Page 68 of Surrendering to her Highland Captor
The door squeaked open at Iona’s bidding, revealing a commotion sitting on the other side.
“I told ye, ye cannae go in there! The Laird is verra busy with?—”
Aila and Lachlan turned in unison to see what had caused the ruckus. In the doorway, ignoring the tugging of the housekeeper, stood a man Aila had never seen before, clutching the shoulder of?—
“Christopher!” Lachlan shouted, lurching towards the pair.
Guards tumbled in from the hallway, flanking the man. Christopher jumped out of their reach and dashed towardsLachlan, tucking himself into Lachlan’s open embrace. Aila pushed her way through the crowd, pulling the boy into her arms, squeezing him tight.
“What are ye doing here? How did ye get here?” she asked, brushing his hair out of his eyes, checking his body for any signs of harm.
“I take it ye ken these two?” Iona asked.
Everyone in the room was tense, poised to strike if anyone made one wrong move. Lachlan shook his head, his eyes never leaving the man in the doorway. Guards now gripped his arms, but he stayed firm, sheer relief rolling off him in waves. Aila’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“The lad is one of ours, though how he managed to get here on his own, I dinnae ken. The man,” Lachlan answered, eyes narrowing, “is a stranger.”
Everyone turned to the dark-haired man then, waiting for an explanation of some kind.
“Are ye Lachlan Kincaid?”
“Aye,” Lachlan said, his chin thrusting into the air.
“That must mean ye are Aila.”
She held Christopher tighter, concerned as to just who this man was and what he wanted with them.
“How do ye ken who we are when we haven’t the faintest idea as to yer name?” she challenged.
He left out a huff of air, like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“I cannae tell ye how relieved I am. I have traveled a long way in the hopes of finding ye. Ye have to help me.”
“Help ye do what? I still dinnae ken who ye are,” Aila told him, more than a little perplexed.
“Ye have to help me save Taryn’s life.”
