‘The damned woman has not told me the truth, but I wi’ get it from her,’ he said, making his hands into fists and flexing them several times. ‘She wi’ tell me what I want to ken.’
He strode off then, walking to the cave and passing Martainn on his way back without a word. Niall heard the other Iain and Conran telling him the rest. Arriving outside the cave, he pushed the flap open and went in. Fia stood in the middle of the chamber and he kicked a box in front of the flap as he grabbed her. Fear shone brightly in her eyes and she backed away several paces as he advanced.
‘Ye hiv not been truthful wi’ me, lass,’ he yelled loudly enough that those following him would hear it. ‘Does Brodie Macktinosh ken aboot this place?’ he asked. ‘Tell me now!’
Niall raised his hand and aimed at her face. At the last moment, he whispered to her.
‘Drop!’
Chapter Thirteen
She fell at his command, but Niall felt her cheek under his hand. She’d not been fast enough to escape his blow completely. With a hand held against her face, she stared up in fear at him.
‘Aye, he knows,’ she said. ‘We lived here for months.’
‘Will he come here a-looking for ye?’ he called out again, kicking several items across the cave as he did. ‘Ye wi’ tell me what I want to ken!’
‘Aye, he will come. He will bring his warriors to find me!’ she cried out.
The lass scrambled on hands and knees now out of his way, gathering up the length of her gown so she could move faster. He followed and reached down for her, grabbing the back of her gown and her braid in one hand. ‘Beg for mercy,’ he whispered.
‘I pray you, mercy! Mercy!’ She cowered under his anger. Exactly what he needed.
‘Who are ye to him?’ he shouted now, as he tugged on the buckle of his belt and loosened it. She screamed in true terror now, fighting her way free and crawling as far from him as she could. Niall stalked her across the stone chamber until he stood over her. ‘I asked ye, who are ye to the mighty Mackintosh?’ He took the buckle of the belt and the end together in one fist.
‘What are ye to him?’ he yelled at her as he slammed the belt down on the sacks lying there.
She cried out, raising her hands and arms before her to shield herself from the coming strike of the belt, never realising she was not his target. Fear was in control now so he gave her the word he needed her to say.
‘His ward? His bloody ward?’
‘Aye!’ she screamed, tucking her head down behind her arms. ‘His ward.’
At this point, she would say whatever he wanted. Before he could ask anything else, Anndra’s deep voice echoed in from outside.
‘Iain Dubh,’ he said. ‘Come out here now and leave the lass be.’
So, he or they could kidnap her, have their way with her but they objected to him using his hands or belts on her? He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it as he walked to the opening.
‘Ye wi’ stay there until I come back,’ he said so they could hear. ‘I amna done wi’ ye, lass.’
He kept the belt around his fist for good measure and walked out to talk to them. Primed as a pump and ready, they were, from the looks on their faces. Niall nearly burst out laughing at their expressions, but he held his merriment in check for now.
Every one of these men would kill anyone of their choosing if they needed or wanted to. They would lie, cheat and steal to get their way—and they had. For the last several months. With him. Now, their scruples were being raised for the lass. Good. This might work for all of them.
‘’Tis what I feared,’ he said, dropping his leather-wrapped fist to his side. ‘This was the Mackintosh’s camp back when he fought his cousin. He kens this place,’ he explained. They stared at him and then Anndra became the one who spoke for them.
‘Did ye hiv to rough up the lass like that?’ he asked, crossing his massive arms over his large chest and glaring at Niall.
‘Aye, there was no call for such a thing,’ Martainn added, matching Anndra’s stance. Niall needed to bring this under control before they took over.
‘Do ye understaun’ what is going to happen?’ he asked, glaring at one after the other while they thought on it. ‘She is Brodie’s ward. Close kin. No some village girl he cares no’ for.’ They blinked then, so Niall continued. ‘He is coming for her,’ he said, pointing towards the cave and the lass within.
‘And if’n we let her go now?’ Anndra asked. ‘Send her home before he gets here.’
‘Do ye think he will let us go off unscathed? We burned his villages. We kilt that old man. Now, we hiv taken his ward,’ Niall asked.
‘Ye took her,’ Micheil said. ‘We just wanted a little fun wi’ her.’ As though he was absolved.
