A Highland Heist A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Three (18 page)

With Liam gone, they got to work. Maggie wrote down all the details she had on the Flahertys, in addition to all the information she had on the kidnapping itself, while Conall searched for information online. It was close to midnight and she should be exhausted, but she had enough work to keep her awake. She told herself it had nothing to do with the fact that she was spending time with Conall, who was working by her side.

He’d made it clear that he wasn’t interested in picking up where they left off, and knowing what his ex put him through, she couldn’t blame him. Not that she’d been much better, fully aware that she’d opened his old wounds. Guilt ate away at her, even though she told herself she’d pushed him away for his own good and to try to keep her brother safe.

Still…how could she not linger with the hope that, with time, he might learn to trust her again?

“Here, if ye’d like to have a look. I’ve mapped out all the properties owned and rented by the Flahertys, their kin, and known associates.” Conall turned his laptop towards her and shifted closer, pointing to the screen. “There are a handful in Dublin, then a few more farther outside the city, and yet another, several hours away near Limerick.”

She looked over the map, taking in the areas tagged with flags. “So how will we narrow it down? There are an awful lot of properties.”

“I’m thinking they’d likely keep him close to Dublin, so they can come and go without too much trouble. Means we can probably get rid of the one in Limerick. But with the rest, they’d likely want something far enough out of the way so as not to be seen or…heard. If ye’d like to have a look, we can narrow it down and I’ll start monitoring those areas for activity.”

They wouldn’t want to be heard because her brother might be yelling for help-or worse. She thought about the video, thought of his screams, and choked back a sob, turning away so he wouldn’t see her so upset. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey…what is it, love?” He ran a hand down her arm, making her want to lean against his touch for comfort, yet knowing she couldn’t.

“There’s a video of my brother. It might have clues to his location, but... I can’t. I can’t watch it again, Conall.” She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, her chest rattling as she exhaled.

He brushed her hair off her shoulder, his touch lingering. “Maybe we should call it a night. It’s late, and we’ve got the weekend ahead of us to figure this all out. The video can wait until tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Leaving him was the last thing she wanted to do, but she knew she couldn’t stay. She ran her hands down her thighs as she got to her feet. “I’ll see ye in the morning then? I could come by and take Piper on a run.” Anything to see him again.

When Conall stood, Piper got up to follow with a yawn and a stretch. “I’ll take ye home. And by all means, feel free to come get the pup. She’s been missing ye.”

No offer to stay the night, and it seemed as if Piper was the only one who didn’t want her to go. “Thanks. I appreciate the ride, especially after running in to Andrew.”

“What are ye going to do about him?” Conall’s jaw tightened as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Because if you don’t take care of it, I will.”

“What exactly am I supposed to do? I can’t exactly report him to the authorities for grabbing my arm and wanting to talk. And given everything that’s going on, I probably just panicked for no reason.” She grabbed her jacket off the back of the sofa and threw it on, before slipping her hands under her hair to free it from the fabric.

“Or he could be involved in this mess. What if he’s the one who told Sean we’d be in Dublin? And the fact that he grabbed ye…” He shook his head, his jaw set tight with anger. “Whether we’re together or not, I’ll not have that man scaring and bullying ye-and I sure as hell won’t have him manhandling ye.”

At least he still cared enough to get angry on her behalf. And then she remembered the excuse she’d used when trying to get rid of Andrew. “Shite…I may have forgotten to mention a small detail.”

His eyes narrowed in suspicion, making her heart beat all the faster. She loved how serious he could look. Loved the intensity of his gaze. Loved the intelligence that sparked in his eyes. “And what would that be with that guilty look on yer face?”

“I told him we were together to try to get him to leave me alone.” She bit her lip and cringed. “He thought we’d broken up…”

“We have, Maggie.”

She cringed some more. He was going to hate her. “I told him it was just a bump in the road, and we were back together-happy as Larry.” She gave him a big hopeful smile. Maybe he would see the humor in it.

He sighed and shrugged out of his jacket, shaking his head. “Ye realize ye can’t go home now, aye?”

“Why not?” Not that she minded much.

“Because if things are
happy as Larry
between us, then ye’d be spending the night. He could be watching the house, aye? Especially if he’s working with the Flahertys. And it’s
not
all right that he’s gotten physical with ye, Maggie, and something will need to be done.” He shook his head, looking exasperated.

She cringed. He’d never forgive her at this rate. It’d be impossible for her to screw things up worse than this. Not even if she tried. “I’m sorry, Conall. I can sleep on the sofa.”

“And ye won’t get a wink of sleep. There’s a spare room next to mine. Ye can stay there.”

Next to his? That certainly offered more potential than heading home. “I appreciate it.”

Chapter Eighteen

Bloody hell. Maggie was going to be the death of him. Conall took a deep breath to try to settle the heat in his gut as she wandered into the kitchen for breakfast, sleep still clinging to her like fog on the heathers. Her hair was a wild tumble of gold and amber falling over her shoulder, so his gaze couldn’t help but wander down to the precariously buttoned shirt she’d stolen out of his closet and those long, lean, naked legs.

“I see ye found one of my shirts.” He poured them each a cup of coffee, hoping the distraction would be enough to keep him from lifting her up onto the counter and taking her then and there like a sex-crazed teenager.

“Hope you don’t mind. I borrowed a pair of yer boxers too.” She pulled up her shirt-his shirt-to show him, exposing the curves of her belly, the skin smooth over the firm muscles, the waist of his boxers hanging low enough to have his breath hitching and a ball of heat curling in his gut.

It was nearly impossible to ignore the effect she had on his body or the tension that shifted south. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he handed her a coffee. “Here. Just the way ye like it-with far too much cream and sugar.”

