Jake (The Highland Clan Book 4) (2 page)

“He left me to die.”

“Who? Who left you to die?”

“Hew left me to die. Let me be.”

Jake could not understand her. Someone had left her to die, but instead of telling him the blackguard’s name, she’d repeated Jake’s question. Mayhap her injuries had addled her. She was shivering against him, her lips near blue with cold, so he rode up beside Jamie and said, “I’m taking her to the cave up ahead. She’s too cold. If I do not stop and get her warm, we may lose her. We’re only a couple of hours from home. Get a cart and mounds of furs, and I’ll put her in that to get her home. Tell Aunt Caralyn so she’ll be ready for her.”

Jamie nodded. “I agree.” He tossed him his satchel bag. “Here’s an extra plaid. See if you can clean her up and make her warm, at least. I’ll leave two guards with you.”

Jake nodded and headed off toward the cave. He didn’t care if his brother preferred the plan of sending her home with Loki. He would not leave her anywhere.

She was going home with him.

Chapter Two

Aline opened her eyes, surprised to feel a warm pair of arms around her and a steed beneath her. Her instinct was to shove against the lad, as she guessed him to be Hew, but his gentle strength told her that he was not. His scent was different, too. Despite his outward good looks, Hew carried a repulsive scent, as if his insides were rotten. This lad smelled of pine and the trees, and she took as deep a breath as she could, hoping to savor it. Pain hit her ribcage as she tried to breathe in, and a small moan left her mouth, though she tried to control it. Normally, she did all she could to keep from letting Hew know how much she hurt, not wishing to give in to his twisted desires.

But this was not Hew. Could this lad be the savior she’d prayed for over many, many moons? She gazed up at him, unable to quell the groans that erupted from her with each movement of the horse. He spoke with a couple of other lads, giving directions as though he were in charge. His voice was confident, yet caring, the voice of a true leader. How could she know that? She just did.

Rain pelted them, coming harder and harder, but this lad protected her with his strong chest. She was able to keep one eye open to assess him. Long dark hair fell past his shoulders, and he had a few day’s stubble of beard on him. Handsome, indeed he was. She thought his eyes to be a deep blue, the color of the sky on a clear summer day just before the sun dropped over the horizon. His jaw was clenched in a tight line as though he were angry about something, though his touch remained gentle, belying his apparent rage.

She closed her eyes once the rain started coming down in buckets, allowing herself something she hadn’t done in a long, long time. She put her trust in this man.

She awakened back in her sire’s house, though she knew for certes it was not real because she watched the scene from above. Her father had just shouted at her to clean up the mess on the table from dinner, and she watched herself do as she was bid. Her sire had been a wonderful man until the day the Lord had taken her mother, but he hadn’t been the same after losing her. A sadness had descended on him and never left.

She ushered the wee ones into the bed chamber, settling them with their dolls before she returned to her duties. Her younger brother was out gathering wood. A loud banging echoed throughout the small hut, and she started, not having had a visitor for many moons. She cast a glance at her father, but he said naught, instead breaking out in a cold sweat across his forehead. Their hut was quite isolated, though well-hidden in the forest.

“Go away. We have nothing to offer.” His voice carried over to the door, but his response was not well received. The door flew open and three men pushed their way inside. The first two were large and nasty looking, but the third was different—smaller and more handsome. He was the one who strode over to her. Saying nary a word, he took her chin in his hand and turned her face one way and then the other.

At first she did naught, but then she swatted his hand away.

He grabbed her wrist and said, “You’ll learn never to do that again.”

It was then she noticed the most frightening thing about the man—his gaze. His eyes were cold and mean, a dark brown. They narrowed, but then he ran his hands down the front of her gown, feeling her through the wool. She glanced at her father to see his reaction, and she could swear she saw tears in his eyes, and something else—pity. He already knew he wouldn’t be able to save her.

“I’m taking her.”

That was the day her hell had started.

***

Jake made it to the large cave before the lightning started. He instructed his guards to pull the horses into the mouth of the cave and stand guard while he carried the lass further toward the back. The horses would protect them from the heavy winds that were about to lash across the Highlands in a fury.

