The Runaway Highlander (The Highland Renegades Book 2) (12 page)

Still, give it time.

Elena, on the other hand, was simple and innocent and would never recover from that. Not from that kind of violence. Not to mention, even if she survived her initial engagement, the man had an angry streak and had gotten away with at least one murder in his past.

No.

She wouldn’t leave Elena to his devices. Never.

Once the men had completed moving the carts and Gregory gave her one of the smaller dappled horses, as Elizabeth had ordered, Kensey visited the larder for supplies and found a pack had already been made for her.

She led her new horse down to the egress near the carts and pulled the poor thing up the hill to where she’d first come into the camp. No one noted her as she passed them and she found herself sad that she would be able to leave this camp without anyone really knowing she’d left, or missing her.

The afternoon sun sunk lower and lower in the sky and she was happy at least not to be riding into the sun. She took one look back down at the camp and sighed.

So much for being a runaway. It was time to go back for Elena.

“Anne!” she heard. Somewhere, down among the tents, someone was calling for her.

She shielded her eyes and saw a figure climbing up the hill toward her. “Anne!” it called again.

Once he crested the hill, Broccin’s stern face was recognizable. And angry.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” He kept walking toward her and the poor little horse nickered nervously. The man was positively huge, compared to both beast and girl.

“I haven’t been avoiding you,” she lied. “I’ve just been preparing to leave.”

“I just heard. Elizabeth told me.”

“Look, Broc, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But I can’t leave my sister in Berwick alone.”

He crossed his arms and glowered down at her. This was the boy she had known. Defensive, sparked with energy, ready to crush heads. Protective.

His heaving stance immediately reminded her of Aedan, and the day she’d first seen him in the Sheriff’s great room. He’d had that feral look in his eye, just like Broc.

Something tingled deep inside at the memory. Even with his face half-obscured by that tangled mass of dark hair, Aedan had looked every bit the Highlander. She missed that, among the men here in the south. That virility. The take-what-you-want Viking ancestry.

But Broc had turned her down and Aedan had ridden off and abandoned her. It hadn’t been Aedan who had saved her from the Sheriff. But it wouldn’t be Broc who saved her, either. She was going to have to save herself. And her sister.

“So you’ve thought about this? And you’re convinced there’s no other way?” Broc softened just a touch. “Andrew said you won’t go back to your father?”

“I’m certain they will discover my part in the escape, and word will reach my father.”

“But after we win the war, all will be forgiven. No one is going to hunt us down in the Highlands. No one even knew our names or where our families lived.” Broc grasped her arm. “If you could just wait for the battles to be over. I could take you back myself. Explain to your father.”

Anne smiled and put a hand on Broc’s bearded face. “That is valiant of you, Broccin. But my sister is in immanent danger. The Sheriff had promised my mother a king’s ransom for me. There’s no way she’ll give that up when she has another daughter to barter with. She’ll sell Elena to the Sheriff without a second thought.”

Broc spat and swore, kicking the ground. “I can’t let you go alone.”

“You have to.” Anne gripped the reins and began to lead her horse away. “I must get to Berwick.”

“And then where will you go?”

“I have cousins in France. They will be untouched by all this unrest in Scotland. And they despise my mother.” Anne laughed, remembering the last time she’d seen her father’s brother. He’d practically choked Milene de Cheyne himself. He was no fan of hers, and had the backbone his brother never managed. Too bad he hadn’t been the eldest son.

She waved him off. “I promise, I will be careful.”

Broccin stepped away and shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m just going to stand by while you take your life into your hands like this.”

“I can be stealthy when I need to be, Broc. I will disguise myself entering the city and then be out with Elena as soon as I can manage it.”

He threaded his fingers into his shoulder-length hair. “There’s nothing I can do to stop you.” He turned to lope down the hill. “Send word somehow when you’ve recovered her.”

“To where?”

“Send it to the inn at Lowich. We pick up messages and distribute them through the sympathetic innkeeper there.”

