A Highland Heist A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Three (19 page)

“Thank the gods-tea. I was starting to fade in there.” She ran a hand over her face. “I might go out for a quick walk while the tea steeps. Exercise and cold air always helps wake me up.”

After her run-in with Andrew, he wasn’t sure he loved the idea. “Do ye think it’s safe?”

“In broad daylight? I would hope so.” She ran a hand down her arm as if warding off a chill. “You could come with me. Though I don’t want to pull ye away from your work.”

He could. Indeed, he
should
go with her. Yet he didn’t want to upset the balance they’d found. It was nice to not constantly be tempted by her, and he had a sneaking suspicion that if they left work behind, he’d want nothing more than to put his heart on the line once more. “I have a few more things I want to check on, and I want to try Thorsen again. Ye won’t be long?”

“No…” She threw him a small smile, despite the sigh that escaped those full lush lips. “Not long at all. I’ll take Piper with me. She can pull a
Lassie
if I get into trouble.”

“There’s a better chance she’d be the one dragging ye over the cliff.” He shook his head as visions of her demise flashed through his head. “Just be careful.”

“I will.”

Conall watched her go, doing his best to ignore that bounce in her step and that sweet behind. With a weary sigh, knowing his need would not be fulfilled, he sat down at his laptop with the list of names Maggie had jotted down. Starting with the immediate Flaherty family, he first crossed referenced their properties, and then moved on to tracking down their cell phone numbers. He sorted through the lists, but wanted to narrow it down further before attempting to track those people via their mobile phones.

Working with the list of addresses, he switched to a map of satellite and road views. If he could check out the building types at each given address, he might be able to match them to the cottage style they’d seen in the video. Pulling up one location after the other, he was quickly able to eliminate most of the buildings. There were, however, a few that might be the right style.

Logging in to his email, he found a message from Thorsen. Turns out his friend was closer than he thought. Not South America or the Middle East, but rather in Italy, helping to track and capture an art forger. Best of all, he was happy to come for a visit and help out in any way he could. Conall wrote him back and sent him the details, knowing his email line hadn’t been compromised. It would be good to have Thorsen’s help on this.

Conall checked the time. Maggie should have been back by now. Unless she took a longer walk than she’d anticipated, or lost track of the time. Yet it left him uneasy after her run-in with Andrew and with Sean still around. Conall called her phone, but it went through to voicemail. Not that it meant anything when coverage was so spotty in this area. Still, it was enough to have him grabbing his coat and heading for the door.

Not sure which way she’d gone, he turned in the direction they normally went when they took walks together. The wind coming in off the sea was brisk, the bite of it stinging his cheeks. His muscles tensed as he braced himself against the bitter chill, wondering why the hell Maggie hadn’t turned back within minutes of stepping out. It only increased his worry that she’d been gone so long. He should have gone with her. Should have put aside his own worries and made sure she remained safe. If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.

Digging out his phone, he tried her again. Still nothing. He lengthened his stride, his heart racing as he did his best to ignore the guilt that was eating away at him. He crested the hill and saw her off in the distance through the fog and mist. Relief washed over him-until the wind caught the fog and he saw a shadow shift not far from her.

He picked up his pace as she started to move towards him, the fog swallowing up anyone who may have been there. By the time he reached her, it felt like all the breath had been pulled from his lungs.

“I was worried about ye.” Conall ran a hand down her arm, searching her face to make sure she was okay. “Who was that?”

Her smile faded as she looked at him with drawn brows. “I didn’t see anyone. Was someone there?”

He looked around as if still expecting someone to come towards them. “I thought so, though I could be mistaken.”

Looking worried, she glanced over her shoulder and moved closer to him, making him want to put a comforting arm around her. “Was it Piper or maybe the thick fog?”

He looked down at his wiggling dog, which was far too small to be mistaken for a man. It may have been nothing more than the mists, but the thought still bothered him. “I suppose it could have been the shifting fog. Let’s get ye back. Ye must be frozen to the bone.”