He found a flat rock to sit on, then settled the lass next to him. Being as gentle as possible, he stripped her out of her soaked, bloody clothes, doing his best not to stare at the bruises all over her shapely body. The rain had washed much of the blood and dirt from her head and face. He took Jamie’s and his extra plaids and wrapped her up the best he could. Loki had passed him his satchel as well, so he tossed his own soaked plaid on the floor, switching it out for the dry one.

Sitting on the flat rock, he leaned against the stone side of the cave and hugged the lass to him, hoping his heat would warm her.

Her eyes opened moments later. “Who are you?” Her words came out slowly but deliberately as her gaze darted around the cave.

“John Alexander Grant, though you may call me Jake. My brother couldn’t say John, so he used his own name for me, which eventually changed to Jake.” The words all came out in a rush.

“And your brother’s name?”

“Jamie, my twin brother. Jamie, Jake, they sound alike. You’d have to ask my mother, she explains it better than I do.”

“Water?”

He held the water skin for her, doing his best to help her without hurting her swollen lips. Her eyes were green, the color of grass in a fertile meadow after a warm spring shower. The rest of her face was so badly beaten, it was difficult to tell what she normally looked like.

When she finished, she licked her lips and cringed. “What happened?”

“I was hoping you would tell me. I found you under some bushes, bloodied and beaten. You mumbled something about someone leaving you to die.” He brushed a few stray hairs back from her forehead. “What’s your name?”

“Aline.”

“Aline. ‘Tis a pretty name, but one I’ve never heard.”

“My thanks.”

He accepted it. “What clan are you from?”

“My sire was a Carron.”

“You are quite a distance from the Carrons.”

“My sire left the Carrons when he married my mother. He found a hut for the two of them and we’ve lived there ever since, a place hidden by trees. We rarely see anyone, until that fateful day two summers ago. I’ve not seen him in two summers.”

“Who did this to you?”

She pulled her gaze from his, a shadow of shame crossing her face. “Hew Gordon.”

“Hew? I’ve not heard of him.” Jake thought he knew all in his area. Reivers came and went, traveling wherever they could steal the most. But his clan spent a great deal of time chasing them off. “Gordon? ‘Tis the Gordon that hides, will not see others? Verra old?”

“Nay. He is close to your age.”

“Then I know naught of him.” Jake would share this information with his sire once they arrived back at Grant Castle.

“How fortunate for you.” Tasting blood on her lips, she reached up to press her hand against an open wound to stem the fresh trickle. Tears pooled in her eyes.

“Your husband?” If so, he hoped the man died an early death for her sake.

“Never.”

“Did he hold you against your will?” He feared he knew the answer to this question, but he needed to hear it from her.

“Aye. He holds many against their will.”

“Who’s the chieftain? How does he let such brutality take place in the Highlands?”

“The old chief, Hew’s sire, died last summer. Mayhap he is the one you knew. I never saw him. The new chief came just a little while ago, though I’ve never seen him either. He came with many men, so Hew took them on as protection. There are two keeps inside the curtain wall, so each is chief of their own men. Hew gave his sire’s keep to the new one, though Hew kept all his sire’s guards. ‘Tis all I know about them. Hew’s sire had been sickly for a while.”

“You’ve not seen the new chief? Why?” Jake pulled out an oatcake and broke off a corner for her to chew.

“He keeps his helm on whenever outside, and he never comes to our keep. I’m not allowed to ask such questions.” She took his offer of the oatcake, placing the piece on her tongue and allowing her saliva to soften it. Given the extent of her wounds, chewing had to be painful for her, but she needed to build her strength.

“I’ll take you to our healer, and then I believe my brother and I will pay Hew Gordon a visit.”

“Nay!” she shouted so loud that one of the guards rushed over to see if they needed anything. Jake waved him away.

“Why not? I think he deserves a beating similar to yours. My sire knows naught of him, but he will not let this stand. Neither will I.” It was difficult to explain to her about Clan Grant. They were the most powerful clan in the Highlands. Everyone knew about his sire, his uncles. But she’d been kept hidden for many years, and then imprisoned by Gordon. She probably knew little of his clan.

