Sinfully Supernatural

by Multiple

  "I don't understand what you mean."

  "He took something of mine, I will take something of his."

  Fear slithered down her spine and then curled into her stomach when she saw the gun. She opened her mouth to scream, but he rushed forward, smacking her head with the butt of the gun. The room started to spin as she fell to the floor.

  "An eye for an eye, Dr. Chilton," he whispered into her ear as he lifted her into his arms. Then, her world faded to black.

  * * * *

  "I think you need to get over your irritation, cuz," Fletcher said to Callum as they walked back to his office.

  "Indeed? You of all people believe her act?"

  Fletcher shook his head. "That woman cannot be deceitful to anyone."

  "She lied to me."

  "She lied by omission. Which is not really a lie."

  Callum stopped in his tracks. "Why are you pleading her side?"

  Fletcher studied him for a second. "Phoebe loves you. You were both attracted to each other from the beginning, but it grew. Hell, you were bouncing around here like some kind of damned schoolboy with a crush."

  "You sound jealous."

  "None of us planned on marrying, did we? But you thought about it with her. You were definitely thinking about the future. And that isn't something any of us have thought about for a long time."

  “And so I should forgive and forget? Give me a break.”

  He started walking again, hoping to get as far away from the conversation as possible. He wanted to do just as Fletcher had said. Even knowing how duplicitous Phoebe had been, Callum wanted nothing more than to forgive her. He needed her back beside him. And that bothered him more than anything else. The fact that he wanted to ignore her deception was troubling to say the least. If there was one thing he understood, it was holding a grudge.

  “What has you so afraid, Callum? That this might work and you might have to take a chance for once in your life?”

  Anger mixed with fear was a dangerous combination in Callum. He whirled around and faced his cousin.

  “I took a chance once, or did you forget? I put my father, your father, our entire leadership at risk. And they lost their lives because of it.”

  “Bloody hell. That had nothing to do with you. Did you see horrible things? Of course you did. But I know without a doubt, they did not die protecting you. Did they?”

  No, they hadn’t. They had been fighting by his side, and for the first time in his life, he had felt like a man. Until the British had outflanked them. Then, everything had turned to hell.

  “No.”

  “So, get over yourself, Callum. You’ve had it bad. You have the bad memories. Get over and move on. If you don’t, breaking the curse just isn’t going to mean a damned thing if you are bent on spending the rest of your life paying for a debt you don’t owe.”

  With that, Fletcher turned on his heel and stormed off. It wasn’t normal for him to show such a temper, and he usually kept his feelings to himself. None of them were acting like themselves lately. From the moment he had found the diary, they had been in turmoil. Phoebe had added to it.

  He drew in a deep breath and started back to his office. He had to get himself prepared to be with her. One night without her had him crawling the walls. She had lied to him, planned to sell him out, and he still wanted her. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? Callum Lennon was known as a man of steel. Emotions didn’t bother him. But in less than a month, the woman had him acting as if she were the center of his universe.

  He shook his head and stepped into the office. It was empty. The lights were still on and there were a few papers on the floor. The Bruce’s sword lay on the floor in front of his desk.

  The diary was nowhere to be found. Anger filled him as he walked further into the room. She had done it to them again. Then he saw the note.

  You take, I take. If you want to see your precious doctor alive again, meet me where the Bruce’s heart rests and bring the diamond.

  The bastard had her. Every bit of her duplicity dissolved as he realized that her life was now at stake. And in that second, he knew without a doubt that Phoebe was the center of his universe. If he lost her, nothing mattered.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Phoebe stumbled as McWalton pulled her along in the dark. There was little lighting around Melrose Abbey, but apparently he had the eyes of a cat.

  "You know the guards will see us at some point."

  He said nothing. He hadn't said a word other than to give her commands since she had come awake in his car. It had left her with too much to think about. Was he planning on killing her? Of course he was. He had gone completely mental. She stumbled again, this time on purpose, trying to slow him down.

  "So you plan on shooting me and leaving me here in the abbey? That seems a bit dramatic for, well, a heterosexual man."

  He whirled around and smacked her. The hit was so hard, she fell back a few steps and it left her slightly dazed. Lord, she had hit a button with that one, hadn’t she?

  "If you cannot shut up, I'll gag you."

  He turned and yanked on the rope again to pull her along. This time it wasn't an act when she almost fell down. The slap had her head still spinning and her lip bleeding.

  "If you think he'll come after me, you're wrong, you know. He doesn't care."

  He snorted. "He would give his kingdom up for you."

  "Apparently you've been drinking. Or did you forget last night?"

  He turned and she flinched, ready for another smack. He smiled, apparently sensing her fear, and she wanted to curse. Showing a man like him fear was a death sentence.

  "He will come. If he was through with you, he would have left you at the castle last night. He didn't. Hell, he’d have kicked you out of their house without a thought if he didn't care. He does. And it will be my pleasure to have you die in front of him."

  "Apparently you haven't been listening. He won't care, so you might as well save us the time and kill me now."

