Page 20 of The Irresistible Warrior
Then, out of nowhere, came the cold, sharp press of steel against her back.
“Walk,” came the deep voice.
Aura stiffened, the voice distinctively male, but who would threaten her and why? “What do you want?”
The blade jabbed her gently, enough to sting. “Don’t speak. Walk.”
She obeyed, her heart hammering now, each step deeper into the woods, pulling her from the sounds of the village, from safety.
She couldn’t hold her tongue. “Where do you take me and why? And what do you intend to do with me?”
“You ask too many questions, and I am not being paid to answer them.”
“Paid? You were paid to abduct me?” she asked, shocked. “By who? Why?”
He muttered beneath his breath, then said, “Aye, I was paid to take you and leave you in a marked clearing. That’s all I know.”
Aura’s stomach twisted. Who would want her taken? And why?
A twig snapped behind them sounding like a thunder strike in the quiet forest.
Her captor grabbed her arm and froze.
Aura turned her head just enough to see a figure moving among the trees—fast, silent, and familiar.
“Declan,” she whispered, as the man cursed and spun with his blade.
Declan charged, fury in every step. The fight was brief and brutal. He knocked the weapon from the man’s hand with a swing of his forearm, then slammed him to the ground with a growl that made even the tree branches still.
Aura stood staring as Declan pressed his booted-covered foot to the man’s neck.
“I heard you tell her someone sent you… who?” he demanded.
“I don’t know his name!” the man gasped. “I was handed a bag of coin and given instructions to grab the woman and wastold to leave her at the old ring of stones south of here. That’s all I know!”
Declan’s eyes looked briefly to Aura, then back to the man.
“If you’re wise, you’ll keep the coin he gave you and get as far away from here as you can before he finds out you failed and demands his coins back, or worse. And if you aren’t wise and I ever see you near her again, I’ll slit your throat. Now go.”
The man scrambled to his feet. “You’ll not see me again, ever.” He took off like a spooked fox, disappearing into the woods.
Declan turned, his expression dark with concern. “Are you hurt?”
Aura shook her head, her breath still short. “No. Just… a bit frightened. How did you know?—”
“I was speaking with someone when I saw you duck around the side of your cottage as if in search of something. I got curious when you didn’t reappear and went to see where you had gone to. That’s when I spotted the fellow forcing you into the woods.” He stepped toward her and stretched out his arm to slip it around her waist. “You’re safe now.”
She instinctively leaned into him, a sense of protection in his strength. “Am I?”
Who wanted to abduct her and what awaited her in the ring of stones?
CHAPTER 9
Declan didn’t let go of her hand until they’d crossed the village boundary and stood just outside her cottage. Even then, his fingers lingered, like he needed to assure himself she was still there—whole, unharmed.
Aura’s knees wobbled, though she stood upright. “Spending so much time in the woods learning about plants, I always make sure to keep alert to my surroundings, which saved me more than once from unsavory characters. I never gave thought to my safety when I believed I heard a cat’s cry, and I went to help the poor creature if I could. With all the chaos going on here, I should have known better.”
Declan’s jaw tightened. “Nonsense. You had no reason to suspect you were in danger from a cat’s cry for help. You should be safe here and I intend to see that you are.”
