A Highland Heist A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Three (14 page)

“And Conall?”

“Yeah. And Conall.” She had to blink back the tears that threatened, grateful for the cover of darkness and that she could easily blame it on the wind. “It’s been a long time since I last cared about anyone like this, and now…”

Her brother pulled her into a one-armed hug. “I know, darling. I remember what ye went through. You’ve got a lot to lose.”

“I want to tell him, Liam. He might be able to help.” She had to believe Conall would understand the position she was in. He wouldn’t risk her brother’s life for the jewels and his reputation-or would he? She was just so desperate to see him, to smooth things between them. Keeping the truth from him had her gut in knots and uncertainty had her head spinning.

“Maggie, ye can’t. If he tells the authorities, it could cost us Aidan’s life.” He gently placed both hands on her shoulder. “Promise me you won’t say anything.”

She swiped at the tears that finally escaped, knowing that if she continued to push Conall away and lie to him, she’d lose him forever, their trust shattered. It was the one thing he’d asked for and she’d agreed to. Yet it was mere days later, and she’d already gone against her word.

“Promise me, Maggie.” Liam all but shook her in his panic. “We can’t risk it.”

“I promise.” Even if it cost her her heart.

***

Every time Maggie reached out for Conall, she found herself alone in an empty bed. She spent the night tossing and turning, sleep escaping her as she longed to have him near, his comforting arms wrapped around her.

By the time she crawled out of bed, it felt like she’d been hit by a truck. Even worse, her heart ached like it’d been wrenched from her body, leaving her an empty and broken shell. Lying to Conall and keeping him at bay was eating her up. It left her feeling hollow and incomplete. Add to that constantly worrying about her brother and the danger he was in, and she was a bundle of nerves.

Showering helped her wake up, but her mind kept churning over what she should do about Aidan and Conall. She stumbled into the kitchen and got a pot of coffee going, ignoring Liam, who was shoveling in a big fry up of eggs, rashers, bangers, tomato, and a stack of generously buttered toast.

“There’s a pot of tea made.” He looked at her over his pile of salty meat. “Ye look like shite, Maggie. Didn’t sleep well?”

“What do you think?” She glared at her brother, thinking it was going to be one cursedly long day if he was going to constantly point out the obvious. “And if anyone doesn’t care for my appearance, then they can look elsewhere. I’m not the fecking Rose of Tralee, Liam.”

He threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Didn’t say ye were, love.”

She gave him a final scowl, ignoring that his words could be taken as yet another jab, and stole one of his greasy bangers, taking a bite. “We need to do a sweep of the bus and see if we can manage the museum.” They’d already cleared the cottage and found nothing.

Finishing up his breakfast in record time, Liam dropped his dish in the sink, ran some hot water over it, and drank the last of his tea. “I’m heading in.”

He’d yet to move when there was a knock at the door. “Stay here in case it’s Sean. I’d rather not have to explain to Seamus Flaherty why his son has a knife sticking out of him-especially since in the mood ye’re in, I’d say it’s a distinct possibility I’d end up having to do just that.”

She certainly wasn’t going to argue with him when there was a good chance he was right. But it wasn’t Sean-it was Conall-and Liam was trying to send him away. She headed for the front door, only to find Liam standing there with his hands on the doorjamb, blocking the entry so Conall couldn’t pass or see past him. “Sorry, she’s busy. I’ll tell her you stopped by, though.”

“I’ve got it, Liam.” Maggie came up behind her brother and waited for him to get out of the way. Not that he was going anywhere. “If ye don’t mind, I’d appreciate a bit of privacy.”

“I’m heading to work. Don’t be too long, yeah?” Liam grabbed his jacket and pushed past them, his brow furrowed as he shook his head and headed for the truck.

Maggie stepped to the side, holding onto her arms, suddenly feeling chilled, her bad mood turning sullen. All she wanted was for things to go back to normal. For her brother to be home safe. For her to not have to push Conall away. “Sorry about that.”

