Page 25 of Edinburgh Escape (Brotherhood Protectors International #5)

“He said that there are some bad men who might try to come to our home. You don’t have to worry because we have some nice people who will come help keep us safe.

But we need to be smart and not go outside the manor without someone with us at all times.

” He looked directly at Bryce. “That means you can’t go outside to play unless one of us grownups goes with you. Do you understand?”

Bryce frowned. “Are they going to kill us?”

Maggie reached out and wrapped her arm around Bryce. “Of course not. We wouldn’t let that happen.”

“Your sister is right,” Ewan said. “We’ll protect you. But you have to do your part and be with one of us when you go outside.”

“Even to the stable?” Bryce asked.

Ewan nodded. “The stables, the garden, the garage. Anywhere outside the manor. Can you do that, Bryce?”

Bryce nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“If you see any strangers, you let one of us know,” Ewan said and turned to Cook and Alastair. “That goes for you as well.”

“Yes, Lord Drummond,” Cook said.

Alastair nodded.

Bryce’s brow was still furrowed. “Does that mean I can’t show Maggie my horse?”

“Of course, you can show Ms. Maggie your horse,” Ewan said. “As long as one of us grownups is with you.”

Bryce turned to Alastair. “Will you go take me and Maggie to see Montana?”

Alastair nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Bryce’s frown disappeared. “I’m finished with my breakfast, may I be excused?”

Ewan’s brow wrinkled. “You haven’t eaten half of what is on your plate.”

Bryce rubbed his stomach. “It makes my tummy hurt.”

“Do we need to have the doctor come for another visit?” Ewan asked.

“No, I’ll feel better,” Bryce said. “Promise.” He waited on the edge of his seat for Ewan to dismiss him.

Ewan’s lips pressed into a tight line. “You may go.”

Bryce pushed back from the table, carried his plate to the sink and hurried out of the kitchen.

“Does he always have a tummy ache when he eats?” Maggie asked.

Ewan’s lips thinned. “Fiona said it started after my father passed. She thinks it might be the stress of losing his father. She took him to see the doctor, but he couldn’t find anything wrong with him.

He suggested a medication for anxiety, but Fiona wasn’t keen on giving a five-year-old mind-altering drugs.

We’re keeping an eye on him, but he hasn’t shown signs of improvement. ”

“He really didn’t eat all that much,” Maggie said.

“He might be too excited to show you his horse,” Ewan said.

“Then I’d better be ready,” Maggie smiled.

With the boy out of the room, Callum let the others know about his conversation with his friend, who ran a security organization, and the man’s promise of more help heading their way to protect them. “A former SAS, Peter Atkins, should be here sometime this morning.”

“Atkins?” Ewan’s eyes narrowed. “I remember an Atkins. A little older than us. He’s not with the SAS anymore?”

Callum shook his head. “He works for my friend. We’ll need to let him through the gate when he arrives.”

Ewan nodded. “We will. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m still going through the ledgers. I can’t believe my father kept them manually in this day and age. He has them dating back to when his father was still alive.”

They finished breakfast and helped Cook clear the table. She shooed them out of the kitchen. “If you keep doing my job, you won’t need me anymore.”

Maggie hesitated at the bottom of the staircase. “I’m going up to brush my teeth and pull my hair back.”

Though he wanted to go with her, he resisted. After what had happened, he needed some distance. As long as she stayed in the house, she should be fine.

Callum explored the ground floor, noting all doors and windows that could be opened. Though if someone wanted in badly enough, they’d break the windows. However, that would be loud and alert the occupants. The last room he investigated was what appeared to be an office or study.

Ewan sat at a large mahogany desk with stacks of ledgers piled on either side, his head bent over another opened in front of him.

Callum knocked on the doorframe.

Ewan looked up. “Come in. Come in. My eyes are already crossing at all the entries. My father might have been an arse, but he was meticulous and his handwriting was excellent.” He glanced up.

“I’ve come across some entries that don’t make sense, one of which might have a connection to Ms. Maggie.

Have a look and tell me what you see.” He pushed his chair back, allowing enough room that Callum could get in to look at the ledger.

Ewan pointed at an entry. “This entry is marked A.M. for two thousand pounds. There isn’t a check number, but there are the letters W.T., which I assume stands for wire transfer, but he made the same entry every month for as far back as I’ve looked so far.”

“How far is that?” Callum asked.

“At least twenty years so far.” He handed Callum a ledger. “Here’s one from thirty years ago. See if you find it there. I wonder if he was putting money into a secret investment account that I need to find.”

Callum opened the ledger and checked through several months of entries. “None here.”

Ewan frowned and pulled out the one before the ledger he’d handed Callum. “None in this one as well. Wait. Halfway through the year, he started making the entries.”

Callum took the one labeled the year after. “This ledger has entries like that for every month.”

“Do you have bank account records?” Callum asked. “Maybe they show where that money went.”

Ewan shook his head. “There’s a stack of boxes full of tax records in the attic, but they only go back several years. I could look in them.”

“When was the most recent transfer?” Callum asked.

“Less than a year ago.”

“You could check online and see if there’s more information about where that transfer was sent.”

“His accounts are still tied up in probate,” Ewan said. “I’m waiting for the courts to grant me access.”

Callum stepped away from the desk, his thoughts going back to what Ace and Hank had said. They had people with technical skills who might be able to access those accounts. He turned to face Ewan, a former SAS like him, a man Callum felt in his gut he could trust. But would Ewan trust him?

Callum crossed to the door and closed it softly.

Ewan looked up, his brow creasing. “Is there a problem?”

“No,” Callum said. “But I haven’t been completely forthcoming with you.”

Ewan’s frown deepened. “About what?”

