Page 114 of The Highlander's English Bride

“And the Kendricks will know if you employ children again. Theywillput a stop to it.”

“Oh, lass, I’ll be puttin’ a stop to Old Bill, regardless,” drawled Graeme. “Count on it.”

Annoyed by his unhelpful interruption, she glanced at the cubbyhole and got a terrific shock. From her new angle, she could now see Graeme. With his face cut and bruised, he looked like he’d been dragged backwards through a thorny bush. He also looked mad as hornets and ready to throttle everyone in the room, including her.

It took her a moment to recover. “Please, sir. Let me handle this.”

After a tense couple of seconds, Graeme nodded.

She turned back to Bill, who was regarding her with no small measure of surprise. Sabrina didn’t blame him. In no scenario could she have ever envisioned negotiating with a crime lord, even a minor one. But since meeting Graeme Kendrick, life had consisted of one surprise after another.

“Do we have a deal?” she asked. “No more recruiting children?”

Bill seemed to ponder that for a few moments. “I’ll be losin’ a powerful lot of blunt without the kiddies. And I’ve gots to pay for a sawbones, ye ken. For my bowman.”

Breathing out an exasperated sigh, Sabrina unhooked the garnet bobs from her ears and threw them onto the scarred tabletop. “These should fill the gap.”

Bill swiped them up with a grin. “Hand over the money, and we’ve gots a deal.”

“I’ll have your word as a . . .” She couldn’t bring herself to call him a gentleman.

Bill spit on his hand and extended it. “On my honor as a thief.”

Regretting the loss of her best pair of gloves, Sabrina shook his hand. Then she placed the money on the table.

He picked up the notes and stood. “And I hope never to see ye again.”

“One can certainly hope,” she tartly replied.

Bill strolled to the door, followed by his young guards. They gave Angus—still holding his pistol—a wide berth. Whiskers came around the counter to join his leader.

Sighing with relief, Sabrina turned toward Graeme. He’d managed to climb to his feet, despite being wrapped by a great deal of rope.

“You will, however, be seeing me again, Bill,” Graeme said. His eyes were glittering emerald shards. “And there will be a reckoning.”

Bill paused by the door. “I’m thinkin’ not.”

Sabrina went to work on the big knot binding Graeme’s wrists behind his back. “He’s leaving. Don’t start trouble,” she hissed.

Graeme kept his focus on the gang leader. “And why should I not hunt you down and kill you?”

She struggled with the insanely complicated knot. “Because it would be illegal?”

Graeme cast her a brief, incredulous look.

“And because I’m gonna do you a favor,” Bill said. “More rightly, I’ll be doin’ yer lady a favor.”

Sabrina blinked and straightened up. “What do you mean?”

“I like a lass with spirit, and ye got plenty. Although yer costin’ me plenty, too,” he added with a chuckle.

Angus impatiently waved his pistol. “Get on with it, man.”

“Grandda, put that bloody gun away before you shoot someone,” Graeme snapped.

“Amateurs, the lot of ye,” Bill sneered. “And ye, mister, thinkin’ yer so clever, askin’ yer sneaky questions all about the town.”

Sabrina took one look at Graeme’s furious expression and hastily intervened. “What is it you wanted to tell me?”

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