Page 46 of Tempting the Highland Devil
“Neither do I,” James agreed then protected Arran from an unseen attacker. They kept fighting for another full minute. Arran’s senses were on full alert. His eyes darted keenly across the drawbridge to make sure they had cornered as many men as they could.
His first move had been to seal up the castle, so whatever happened, he knew the people inside were safe. Arran dodged as many men as he could and kept fighting his way through.
Soon, they had wiped out as many bandits as they could, and most of his guards had captured the survivors. Panting, Arran tossed his sword to the ground and walked over to one of their captives.
Arran took off the mask on the man’s face then held his chin up so he could examine the man’s face and check to see if he would recognize him.
“Who sent ye?” he questioned. “Tell me who sent ye to attack, or else I will…”
The man spat out blood to the ground then coughed hard. Arran felt the reins of his control strain as he waited for an answer.
“We dinnae come here to attack yer castle,” the man finally said to him in Gaelic before bursting into a thick mocking laugh that made the midnight hue of his eyes seem even darker. “We came here to distract ye. It worked, me laird, because by now what we really seek is long gone.”
The man still laughed as his words slowly sank in and made Arran tremble in fear.
“Yvaine,” Arran said as he released the man and ran towards the castle entrance. His heart leapt to his throat, and terror surged through him with tidal waves that nearly paralyzed him. “They came for Yvaine.”
Panic created a haze around him. His heart beat in a frenzied rhythm that made him feel dizzy. Arran had never felt fear and panic mingled into one like this before.
Yvaine was all he thought about as a chill seeped all the way down to his soul. In that moment, Arran envisioned what his life would be like without Yvaine in it, and it was a nightmare.
* * *
Yvaine woke up with a blinding ache in her head and groaned as she squeezed her eyes shut again. Her aching body bounced up and down a horse. She heard the claps of the horse’s hooves as it galloped away and felt the piercing stab of something hard in her side.
Once the image of her attacker came to mind, her eyes flew open, and she forgot about the pain in her head. She screamed immediately, but her sounds were muffled by the cloth stuffed in her mouth.
Yvaine struggled, screamed some more, and tried to break free from the binds tying her to the horse. Her legs moved, and she kicked them as the man riding with her cursed roughly in Gaelic then brought his horse to a stop.
“Stop it this minute,” he growled as he dismounted from the horse. Yvaine could only stare at his feet as she lay astride the horse. Her mind raced with different thoughts as she tried to figure out what she would do next.
I must get away from him.Arran would be searching for her. She knew that, and she could only imagine how livid he would be knowing that she was taken.
But who are these men?The men standing near her wore black, and she couldn’t tell how many there were even though she felt the presence of others.
When she made another muffled sound, the man closest to her pulled off the cloth tying her mouth and removed the gag.
“Water, please,” she pleaded, feigning a sob. “Please.”
“Not one word from ye, or I will knock ye out for the rest of the journey,” he threatened. “Do ye understand me?” he roared.
“Aye,” Yvaine said in a faint voice. “But please, I must drink.”
“I said silence!” The man’s irritated eyes narrowed, and he raised a hand, attempting to strike her face and silence her.
“Dinnae,” another one yelled to stop him. “Remember, the laird wants her untouched. If ye hurt her, we may lose our lives.”
Yvaine took in every word and cleared her throat. Now that she knew they could not hurt her, she could find a way to escape them.
She managed to crane her neck up, so she could look at his face. “I ken ye dinnae want me dead. Whoever sent ye wants me alive, and ye will surely nay let me die of thirst before we arrive now, will ye?”
The man’s chin hardened as she blinked and stared at him.
“All right,” he said then motioned for one of his other men to untie her from the horse. The moment her feet touched ground, she held out her wrists to him, so he could untie them to.
“Not a chance, lass,” the man said. “I cannae risk ye runnin’ away.”
“But ye risk me gettin’ hurt?” she asked with a sheepish blink of her eyes. Knowing these men could not hurt her made it easier for her to plot a move. Yvaine only needed to make them believe she was helpless then they would let their guard down, and she would flee.
