To Have A Heart (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 7)

She watched the brawling men wrestle for a moment. The second that Edward crawled to his feet, Mallory dropped the blanket over his head and shoulders, and tugged the ends as tightly as she could. Edward’s mumbled curses were barely audible as he tugged at the thick material and tried to break free. Distracted as he was, he couldn’t defend himself against the punches Callum slammed into his stomach. Edward hunched over, doing his best to protect himself, but Callum then turned his attention to the outline of Edward’s head until Edward hit the floor with a dull thud.

“Step back.” Callum waved Mallory away when Edward lay still. “Don’t be fooled.”

Mallory dutifully stepped away from Edward and watched Callum bend down to lift the blanket. Before he did, he glared up at Mallory.

“Use that other one to help Will,” he ordered.

Mallory dutifully picked up a sheet and gathered that against her chest. Quietly, she approached Will’s opponent. Although he didn’t stop fighting, Will watched Mallory. When she was close enough, Will paused. The thug’s world instantly went black when Mallory draped the sheet over his head. He cursed viciously and staggered around while he tried to yank the sheet off and didn’t see the heavy fist Will swung at him.

The loud crack of a bone breaking was enough to make even Callum wince.

They all turned to watch the thug waver a little, before he crumpled to the floor and didn’t move again. Will didn’t even bother to check underneath the sheet. The blood staining the material assured him the man wasn’t likely to get back up again for a while yet. Instead, Will folded the cloth over and tied it at the back so that even if the man did wake up, he wouldn’t get free for a while. Will then looked up at Callum, who turned his attention to the still motionless Edward.

“Go and see to Sir Hugo. Make sure he hasn’t been snatched or something,” Callum urged quietly.

Will cursed when he looked around and saw that Sir Hugo had vanished. Without a word, he marched across the hallway.

“Stay there,” Callum growled at Mallory.

Cautiously, he lifted the blanket off Edward’s head. Edward didn’t move. Callum removed the blanket completely and stepped away from him, but not far enough. Edward suddenly rolled over and slammed a leg into Callum’s ankle. Unbalanced, Callum fought to remain on his feet only for Edward to kick him in the back of his other leg.

“Damn it,” Callum growled.

By the time Callum had regained his balance, Edward was on his feet, surging toward him once more. Callum returned Edward’s punch and landed a boot in the middle of the man’s stomach. Unfortunately, Edward saw Callum’s boot and didn’t just catch it, he clung on to it and refused to allow Callum to put his foot back down. Callum leaned forward and punched him in the side of the head. Edward c

hose that moment to surge forward and slam a heavy shoulder into Callum’s stomach again. Unbalanced, Callum stumbled backward, clutching Edward’s shoulders.

“Callum!” Mallory screamed as she watched Callum being propelled backward at a speed that was simply horrifying.

She lunged after him when she realised what Edward planned to do. Whether Edward intended for them both to go or not nobody would ever know. When Edward continued to force Callum backward, he was bent over at the waist and more determined than ever to get Callum onto the floor for another beating – maybe. What he managed to do instead was propel Callum backward with a speed and strength that slammed Callum not just into the window, but through it. The weight of both men’s bodies against the fragile glass was enough to shatter it. The lack of glass offered no resistance to the men, who were helpless to stop gravity propelling them out of the window.

“Callum!” Mallory screamed again as she watched him disappear into the darkness.

The last she saw of either man was Edward’s booted feet as he plummeted to the ground beneath the window.

Mallory bolted toward the door and raced downstairs.

“Mallory!” Will bellowed before charging after her.

“He has gone,” Mallory cried, refusing to stop. “Callum’s fallen out of the window.”

“Shit.”

Will took the stairs two at a time until half-way down the stairs he jumped down the rest. He was so fast that he beat Mallory to the back door of the tavern. Together, he and Mallory raced out into the night, charged around the corner of the tavern, and ran as fast as they could to the front of the building.

There, lying in a pool of blood at the side of the road, were two bodies, one of which was Callum.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Mallory wanted to ask Will if Callum was alive but struggled to get her words out. She felt sick. Was hot. Cold. She daren’t breathe or think. Moreover, she daren’t ask Will what he found when she watched him drop to his knees beside his colleague and check to see if Callum was still alive.

“Will?” Mallory whispered as she fell to her knees beside him.

Because it was so dark on the street it was difficult to identify which of the men had fallen onto their back on the road and who had landed on top of him. Mallory closed her eyes and began to pray. She opened them again in time to watch Will roll the uppermost man over.

“Will?” Mallory gulped.

Will watched Callum flop lifelessly over and cursed once more. Edward was staring lifelessly at the night sky, far beyond help. Will didn’t even give him a second glance. Instead, he shuffled around until he was kneeling beside his colleague. Dropping his head, he listened for a heartbeat.