Conall threw her a worried glance before moving past her and into the room. She resisted the urge to touch him, to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything. All she wanted was for him to hold her and tell her it would be all right, unable to put any distance between them.

As if knowing exactly what she needed, he pulled her into his arms and touched her cheek, his eyes searching hers. Her breath caught when his thumb brushed her lips and then, as if nothing else mattered, as if all would be well if they had each other, he kissed her. Kissed her until all else melted away, and it was just the two of them. Kissed her as if he alone could sustain her, as if he were her very breath and the blood in her veins, as if he were her beating heart.

His kisses eventually slowed, but she couldn’t pull away. Instead, they stood there with their heads bowed together, their lips just a whisper away, his arms pulling her into his embrace.

When he spoke, his voice was thick with emotion and need. “I missed ye, Maggie.”

“I missed you, too.” She threw her arms around his neck and held tightly, wishing the rest of the world and all its problems would just disappear.

She buried her head in the crook of his neck, breathing in his familiar scent and taking comfort in his arms. He stroked her hair and cradled her, holding her close, but his ragged breath had her beating back tears, knowing she’d soon have to push him away again.

He pulled away just enough to hold her face in his hands, his gaze drifting over her features as if trying to find an answer to what was wrong. “Och, love…what’s happening? And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I’ve never seen so drastic a change in a person. Don’t shut me out, Maggie. I’m begging ye to not push me away.”

Yet what choice did she have?

Chapter Fourteen

When Maggie couldn’t look him in the eyes, he suddenly realized just how bad things had gotten between them-and in such a short amount of time. “Maggie, please. Talk to me, damn it. What the hell’s going on?”

The last thing he wanted was to get angry with her, but he couldn’t deal with not knowing what was wrong. It didn’t help that sleeping without her tucked in at his side left him tossing and turning and in one hell of a bad mood come morning.

“I love ye, Conall. But right now, I need that to be enough for you. Just know that ye’re my very heart.” She cupped his cheek and nuzzled him close, kissed him with a brush of her lips, slow and sweet.

Was he blowing the matter out of proportion? Damn it.
This
was why he didn’t get involved in relationships. Not that she wasn’t worth it. He couldn’t remember being happier-until yesterday.

“Is this because of yer brother? Is Liam giving ye a hard time?” If that was it, he’d make amends, even if they’d done nothing wrong. “I know I got off to a rocky start with him, but bloody hell, Maggie. Ye can’t let him get between us, love-not for something that’s none of his business.”

She shook her head no with a sigh. “It’s not that. And trust me when I tell ye, I don’t want anything coming between us.”

“Then what’s changed, love? Ye were so happy, so full of life, just days ago. And now…ye’re a shadow of who ye were. I love ye and I want to help, but I can’t if ye won’t let me in. And damn it, Maggie, I don’t want to lose ye.” Didn’t she see what this was doing to him? How could everything deteriorate so quickly? She’d said she’d battled with depression before. Was that the problem? A bad breakup had brought it on before. But now? Everything had been perfect. They’d been happy.

She led him to the sofa, shifting in her seat so she could face him. When she bit her bottom lip and ran her hands down her jeans, he took her hand in his to try to comfort her.

“I know I’ve been distant.” She managed a smile, even if it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ve got some other stuff going on and have been under a lot of stress. I shouldn’t have let it get to me-or let it affect our relationship-and for that, I’m really sorry.”

He wanted to press her for answers, to remind her that they’d both agreed to be honest. Yet she hadn’t lied to him, but rather refused to tell him what the hell was going on. He let out a weary breath. Pulling her to him, he kissed her head, happy he could still hold her in his arms. He’d try to give her more time, more space.

Brushing a stray curl from her eyes, his touch lingered. He needed to have her close, needed the connection between them to keep his uncertainties at bay. “It’s the industry we’re in, love. Things can get complicated. But if there’s anything I can do to help, all ye need to do is ask. I’m pretty good at what I do, if I might say so myself.”

