Angus (18 page)

Callum sighed.

“That sounded lonely, love,” she said, knowing he was remembering what happened during the Clearances.

“But, at least we had each other.”

She nodded, taking comfort in the man who had become the center of her life. She settled back, resting the book on her lap and let herself drift off to sleep.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Maggie was startled by a loud knock at her door. Since Angus had left that morning, she had felt off center. Adding in the fact that Callum returned by himself, telling her that Angus was dealing with some other business. It was odd that he hadn’t called her, but they had no agreement of how their relationship would progress. If it would even progress. So, hiding in her room seemed like a good idea.  Most of the cousins had rarely breeched her room and if it had been Jack, he would have just burst right in.

"Come in," she said. She was surprised to see Logan's head pop through the opening.

"Have you seen Angus?"

She shook her head. "I thought he was at work."

"He had a meeting in town, but he apparently went off the beaten path, again. How he claims that I am the one who loses track of time, I do not know."

He didn't close the door and leave. He continued to stand there, half in and half out of her room. There was one thing about the Lennons, they wouldn't come in and take over your area, but they could tend to be a bit nosey. She didn't mind, truly, because it would give her a chance to get to know the man she was starting to fall for.

"Would you like to talk?"

He smiled and right there, she saw the resemblance. They all had a look about them, but it was amazing how much the brothers looked alike when they smiled.

"I'd appreciate it. I had a cancelled meeting and I am wandering the halls with nothing to do." He wandered in, that long legged gait that she had grown accustomed to. "So, you’re working on spells?"

She nodded. "I think I'm ready and I better be since the Gala is tomorrow night."

"And, hopefully, you can outwit Sweeney."

She sighed and nodded. "Along with a lot of other people. I know I am insane, but I don't think we will get another chance to do it."

He made his way over to the two chairs that sat by the windows.

"So, how do you go about this...conjuring? What is the plan?"

"You were there when we discussed it, right? Nothing has changed."

He smiled. "Yes, but I think a demonstration is in order."

She cocked her head and studied him. "Logan, what is this about?" It was his turn to sigh.

"I'm worried."

"About your brother?"

He nodded.

"I promise if I see an issue with the plan, I will cancel it right then."

"I would feel better if I could see you do it though."

That she understood. If she were sending someone she loved into danger, she would worry about it too. Of course, if her suspicions were right, he wouldn't be killed. There would be no way to have him killed. But, still, there was always a chance something could go wrong, and being captured for a man with eternity to live, it wouldn't be that much fun, that was for sure. It could also expose the secrets this family kept.

"Got a coin or a bobble or something?"

He nodded and stood fishing through his pockets as he walked forward. He handed her a penny that looked to be over one hundred years old. She was pretty sure the UK didn't use the coin regularly anymore.

"Now hold it up for me."

He did as she asked. She concentrated on the coin, the dimensions, the markings. Then, she recited the spell.

“Let this one, become two.”

"Okay, now place it in your hand."

She held the coin in her mind as she placed her hand over his. Repeating the spell again, she pulled the coin up off his palm. He looked down at it, then at her.

"What are you going to do?"

She smiled and held the first one up. He blinked then he smiled.

“That’s just a parlor trick.”

“The simplest of tricks are always the ones that work the best, my mother told me that.”

His smile faded. “Promise me, though, you will be safe.”

She nodded. “And I will make sure that we get that emerald for you.”

He took her hand, the serious look almost making her look away. “And please, take care of Angus.”

She smiled. “You don’t have to worry about that, Logan. He’ll be fine.”

“Only if you are.”

And with that, he let go of her hand and left her alone with her thoughts.

*  *  *  *

Angus was feeling pretty good as he waited for Belvidore to pick him up from in front of the pub. The early evening air was a bit nippy, but he didn’t feel it. A couple pints and a full stomach had him feeling warm and happy. Plus, he was on his way back to Maggie.

“Have a nice dinner, Mr. Lennon?”

