “Callum!” Mallory screamed again as she watched him disappear into the darkness.

  The last she saw of either man was Edward’s booted feet as he plummeted to the ground beneath the window.

  Mallory bolted toward the door and raced downstairs.

  “Mallory!” Will bellowed before charging after her.

  “He has gone,” Mallory cried, refusing to stop. “Callum’s fallen out of the window.”

  “Shit.”

  Will took the stairs two at a time until half-way down the stairs he jumped down the rest. He was so fast that he beat Mallory to the back door of the tavern. Together, he and Mallory raced out into the night, charged around the corner of the tavern, and ran as fast as they could to the front of the building.

  There, lying in a pool of blood at the side of the road, were two bodies, one of which was Callum.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Mallory wanted to ask Will if Callum was alive but struggled to get her words out. She felt sick. Was hot. Cold. She daren’t breathe or think. Moreover, she daren’t ask Will what he found when she watched him drop to his knees beside his colleague and check to see if Callum was still alive.