by Multiple
She said nothing but looked out the window.
"I mean, you didn't have to sleep with me."
"No, I didn't. Nor did I invite you to my room the first time. That was you. All you. But, why would I ever try and..." she swallowed and fell silent.
"Finish what you were saying."
"I know that I am sadly lacking in that department. Really, if McWalton was trying to get a woman in your bed, I have a feeling he would have sent a much prettier woman."
He snorted. "You're probably right there."
She fell silent as he did. He wanted to yell at her, demand that she tell him it was all a lie, but he knew it was the truth. By the time they reached the house, he was ready to have a nice big fight, but it wouldn't do to have it in the middle of the street. She didn't wait for him to put the car in park. She opened her door, slammed it, and stomped up the stairs. By the time he caught up to her, she was already stepping through the front door. Anice was running down the hall, apparently already alerted to their arrival.
“What happened?"
"We have a traitor in our midst," he said when she didn’t respond to his cousin.
She looked from Phoebe to him and back to Phoebe.
"Yes, it was I. I am the modern day Mati Hari. I seduced your brother into my bed to cause him to tell me all his secrets. Of course, amazingly, it was him getting shot that caused me to find out. So I am apparently lacking in that department."
She moved past both of them, her head held high and that spine of hers straight as a broom handle.
“Where do you think you're going?"
She continued walking. "I'm going to get these colors off me."
He wanted to deny her the right. He wanted her wearing his damned colors, and he wanted everyone to see it. But he said nothing as he watched her disappear around the corner.
“What the hell happened?” Anice asked.
“She was in league with McWalton.”
Anice shook her head and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Not possible.”
“He told me himself, and she agreed.”
“She said she was gaining secrets from you to give to him?”
He turned and headed down the hallway to his office. “He said enough.”
She followed him into the room before he could slam the door in her face. “What exactly did he say?”
“He said she was going for a grant and using our family documents to get it.”
Anice mulled that over as he collapsed into the chair behind his desk.
“That’s different.”
Callum shook his head. “In what way? I know you want to think the best of her, but she was deceitful.”
“I’m not saying that she wasn’t. But, I don’t think she was in it to expose us. What is more important than anything in the world to Phoebe?”
“Research.”
“Yes, and that is why she came here.” She cocked her head and studied him. “What did she say when he accused her?”
“She said that she had been going for the grant, but she found out it wasn’t real.”
Anice sighed. “I think that it was just a misunderstanding.”
“She’s guilty.”
“I’m not saying that she wasn’t. What I am saying is that you can’t trust McWalton. I can imagine what he was thinking when he saw her on your arm. You all but declared yourself to Edinburgh.”
“What are you talking about?”
She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t see yourself with her tonight. I did. You’re beyond smitten, and I’m sure everyone in the castle knew it. It must have eaten McWalton up when he saw you.”
He closed his eyes and tried to forget what it had felt like. He had wanted everyone to know she was his. When he saw her dressed in his colors, he had never been so proud in his life. But he couldn’t deal with the pain that brought about thinking of the fact that she had been using him as a means to an end.
“Any word from Fletcher?”
She gave him a look that told Callum she knew he was trying to change the subject. For once, she took pity on him.
“Yes. He’s in position, as are Logan and Angus. We’re ready. I’m pretty sure after that big mess, McWalton will definitely remove it tonight. And seeing that he can’t afford a security detail, he’ll transport it on his body.”
“Good. The faster we get this done the better.”
* * * *
Phoebe was throwing her clothes in her suitcase when her mobile rang. She saw the number and knew if she picked it up, Izzy would know something was wrong. Phoebe had never been able to hide anything from her. But she needed her friend.
“Just ringing you to check up on you.”
“You don’t think I can handle myself?” she asked, and her voice cracked.
“Oh, honey, what happened?”
She drew in a deep breath and sat down on the bed. “Everything. Apparently McWalton hates Callum, and he made Callum think that I was spying on him. Which I was to begin with, but not since we slept together.”
“You slept with McWalton?”
“No. Follow along, Izzy. I slept with Callum. A lot.”
“Good for you.”
She shook her head even though she knew Izzy couldn’t see her. “No. He thinks I betrayed him.”
She laughed. “Phoebe Chilton betray someone? I think not. Hell, you stayed with that bastard even though I would have cut off his meds and left him to die. If Callum Lennon thinks you betrayed him, he doesn’t know you very well.”
She sighed. “I hurt him. I don’t know if I can fix it.”
“Come back to England. Roberto and I are here for a week.”
“That sounds good.” But as she thought about leaving, she glanced at her half-packed bag. She could run and take shelter with Izzy. Roberto and her best friend would baby her. As tempting as that was, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t leave Callum and his cousins. They needed her help.
“No.”
“What?” Izzy asked.
“No. I’m staying. I am going to see this through.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I have to unpack and go confront the dragon in his lair. I’ll call you when I get a chance.”