Anne waved him off. “Don’t stay here or I’ll change my mind, Broccin Sinclair. Safety is entirely too tempting, but for conscience.”

Broc smiled and nodded, disappearing down into the valley. Anne swallowed hard and reminded herself this was happening for a reason. For a good cause. She must rescue Elena.

Footsteps sounded beside her and Anne didn’t look up, not wantin
g to face Broc again. She was determined to leave and no one could stop her this time.

Before she could turn or speak, a hand slipped over her mouth with a cloth and another around her waist. An acrid, pungent smell filled her nostrils and she struggled for air against the stifling hand before the dark crowded her sight again and she screamed against the cloth for someone to help her, but no one came.

Chapter Nine

Aedan stopped riding when he saw Anne was waking. She hadn’t come easily, and had nearly roused her lover again, who’d barely made his way back down the hill before Aedan made his move. He had been hiding in some trees, waiting for his moment to snatch her, and it had come so easily.

This would be the easiest money he’d ever made
, and he wouldn’t have to do any violence. He even left them her horse as payment.

He’d tied her to the second horse he’d brought and guided the horse at his side across the country until the sun began to rise
, watching her every movement. Either the light woke her or the sleeping draught had worn off more quickly than he’d anticipated. He’d hoped to make it past Lowich before she woke, but he could see that wouldn’t be happening.

Rather than have her struggling and falling off her horse, he quickly dismounted
, loosened her bonds, and pulled her down to a standing position. Her closeness and the rosy smell of her hair were a dizzying combination. It had taken all of his resolve to keep his hands all to himself when he’d tied her up and put her in the saddle. If he hadn’t promised her mother, God help him, he might have held her a little longer or made her ride on his horse.

Hell, riding with him would have been safer for her well-being. Not for his promise.

He completely untied the rope that had kept her lying over the horse’s back and threw it over the side of the horse, away from him. Now that she was awake, he wouldn’t have to tie her any longer. They could make better time and avoid the Sheriff’s soldiers altogether, who would likely be on the road to the unsuspecting camp of outlaws this very dawn.

Her eyes fluttered open, gazing up at him through those dark golden eyelashes. The sheer beauty of her face, red-cheeked and breathless from sleep, almost incapacitated him. They stood close enough that he could have bent to kiss her. The thought had him leaning into her, inadvertently and as her eyes focused on him,
she gulped in a breath and screamed.

Not precisely what he’d hoped for, but to be fair, he’d ambushed her and she hadn’t seen his face.

At once, she began to pound at his chest with her bound hands and scream for help. He grabbed the rope and suspended her weapon, but she continued to yell.

Aedan looked around. They were blessedly far from anything resembling a home, and leagues yet from Lowich. He was tempted to let her scream, but someone could be out of sight.

“Don’t make me cover your mouth again, my lady. No one will hear you out here.”

She glanced behind her, her face awash in frantic worry. “You don’t know that.”

“I’m willing to wager on it.”

Anne stepped back and pulled at his grip on her hands. “Untie me at once and let me go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, my lady.”

“But you must. And quickly. Don’t you remember me? I’m Lady Anne—

“Lady Anne de Cheyne, daughter of the Countess de Cheyne and captive of the outlaws who escaped the dungeons of Berwick.” Aedan began to pick at the knot he’d tied to keep her hands together.

“You don’t understand. They didn’t kidnap me.” She pulled at him and the knot slipped from his fingers, but Aedan grabbed the rest of the rope that extended over the horse’s body and stopped her before she could run more than a step or two.

“They didn’t?” Aedan held her while she wriggled at the end of his line like a fish. “You mean to tell me you went with them willingly?”

“Of course I did.”

She had seemed to have been intimate with the one she called Broc, but he assumed she’d made friends with her captors in order to escape. He never thought she would have gone with an outlaw of her own free will.

