“I don’t fucking care.”
“Malcom.” God. Her voice, so delicate. So fragile. A goodbye, I can hear it—I can feel it in my bones. “I love you.”
“Emma—”
Static again, and shuffling. Then Clarence returns. “So. Here’s how this is gonna go. You’re going to tell Sampson you’re taking yourself out of the running.”
“OK.” I don’t give a fuck right now. Sampson will die either way. And Clarence can burn down every inch of Scotland if he wants. As long as Emma is safe. “Fine.”
“Ah-ah, not so fast, bud. You gotta leave.”
“Leave?”
“Scotland. You gotta disappear. Your name’s gotta disappear. You understand?”
“Yes.” Take my name. Take my life. I am far beyond caring. I’m beyond fear.
“Now, little brother.”
“What?”
“Do it now.”
“Dowhatnow?”
“Leave.”
Thunder crashes overhead, bone-white lightning thrusting the treacherous hills into photo negative. A beat of coarse silence follows, as I try to understand exactly what’s happening. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“I want you to drive to the Gladwell estate, tell Sampson you’re done. And then I want you to get on a plane and disappear.”
Rage has red hands around my throat. I can barely see. Barely think. “You’ve lost your fucking mind if you think I’m going anywhere without her.”
“Damn! Listen to you. A little whipper, aren’t you, Malcom? Is she that good? Should I give her a go while you fuck around, putting her life in danger?”
I slam my fist into the wheel, splitting my knuckles. “If you lay a motherfuckingfingeron her, I swear to God I’ll—”
“Relax! Jesus, man. She’s not my type. A little toodarling, if you know what I mean. I like them rough. Although. A little time with me, maybe I could get her into fighting shape. What do you think, Malcom?”
I’m shaking. “How…how will I know she’s safe?”
“I’ll drop her off in her middle-of-nowhere hometown, and she can give you a ring. How’s that sound?”
“I don’t believe you. I don’t trust you.”
“Yeah, well. Too bad, little brother. I warned you. Not once. But twice. I told you to fuck off, and you didn’t. Instead, you went and found yourself a womb to fuck. You brought this on yourself, and you sure as hell brought it on her.”
I lean back, closing my eyes. My heart is constricted. Crushed. He’s right. My psychotic bastard of a brother is fucking right. If I’d left her alone, Emma would be safe now. I knew I would ruin her. I knew I should have been the bigger man and overlooked my feelings and set her free. But I didn’t. And now she’s in more danger than ever.
“Look. Sampson’s on his way out, OK? You know I can’t have you pawing around the sidelines, looking like an option. You wouldn’t listen to reason. So now you’ll listen to force. Text me when you’re boarding the plane, and I’ll let your precious little girlfriend roam back to the countryside.”
“Let me say goodbye.”
“You had your goodbye, little brother.”
And with that, the line goes dead.
* * *
