Page 37 of Edinburgh Escape (Brotherhood Protectors International #5)

The interior of the car filled the rest of the way with river water. In the murky swirls, copper curls floated to the surface.

Callum’s heart squeezed so painfully, he couldn’t breathe. He reached for the curls, tangled his hands in them and started to pull Maggie up by her hair. She didn’t budge.

Callum reached deeper for her head, ran his hands along her shoulders and found that her seatbelt held her in place. He dove headfirst into the frigid water and followed the belt to the buckle. After several failed attempts, the buckle came loose. He pushed the shoulder strap aside.

His lungs about to burst, Callum hooked his arms beneath Maggie’s and hauled her through the rear window onto the trunk of the car. She lay limp and lifeless, her face pale, her chest still.

“No, no, no. You said you wouldn’t give up on me.” Callum pinched her nose, covered her mouth with his and blew breath into her lungs. Then he performed chest compressions, alternating between them, repeatedly.

A shout from the top of the riverbank made him glance up for only a second. Two men stood there waving and then disappeared.

A few minutes later, the wail of a siren came screaming to a stop somewhere nearby.

Still, Callum didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. Maggie wouldn’t have given up on him. He wasn’t giving up on her. “You have to live. I have to tell you.” He breathed into her mouth and then whispered against her lips. “I love you, Maggie McKendrick. You have to live.”

Resuming the compressions, Callum glanced across to the bank where emergency rescue personnel were shoving a paddleboard into the water. Two of the men, dressed in wetsuits and life jackets, swam the paddleboard toward the car. The men on shore held onto a line attached to the board.

The vehicle shimmied beneath Callum. “Don’t go down on us now,” he said. “Maggie needs you to hold on just a little longer.”

The rescue team made it to the car as it shook violently beneath Maggie and Callum.

They grabbed Maggie’s shoulders and were lifting her onto the paddleboard when the car moved forward and sank beneath the surface.

“Take my hand,” one of the rescuers called out, reaching for Callum.

Callum shook his head. “Get her out. I’ll make it on my own.”

The two men shoved Maggie onto the board.

Their team on shore pulled the line tight and reeled in the swimmers and the paddleboard with Maggie.

Callum swam behind them, anxious for them to continue CPR on Maggie. He came ashore several feet away, giving the rescue team the space they needed to maneuver.

As they dragged the paddleboard up onto shore, Maggie’s body jerked. She rolled her head to the side and coughed up water.

Callum’s legs buckled beneath him, and he fell to his knees.

Maggie’s eyes opened. “Callum,” she croaked.

He crawled through the mud as close as he could get. “I’m here, my bonnie lass.”

“You came for me?”

He gave a laugh that sounded more like a sob. “I did. I want you to give me another chance. You believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”

“I hadn’t gone very far—” Maggie coughed before she could continue. “I asked Alastair to take me back to the manor.” She reached for his hand.

He took it and held it gently.

“I wasn’t going to give up on you. I couldn’t,” she said, her voice gravelly and weak. “You’re worth fighting for.”

“I was following you to the airport to stop you before you got on the plane. I couldn’t let you go. I love you, Maggie.”

Maggie lay back and closed her eyes, a smile curving her lips. “That’s all I need to hear. The rest, we can work on.” Her eyes popped open again. “Alastair?”

One of the rescue team leaned close to Callum. “Is Alastair the guy we found nearby, crashed into the tree?”

Callum nodded.

The man’s lips pressed together. “I’m sorry. He must have died on impact.”

Maggie sighed. “The world is a better place without him.” Her gaze locked with Callum’s. “He deliberately drove the car into the river to kill me—and he was poisoning Bryce.”

Callum swore.

“Montana ate the apple meant for Bryce. It almost killed the horse. Bryce would be dead had he eaten more than a tiny bite.”

“Why would he do that?” Callum asked.

Maggie closed her eyes. “The inheritance. He was another one of Lord Drummond’s bastard children. He was our brother. The difference was that he wasn’t willing to share.”

The emergency medical technician carried Maggie up to the road and loaded her into an ambulance. Callum climbed in with her and held her hand all the way to the hospital in Edinburgh.

“You know, we have some decisions to make,” Callum said.

“We do?” she asked. “As in, you and me? Or do you have a mouse in your pocket?”

Callum chuckled. “We, as in me and you.”

“What decisions?”

“Montana or Scotland, for one.”

Her brow furrowed. “My head is full of water. I don’t understand.”

“Are we going to live together in Montana or Scotland. I’m game for either location. I’ve always wanted to ride western and wear a cowboy hat.”

“If I have a choice, I’d like to stay in Scotland near my brothers.”

“I think Ewan and Bryce would be amenable to that. We could get a place close to the manor.”

“The manor has a lot of rooms,” Maggie mentioned. “And I think Ewan would make another great addition to the Brotherhood Protectors International team.”

Callum grinned. “I was thinking the same. I’d almost bet Ace has started that discussion while we’ve been busy swimming.”

“You know,” Maggie said, “if what’s happening here goes to the next step, will you wear a kilt to our wedding?”

Callum laughed. “I’d wear a pink polka-dotted tutu if it made you happy.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

“You two are nauseatingly cute.” The medical technician adjusted Maggie’s IV line. “If you don’t end up together, it would be a bloody shame.”

Maggie grinned at Callum.

The medical technician added, “And definitely, wear the kilt.”