Page 22 of Promised to the Ruthless Laird
For a brief moment, something flickered in her eyes. And just when he thought she might finally lower her guard, tell him whatever truth she had been hiding, it was gone, leaving him only with the sense that she was carrying something he would never know.
Edin didn’t speak, but there was no need. Her silence was more telling than any words could be.
It struck him with an uncomfortable clarity: he knew so little about this woman, about who she really was beneath the sharp exterior, the calculated moves, and the mystery she wore like a cloak. He had let her into his life so easily, swept up in the chaosshe carried, without ever stopping to ask what it meant to truly know her. How had he come to this point? How had he allowed someone so secretive, so wrapped in enigma, to draw him in so completely?
The realization cut deeper than he expected, like a splinter of ice lodged in his chest. He’d known danger had been following her — he had seen the way it clung to her every step, the way it followed them both like a shadow. But he had never fully acknowledged the truth of it. Not until now.
This was exactly the opposite of what he needed.
His people were depending on him to lead, to remain steady. And yet here he was, caught up in this whirlwind of secrets, shadows, and the unsettling feeling that Edin was somehow pulling him into a storm he couldn’t weather.
He couldn’t do this. Not now, not when there were far greater stakes at play. Not when Davina was still out there, somewhere, and his every instinct screamed for him to find her. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, to be pulled into a web of unknown dangers that might undo everything he had worked for.
Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, the two men turned their horses.
Edin breathed in deeply, her shoulders easing ever so slightly. Finley studied her carefully as they rode off, watching the way her fingers flexed against the sill, the way her chest rose and fell in what resembled relief.
“They’re leavin’,” she murmured, more to herself than to him.
“Aye,” Finley said slowly. “And ye seem mighty glad about it.”
Her lips pressed together, but she nodded. “If they were lookin’ fer us, they didnae find what they needed.”
He caught the slip in her words. “If they were lookin’ fer us? Or just ye?”
Edin hesitated. Too long.
A previous job. That was the only answer she was going to give him. And though Finley had more questions, he could see she wouldn’t give him any more than that.
For now.
He exhaled, glancing back out the window. The road was empty now, the figures nothing more than fading dust in the distance.
Whatever had just happened, whatever those men were truly after, he didn’t like it.
And he liked even less that Edin was lying to him about it.
“It daeesnae matter now,” she said. “They’re gone.”
Finley’s fingers curled into fists. She was hiding something big. And for the life of him, he didn’t know if it was going to get them killed.
CHAPTER TEN
Afew hours later, the early morning chill was wearing off. Edin felt the crisp bite of the air as she walked along the narrow path, Finley at her side, his boots crunching over the gravel beneath him.
She stole a glance at him; his brow was furrowed, as if he was pondering something.
They hadn’t said much since their argument in the inn. Edin had kept to herself, her thoughts wandering in the quiet space between them. And now, walking beside him, her mind was just as unsettled as it had been when she had seen the men from their window.
She ought to have told him, hadn’t she? She should’ve confessed that she had seen them while following him — that they had been tailing him, not her. But how could she? Admitting that would only expose her.
He didn’t need to know. Not now. Not when there was so much more at stake.
Edin's lips pressed together in a tight line. She had to be careful with what she shared, especially now. There was no way to explain it without revealing too much. And while she trusted Finley more than most, there were parts she couldn’t afford to expose.
She felt a twinge of regret, but she buried it quickly. No use second-guessing her choices now.
“What’s the plan, Edin?” Finley’s voice, rough and clipped, broke through the fog in her mind. His eyes were fixed ahead, his posture unshaken. “Are we headin' fer a fight, or is this another o’ yer... mysterious trips?”
