“But he didn’t,” Ronan said. “He planned to have Shona for his own.”
“Kate told me that Shona loved her husband Cormack and could have never lived without him. She assumed that Shona perished with the child.”
“While this should make Carissa happy,” Ronan said, “I believe it will also make her sad, and perhaps hate Mordrac all the more. I will tell her about it at the appropriate time. Now we must rescue her.”
“Cregan is a determined one,” Addie said.
“And I,” Ronan said with a pound to his chest, “am a man who intends on saving the woman I love.”
Cregan dragged Carissa by the back of her hair along the ground. Her eyes stung from her hair being pulled so tightly. Stones and branches dug into her backside and legs as he was unrelenting in his efforts to get her back to the horses.
She knew he worried that he had lost precious time, and no doubt the Sinclares were drawing closer. If he didn’t reach the contingent of men she was certain waited for him somewhere up ahead, he and the few men with him would find it impossible to defend themselves.
He released her suddenly, then grabbed her by the back of her cloak and dragged her to her feet. Once she stood, he backhanded her across the face. The blow sent her head reeling back, but she dug her feet into the ground, refusing to stumble.
When she felt the trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth, she smiled at Cregan before spitting a wad of it in his face.
He wiped it off, his face red with fury. “I do not know if you’re worth the trouble.”
“Then release me and avoid more trouble for yourself.”
“You think me afraid of the Sinclares?” he scoffed.
“It isn’t only the Sinclares you’ll face. It’s my men, and they are more barbarian than civilized.”
That bit of knowledge infuriated him all the more, and he lashed out at her once again, only this time she deflected the blow with raised arms.
“Hit me again, and I’ll kill you,” she said.
He laughed. “You have no weapon.”
“I don’t need to kill you now, but I promise you that if you strike me again, you will die.”
“We need to leave here,” Sully dared to say.
“My men will be here sooner than you think,” she said with a grin.
“She’s right,” Sully said. “We have wasted time searching for her.”
“Get the other woman, and we’ll leave,” Cregan ordered.
Sully took a step away from Cregan. “The other one escaped.”
“What?” Cregan yelled. “Did you search for her?”
“We were too busy going after her,” Sully said with a nod toward Carissa.
Cregan grabbed Carissa by the throat. “It appears that your plan has worked.”
Carissa fought to smile though breathing was difficult.
“I should kill you and leave you for the animals to feast upon and for your love to find what is left of you,” he said, releasing her.
“If I can defend myself against an animal like you,” she said hoarsely, “then I certainly can manage the animals of the forest.”
“You belong to me,” Cregan shouted.
“Are you certain that you want me?” she challenged.
He approached her again, and Carissa did not move away in fear. Instead, she proudly stood her ground. He grabbed her chin.
“With my men and your men combined, we could be an unstoppable force. Just think of the power we would have. The fear we could instill in people, the places we could conquer, and our children could carry on our supreme reign.”
She looked at him oddly as if suddenly realizing something. “That’s why you waited to come for me. You knew I was amassing a troop of mercenaries, and you wanted them as well as me.”
“I’m no fool. There is power in numbers.”
“My men would never serve you,” she spat.
“They would if you ordered them to.”
“That will never happen,” she said.
“I think otherwise.”
“Think all you want. It will never be so,” she said.
He squeezed her chin tighter. “I will have what I want.”
She opened her lips to protest, and he slammed his mouth over hers in a savage kiss.
Ronan was annoyed to see that Cavan had arrived. They had just come upon Cregan, and he wanted no interference from his laird. It was his to choose what he would do.
Lachlan and Alyce were also there, as was Zia, who was busy fussing over his mother.
“Where’s Artair?’ Ronan asked annoyed. “Isn’t this a family affair?”
“Someone had to protect the keep in case Cregan had other ideas in mind. Zia wanted to come in case Mother or Carissa needed tending. Now tell me what goes on here.”