“Please. Promise me you’ll not go after him. You do not understand.”

He could feel her heartbeat racing as she lay against him. If he wanted her to survive, he needed to keep her calm. “I’ll agree to that for a day or two. Once you are feeling better, we’ll talk again.”

He kept the rest to himself.

On his honor of being a Grant Highlander, the bastard would pay for treating a woman so.

***

Shortly after the rain stopped, a group of riders arrived at the cave with a cart. Jake arranged a mound of furs over the top of it, then carefully placed her on top of them. She thought her ankle was swollen, but she did not think anything else was broken, which was good fortune indeed. One could heal from the pain of bruises. She’d done so many times before.

Jake treated her as though her bones would break from the smallest pressure. His gentleness was something she hadn’t experienced since her mother’s death. Even then, her mama had always been busy getting meals on the table and washing clothes. There hadn’t been much time for tenderness.

How she missed her mother. She had died after birthing Aline’s youngest sister, and less than a year later, those men had come to steal Aline. What would have happened to her mother if she had still been alive when Hew had come? She could not venture a guess. There had been such sadness in her father’s eyes as she was shoved out the door by one of Hew’s guards. Had he known what was in store for her?

She wished to beg Jake to take her back to Hew’s keep—like it or not, she needed to go back, and as soon as possible—but it would be fruitless. Jake would insist on going with her, and then Aline would pay. Her mind had tried to form another solution, but there wasn’t one.

For now, she needed to see Clan Grant’s healer. She was too tired to do anything else. Her head rested on the pillow of furs while she listened to Jake give instructions to a slew of guards.

When they were finally on the way to his clan, she allowed herself to dream of a world with no Hew Gordon, a world full of Jake Grant.

***

Jake glanced over his shoulder and decided Aline had fallen asleep. He glanced at Loki, who had ridden back with the cart along with Jamie. “Did you get the chance to speak with my sire?”

Loki nodded. “And my sire and mother. Do not expect to see my mother. I warned her of the lass’s condition, and I can tell by the look in her eyes, you’ll not see her.”

“My mother?”

“I told Mama,” Jamie replied. “She’ll be there to assist Caralyn once we arrive. She did the usual, stood next to Da and leaned into him.”

Loki pursed his lips. “Once we were ready to leave, I noticed your sire heading out to the trees with an ax in his hand. He’s probably felled at least three oak trees by now.”

“I knew this would bring back bad memories for my mother, but she’s verra strong. She would have it no other way.”

Jamie sighed, “At first, I thought you wrong, but now I believe your decision was wise. Did you get any information? Her name?”

“Aline of Carron.”

“Of Carron? They are not close. How did she end up here? And they are a highly honorable clan. The Carron would never allow such treatment.”

“Her sire had left the clan and they lived alone. She was stolen from her home. ‘Tis all I know.”

They rode in silence until the giant towers of the Clan Grant keep came into view, the tall curtain wall surrounding the fortress posing a threat to any who dared attack. None had dared to come this close to their clan with the intent of violence, at least not in recent years. The large keep had been almost doubled in size by Alex Grant to accommodate his siblings and their families, though his two sisters had married and joined other clans.

The gates opened as soon as they approached, and the crowd that awaited their arrival parted as they made their way to the stables. Even though it was past dark, his clan mates all stood with heads bowed. He knew this to be out of respect for his mother. Tales of Madeline MacDonald’s horrid treatment by her stepbrother and her betrothed had been retold over the years with a quiet dignity. His parents stood outside the stables with Aunt Caralyn and her husband, Uncle Robbie.

No one spoke, but he heard his mother’s gasp when her gaze found Aline’s. His sire moved to lift her out of the cart, but Jake stilled his hand, and to his surprise, his father stepped back to allow him to scoop the lass into his arms. He could hear the sniffles from his mother as he carried the lass into the keep, but he knew her memories would not stop her from doing everything possible to save the lass. His mother had the biggest heart of all.

He only hoped they were not too late. Aline had not moved much since he’d picked her up.