He replayed the scene in his mind where the big, fair-haired man had held her hands, speaking so intimately and quietly with her, looking as though he meant to gobble her up, holding her so tenderly.
She’d caressed his face.

He had assumed incorrectly and he almost never did that. Having spent so many years carefully watching people for their responses and learning to track people’s every moves, he’d thought himself harder to deceive than that.

He began reeling her in. “Then they didn’t find you sleeping in your room and carry you off to be their captive?”

Even speaking the words aloud, he realized how ridiculous that sounded. Why would they have been going through the guest quarters
when they’d just escaped the dungeon? He’d been so consumed with finding her, he hadn’t even questioned the stories he’d been told.

“They most certainly did not.” She pulled at her hands indignantly, turning her body away from him. “Suggesting such a thing is quite indecent of you.”

“And the man from earlier?”

“That was Broccin Sinclair, my…” she stopped, biting her lip. “An old family friend.”

Aedan exhaled, taking it all in. Not only had the soldiers in Berwick lied to him, but Milene de Cheyne had lied to him as well. He quickly fished the purse she’d given him out of his pocket and opened it, just to make sure there was actually money in it and that it didn’t contain rocks or lead.

He expected another lie, but found silver. For that, at least, he was thankful.

“That is quite a bit of money for a man to carry about at once.”

Aedan re-stashed the purse and smirked. “I keep all my money together and on my person, and I count it regularly.”

“A greedy miser, ah.” She seemed so smug.

“No.” Aedan’s throat tightened as he thought of Brighde. “The last thing that could entice me to sell my sword would be my own debauchery.”

She snorted. “I’d like to believe that.”

“You think me such a heartless oaf?” He straightened. “Or do you think all men are black of heart?”

A sneer crossed her face, but no humor lay behind it. He was right. “This is all for my sister. Not a pence for myself.”

“My mother paid you to kidnap me? And you think it will give me peace of mind because you plan to make your sister rich?”

“I plan to release my sister from her indenture.” His voice was more solemn than he liked, and it felt so strange to be admitting such weakness as laying down his life for anyone, even his sister. He needed her to think him callous and cruel. He changed his voice to eradicate all emotion. “Besides, I’m not kidnapping you. It’s called a rescue.”

She struggled at her bonds.
“But I haven’t been taken against my will. So you see, you’re not really rescuing me by bringing me here.” She stopped for a moment, as though considering him. She looked into his eyes, or rather, the one eye that he left uncovered, and held his gaze for a moment.

“Please understand, it’s not that I’m ungrateful. It’s quite flattering that you would search for me, it’s just that I don’t need you to rescue me. So if you’ll just let me back on this horse, you must take me back quickly, before the sun fully rises.”

Aedan crossed his arms and returned her stare. “You think I came after you because, what? I have some sort of affection for you?”

Her lips drooped at the corners and her brow furrowed. “Well, why else would you be here?”

“Your mother sent me after you. She thought you had been kidnapped and didn’t want you being accidentally killed when the soldiers attacked.”

Her face was suddenly wide, as though frightened. “Soldiers?”

“The Sheriff…” Aedan stopped, not wanting to fully reveal that he’d been the one to tell the old man of the camp’s location. Now that he knew she went willingly, it was as likely that she was in league with these men as it was that she was just using them for a convenient escape from the castle.

“What about the Sheriff?”

“He’s learned of the camp’s whereabouts. He’s sending soldiers to hunt down the criminals.”

“But not you?”

“Your mother sent me.”

Anne’s delicate face, marred by an angry frown, would still have been considered beautiful by any standard. Mesmerized by her quickly shifting moods, he just watched her as her emotions moved from anger to confusion to fear.

“How did my mother know where I’d gone?”

“One of the soldiers who died recognized the men who took you and reported to the Sheriff that they’d seen them take you against your will.” Aedan scoffed. “I see that’s not the case.”

“Well, things certainly happened that were against my will, not that the soldiers would have done anything about it.”

The sharp edge to her voice almost distracted him from what she’d said. He’d never heard a woman speak with such hatred.