Her lips quirked into a hint of a smile-a real one-even if it was overshadowed by whatever was upsetting her. “There’d be no denying that, love.”

“And I’ve got good instincts, Maggie. Ye have to in this line of work.” Which is why this felt bigger than work.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore-and I want things to get back to normal between us. I don’t know how things got so strained between us and in so little time.” Shifting closer to him, she ran a hand down his arm and bit her bottom lip. “And since it’s my fault, let me make it up to ye.”

When she straddled his lap and kissed him, he pulled her close, running his hands down her back until they rested at the luscious curve of her waist. A small part of his brain told him this was nothing more than a distraction technique. A way to change the subject. Yet it didn’t matter in that moment-not when she was in his arms.

Her kiss deepened, but Conall’s doubts and thoughts continued to nag at him. Things felt so different between them. Her passion felt…not quite forced, but…distracted. Like she was going through the motions, her heart not in it. He slowed their kisses and pulled away, cupping her face in his hands and searching her eyes for answers.

“Och, love…Let me in. Ye can’t tell me this is a simple work issue. Not when everything about ye feels off. I’m here for ye, love. Ye know that, aye? Ye can trust me, Maggie. Let me help.”

She pulled away and shook her head, climbing off his lap to pace. “I do trust ye.”

“But?” He waited for her to say something. Anything. But when she refused to speak to him, he tried unsuccessfully to beat back his frustration. He leaned back on the sofa and ran his hand down his face.

Her eyes locked on his, his own frustration mirrored in her eyes. “What do ye want me to say, Conall? If I could include ye in this goddamned mess, then don’t ye think I would? But I can’t, damn it. Our relationship isn’t the only thing on the line here. I’m asking for a bit of space and consideration where this is issue is concerned. And if ye can’t give me that, then maybe you should go.” Those last words were spoken through a trembling jaw, her eyes shimmering with tears that refused to fall.

“I’ll go if ye want me to, but bloody hell, Maggie, I’m only trying to help.” Conall got to his feet and started heading for the door, wondering how it could all go so cursedly wrong.

For a moment, she looked like she might actually stop him from going, stop him from walking away.

But she didn’t.

***

By the end of the day, Conall was desperate for a distraction. Anything to keep himself from replaying Maggie’s every word, over and over again. He couldn’t see how or why everything had fallen to pieces. Had he asked for too much, or taken things too fast? Probably, though she’d seemed happy enough-until it all went to hell.

Was it any wonder he avoided relationships? He liked things to make sense, liked things to remain even-keeled. And relationships were
never
that.

“Maybe you’re just reading too much into it.” Rowan sat in the booth across from Conall with Angus at her side. She’d checked in on him, and then stated that a pint and a bit of company would be just the thing to cheer him up-whether he was in the mood to go the pub or not. “The impression I got is that she really likes you. And you just got back from Dublin. You said it went well, right?”

“Yes. No.” Conall sighed and played with his pint glass, picking it up and putting it down to leave interlocking rings of moisture on the surface of the well-polished table. “I don’t know. Parts of it were…amazing. But there were also awkward moments, like meeting her family-who were none too happy about her dating anyone at all, let alone someone who’d likely drag their daughter off to the middle of nowhere. We also ran into her ex. Always a fun experience.”

Angus sat back and laughed. “Isn’t that always the worst? Rowan’s ex still sends her roses. Regularly.”

“At least he’s on another continent-unlike
your
exes.” Rowan bumped Angus with her shoulder, throwing him a teasing smile. “It only took Lara two months and someone trying to kill me before she’d stop glaring at me.”

“I don’t know…Things were fine once we got back. I couldn’t have been happier-and she was happy too. I swear it.” He let out a deep breath, his chest tight with worry. “Then yesterday, everything changed. She’d spent the night and by the time I woke up come morning, things felt off between us, felt wrong. And now? She’s barely talking to me, damn it.”