With that, she rang off and started to unpack. She wasn’t leaving until she saw this through.
* * * *
Kenneth McWalton felt sweat at the small of his back, and he could barely breathe. He had thought for sure Callum would leave the tramp at the castle, abandoning her to his ministrations. Kenneth wanted to ruin the bitch’s reputation. Now, though, it was late, and he was traveling in the car with a priceless diamond. For over two centuries, his family had made sure that the McLennan had no access to the diary or the jewels. It had been foolish of him to flaunt the one that he had in his possession. It was enough for Ferris to use in his bid to have Kenneth thrown out as laird, damned his cousin.
“Can you hurry it home? I’m not liking the looks of this storm that’s brewing.”
“Yes, sir,” Phillip said as he hit the accelerator. They took off faster, but in a couple of minutes, Phillip slammed the brakes when a car pulled in front of them. They fishtailed to a stop and another car came up behind them. Fear curled in his gut as he saw two figures get out of the car behind them. Phillip honked his horn, then was stupid enough to roll down his window. One of the men hurried to the side, smacking Phillip on the back of his head with the butt of a gun. Then, he hit the locks and Kenneth’s door was yanked open.
A man in a mask stuck his head in.
“Give it over, you bastard.”
He knew without a doubt that it was Fletcher Lennon.
Kenneth opened his mouth to tell him to go to hell when a cloth was placed over his mouth. His head was spinning as fell back onto the chair. Fletcher checked all of his pockets. He felt the diamond being pulled out, and he thought he said no, but they left him there. He pulled himself up out of the seat, hi
s eyesight fuzzy as he watched taillights disappear into the fog of Edinburgh.
The bastards had gone too far this time, and he was going to make them pay.
* * * *
Callum watched as his cousins set the cloth-wrapped diamond on his desk.
“What a jackass. He was running around Edinburgh in the middle of the night with it wrapped in a simple cloth? He’s lucky we’re the ones who stole it,” Angus said.
“Did you get it?” Phoebe asked from the doorway.
They all turned to face her, and he couldn’t help the way his heart jerked at the sight of her. Her hair was pulled back from her face, she had changed into her casual clothes again, and her eyes were red-rimmed as if she had been crying.
“Yes,” Angus said, apparently not noticing the way the tension in the room had risen. “Now all we have to do is put it back in the sword.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” she said. “I haven’t gotten to the part of what to do with the jewel.”
“Do not think you will be staying here for much longer,” Callum said quietly. “You will be leaving in the morning.”
Angus glanced from him to Phoebe then back to him. “What’s going on?”
“Leave it alone,” Callum warned.
“No, I think it’s best to tell him, don’t you?” Phoebe asked. “Your cousin found out that I was working to get a grant when I got here. If he had been a little more truthful at the beginning, I would have known that McWalton was dirty. I did not give him any information, especially when I found out the grant wasn’t real.”
“You used us?” Angus asked.
“No. I knew you had something of interest. And I would not have done it without your permission.”
Callum crossed his arms and snorted. “Too late now, lass.”
“I tried to tell you I called it off. That I called him and told him that I didn’t have what I needed for the grant.”
“When was that?” Fletcher asked.
“The night that Callum was shot.”
They all turned to her.
“Are you sure?” Logan asked.
“Yes. It was a few days…” her face turned red. “Well, never mind that. It’s just that I found out it was possibly some kind of scam. Then Roberto Totaro told me that McWalton was broke and had no interest in historical artifacts of Scotland.”
“Roberto Totaro?” Callum asked. “How do you know him?”
It was stupid, but hearing the man’s name had jealousy whipping through his blood. He didn’t like it, and he wasn’t sure he liked her anymore, but he knew without a doubt that Roberto was a ladies’ man and had a different woman every night.
“He’s a friend.”
Callum rose out of his chair. “Just what kind of friend is he?”
Her eyes widened then she snorted. “Not that kind. He married my former personal assistant, Izzy. He checked out McWalton because he didn’t like him.”
Callum relaxed a bit. “He always had good instincts. Back to the night I was shot.”
“Yes, well, I called and he didn’t answer. Truthfully, I stopped taking his calls. He made me uncomfortable.”
“Did he try anything with you, Phoebe?” Anice asked quietly.
Phoebe looked at his cousin, then shook her head.
“Truthfully, I never met him in person. Not until tonight. I had seen pictures of him, but he was worse in person. It was on the phone. There was something that always made me guard my tongue around him.”
“But he knew you were here,” Logan said.
“He had contacted me after I talked to Angus.”
Silence filled the room.
“Now, onto the diamond. I don’t know if just getting the stones will break the curse. I need to figure out the last of this passage if that is okay. I know that you don’t trust me, but right now, I’m all you’ve got. At least let me decipher that.”
They all turned to Callum. He wanted to deny her, tell her to get the hell out of his house and out of his life, but he didn’t think he had a choice.
He nodded. “But the book stays in this room.”