“What did you say?”

“Never
you mind.” She pulled at the bonds on her hands again. “You simply must return me to the camp.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, my lady.” Aedan pulled at the slack and led her around the horse, collecting the rest of the rope. She may not have come willingly, but given her size and strength, he was relatively
certain he wouldn’t have to do her any more harm once he had her completely secured.

She leaned against his direction and was soon on the ground, forcing him to pull her along the grass in her expensive dress. He silently hoped that wouldn’t come out of his fee.

“Stop, please stop.” Her breathless voice was so quiet, and she seemed to be on the edge of tears. “You can’t take me back.”

“I’m being paid quite well to return you to your mother, and she has promised me that if I return you safely and intact, I will receive the rest of my payment. I’m not going to take any chances.”

Aedan grabbed the thickly tied bonds and hoisted her to her feet. He gathered the rest of the rope and coiled it around his arm, preparing to secure the rest of her before he had to put her back on a horse. Which horse would depend on how easily she came.

With a pout, she appeared to acquiesce. He still wouldn’t trust her enough to take off the bonds on her hands, but he supposed he could at least relax. All the tension was going to spook the horses if he wasn’t careful, and a long walk wasn’t exactly something he’d been looking forward to.

“Your mother just wants you to be safe.” He checked the knot at her wrists one more time and then began to pull at the excess.

“My mother does want me to be safe.” Her voice dropped off, defeated and concern lined her face. “You’re right.”

“She wants you home, with her.” He picked up the very end of the rope and made a loose circle that seemed like it would fit around her to secure her arms.

“Of course she does.” She leaned in toward him, focusing on the work his hands made of the rope.
He was surprised at how it warmed him to be watched by her.

“And your sister.” Aedan couldn’t take his eyes off her, the solace on her face, her nearness.

“Yes, Elena.” So close, now. She practically offered herself to him for the taking.

“And I must say, this payment she’s offered me will mean the difference between…”

Before he knew what was happening, she had pressed her lips to his and kissed him with an unexpected fervor. She opened her mouth and Aedan lost his carefully guarded self-control. He thrust his tongue between her lips and guided her head with his hands, tilting her so he could kiss her more deeply.

A strange heat began in his stomach and consumed him as she moved against him. Her hands rested at first on his chest and then moved down his body, exploring as they went.

I should untie her
, his lust said.

I should leave her tied and leave her be
, his guilt said.

“Oh, Aedan,” she gasped.

A growl unleashed in his throat and they tumbled to the ground. He was careful to protect her body with his as they fell and she landed on him, but the kiss continued. Her hands continued their journey south and Aedan had to break the kiss just to breathe.

With his eyes closed, he relished the weight of her, the feel of her skin, the pressure of her lips on his as she kissed him again.

Then, as though he’d dreamed it, the agonizing parting made time slow to a crawl, and he was certain he could feel his resolve breaking. But her pulling back was the right decision. He had, after all, promised her mother.

Aedan didn’t register the sound of his dagger being drawn until he felt the plunge of steel into his shoulder and opened his eyes to find her green gaze staring him down, shrouded in regret.

“I’m so sorry, Aedan.”

She stood and took the dagger with her, placing it down the front of her dress with her teeth. The pain pinned him to the ground and he was cert
ain she’d sliced open his heart, as much as it hurt to watch her so easily dispose of his bloodied dagger.

With a grunt, she pulled herself onto his horse’s back, which was the bigger of the two, and the beast bolted. As the animal ran off, she managed to lift her skirts enough to sit astride the animal like a man and grip the animal with her legs.

Before long, the slack of the rope hit the ground with the rest of her bonds and she was gone, leaving Aedan to watch the horizon and nurse the pain of his wound and her betrayal.

*****

Anne sobbed as she rode, trying her best to read the tracks the horses had left in the dewy ground. As much as she knew she needed to escape from Aedan, she hadn’t planned on what that escape would cost her.