With a shrug of her shoulders, her eyebrows flicked up teasingly, her eyes alight. “Not like it’s a big surprise that ye take yours black. So…what’s for breakfast?”

“Ye’ll have to pardon me for not setting out a buffet. I hadn’t been expecting overnight guests.” Knowing that she was asleep in the room next door to him had left him tossing around all night long. Sleep had refused to come as his mind raced through images from their time together, making it far too easy to picture her sleeping naked just feet away from him.

Best stick to the matter at hand. He may desperately want her, but he couldn’t go down that road. He dug around for a pan. “I don’t have a whole lot, but I do have a few eggs. Could manage crepes if ye’re interested.”

“I never say no to crepes. Although…from a man who supposedly doesn’t cook? Not sure how good an idea that is.” With humor in her eyes, she looked at him over her mug of coffee, holding it to her face with both hands.

At least she was in a better mood. So why did it put him on edge? Couldn’t possibly have anything at all to do with the fact that he desperately wanted her, and she was making it damned difficult to keep his distance.

“Like I said, I can cook enough to keep myself fed.” He grabbed the eggs and milk, and then dug around in the cabinet for the flour and sugar. “And by all means, if ye think you can do a better job, I’m happy to step aside and let ye have a go.” He offered up the whisk, and then laughed when she didn’t take it. “Thought so.”

“I’ve got my own specialties.” She leaned against the counter, facing him, with a teasing smile upon her lips and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Yeah…I’ve seen a few of those specialties, but they do little to fill an empty stomach.” Bloody hell, she was making it so damned hard. Yet the last week and a half had been unbearable, and
she
was the one who’d put him through that hell, despite knowing his past. Clearly, there were extenuating circumstances, but it all came down to trust.

That’s what hurt the most. She could have trusted him. She should have known he’d be on her side, not only to help get her brother back but to be there for
her
, so she wouldn’t have to go through this alone. Instead, she hadn’t thought him worthy. She’d lied and skirted the truth. Pushed him away and left him heartbroken. And she did all this knowing how difficult it had been for him to let down his guard and trust her.

No…she might be enticing, but he refused to be taken for a fool yet again. Not when his heart was on the line.

***

Once Liam arrived at Conall’s, they got to work trying to track down where Aidan was being held. Conall also put in a call to his friend, Thorsen. He’d be a good one to have on their side, though there was a good chance he might be away on assignment. Having worked for Interpol, he was now an independent contractor, though what exactly he was doing these days, Conall would rather not know.

“There…the low ceiling and smaller window makes me think they’re holding Aidan in an area that’s more rural-an older home, similar to yer cottage, I’d think.” Conall paused the video and then shifted out of the way so Maggie and Liam could have a closer look.

“Can you zoom in on the window? They have it covered over, but the thickness of the wall might give us an indication as to when the home was built.” Maggie leaned forward for a better look, her body brushing against his as the three of them squeezed in around his desk. He did his best to ignore the nearness of her, but his body’s reaction to her was immediate, leaving him wanton and longing for her.

He tried to push thoughts of her aside, and zoomed in on the image. “Just over a foot deep, I’d say.”

Liam nodded and sat back. “The older cottages were built with walls more than two feet thick. I’d think this one here was probably built in the last seventy-five years.”

Conall clicked over to the map he’d made up the night before with the marked properties around Dublin and just beyond. “I’ll see if I can cross-reference the addresses I found last night with the year the buildings were built. With luck, we’ll be able to narrow it down to just a few.”

“And if ye’re able to track their mobile phones, that’ll help narrow it even further.” She reached out and squeezed his hand for a brief moment, a small smile on her lips. “I can’t thank ye enough for helping.”

Starting his search on the homes, Conall gave her a shrug. “It’s nothing ye couldn’t have managed on yer own, though this is just the start of it. Things will get more difficult from here.”

She bit her bottom lip. “Will ye still call your friend to help?”

“I already did, though I haven’t heard from him yet. He’s always good about getting back to me as soon as he’s able, though, so I’m sure we’ll hear from him before long.” Conall copied the data to a new document, adding what other information he could find for each of the locations. “I’m going to be here a while with this, but can give ye a call once I have more information. Don’t feel like ye have to hang around.”

Not that he wanted to push her away, but he didn’t trust himself. The more time he spent in her company, the more she wore down his defenses. The more he wanted to throw caution to the wind if it meant he could hold her in his arms.

Maggie didn’t budge when Liam got to his feet. “I’ll catch up with ye later. I have a few things I need to discuss with Conall, and if we’re being watched by Sean or Andrew, then it’s best we continue to keep up appearances that nothing has changed and we’re sticking to their plan.”

“Just keep in touch, yeah?” Liam looked from her to Conall. “I trust ye’ll keep her safe?”

“I will.” Though he was only putting his heart in jeopardy by not sending her away. Turning to her, he pinned her with a stare. “And we’re working, ye hear?”

“Obviously. It’s me brother’s life that’s at stake. What else would we be doing?” She shook her head as if he was daft.

“Later then. And Maggie-behave yerself. The man’s helping us. Don’t go harassing him.” Liam gave her a warning look, but shook his head in defeat and then headed out the door.

“So, what can I do to help?” Maggie was already pulling out her laptop, the screen blinking to life.

“Since ye’re familiar with the family, their friends, associates, it’d be helpful if you could jot down their names and start tracking down any information ye might think would be helpful.” He wanted to have as much information gathered for Thorsen as possible.

She nodded and got to work, quietly tapping away beside him. Before long, the tension inside him eased as they each found their rhythm and things between them remained purely professional. After a while, he got up to stretch his legs and put the kettle on, making some tea and plating some biscuits. By the time he had the tea steeping, Maggie wandered in.