Page 60 of The Runaway Bride and the Highlander
“Nae for long,” he retorted. Turning to his men, he said, “Get her on my horse.”
Skylar could hardly believe this was how it was all going to end. After everything she had endured after her mother and father’s sacrifice and after staying hidden for four long years, separated from her sisters, Johnson was going to win after all. She needed to do something, to say something—one last attempt to redeem her freedom.
“I am with his child,” she blurted, her hand dropping to her stomach to make her point.
Johnson turned back and stared at her for a moment. His expression changed subtly as he was clearly thinking about what to do or how to respond. Maybe this was her chance. Perhaps he would not want a woman with another man’s child in her belly, for surely it would disgust him, especially as the child would be his worst enemy’s progeny.
“That is neither here nor there,” he said eventually. “Once it’s born, I’ll have the child killed, and then I can produce many heirs o’ my own.” He said the words with such dismissiveness that Skylar could hardly comprehend what she was hearing. The man truly was a horrible monster. He would kill a child without a second thought, just so he could have her. She was to be taken from one man and given to another as though she were a shirt or a plaid, something to be used and discarded on a whim.
Johnson turned to his men once more. “Get her on the horse, and be certain tae tie her up. We’re taking nae chances with this witch again.”
He walked away, and five large and brutish men walked toward her, surrounding her from every direction and quashing any hope she might have had of escape.
Skylar knew it was pointless, but she was not going without a fight. Her pride and self-worth would simply not allow her to go quietly. Thrashing out her arms, punching and kicking, the men struggled to grab hold of her. She felt her nails scratch one and her foot come in contact with another. Eventually, she felt a heavy punch at the back of her head, then a strike at her back, and then another punch in her stomach, followed by a further punch to the face. The strikes and punches continued, Skylar screaming relentlessly until she felt dizziness overwhelm her, and she could struggle no more.
In her final moments of consciousness, all she could think of was Maxwell. She had lost this battle, and there was no one left to save her. It was over. She would never see his face again. But at least he’d be alive. A second later, her eyes closed, and she sank into a thick blackness.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
Maxwell and his men had been searching for at least an hour, but there had been no sign of Skylar anywhere. Of course, it hardly helped that it was dark, and they were relying only on the light of a half-moon and the few torches some of his men carried.
At Jacob’s suggestion, they had first traveled to Ogilvie’s house, following Jacob as he led them there. But upon their arrival, it was clearly evident Skylar had not gone there. Maxwell and Bram had dismounted, and with care, for they did not want to frighten the family by waking them, had prowled around the entire house, Maxwell going one way and Bram the other. When they met up on the other side, both had the same thing to report.
More than disappointed, they continued across the glens for a little while before Bram suggested the group split up.
“We’ll cover more ground if there’s two groups o’ us,” he said to the men. “Jacob, ye head tae the north. Take three men with ye. We’ll head south and take the other three.”
“Aye, my laird,” Jacob said, and turning to the three men nearest to him, he jerked his head. “Come on.”
The group split into two, both going in opposite directions. If either group found her, they could each send a man to find the others.
As their small group ventured forth and his horse cantered against the soft ground beneath, Maxwell could not help but feel a heavy sense of disappointment. Jacob had given him some hope back at the castle. He too thought Skylar would have headed somewhere familiar. The boy’s house had been their only lead.
“I dinnae ken where she will be now,” Maxwell said a little time later. “She doesnae ken the area, and she kens nae one but those in the castle.”
“Is there naething she might have said in yer conversation last night that would give ye any clue?” Bram pressed, riding beside him.
“I ken she misses her sisters,” Maxwell shrugged, “for she was always talking about them. But even Skylar didn’t ken where they all were. If that is whom she’s gone in search of, we are completely at a loss, Bram,” Maxwell replied heavily. “She could be anywhere.”
“If that’s the case, my best guess is that she’ll head for the coast,” Bram said deductively. “She’ll head tae the boat we brought her over here on.”
“Aye, but how will she ken how tae get there?”
“She has a mouth in her head, Max,” Bram said blatantly. “She can ask anyone she meets.”
“Then perhaps our best option is tae head tae the nearest village. She’ll nae be able tae ask anyone where she needs tae go until the villagers wake. But maybe, she’ll have gone there tae wait until daybreak when they do.”
“That makes—”
A piercing scream traveled from what sounded like miles away and cut Bram off mid-sentence. All the men suddenly pulled on their reins, and the horses came to an abrupt halt. Bram spun in his saddle and gawped at Maxwell, who could do nothing but gawp right back.
“It’s her,” Maxwell gasped.
Flicking his reins, he dug his heels into his steed’s side and galloped in the direction he thought the sound had come from. Bram and the others swiftly followed behind, the entire group gaining speed as they pushed their horses even harder.
Even as he continued, Maxwell heard that frightful screaming again. It was a dreadful cry. The sound of it caused the hairs on his neck to stand on end and the pit of his stomach to clench at the thought of what they might be doing to her.
I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them all.