He turned in the direction of the sound of the voice. A tall man, black hair a little too long and slicked back from a very high forehead. He had the darkest eyes Angus had ever seen. Even in the dim streetlight, they looked black.

“I did, but I doona know why it is your business.”

“Since you’ve been fucking my sister-in-law, I thought maybe we should have a chat.”

Anger surged along with a healthy dose nausea. Angus didn’t know if the bastard was doing it or it was just the fact he was in the presence of the bastard.

“I’ve no use for a man like you. And if you know what is good for you, you’ll leave Maggie and her son out of this.”

Everything about the other man seemed to go completely still. “Son?”

“Yes, your nephew is of no use to you.”

He said nothing for a few moments, then he apparently decided to try the friendly approach. “I think we need to have a talk, Mr. Lennon. There are things about my sister-in-law that might concern a man with your reputation.”

“My reputation? I don’t think you know the first thing about me.”

“I know that your real last name isn’t Lennon and I know that you are not all that you seem.”

He wanted to tear the man from limb to limb. Angus looked around and the street was too crowded for him to do anything. Of course, looking at the man, Angus thought it would better not to try to fight him. He was a witch after all and while he couldn’t kill Angus, he could make him hurt.

And more than anything, he wanted to get back to Maggie and Jack. Now that the bastard knew she was here, there was no way he wouldn’t come after them.

“Say your piece, O’Conner then bugger off.”

He smiled, giving Angus a full grin. There was nothing nice about it.

“Your little witch isn’t all she seems.”

“Yes, you said that.”

“I just wanted to make sure that you and yours stayed safe. My brother learned that lesson too late.”

“And just what the bloody hell do you mean?”

His smile faded. “He trusted that bitch with his life, and she took it from him. If it is the last thing I do, I will make her pay.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Maggie was summoned to Callum’s office later that evening. The moment she stepped into the room, she felt unbalanced. Nausea hit next.  She took a second to compose herself and then looked around the room. All of the cousins were present and accounted for.

“Maybe you want to tell us all about your husband, Maggie?”

The iciness of Angus’ voice told her he already knew. He knew the secret she had kept close to her heart, allowed it to strip away her Magick.

“I don’t think I want to talk about that.”

“I think you bloody fucking owe us that.”

“Angus,” Phoebe said, her voice filled with embarrassment and condemnation. From the look on her face, Phoebe wasn’t mad at Maggie. She was upset with Angus. That would all change.

“Owe you?”

“The truth. We deserve the truth.”

She looked at all of them, one by one.  “You deserve the truth? Because you have been so truthful with me?”

“Tell them. Tell them how you know you can open the locks in that house. You know it will work because it did,” Angus spat out.

“What are you talking about?” Phoebe asked. She looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Tell them. Tell them how you sent him in there. You were sick, but you could have done the job like you had in the past.”

She turned to leave but he stopped her with that another nasty accusation.

Anger surged through her as sparks of energy popped through the room. Closing her eyes, she repeated a short spell to calm her rage so she would not direct it to anyone in the room. She turned to face him, face all of them, because they were once again a united front against her.

“Yes, I could have done it that night. I overplayed my illness.”

“And you let him go in there, thinking he was safe.”

“He was safe.”

“But he ended up dead,” Logan said. She looked at the man; the one she thought was so sweet. He would definitely hate her forever. And if she was right about them, about the whole lot of them….that was going to be a long bloody time.

“Yes, he did. I take it you had a chat with my ex brother-in-law?”

Angus nodded. “Although, he claimed you never married.”

“I told you we weren’t really married.”

“So, tell them. Tell them what you did to him.”

“I killed the bastard. I would do it again if I had the chance.”

The stunned silence that followed almost left her deaf.

“You admit it,” Angus said, disgust dripping from every word. “You let him go in there and get killed.”

“No. I did not let him go in there and get killed.”

She wandered around the room, pretending not to care about her audience. It was okay that they thought she was a killer. She was one.

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you find that out when you went rummaging around in my past?”

“No, I spoke with Dylan O’Conner.”

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.