“Why I’m here.”

“You’re Maggie’s fiancé.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you not?”

Callum shook his head slowly. “That was my cover. I was hired to provide her protection. The friends I’ve mentioned who are sending help are my teammates.

We’re members of the Brotherhood Protectors, an organization comprised of former highly skilled men trained for special operations.

We provide services like security, protection and extraction for people who need it. ”

“And my half-sister thought she might need it to come to Scotland to meet me?” Ewan shook his head. “Did she think I would harm her?”

“No.” Callum smiled. “Quite the opposite. She’s never been out of the US.

Her friend’s husband is the founder of the Brotherhood Protectors, a former US Navy SEAL.

He and his wife worried that Ms. Maggie was going off alone and was too na?ve to know when she might be taken advantage of in transit or once she arrived here.

They asked me to follow her in case she needed help. ”

Ewan sighed. “And she did. All because of my cousin’s gambling addiction and subsequent deal with the devil.”

“Which we didn’t know coming here to meet you,” Callum said. “In order for her to show up with me in tow, we came up with the story that I was her fiancé.”

“You had no idea who attacked her on the train or in Edinburgh,” Ewan’s lips twisted.

“She could’ve been targeted by her siblings, eager to get their hands on the full inheritance, rather than having to share a portion with a child born of my father’s affair with the nanny.

Why are you telling me this now? You could’ve kept that to yourself and let me believe the people coming to help are just convenient friends. ”

“Because they have people with technical skills and contacts who can access information and get to data that most cannot.”

“You mean hackers?” Ewan crossed his arms over his chest. “You know that’s illegal. What makes you think I want to be involved in hacking into databases full of private information?”

Callum shrugged. “They could get to your father’s bank information quicker than the courts can grant you access. They also have a man with contacts who might identify what organization is threatening your cousin and the rest of your family.”

Ewan studied Callum for a long moment. “You’ve already got them looking for information on my cousin’s loan shark, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’d like to know where this money was going sooner rather than later. If it’s to an investment account, I’m not worried. If it’s blackmail money, I need to know what my father was up to in case it comes back to haunt my family.”

Callum pulled out his cell phone and placed a video call to Ace.

“I’m glad you called,” Ace answered. “Dmytro has some information for you.”

“You’re on speaker,” Callum said. “I have Ewan Drummond with me. He knows who I work for and wants your tech team to look up some wire transfers his father has made over the past twenty-eight years.”

“You think he was being blackmailed?” Ace asked.

“We don’t know,” Callum said. “But it’s better to know where that money went in case it impacts the family.”

Ewan rose from his chair and came to stand beside Callum. “I’m Ewan Drummond, and you are?” he said.

“Ace Hammerson, with Brotherhood Protectors International. Callum has kept us up to date on what’s going on. My tech guy, Dmytro, has some information about the organization threatening your cousin and now you.”

A white-haired man appeared on Callum’s phone. “Hello, I’m Dmytro. Do you have access to a larger computer screen with access to the internet?” The man spoke with a Russian accent. Or in his case, Ukrainian.

Ewan nodded. “On my desk.”

In less than three minutes, Dmytro walked Ewan through granting him access to Ewan’s computer.

Once he had control, he popped images of men onto the monitor.

“Your cousin has been working with the Kholdov Coalition, Russian mobsters who have infiltrated several casino operations in the UK, Europe and the Netherlands. They are known for loaning money to gamblers who either have lots of money or have access to money through family.” Dmytro’s face appeared on the monitor.

“Like my cousin,” Ewan said. “How do we get them to leave us alone?”

“You can pay them what your cousin owes, though by now, interest is compounding by the second.”

“If I pay them now,” Ewan said, “my cousin could get right back into the same situation.”

“I’m working on an alternative,” Dmytro said. “My contact says the coalition is operating on the down low in territory where they shouldn’t be. The Donchenko Bratva governs the Russian mafia in the UK, including casinos in Edinburgh. They might take issue with another organization moving in.”

“Are you talking mob war?” Callum asked.

Dmytro shrugged. “Maybe. Depends on how much they care that someone else is shaking up their customers.”

“Brilliant,” Ewan said. “My family could be caught in the middle of a war between Russian mobs.”

Ace appeared on the monitor. “I’m calling in all my assets. We’ll be in the air within the next hour. Peter Atkins should be there anytime.”

“Three-hour flight time, if you have access to a jet,” Callum noted.

“And we do,” Ace said. “About four hours total, by the time we reach Drummond Estate.”

“While stirring up the Bratva, Monroe will check into your father’s bank account and find out what he’s been spending his money on.”

A young woman with bright purple hair leaned over Dmytro’s shoulders. “All I need is the name of the bank, your father’s name and the account number.” She shook her head. “Never mind, just the name of the bank. I’ll have that info to you within the hour.”

Ewan’s brow dipped. “How old are you?”

“Don’t let her taste in hair color fool you,” Dmytro said. “She’s almost as good as me.”

The young woman snorted. “I can hack circles around you, old man.”

Dmytro shook his head. “She’s twenty-one but has ten years of experience.”

“Twelve,” Monroe called out in the background.

Ewan gave Dmytro the name of his father’s bank.

Ace’s face appeared. “Stay safe. We’ll see you on the other side.”

The call ended, and Callum stepped back. “I’ll let Maggie know what’s happening and keep an eye on her and Bryce.”

“I’ll speak with Fiona.” Ewan’s gaze met Callum’s. “Had I known what my cousin has gotten us into, I wouldn’t have invited Maggie to visit Drummond Manor.”

“You couldn’t have known.” Callum lifted his chin. “For now, we remain alert and hope the Russians don’t make a move anytime soon.”