  "I strenuously object to that idea, Phoebe. Not after I dragged my arse all the way down here to Melrose in the middle of the night," Callum said from the shadows.

  Her heart jumped into her throat when she heard his voice. McWalton giggled. It was the only description she could use for it.

  "I knew it." He yanked on the rope and pulled her against him. She struggled, trying to get away, but she felt the cold steel of the gun against her temple.

  "Show yourself, McLennan."

  He stepped into the weak overhead light. He looked tired…and very, very mad.

  "I knew you would come. She said you wouldn't, but I knew it. Did you bring the diamond?"

  "Yes."

  "And let me guess? You came alone."

  Callum said nothing. He kept his concentration on McWalton and didn't look at her. The side of his cheek flexed, and she knew that he was grinding his teeth. A sure sign Callum was furious, but he appeared relaxed as he walked forward.

  "That's far enough."

  McWalton's fingers dug into her arm as he backed up a step.

  “I have the diamond.” Callum pulled a cloth out of his pocket. “Now, hand over Phoebe.”

  McWalton’s breath was hot against her skin as he snorted. “I don’t think so. If there is one thing my ancestors taught me, it is to never trust a McLennan. Show me the stone.”

  She’d hoped that Callum hadn’t brought the stone with him, but he removed the cloth and the brilliance of the stone was easy to see.

  “Toss the diamond over here.”

  “You expect me to throw a priceless diamond over to you?” Callum asked.

  “Just do it,” McWalton screeched as the barrel of the gun pressed harder against her temple.

  “Don’t do it, Callum. He’ll kill me and run with the diamond.”

  For the first time since getting there, Callum looked at her. It was dark and the lighting was bad, but there was no mistaking the fury in his e
yes.

  “I think you should stay out of this.”

  Anger and fear twisted in her gut. This man was going to get himself killed over her. She just couldn’t live with that.

  “Well, isn’t that just like you to tell me to stay out of it,” she said.

  “Yes, it is.” Then he switched his attention to McWalton. “You want the diamond? Go get it.”

  And with that he threw it over their heads. It landed among the tombstones that littered the area. McWalton screamed and shoved her aside as he turned to run toward the diamond. Phoebe fell to the ground and tried to brace herself, but it was hard with her hands tied together.

  Callum rushed to her side and pulled her up. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded as he tried to untie the knot. He looked up at her face, and his expression hardened. “He hit you.”

  “A few times. But, Callum go get the diamond. You have to find it.”

  He shook his head. “It was more important to save you.”

  There was so much she wanted to say, but shots started ringing out over their heads. “You bastard, get over here and find the fucking diamond.”

  “I have to take care of him. Get behind that rock.”

  “Don’t kill him.”

  He paused. “Why not?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’ll go to jail, you moron.”

  “Okay, but I am going to hurt him. A little. Now, do as I said and hide behind that rock.”

  “I am not going to stay here tied up—“

  He gave her a quick, hard kiss. “Shut up.”

  Then he left her sitting there in the dark.

  * * * *

  Callum felt another surge of anger when he saw McWalton. He’d had enough of him and of his family to last him the rest of eternity. Fucking with the McLennans, blaming them for his grandfather’s mistakes. He was sick of it. And worse. He had tried to harm the woman that Callum loved. That was a life sentence in Callum’s opinion.

  But, he couldn’t kill him. Phoebe was right. The man was a nuisance, the entire family idiotic. Killing him would bring more attention on them, and if people started really looking into their backgrounds, they would be screwed.

  “Stop right there, McLennan.”

  “I notice you’ve decided to use my real name.”

  McWalton snorted. “What the hell is it about you, about the entire lot of you, that draws people to you? You should be in a dungeon somewhere.”

  “I have been.”

  “Hard to tell. You live the high life.”

  Of course he saw it that way. While Callum and his family wanted nothing more than to live normal lives, the McWaltons didn’t see it that way. They would always try to ruin what others had instead of trying to build a life for themselves.

  “You shouldn’t have taken Phoebe.”

  “Lost without your whore, McLennan?”

  He curled his fingers into his palms. He had a gun tucked in the waistband of his pants, but he wanted to use it as a last resort. Especially when he saw McWalton hold up the diamond. “You thought I wouldn’t find it. I should have destroyed it years ago, but there is a stipulation in my father’s will. I told him it was insane, but he would not listen. He insisted that the jewels not be damaged in any way. Just as his father and his father’s father. Stupid. Of course, now it’s just you and me.”

  Callum gauged the distance between them and realized that he could easily take him down. Knowing this might be the only chance he got, he lunged at McWalton, who was still spouting off about what a horrible father he had. And in that moment, Callum didn’t care. He didn’t give a damn about the curse, about what Phoebe had done, about anything but saving Phoebe. The only thing that mattered was that he would have Phoebe by his side.

  “Damn you, McLennan,” McWalton screamed as both the diamond and the gun fell from his hands.

  Callum straddled the bastard and started hitting him with his fists. He would have beaten him to death if Phoebe hadn’t come up from behind him and tugged on his arm.