“I am. I swear it wasn’t this cold when I left the house, and by the time the weather turned, we’d already wandered quite a ways.” When she started walking back towards his home, he fell in step beside her.

The worry he’d felt had yet to fade, and he found himself reaching out to take her hand, despite all his previous hesitations. Few words were spoken as they walked back to the house, but by the time they got inside, he was frozen to the bone and was sure Maggie was in even worse shape.

Conall locked the door behind them. “How about I get a fire going, and then catch ye up on where we stand?” Leaning over, he gave Piper a good scratch before undoing her leash and hanging it by the door.

Maggie rubbed her hands over her arms, her cheeks and the tip of her nose flushed red from the cold. “Sounds perfect.”

It didn’t take Conall long to get a fire going, and given how cold Maggie looked, he made sure to build it up, tossing a few extra logs on for good measure. Already, he could feel himself thawing, the heat of the fire comforting. “Take a seat close by, and I’ll grab the information I printed.”

He handed her the information and then went to put the kettle on for more tea, the knot in his chest yet to dissolve. With Aidan’s life at risk, the nagging guilt that he should warn Iain about the Flahertys, and most of all, his uncertain relationship with Maggie, he was on edge and there was little relief in sight. Not to mention he had Andrew and Sean to contend with.

He and Maggie were doing all that could be done to get Aidan safe, and with luck, the jewels wouldn’t come into play. But regarding Maggie and how he felt about her…he’d never been more torn.

He told himself she’d be gone in a few months, anyway. With things uncertain between them, she’d have no reason to stick around. The thought pained him, but perhaps with her gone, it’d be easier to forget her and get back to his life. Easier to forget that she couldn’t trust him, that she’d lied to him. Easier to heal. He’d gotten over Janet and he’d get over Maggie, too.

Suddenly weary, he poured the tea and steeled himself to be strong. Giving in to his feelings for her would only make it harder when she left. No good would come of it.

Putting up as much of a wall as he could manage in her presence, he headed back to the living room and handed her a mug. “Thorsen sent word. He’s willing to help. Should be here in the next day or two.”

“That’s brilliant.” Maggie was sitting cross-legged in front of the fire, and under normal circumstances he’d join her, but this time he grabbed his laptop and sat on the sofa. Not that it went unnoticed. She patted the floor. “Why don’t ye come sit here and tell me about your friend?”

“Wouldn’t know where to start. Thorsen is…unique. Ye’ll like him, I think.” He started typing away with the hope that she wouldn’t notice he was still on the sofa. “Did ye have a chance to go through the addresses and homes? I’d like to have things narrowed down for him before he gets here.”

She gave him a sly look, her elbows propped on her knees and a teasing smile on her lips. “Are you avoiding me, Conall? Because I get the distinct feeling ye are.”

He glared at her over the top of his screen and then back at his keyboard, half wishing she’d just go away and leave him to his misery. “I know better than to bother with the impossible, and trying to avoid ye would be doing just that.”

She pursed her lips. “Ye really know how to make a girl feel loved.”

“I do try.” Conall held her gaze, refusing to be lured by the sparkle in her eyes. She might be persistent, but he had a lot at stake and knew better than to give in to temptation.

“I get it, love. I really do.” She let out a small laugh, but there was no humor in it. The sparkle faded from her ice blue eyes and her gaze slipped away from him, her shoulders slumped. “I know I no longer deserve yer trust-and for that I’m truly sorry.”

She turned back towards the fire, picking up the printouts she’d been working with. A sharp pang of guilt haunted him, ripping at his resolve to stay strong. All he wanted was to comfort her-yet he still couldn’t put his heart on the line.

“Maggie…I understand why ye did it-and I don’t hold it against ye, love. But things are different now.” He forced the air into his lungs, his chest so tight he could barely get a breath in.

He wished he could let it all go. Wished they could just pick up where they’d left off. Erase the last few weeks. Or start over. Yet the cursed tightness, his past, the hurt…they left him rooted to the spot, unable to move forward. “I’m the one who’s sorry, Maggie. But there’s nothing to be done for it.”

