Page 81 of Intrigued By A Highlander

Dru shook her head. She knew what came next. The brothers could battle each other but they didn’t dare let anyone raise a hand to their brothers.

The fighting stopped suddenly.

Knox took a fighting stance, confident that he could finish off each of the three remaining drunken brothers.

His wife flew past him and out of his reach to stand between him and the three MacTavish brothers.

“Enough!” she shouted. “I won’t have you beating up on my husband. Quim swung at him first and got what he deserved.”

“Dru’s right. Quim swung first,” Atley said.

“You take another’s side against your brother?” Olin asked and swung.

Atley moved missing the punch and it hit Fyfe sending him reeling.

“Now look what you did,” Atley accused, and wildly thrown punches started all over again along with curses and accusations as Fyfe got to his feet and joined the melee.

Knox didn’t waste any time. He got hold of his wife, circling her waist with his arm as he guided her past the frenzied fighting, shifting her as they went to avoid flying limbs and boots,

They made it safely past the brothers and heard what sounded like a loud thud behind them.

It was followed by a sharp oath and someone yelling, “You’ve broken my nose!”

“I didn’t touch your nose, you idiot!” someone else shouted. “That was Atley!”

“I am Atley!”

Knox couldn’t help but laugh. “How did you ever befriend that bunch of idiots?”

“I saved them from drowning,” she said.

“All four?”

“Aye,” she said and hurried ahead to Star, tethered to a tree branch, calm and unbothered by the ruckus in the clearing.

Knox swung Dru up on the mare, then hoisted himself up, settling in behind her, his arms circling around her waist as Star shifted beneath them.

As Star ambled away and oaths and accusations faded, Dru looked at her husband and grinned. “I win that one.”

“You duped me,” he accused, then warned with a scowl, “the truth.”

She chuckled. “How could I have done that when I didn’t know what information they would have? I took a chance as I always do when talking with them. Sometimes they know something. Sometimes they don’t. But—they aren’t forgetful even when drunk. We were lucky this time. They had information that helped us. So, I am still the victor in this wager and since you are an honorable man, I have no doubt you will honor our wager.”

“You manipulated me.”

She chuckled again. “And you let me.” Her laughter vanished and she slowly turned her head away from him.

He felt her upset as she tensed in his arms, and he didn’t hesitate to take hold of her chin and gently turned her head to face him. He didn’t say anything. He simply focused on her eyes and waited.

“Manipulation was the only way I could survive on my own.”

“You are not on your own anymore. You have me.” He rested his brow to hers. “I will keep you safe always.”

She moved her brow off his and saw the resolve in his dark eyes. “I believe you, Knox, I truly do, but I am also aware of what life’s uncertainties can bring. We have a battle ahead of us, not one but two. Someone wants me dead, and another wants to use me to benefit himself. Neither of those are easily solved. And my heart hurts to think I could lose you. I would rather die than lose you.”

He squeezed her chin tightly. “You will not die, and you will not lose me. We will do whatever it takes to have a life together.”

Sadness filled her eyes along with her smile. “Nay, we won’t, for we could easily let the woman falsely accused of being Autumn go unchallenged and solve our problem. But neither of us can let another suffer in our stead.”

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