She agreed. “If you don’t mind, I would like to look it over right now. I’m not that tired, and I think I was on to something.”
“I think we all need some rest tonight. Why don’t you come down in the morning and we can all look at your translation with fresh eyes,” Angus offered.
She looked at the desk where the book lay, then at Callum. “I’ll bid you good night.” Then she slipped out the door and Fletcher motioned for Belvidore to follow her.
“You don’t trust her?” Anice asked.
“First, she lied to us,” Fletcher said.
“I say that we all mutually lied.”
Her brother rolled his eyes. “But we have another problem.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“I think someone in this household is leaking information,” Fletcher said.
Callum studied him for a second. “Phoebe.”
He shook his head. “Those shots were not at you, but at her. You said they were aimed at her, and if you had not stepped in front of her, she wouldn’t have survived.”
“And that is right after she had called that bastard and told him she wasn’t going to work for him anymore,” Angus said. “That son of a bitch. He hired someone to shoot her.”
“Or he did it himself. Another problem we have. How did he know we had hired her?” Fletcher asked.
“That’s right,” Anice said, pouncing on the idea. “She got the call from McWalton after we hired her.”
The implications started to come together in Callum’s head, and he didn’t like it one bit. “She was set up from the beginning.”
“Now, I’m not saying she wasn’t at fault, but she is a liability to McWalton now. He knows we have the book and she is translating it for us. Which means that he knows we need her. Add in the fact that you’re in love with her, and he would do some horrible things to her to get back at us.”
He ignored the comment about being in love with her. At the moment, though, the only thing he could think of was her safety. “Give me the diamond, and I’ll put it in the family safe. And Phoebe doesn’t leave the house.”
“She’s not going to like that,” Angus warned.
“Too damned bad.”
And with that, he took the diamond and left the room. He knew his cousins wanted to talk more about what their plan was, but he didn’t have it in him tonight. All he wanted to do was sleep and forget he ever met Phoebe Chilton.
* * * *
Phoebe read the passage she’d just written and blinked. She wasn’t sure if she had translated it correctly. The words kept blurring, and her head was aching. She wasn’t accomplishing much with her thoughts scattered and her heart aching. She knew most of it was her own fault. Callum would have been mad at her if she had told him when she realized the truth about McWalton. She had been a coward, afraid of what he would do. And now she knew.
Of all the things she had been called in her life, and there had been a lot of names from her coworkers and her husband, nothing had hurt as much as being called a whore by a man she loved.
“You’re looking a bit peeked,” Belvidore said as he rolled in a teacart.
Callum shifted in his seat and grumbled.
“You might be a little irritated with me, Laird, but our Dr. Chilton needs to keep her strength. And you missed dinner young lady. That cannot be good for you.”
She glanced outside and realized that dusk had fallen already. “I ate a large lunch.”
The servant tsked. “Not enough to keep a bird alive.”
She laughed. “I ate enough.”
“I’m trying to work,” Callum said in his best “lord of the underworld” voice.
Belvidore threw his employer a nasty look. “Angus needed a moment with you.”
“He can’t come here?”
“I’ve no ide
a, sir. But he said it was urgent.”
He looked at her, then Belvidore.
“I will stay,” Belvidore assured him.
She shouldn’t be so hurt by his distrust. She earned it. She knew that. It still didn’t mean that she didn’t feel hurt by it.
“I’ll be right back.”
She sighed when she was finally alone with Belvidore.
“You must give him a little time. He’ll understand.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think it will ever be the same.”
He patted her on the shoulder. “That is not always a bad thing, lass. I’ll leave you to your work.”
“Oh, but Callum doesn’t trust me alone.”
Belvidore stopped by the doorway. “He does. He’s a man who has had his pride hurt. The only wound greater than that is death. Give him time.”
He left her alone to work, but he had given her too much to think about. She had hurt Callum, deeply. She needed to make it up to him, but how? The only way she knew how was to help with the curse, which meant that she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. And she needed to prove herself to him.
She pulled out the desk drawer and slipped the diary and the notes into it. Restless, she stood and walked over to the window to look out. It wasn't going to be easy, but she had a penance to pay. It had been difficult to gain his trust to begin with. It was her fault, but it didn't mean that she couldn't fix it. If there was one thing Phoebe Chilton was good at it, it was planning and executing a plan. All she needed was to hold onto her patience and prove to Callum that she wasn't going to lie to him again.
She heard a sound behind her and thought it might be Callum returning. "Don't be mad at Belvidore. He said you really wouldn't mind."
When she turned she found McWalton standing in the doorway.
"What are you doing here?"
The smile he gave her had no warmth in it. "An eye for an eye, my dear."
His eyes were glazed in a way that a rabid animal might look. He was dressed in the same clothes as the night before, his hair was unkempt, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days.
She tried to scoot around the desk and reason with him. If Callum caught him there, he would think they were working together. Worse, he might kill the man, and then Callum would be in jail.