  “That’s enough, Callum. You’re going to kill him.”

  He finally stopped. He looked at her then at the men behind her. Guards surrounded the area.

  “We’ll take it from here, sir,” one of them said.

  He stood and pulled Phoebe into his arms. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. How could you leave with him?”

  “Leave with him? I didn’t leave with him. He knocked me out. Isn’t it just like you to blame me for this?”

  “How do you think I felt watching him hold a gun to your head?” he yelled, unable to keep the anguish out of his voice.

  She studied him for a moment then lifted her hands to cup his face. “I love you too, Callum.”

  He pulled her into his arms as he kissed her. “I love you.”

  “Isn’t that precious?” McWalton asked as he stood. “I cannot believe a smart woman like her would be that stupid.”

  He wanted to ignore McWalton, but Callum knew better. He watched as the guards surrounded McWalton.

  “I’m Laird McWalton. That man is a criminal. His name is McLennan. His whole family is filled with criminals.”

  The guards glanced at Callum, and he shrugged. “I’ve no idea what he’s talking about.”

  “Liar,” McWalton screamed.

  “You’re the liar,” Phoebe said, stepping in front of Callum to confront McWalton. Callum’s fingers itched to stop her, but he knew better. “This man kidnapped me. Mr. Lennon saved me.”

  “Whatever happened, we’ll sort it all out at the office,” one of the guards said. He moved to grab him, but McWalton fell to the ground and seized the gun he’d dropped earlier before the guards could do anything. Callum shoved Phoebe behind him and pulled his own weapon from his pocket. McWalton already had the gun and got off a shot that went wide, but Callum wasn’t taking any chances. He shot him in his heart.

  * * * *

  As they walked up the steps to the house, Phoebe sighed. “I still think we should have looked for the diamond.”

  “Then we would have had to explain to the guards about it. I’ll send Fletcher and Logan down tomorrow morning. They will be there when they open up. I know approximately where it is. And the weather is supposed to be atrocious, so no one will be out there early on.”

  She knew he was right. Explaining to the guards what they were looking for would have been difficult. But she didn’t like the idea of leaving the jewel there. They had contemplated sneaking back in, but even a cursory look over the area told both of them that they wouldn’t find it at night. And the guards were not about to let them look around. After taking their statements, they had asked them to leave.

  She opened the door and heard Anice yell, “They’re back.”

  The four cousins came running down the hall along with several servants. “Where the bloody hell have you been?” Angus yelled. “You just leave and don’t tell us what the hell is going on?”

  Angus pulled her out of Callum’s arms and gave her a look over and then hugged her.

  “That’s enough of that,” Callum said and tugged her back to his side. “McWalton stole her away. I needed to act fast.”

  “Where is the wanker right now? I would like to get a piece of him,” Fletcher said. From the look on his face, Phoebe was pretty sure he was telling the truth.

  “He’s dead,” Callum said.

  “He tried to shoot us, so Callum shot him.”

  “Forget about that. Come see,” Anice said, grabbing Phoebe’s hand and dragging her down the hall. Phoebe wanted a shower, wanted to get out of her clothes and burn them. She was so damned tired, she just wanted to collapse. But Anice just kept dragging her down the hall.

  She didn’t stop until they were in Callum’s office. She dropped Phoebe’s hand and picked up the sword. “Look!”

  In the middle of the handle, someone had set a perfect diamond.

  Phoebe shook her head. “Replacin
g the jewel with another is just not going to work, Anice.”

  Anice rolled her eyes, and Logan stepped up. “No, we didn’t do it. We were going through everything here trying to find something to tell us where you were and then all of the sudden, it appeared. Just like that.”

  Phoebe glanced at Callum, her heart turning over in her chest. “We lost it there. Callum was going to send you back to search for it.”

  “Well, he doesn’t have to now,” Logan said.

  Then she remembered the passage that she had translated earlier. She ran to her desk and pulled it out.

  “Here, read it.”

  Callum took it from her and frowned. “To gain the diamond, the McLennan will give up the future to gain his future.”

  He looked up at her, stunned.

  “It didn’t make any sense when I translated it, so I thought I was punch-drunk. But it does now. You gave up the chance at the diamond to save my life.”

  He set the book down and pulled her into his arms. “And thank God I did.”

  “Bloody hell. Does that mean we all have to give up something?” Fletcher asked.

  She laughed. “I’m not sure, but I have a feeling that each of you will have to go on some kind of quest.”

  “I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” Fletcher said.

  “I don’t think we have a choice, cuz,” Angus said.

  “No, you don’t, but I’ll be sure to help you along the way,” Phoebe said.

  Callum pulled her into his arms. “As long as they both understand you are only there for translation purposes and nothing else.”

  She was laughing when he bent his head and kissed her.

  Epilogue

  Phoebe slipped into bed beside Callum and sighed as she snuggled against him. It felt so good to have her by his side, in his bed, with no lies or secrets between them.

  “I am truly sorry for not being truthful.”

  He brushed his lips on the top of her head. “We both made some mistakes.”