The Scotch Queen (Scotch 2)

“London, I don’t care about that. I care about you.”

My eyes immediately watered at the sincerity in his voice. My captivity was killing him every single day. We were ripped apart when we were all we had left of our family. “Well…that’s the best we can do for now.” I did my best to keep the emotion out of my voice.

“We’re gonna have to do something else, possibly a takedown.”

“A takedown?”

“I’m going to have to round up all my men and any extras I can find and ambush him. Kill everyone, including him. That’s the only way we both walk free.”

It sounded logical, but the idea of all the bloodshed made me uneasy. And as lame as it was, I didn’t want Crewe to die. He deserved to be killed for what he’d done to me since I was an innocent person, but I still couldn’t do it. “I’ll keep working with him and see if I can make it happen. I’d rather do that than have you risk your life.”

“I don’t care about that either, London. I’ve got to get you out of there. It kills me…”

“I know,” I whispered. “But it’s really not that bad. He treats me well.”

“You would say that even if it weren’t true.”

“But it is true,” I said. “I’m not defending Crewe because he’s a bad man…but he does have compassion, empathy, and a heart. I’ve seen it myself. If he really were evil, he would have given me to Bones. I prefer Crewe any day.”

Joseph stayed quiet, still not believing me.

I couldn’t come out and say Crewe and I were having amazing sex, that our chemistry was scorching and I trusted him to take care of me. So I didn’t say anything more about it. “Crewe is having a grand opening for his distillery in Edinburgh. It sounds like there’s gonna be a lot of people there. Maybe we can cross paths.”

“I can make it happen. I know the area you’re referring to. Shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Don’t get caught. If you do, it’ll blow everything for me.”

“I won’t,” he said with confidence. “I’ll think of a plan over the week. Maybe I can get you out of there that night.”

“Out of there?” I asked. “There’s no way you can take me away without him killing you.”

“But you said he’s been falling for you.”

“Yeah…so what?”

“Maybe he won’t do it. Maybe he won’t have the balls to hit the trigger.”

In most instances, Crewe was an honorable guy. He was helping Crow and Cane get their sister back even though he didn’t owe them anything, and he took care of me every single day. There was a good chance he wouldn’t do it. But when Crewe was pissed off…there was no telling what he might do. “I’m not willing to take that chance.”

“Well, I am. I’d much rather die than let him keep you any longer.”

Maybe this phone call was a bad idea. “I’m not going with you, so don’t bother.”

“You don’t have a choice, London. If I see a chance to get you out of there, I’m gonna take it.”

“No.” Joseph was more stubborn than I was. When he put his mind to something, he never changed it. “We aren’t doing that. We’ll figure something else out. I just need a little more time with him, and I can make things happen.”

“There’s no way to know if he’ll go that soft. I honestly don’t think he ever will. He has too much pride. This is our only choice.”

“Joseph, no. If you come for me, I won’t cooperate.”

“I’ll make you cooperate. You’re all the family I have left, London. I’m not letting that piece of shit touch you any longer.”

I couldn’t let this happen. “If this plan backfires and you die, then I would have spent six months with this man for no reason. All my time would have been wasted. That can’t be an option.”

“London, this is all we have. This is our one shot, and I’m willing to take a gamble on this guy.”

I wanted to scream. “You took a gamble on him the first time, and look where we ended up.”

Joseph didn’t have a comeback for that.

“And when someone crosses him, he doesn’t sweep it under the rug. He’ll never forget it. I don’t think we can rely on his compassion for this. Our best hope is for me to talk to him when I think he’s ready.”

Joseph was quiet over the line as he considered what he said. “You’re aren’t risking anything. I’m getting you out of there. End of story.”

“Joseph—”

“I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“Joseph!”

He hung up.

When the line went dead against my ear, I knew he was gone. The blood drained from my face when I realized the mess I’d gotten myself into. I never should have called him. I should have known he would risk his life to get me away from Crewe. I underestimated him.