Chapter Nineteen

With her focus on trying to get Aidan back, Maggie felt like she’d been neglecting her work at the museum. Between her troubles and the issues she kept running into on the site, she was falling behind and it bothered her to no end. At least work would help to keep her occupied now that Conall had left her heartbroken, though it did little to keep him from her thoughts. Even Liam had made himself scarce, doing his best to avoid her, though out of guilt or to escape her mood, she wasn’t quite sure-nor did she care.

She spent the day finishing with the security measures she’d designed for the case that would house the Highlander’s Hope. The glass casing would allow the necklace to be viewed from all sides-if she wasn’t forced to steal it. She squeezed her eyes shut and ran her hands over her face. They’d get Aidan back. She had to believe that.

“Maggie, are you all right?”

She dropped her hands to her side and popped open her eyes, her heart already racing. “Andrew.”

“Look, I’m sorry if I scared you the other day.” He hung his head and stuck his hands in his pocket. “I wasn’t thinking-girl alone in the middle of nowhere, guy she doesn’t really know. I should’ve known better than to be so forward. My apologies.”

Her anger flared, and this time, she was damned if she was going to show any fear. She wasn’t sure if he had any connection to Sean, but it didn’t matter. She wanted rid of him. “Look, Andrew. I don’t know how many different ways I have to say it, but I’m not interested in you, and I’m no longer interested in being nice. You make me uncomfortable, and since my work and your work are separate from each other, we have no reason to interact-and that’s exactly how I’d like to keep things.”

“Ah.” He flicked his eyebrows up and gave her a small smile. “I guess we’ve cleared that up now. Not interested. Got it. And you’re with Conall, anyway. Right?”

“Don’t know how that’s any of yer business.” He clearly wasn’t convinced but she didn’t care. Not one bit.

She watched him wander off and got back to work, but the interaction had left her jittery and on edge, her focus shattered. With the end of the workday approaching, she wrapped up and headed to the bus to see where Liam stood with his project. A pang settled around her heart, knowing that if she was still with Conall, she’d be getting ready to head over to his home. They’d be having a bit of dinner and a pint, and then spend the rest of the evening in each other’s arms.

Instead, she’d be home with one brother while worrying about the other.

Liam put down his soldering iron, and looked up at her. “I think I’m going to head to the pub and see if Sean’s there. Do ye want to come?”

“Why the hell would I want to deal with that bastard?” She shot him a look like he’d lost his mind.

“Ye know how he gets if he starts drinking. I’m hoping he’ll drop his guard and say something-anything-that could help us find Aidan. Might even pass out long enough for me to have a look at his phone.” He gave her hand a quick squeeze. “It’s worth a try, right?”

“It is.” She dropped into the seat next to him. “You’re better off going without me. I won’t be able to hold my tongue, and it’ll be too tempting to stick a knife in the bastard and send his head home.”

“Believe me when I tell ye, I’ve had the same exact thought.” He grabbed his coat and got to his feet. “Don’t wait up.”

“Just be careful, yeah? The last thing I need is to have two of ye missing or in trouble with the Flahertys. The whole lot of them might be arses, but they’re smart and they’re ruthless. Don’t forget it, Liam.”

“I won’t, love.”

By the time Maggie made it home, she wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers. She picked through the leftovers in the fridge, knowing she’d be starving at midnight if she didn’t eat something. Yet with everything that was going on, her normally healthy appetite had dwindled to nothing. While the tea steeped, she made herself a grilled cheese sandwich after deciding she wasn’t in the mood for roast chicken or beef stew.

Taking her dinner into the living room, she turned on the TV, hoping it would distract her from worrying about Aidan and missing Conall. Her mind kept replaying the way Conall touched her, kissed her, the way his body fit so perfectly with hers. And how she’d hurt him with her lies, ruined what they had between them, lost the man she loved.