Page 121 of Ruined By the Ruthless Highlander
But first, he had to finish this.
He helped her into a more comfortable position, his thumb stroking her cheek a few more times.
“I’ll be back,” he promised, his voice rough as he looked out the carriage door.
His eyes landed on Lord Norton, who was still kneeling on the ground, with Finn’s hand clamped tight around his shoulder. He looked small and powerless, like the man he was beneath it all. His hands were bound behind him, and yet he still wore a smile on his face.
Lachlan clenched his fists hard. He stepped out of the carriage and stormed toward the man, landing a blow before he could say a word.
Lord Norton’s head snapped to the side.
Lachlan stood before him, his chest heaving with barely leashed fury as he watched him groan and cough up blood. The sight did nothing to quell the fire in his chest.
He grabbed the man by the collar, and Lord Norton looked up, his smile widening despite the blood on his teeth. His face showed no trace of remorse.
“You think she cares for you?” His laugh was a sickening, ugly sound. “She is English nobility, and you are a Highland savage. The moment she returns to London, she’ll forget you ever existed.”
Lachlan’s fist clenched harder, his nails digging into his palms.
“She came here to steal from you,” Lord Norton continued, his voice taking on a desperate edge. “She came to claim your land. To trick you, seduce you, and make you trust her enough to hand over your land willingly.”
He spat the blood in his mouth near Lachlan’s feet, some of it splattering on his boots.
His lips curled as he looked up again. “And by the look of you…” His voice lowered. “She has done rather well.”
His eyes were gleaming, daring Lachlan to say something. To do something.
“Enough,” Finn growled, shoving him hard.
But Lord Norton wasn’t finished.
“Ask her!” he shouted. “Ask her if she didn’t know about your clan before she came here! Ask her if she didn’t plan to take this land from you!”
A noise sounded from the carriage, and Lachlan turned around to see Marian. She was sitting upright now, shaking her head frantically and banging her fist against the wooden wall in the most feeble attempt possible.
“She knew!” Lord Norton bellowed. “She came here to take your land, you foolish Laird!”
Lachlan did not turn around. He held Marian’s eyes, his heart softening at the emotions in them.
He had seen them earlier when he held her in the carriage. And in that single moment, he understood the truth far more clearly than anything he had ever had.
It isnae true.
He had seen her in her truest form, and his heart knew her. Whatever schemes had brought her here—if it truly were a scheme—were irrelevant now.
She is mine.
“Lachlan—” Her voice broke, barely reaching him. Then, suddenly, her eyes widened. She lunged to the very edge of her seat, her hands shooting out. “Behind you!”
Lachlan turned around quickly.
Somehow, Lord Norton had managed to escape his restraints. He moved with unnatural speed for a man who’d just been bound. He charged toward him with a small dagger in his hand, the blade glinting in the fading light.
Finn cursed, reaching for his pistol, but there was no time for that.
Lord Norton was only a few paces away. His eyes were wild, the look of a man with nothing left to lose.
But Lachlan was stronger and faster. He moved before the man could strike, his blade slitting Lord Norton’s throat in one single, brutal motion.
