Page 115 of Intrigued By A Highlander

“By the time I found out, I was too much in love with her to care. And right now, all I care about is finding her. We were captured by Callan’s men. We escaped last night and had to separate. I was hit—didn’t make it far.” He looked around the dark forest. “I need to get to a particular spot by the stream. That’s where we were to meet if separated. I’m not sure if she’s there or has been captured by Callan again. He wants her more than he cares what happens to me.”

“How many men?”

“It didn’t look like many, but I think he has more than we see and the notion that comes to mind how he might successfully get her north without a problem worries me.”

“How so?”

“He promised her in marriage, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the prospective husband and his warriors joined him on the journey here,” Knox said, not having shared that thought with Dru since she had enough to worry about.

“You would be a fool to go after her alone. You need an army and fast.”

“Yeah, I’ll just snap my fingers, and one will appear,” Knox said and went to snap them when he heard a sharp crack of a branch.

Dru startled awake,heart pounding, breath catching in the back of her throat. For one brief, beautiful moment she forgot where she was. Then the cold ground beneath her and the heaviness in her chest dragged her back to the truth.

Knox couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t be.

Callan had said it last night, his voice calm, unfeeling, like the words meant nothing. But they meant everything. She hadn’t wept. Not yet. She didn’t believe it. So, she wouldn’t let any pain settle in deep enough to crack her wide open. However, it did linger just beneath the surface, waiting.

A low rumble echoed in the distance. At first, she thought it was thunder, but then the ground trembled beneath her, and her breath hitched.

It wasn’t thunder.

Hoofbeats. Dozens or more.

She scrambled to her feet, heart thudding as hard as the approaching horses. Hope flared in her chest, wild and rapid.

Knox.

He’d come for her. He’d defied death and found her. He’d come to take her away from this nightmare.

She glanced around and not a single warrior stirred nor did Callan. He sat calmly, sharpening a blade, unconcerned.

He didn’t look up. “You’ll want to tidy yourself.”

Dru froze. “What for?”

He glanced at her then. No joy. No worry. Just calculation. “Your future husband approaches.” He rose, sliding the blade into its sheath. “I’m sure you’re eager to meet him.”

She was at a loss for words as the riders came into view, thundering over the rise. They came to a halt, the ground quaking with the power of their horses. And at the center, a man dismounted. He was massive, shoulders like boulders, dark hair falling in tangled waves, a jagged scar running down one side of his face. His dark eyes swept over Dru with a flick of contempt.

“This is the one?” he asked Callan, his voice like gravel dragged over rock.

Callan gave a short nod. “Aye, Hakon.”

Hakon stepped closer, circling her once like a man inspecting livestock.

“She’s small,” he muttered, stopping in front of her. “Could be worthless.”

Dru lifted her chin, fury simmering now where grief had only just begun to take root. “Who could be any more worthless than you?”

The man grinned, cruel and humorless, then grabbed her by the chin squeezing it until Dru cringed. “I might enjoy taming you.”

He turned to Callan. “I’ll take her, though I doubt she’ll last long.”

Dru’s fists clenched, her spine stiffening as Hakon gestured to one of his men. “I’m not going anywhere with you, arsehole.”

Hakon raised his hand high and Dru braced for a hit that she knew would knock her off her feet.

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