CHAPTER 18

“ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW what you’re doing?” Agnes said as she reached for the chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the small dining table.

Isobel burst out laughing. It became a little hysterical. Of course she didn’t know what she was doing. Her whole life was one huge, out-of-control mess.

“I’ll take that as a no,” Agnes said before biting into her cookie.

They were sitting in the small apartment in Callum’s basement because the house above them had been turned into “operation command”. All day long, people had been rushing about, whispering into phones, tapping at keyboards, plotting world domination. Who knew what they were doing? All Isobel knew for sure was that she’d been the catalyst for all this drama, and now she was only in the way. Taking her kids, she’d retreated downstairs, and had been grateful when her sisters arrived.

They’d turned up armed with clothes for all of them and an activity set for Sophie. Sophie wasn’t interested in the set, even though it was packed with her beloved stickers. She was currently raiding all of the cupboards in the house to find treasure. Ten minutes earlier, she’d appeared in the basement wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying a large sieve. She was in her happy zone.

Jack, meanwhile, had hit it off with Ryan. Even though there was at least twelve years between the two of them, they’d bonded over their bottomless stomachs and a love of video games. They were sitting on the couch in the living room area playing Mortal Kombat on the PlayStation under Callum’s TV. Everyone else was upstairs.

“So this is the famous bunker.” Donna was wide-eyed as she looked around the basement flat.

“He doesn’t like calling it a bunker.” Isobel shook her head at how ludicrous her life had become that those words should come out of her mouth. “He lives between here and the house upstairs.”

“I thought old man McKay never got around to finishing this place,” Donna said.

“Callum finished it. I think it was a sentimental thing because his granddad started it.”

Agnes stopped eating. “He finished off the bunker for sentimental reasons? Do you even realise how weird that is?”

Yep, she did. Isobel was also aware that, seeing as her house blew up, the only roof she had over her head at the moment was the floor of the house above her.

“What happens if the bad guys come back and blow up this house?” Mairi asked as she texted one of her online boyfriends. “Do you guys just get buried alive down here?”

Oh my goodness…

The thought was enough to make Isobel nauseated. She turned to the sofa. “Ryan? Is there another way out of this bunker?”

“Granny flat,” Ryan said, his eyes still glued to the screen and his thumbs hammering at his controller. “Callum doesn’t like it being called a bunker. He thinks it makes him seem like a weirdo hermit. Whereas a granny flat that is hidden under the house and has a steel-reinforced door makes perfect sense to him.”

Mairi grunted, still texting. “Maybe you’ll get a straight answer if you throw him a cookie.”

Yep, they all had Ryan’s number, and they’d only known him a few hours.

“Cookie?” Ryan’s attention was pulled from the game.

“Is there another way out of here?” Isobel picked up a cookie and waved it as she spoke.

He cocked a thumb at the back wall. “That door opens up into a tunnel that leads out to the road. Now gimme the cookie.”

“Yes!” Jack shouted as Isobel threw the cookie at Ryan. “You are dead, dude. Should have kept your mind on the game. Hey, where’d you get the cookie?” He turned to Isobel. “Do I get a cookie?”

With a shake of her head, she tossed one to her son as well, before turning back to her sisters. “We don’t need to worry,” she said, sounding slightly hysterical. “There’s a tunnel.”

“I thought the tunnel was a myth,” Agnes said. “Old man McKay never got council permission to dig one.”

“Obviously he decided to dig it without the permission,” Isobel said. “I wonder how he did it. Do you think he had like a digger or a burrowing machine or something? Or maybe he scooped it out by hand, like he was tunnelling out of jail?”

“Burrowing machine?” Donna said as all three sisters gaped at Isobel.

“What? I’m sure it’s a thing.” Isobel reached for another cookie. “Didn’t they use one to make the Channel Tunnel?”

“I hope the McKay tunnel is structurally sound,” Donna said. “I wouldn’t want you to get trapped in it.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure Callum thought to check it out and reinforce it if need be.”

“Honey, listen to yourself.” Agnes leaned over the table and covered Isobel’s hands with hers. “I hate to break it to you, but your white knight is a fruit loop.”

“You mean her baby’s father,” Mairi said helpfully.

“Baby?” Ryan said. He’d snuck up on them and picked up the plate of cookies. He stood behind the women, shoulder to shoulder with Jack, working his way through the biscuits. “What baby?”

“Callum knocked up Mum,” Jack said.

“Jack!” Isobel’s cheeks began to heat again. “Go play your video game. Take Ryan with you. There’s no baby. And this is none of your business, either of you.”

Ryan shook his head and looked at Jack, who was the same height as him. “Dude, if you were ten years older, the things I could tell you about Callum.”

“I’m mature for my age,” Jack said. “Feel free to spill. But first we need more cookies and milk.”

Ryan agreed, and they went off to get some.

“Mature my hairy backside,” Mairi muttered. “Damn, I accidentally sent hairy backside to Karl. Must not talk and text…must not talk and text…”

“If she doesn’t talk while she’s texting,” Agnes said, “she’ll never speak.” She thought about it for a second. “I totally agree, Mairi, you must never talk and text.”

“Will you lot stick to the topic for a minute?” Isobel said. “We were talking about leaving. Are you packed?”

“I’ve packed up all my gear,” Agnes said. “I still need to send an email to the university to let them know that I’m moving, and I’ll send my contact details when I know them. Mairi, have you given the rental agency notice yet?”

“Not yet,” Mairi said. “I’ve been busy. I will, though.”

“Mairi, we need to get out of here before Saturday,” Isobel said.

