Page 31 of Healing the Highland Sinner
She laughed softly, though a ripple of worry ran through her at his words. If he could see the guilt that wracked her, what else could he see? Could he see the conflict inside of her about Ellair? Could he see her secret desires? Could he see the way the man made her knees weak and her belly churn? Could he see it all and was just being decent enough not to mention it?
“He acquitted himself well. Kept ye safe,” Ciar said, nodding to Ellair ahead of them.
“Aye. He did. He saved me life.”
“He seems tae be a good lad.”
She nodded. “Aye. He daes,” she replied. “And yet, I can hear the hesitation in yer voice.”
He turned his golden-hazel eyes to her, a warm smile on his lips. They walked in silence for a moment before she turned to him again, her expression curious. “What is it about him then? Why dae ye hesitate tae trust him?”
Ciar’s lips curled with a frown. “I dinnae like the way he looks at ye.”
“How so?”
“There’s just somethin’ in his eyes when he looks at ye… I cannae tell what it is,” he said. “It feels like he’s waitin’ fer somethin’.”
His frown spread to Rosalind’s face as she gazed at Ellair. “Fer what then?”
“I admit, I dinnae ken. But that look in his eye strikes me wrong, lass.”
“What is this look in his eye?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’m nae sure. But it’s possessive. It’s jealous. And he’s very good at hidin’ it. I’ll only see it in bits and flashes, but I’m trained tae really see people, tae see the threats and sometimes, when he looks at ye, ‘tis what I see. A threat.”
Ciar’s words rattled around in her mind, deepening her frown. “Is that what he is? A threat?”
“Maybe. I’m just nae sure yet.”
“If he was a threat who wanted tae see me dead, he’s had plenty of opportunities tae kill me,” she said. “He could have run me through in that warehouse and blamed it on Ewan’s men. ‘Twas a perfect setup. Instead, he took on four of them on his own tae protect me. Tae save me.”
A wry grin crossed the big man’s face. “And now ye see why I’m strugglin’ tae understand the man. He’s confoundin’ tae me in alot of ways. But I ken men well enough tae ken that he’s hidin’ somethin’. That he’s nae all he presents himself tae be.”
“Are any of us?” she asked ruefully.
His chuckle was deep and rumbling. “Fair enough, I suppose.”
As guilty as she felt about it all, Rosalind was hiding something as well.
And she would do it all again, without hesitation. She would do whatever it took to get her brother back. Blaine was all that mattered to her. It was why she was there, doing things she never thought she would. Though some of what she’d done—was still doing—turned her stomach, she would continue if it meant getting Blaine back to her. They held his life in their hands, and she had no choice but to comply.
Ciar looked at her, his face clouded over with concern. “We’ll get him back, lass.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “I hope so.”
“Dinnae hope. Ken,” he said, his voice firm. “We will get yer braither back.”
“Aye,” she said, though without much conviction. Then, desperate to turn the conversation away from her source of enduring pain, she turned to him. “I want tae send Ellair tae collect the package Sinclair wants us tae move.”
“I was plannin’ on daein’ it meself.”
“Nay. Send Ellair. I dinnae trust Sinclair and want tae ken what it is we’re movin’.”
“’Tis nae the way this works. Ye ken that.”
“I ken. But I want tae ken anyway. There are some things the bleedin’ Highlanders should nae be havin’,” she said. “Send Ellair.”
“Ros—”
