Page 80 of Highlander Lord Of Vengeance

“I’m not. I’m trying to stop you from becoming someone you’re not. If you torture Gavin, you take a step closer to becoming Torrance. Let me do this for you… for us. Let me find the answer we need.”

He turned away from her, hands braced on the edge of the table. For a long moment, he said nothing. There was no way he could ever strike her, absolutely no way.

The silence grew heavy between them.

Then, behind him, he heard a quick shuffle, then a tumble.

He turned just as Esme staggered and fell against the hearth, her cheek catching the edge of the raised stonework, and she cried out.

“Esme!” he roared, lunging for her, his arm hooking her waist before she could hit the floor and turning her around in his arms. Anger rose like a mighty beast in him as he saw tears shimmer in her eyes and she blinked them away.

His hand went to her face to tilt her head gently. A red mark had already begun to rise along her cheekbone.

“What the bloody hell have you done?” he demanded.

She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “What had to be done.”

He stared at her, his jaw clenched and his heart hammering. “You could have hurt yourself worse.”

“I didn’t,” she said, softly but firmly as she finally met his eyes. “And now there’s no debate. Gavin will believe what he sees.”

A tear slipped down her cheek, and he brushed it away with his thumb, his touch reverent, careful not to press where her skin had already begun to swell.

“I hate this,” he whispered. “Hate that it’s come to this.”

“I know,” she said. “But if we’re going to get answers, we must be clever. You can’t always win by force, Ryland.”

He looked at her, at the pain she wore like armor, and at the strength beneath it.

“You’d make a fearsome laird,” he muttered, then hugged her gently. “Don’t ever do something like that again. Not ever.”

“I didn’t want you to stop me,” she murmured against his chest.

He held her tighter.

When he finally pulled back, his voice had found steel again. “Then let’s make certain it wasn’t in vain. I’ll make sure Brack is busy so he doesn’t see you and I will see that the guards have reason to leave their post so you can sneak easily into the dwelling where Gavin is being held. But you must promise me if at any time you feel you may be in danger… you will leave immediately. I will be waiting close by out of sight.”

Esme nodded. “He’ll talk. I’ll make sure of it.”

The wind whistledaround the small hut as Esme approached the unguarded door. Ryland had made sure the guards were called away, but she knew she didn’t have long to see the task done. She opened the door and slipped in.

A low fire burned in a fire pit, not giving off nearly enough heat for the small space. Gavin sat on a narrow bench, his ankles and wrists chained. His head lifted the moment she entered, surprise flashing in his eyes.

“Lady Esme?” he rasped, rising slightly despite the chains. “What in God’s name are you doing here?”

“We don’t have much time,” she whispered, pushing the hood off her head and moving closer. “I slipped in while the guards were called away.”

He stared at her, wary. “Why?”

“I need your help.” Her voice trembled with urgency. “I know you’ve no reason to trust me, but I swear to you… I am not your enemy.”

His expression hardened. “You’re the wife of the man who put me in chains.”

“I fear not for long,” she said quickly, stepping into the firelight and letting him see the bruise blooming along her cheekbone.

His brows drew together, his tone sharp. “He did that to you?”

“It is not the first time and won’t be the last. I know someone wants Torrance dead and me along with him for fear I carry an heir. But I’ve failed to get with child, and I learned that he has plans to be rid of me and get himself a new wife. My life is in peril no matter what happens, and I don’t want to die.”

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