Page 6 of Only a Highlander Will Do

She kept running, her breath coming in painful gasps. In her mind, an image of her father formed. Anger contorted his face. He would never forgive her for upsetting his plans.

Hoofbeats pounded right behind her. The MacLeod surged ahead of her, and in one fluid motion he leapt from his horse to tower over her. Before she could so much as change her direction, she ran into the solid wall of his chest.

His hands grabbed her shoulders. He shouted something at her but she couldn’t hear him over the frantic beating of her heart.

She writhed against his grip, her fists pounding his chest with no effect whatsoever.

“Cease!” His dark eyes blazed down at her. “I’m here to help you.”

Fiona kicked him in the shin with her leather boots. “Let me go.”

He flinched and muttered a curse.

She kicked him again.

“Damn fool woman!” he yelped as his grip tightened on her shoulder.

She prepared to assault him again when he released her suddenly. His dark eyes bored into hers—dark eyes filled with anger and curiosity.

“Hit me again and I’ll—”

Without thinking her fist balled and flew against his jaw. She heard a pop and felt his head snap back.

A sick sensation swept through Fiona’s stomach. Heaven help her, what had she done? Her vision narrowed. The world around her stilled, then went dark.

*

Tormod rubbed his jaw as he stared down at the girl crumpled at his feet. His men rode up to greet him. He had done nothing but pierce the girl with his angry frown.

“What did you do to that helpless woman?” Graeme asked as he reined his horse to a stop beside Tormod and the senseless woman at his feet.

“I looked at her. And she’s not so helpless. Believe me,” Tormod growled as the pain in his shin throbbed. He bent down and lifted her into his arms, then mounted, holding her limp body in front of him. “Did you find out anything about her from these guardsmen?”

Graeme nodded from the back of his horse. “Her name is Fiona Fraser. She was recently betrothed to Alex MacDonald and these men were to deliver her to Monkstadt House by this evening.”

Tormod shifted his attention to his men, their expressions carefully neutral. They were well trained to keep their emotions in check. He returned his gaze to Graeme. “We cannot go into battle with four prisoners and a female. We’ll have to return to Dunvegan. ’Tis but an hour’s ride away. There, we can rid ourselves of this distraction before we proceed.”

Graeme smiled. “Is that what she is? A distraction? Or is she an opportunity?”

Tormod motioned for his men to ride ahead of him until only he and Graeme brought up the rear on their journey home. “What do you mean?” He stared down at the woman’s still form. He didn’t need any further complications in his life. He had quite enough already.

“You wanted revenge against the MacDonalds.” Graeme shrugged. “Robbing the heir apparent of his chosen bride seems like an opportunity to make them pay without spilling any blood.”

If the woman kept battering his chest or kicking his shins as she had, there might be blood yet. “So we take her prisoner and ransom her back?”

Graeme shook his head. “Nay, you must take away what Alex wants for himself.”

Tormod’s gaze was fierce. “I will not kill her.”

“I’m not suggesting you should.”

Tormod’s eyes widened as Graeme’s meaning hit home. “You think I should marry her myself?”

“It seems the perfect solution. You want revenge. Alex wants a bride. You take his bride, and you have vengeance at its finest. Besides, she’s pretty and obviously feisty enough to keep you amused.”

Tormod tore his gaze from her and stared off into the distance. She had a pleasant enough face with a small nose, a well-shaped mouth, as well as a firm chin and jaw, all surrounded by a mass of tangled red hair, with that small cluster of flowers at her ear. There was also an egg-shaped welt at her temple. He returned his gaze to her face and frowned down at the growing redness. She must have hit her head on a rock when she fainted. “I’ll consider it,” he replied as he kicked his horse into a run. They’d best hurry back to the castle. The sooner they were behind the castle’s thick walls with their prisoners, the safer they would all be.

The sun had moved high in the sky when they reached Dunvegan. They proceeded through the gates and stopped in the front courtyard, when the door to the castle opened and Alastair emerged wearing a fierce scowl.