Page 45 of Intrigued By A Highlander

“STRIKE MY WIFE AND YOU’RE DEAD!”

All turned to see Knox as he tossed a man, his face bloody, aside before he strode into the room and went straight to Phelan, giving him a hard shove and sending him stumbling and falling to his knees.

“NEVER. Not ever, go near my wife,” Knox threatened with an anger that was palpable.

Phelan got on his feet and got in Knox’s face. “You think I fear you.”

Knox shoved him again. “You’re a fool if you don’t since you beat the fear out of me when I was nothing more than a frightened lad. Nothing affects me, meaning I can kill with ease and no regret or remorse. I’ve been waiting for the day to finally get my revenge for the hell you put me through. I thought of many ways to get that revenge but there is only one that would satisfy me… ending your pathetic life. And believe me when I tell you, Phelan, my patience is as slim as a fine thread.”

“You owe me,” Phelan said with a bravado that the fear in his eyes betrayed. “I saved your family from starving and made you the skilled and fearless warrior you are.”

“And I am going to give you exactly what you deserve for making me a man who cares for nothing—now—if you’d like.” Knox’s hand reached back to grab the hilt of his sword.

Brother Ewan stepped forward. “Not in the Lord’s house.”

Phelan stepped away from Knox. “I have better things to do than fight an ungrateful man who refuses to see what I’ve done for him. And good luck with that sharp-tongued, skinny waif of a wife who?—”

Phelan went down hard from the blow Knox delivered to his jaw with such speed that he didn’t see it coming in time to avoid it.

“Stay away from my wife and me or the next time our paths cross, it will be the last day you take a breath,” Knox warned with a fiery rage in his dark eyes that made him look like a demon who’d risen from the depths of hell.

Phelan’s men raced out of the room along with the bloody-faced man.

“We’re not done, Knox,” Phelan cried out when he reached the door.

“You can count on it, Phelan. Death is knocking at your door. And make sure you don’t take your anger out on these monks, or your death will be that more painfully slow.”

“And The Monk will help him,” Dru shouted.

“Go see that they leave,” Knox said to a couple of monks, and they hurried out of the room. Then he turned and went to his wife and swept her up into his arms and hugged her tight.

Her arms went as far around him as they could to return his hug, relieved he was there and glad to be in his arms, even with her feet dangling off the floor.

Knox could have sworn he felt her heart thud wildly against his chest and it was good to hear. She was safe and unharmed.

He reluctantly set her on her feet. “You are too brave for your own good. You should have stopped after threatening him with what I and The Monk would do if he harmed you.”

She grinned. “I can’t keep the truth from rolling off my tongue. He and his men did stink.”

The smile came easily to Knox, a rarity, though not since meeting Dru. She had a way of drawing a smile out of him.

“Thank you, Knox, for helping us,” Brother Ewan said, turning to the couple after speaking with a few of the monks. “You won’t be leaving us yet, will you?”

“A warm bed is more welcoming than the cold ground, Brother Ewan. We will be staying the night. But I wouldn’t worry about Phelan and his men returning. He will wait and plan before seeking revenge for how I embarrassed him. The confrontation has been a long time coming and I look forward to it.”

“But your wife—would he use her to seek his revenge?”

“Possibly. But I know him far better than he realizes, and I will make sure that that never happens.”

Brother Ewan smiled. “I have no doubt you will, my son. Now sit and have some wine?—”

“And apple tarts—they are delicious,” Dru said, taking her husband’s hand and urging him to the table.

Dru hoped that she would get some time alone with her husband, eager to ask him about the kiss. But monks came and went, wanting to talk with Knox, curious how he knew to return to the abbey. It was a brief tale to tell.

“I recognized one of Phelan’s warriors when I came across him on the road. Phelan always sends a man ahead of him and he has another man lag behind to let him know if anyone follows. A few blows to his face gave me the answer I needed, and I headed right back here.”

More questions followed and it wasn’t until she and Knox settled in the room for the night that she asked, “Why did you kiss me before you left?”

---