Page 87 of Desire of a Highlander

“We have to go.”

Shouts erupted behind them.

“She’s gone. Search the camp!”

“So much for leaving quietly,” Elodie muttered.

Ronan nodded. “Aye.”

He took her hand and led her quickly and silently through the darkened woods, following a path that only he could see. Elodie clung to him, making not a sound, hardly daring to believe that he was real. Behind them, the camp was in an uproar, shouting and crashing coming from that direction. Ronan ignored it all, leading her unerringly onwards.

Finally, they emerged into a moonlit clearing and found Angus tied to a tree, Bran and Skye tethered nearby. The dogs began whining in greeting but fell silent at a curt command from Ronan. The horse lifted his head and gave a soft nicker of recognition.

“Good lad,” Ronan whispered. “Quietly now.” He untied the reins in one smooth movement and then untethered the dogs as well. He knelt and cupped his hands, indicating for Elodie to mount. Elodie placed her foot in his hand and he lifted her effortlessly onto Angus’s back. He climbed up after her, settling himself in the saddle behind her. His arms came around her to gather the reins, the familiar warmth of him helping to steady her racing heart just a little.

“Hold on,” he said by her ear.

Behind them came the sound of men crashing through undergrowth.

“There!”

“Stop them!”

A musket fired. The shot splintered bark somewhere behind them. Ronan booted the horse and Angus sprang forward. Elodie clung onto the saddle horn for dear life. The world became flying branches and pounding hooves as they exploded through the dark, Bran and Skye just rippling shadows to either side.

Ronan guided Angus sharply downhill and suddenly the horse splashed into icy water. Elodie gasped as it flicked up to drench her ankles. They had descended into a narrow stream, barely wider than the horse himself and deep enough to reach just above Angus’s knees.

Ronan turned upstream and Angus began walking through the flowing water, Skye and Bran following.

“They canna track us this way,” Ronan breathed by her ear. “No tracks to follow and the stream washes away our scent.”

Elodie glanced back. Already the current was swallowing the churned mud left by Angus’s hooves. The dark forest closed around them and the shouting behind grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared altogether. Now only the sound of running water and her own panicked breathing remained.

Elodie sucked in deep breaths through her nose and leaned back against Ronan. I’m safe, she told herself. He came for me.

Of course he did. She’d never doubted it.

Now all they had to do was get out of this alive.

Chapter 20

Ronan didn’t slow Angus until the sky had begun to lighten.

The stream had carried them far from the Murdochs’ camp, twisting between steep banks overhung with alder and willow that all but hid the stream from view. Only when he was certain they had put several miles between themselves and their pursuers did he guide the horse up the muddy bank.

Angus scrambled onto solid ground, water streaming from his fetlocks, closely followed by Bran and Skye who shook themselves down, spraying water droplets everywhere. Ronan looked around, every instinct alert. The countryside here was broken by rocky outcrops and scattered birch woodland. Ahead, a tumble of gray boulders leaned together beneath the hillside, forming a shallow hollow almost hidden beneath hazel scrub and bracken.

“Over there,” he said quietly.

He guided Angus into the shelter of the rocks before finally pulling him to a halt. Ronan went very still, cocked his head, and listened. He heard no sounds of pursuit. No shouting. No distant barking of dogs. Only birds beginning their dawn chorus.

Ronan closed his eyes briefly and breathed a long, slow breath. Slinging one leg over Angus’s back, he slid from the saddle and landed lightly on the ground before reaching up to help Elodie down. As she shifted her weight in the saddle, she winced.

Ronan frowned. “What is it?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

He placed his hands around her waist and lowered her carefully to the ground but the moment her feet touched the earth, her knees buckled. His arm shot out automatically, catching her before she could fall.