Page 42 of Edinburgh Escape
“Shut up, Rory.” Ewan advanced on him, poking a finger into his chest. “You do not talk that way about my family. My father might have been a bastard, but he didn’t give money to relatives with gambling addictions.”
Rory pinched his bleeding nose. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” His gaze went past Ewan to Callum, who edged closer. “I’m not addicted to gambling. I quit.”
“Not soon enough, was it?” Ewan planted a hand on Rory’s chest. “Who loaned you money so you could play?”
“Who said someone loaned me money?”
Ewan snorted. “And they want it back with interest, don’t they?” He shoved his cousin again. “How much, Rory?”
Rory raised his fists.
Callum stepped up beside Ewan.
“How much?” Ewan repeated.
Rory’s gaze shifted from Ewan to Callum and back. “None of your bloody business.”
“You made it my business when you walked into my home demanding money.” Ewan crossed his arms over his chest.
“Just twenty-five thousand euros.” Rory sneered. “A pittance compared to what you inherited.”
“The problem with paying off your debt is that you’ll just do it again. You went through your mother’s entire inheritance in less than two years.”
“The casinos cheated me out of my money.”
Ewan shook his head. “Yet you kept going back until you lost every last cent.”
“I did not.”
“I’ve been in contact with your brother, Robert. I know everything. I wouldn’t invest in any business with you. And I won’t pay your debt. Your mother let you live with her to help her in her old age, and how did you repay her? Your brother put your mother in assisted living after you sold her house out from under her.”
“She didn’t need a house that big,” Rory said. “I did her a favor by selling it.”
“And yet she didn’t see a cent from that sale. You spent it all in a casino. You have a lot of gall coming to me asking for money. You make me sick. Get out of my house.”
Rory stood straight, his chest puffed out. “You don’t know what I was up against then and now. These people played rough. They threatened to kill me.”
“Did you ever consider your mother would’ve been better off if they’d gone through with their threat?” Ewan lifted his chin and stared down his nose at his cousin. “Get off my property and don’t bother to come back. And you can tell your people they won’t be getting any Drummond money. You’ll have to find another way to pay your debt.”
“You have to help me,” Rory said. “We’re family.”
“You aren’t part of my family.” Ewan nodded toward his butler. “Gregory.”
Immediately, Gregory stepped forward and grabbed Rory’s arms from behind.
Rory exploded in fury, jerked free of the butler’s hold, spun and landed a punch to Gregory’s midsection.
Callum dove for Rory, knocked him down and pinned him to the ground.
Maggie leaped from her chair, grabbed a candlestick holder from the table and ran toward the two men. Callum had Rory under control, but she stood over them, ready to use the candlestick holder if Rory managed to get loose.
Callum’s chest swelled at her fierce stance. The woman was tough and not afraid to join the fight.
“Let go of me!” Rory shouted. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with. If they don’t get what they want, they go after anyone else in the family. They’ll come for you, Ewan. And Bryce. Even the girl. They knew she was coming. They knew she stood to inherit a portion of the estate. They know everything.”
“Because you told them.” Ewan tipped his chin toward Callum. “Let him up.”
Callum held Rory down for a moment longer. “Try to hurt anyone, and I won’t go that easy on you next time.” He got to his feet and reached for Rory’s arm. Ewan grabbed his other arm. Between the two men, they hauled Rory to his feet.