“I know,” Mairi said. “I’ve got a lot on right now. I think someone has hacked my boyfriends’ accounts. I’m getting weird emails, and I’m worried it’ll affect my job.”

“We’ve got three days to get out of here before that loan shark comes looking for thirty-four thousand pounds that none of us have,” Isobel said. “You need to pack and sort out your flat. Worry about your online boyfriends later.”

“Um.” Donna squirmed. “I might have a teeny-tiny problem.”

“What?” Isobel wanted to groan. Just once, she would like something to go smoothly.

“I need to give my boss two weeks’ notice. He won’t accept anything less and says I won’t get a reference if I walk out before then.” Donna’s wide eyes begged them to understand.

They didn’t. Donna wasn’t known as the family doormat for nothing.

“He can’t do that,” Agnes said. “It wasn’t in your employment contract. I know. I read it. Unlike you.”

“I need that reference, and the lord of the manor won’t give me one if I don’t stay two weeks.”

“Does he know you call him that?” Mairi said.

“Are you insane?” Donna said. “He doesn’t know half of what we call him behind his back.”

“Can we focus?” Isobel said, sounding strangely like Callum. “You can’t give two weeks’ notice because we need to leave in a couple of days.”

“I’ll follow you,” Donna said. “You get settled and I’ll be there two weeks later. It isn’t that long.”

Isobel shook her head. “I can’t leave you behind. Everyone knows us here, and Eddie would use you to get to me. He’ll hurt you, Donna. I can’t let him hurt you. Either we all go together or we stay together.”

“If you stay, he’ll hurt you.” Donna shuddered. “I can hide at the manor house. He won’t be able to get to me.”

“Yes, he will.” Isobel knew exactly what Eddie Granger was capable of doing. “We need to get out now. Together. We need to start somewhere where no one knows us and no one can find us.”

“Did you plan to tell me that you’re running away?”

The voice startled everyone, and all eyes turned to the staircase leading to the house above.

Callum stood in the entrance, his feet apart, his arms folded and his jaw set. He was not pleased.

Isobel swallowed hard. “Yes. I planned to tell you.”

“When?” The temperature in the room dropped, and Isobel shivered.

“I don’t know. Soon.” She squirmed.

“Before or after you disappeared?” His voice was deadly calm, and Isobel noticed that the room was suddenly very silent.

“Callum, we can talk about this later. We don’t have any definite plans right now.”

“Sounds definite to me. Donna is giving notice and Mairi is informing their landlord.” His eyes were like lasers burning into her. “You didn’t mention a deadline for the money when you told me about the loan shark hitting you.”

“He hit you?” Jack was off the sofa and charging towards her, as though he could save her from something that had already happened.

“I’m okay,” Isobel said. “It’s nothing.”

“It isn’t nothing.” Callum stood beside Jack. “She could have cracked ribs.”

“Let me see,” Jack demanded. He took a step towards Isobel, and Callum put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Isobel!” Donna said. “You didn’t tell us that.”

“I was handling it,” Isobel said. “I’m sure my ribs are fine.”

“The same way you’re sure you aren’t pregnant?” Callum said. “You can’t will things to happen just because you want them to be that way.”

“I am not pregnant. I don’t have broken ribs and I am dealing with everything.” Her voice turned into a hysterical screech. People needed to back off and give her some space. She was coping with things as best she could. She would be doing a whole lot better if the problems stopped coming at her so damn fast.

There was a thud, and then the door to the bedroom Callum used crashed open. A second later, a wheelchair appeared with a stuffed giraffe sitting in the middle of it. Sophie’s hands could be seen wrapped around the handles, but apart from that, the only other thing anyone could see was the top of her motorcycle helmet.

Callum went very still, and Isobel knew he was mad that someone had been in his bedroom.

“Sophie,” Isobel said, “I told you not to go into Callum’s room. Put that chair back at once.” She looked back at Callum. “I’m sorry. I should have been watching her better.”

“Jaffie likes the pram,” Sophie shouted, muffled through the helmet.

“It isn’t a pram, it’s a wheelchair.” Isobel rushed over to her daughter.

“Peese?” Sophie said.

Isobel hesitated. What harm would there be in letting her play with the wheelchair? Callum had obviously been injured at some point and had needed it, but he didn’t need it now. She looked down at her daughter’s large, pleading eyes, the only part that could be seen thought the helmet, and bit at her bottom lip. Her kids had nothing left—surely Callum would understand if she wanted to play with the chair?

Isobel turned and gave him the same pleading look as her daughter. “I’m sorry she went into your room, but can she play with the chair? I promise to make sure she doesn’t damage it. It’s clear you don’t need it—would it really matter if she used it as a pram for a while?”

A strange look passed between Callum and Ryan.

“I promise not to let her cover it with stickers,” Isobel said.

Ryan stared at Callum, clearly trying to communicate something that was lost on Isobel.

Callum took a deep breath. “There’s something I need to tell you…”

“Callum,” Elle shouted down the stairs. “I need you right now. You need to see this.”

Ryan shook his head, as though telling Callum not to do something.

“I’ll be right up,” Callum shouted. “We’ll talk later,” he said to Isobel, before heading up the stairs.

“Can she use the chair?” Isobel called after him.

“Aye,” he said, but he didn’t sound pleased about it.

“Need cookie,” Sophie shouted as she aimed the chair towards the table.

Isobel looked at Ryan. “Maybe she shouldn’t play with it. Does it have sentimental value for Callum?”

“Something like that,” Ryan said, then followed his boss up the stairs.