‘If we hiv her when he arrives, he wi’ kill us and ask her later. I amna interested in waiting for that to happen.’
‘So, ye wi’ leave with the lass and get away?’ Conran asked.
‘Nay,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘I think we should leave her here and go off to find Lundie.’
No one spoke then. Niall suspected that one of them knew more than he did, especially more about where Lundie went. If not the specifics of whom he met, then at least the general direction.
‘Lundie never tells us where he goes,’ Micheil answered. ‘And he has our gold. If we leave here, we wi’ not get paid.’
The others joined the argument, all unwilling to risk the coming gold. But Iain Ruadh said nothing. And the man would not meet his gaze. He knew where Lundie was.
‘Iain kens,’ Niall said softly, nodding at him. ‘Just tell us,’ he urged. ‘We can leave the lass here and ride to him.’
‘I canna,’ Iain Ruadh said, holding up his hand to forestall any further pressure to reveal his knowledge. ‘Besides, if The Mackintosh was coming here, why isna he here yet?’
‘For nigh on three days, the storms would have kept him close to home. Now that they hiv moved on...’
Knowing what he knew about the man, storms from hell would not stop him from seeking those who’d injured or harmed his people. ’twas only a matter of time before he sought vengeance for the attacks. Once he understood The Camerons were not behind them, he would pay whatever it cost to find out the truth.
‘Iain Ruadh,’ Anndra said, turning to face the man. ‘If ye ken where he went, even the direction he rode, ye need to tell us.’ The big man nodded at Niall now. ‘I would rather we ride to meet him than wait here for our own deaths.’ The others now joined in urging the man to share his knowledge with them.
‘We canna go anywhere this night. ’tis the dark of the moon and we would kill ourselves trying to leave here in the pitch-black of the night,’ Niall said. ‘In the morn, if Iain canna tell us anything, then we can just follow him when he leaves.’ Iain met his gaze then and watched him through narrowed eyes. ‘’Twould no’ be his fault if we followed him.’
One by one they nodded in agreement and Iain seemed content with handling the matter in this way. He would not speak about it and could not be blamed, yet no one wanted to be here to face death at the hands of a furious Brodie Mackintosh.
‘We can meet up wi’ Lundie and let him decide the next step,’ Niall said, strategically acquiescing to Lundie’s rightful leadership.
‘And the lass?’ Martainn asked.
‘We leave her here wi’ enough food to last a few more days. If she’s here, The Mackintosh might let us be.’ They all nodded and Niall turned to go back to the cave.
‘Iain Dubh?’ Anndra spoke his name. ‘I think it would be best if’n ye leave the lass be. No more beating on her and no more of the other either,’ he advised.
Now he must be the one to nod and accept their advice.
Walking back, he considered how much and what to tell Fia. Niall wondered what his reception would
be when he entered.
* * *
She threw the cold water in the bucket at him as he entered. And now empty, it became another weapon of protection against him. As he wiped the water out of his eyes, she swung it in a wide circle to keep him from getting close to her.
‘You...you...conniving bastard!’ she said. The thud when the wood hit him was satisfying. It lasted only a few moments and then he tore it from her grasp and tossed it aside, wiping across his eyes with the back of his hand and sleeve.
He’d hit her. And he’d taken off his belt to beat her. And tossed her to the floor. Right now, he stood there staring at her with water dripping off his wet hair and shirt. Her sides heaved with anger as he watched her.
‘You played your part well, Fia,’ he said. ‘I beg your pardon for...that.’ He nodded at her cheek.
‘My part?’ she asked. He pushed the hair back out of his eyes and shook his head.
‘Aye. I needed you frightened and reacting and not thinking on each thing I said. There was no time to explain and no guarantee you would follow my lead.’ He took a step closer and she took one away. ‘Does it pain you there?’
He reached up as though to touch her cheek and dropped his hand when she pulled back even more. Only the clothing on her back separated her from the cold stone of the cave’s wall.
‘Aye, it hurts,’ she said. His eyes darkened then, turning the deepest shade of blue she’d ever seen. He truly did regret hitting her. ‘You could have told me,’ she said. Though...
‘And risk you not reacting as I needed you to?’ He shook his head. ‘Nay. It played out how I needed it to. Now, we will leave here in the morning and—’
‘We are leaving?’ she asked. Where would they take her next? She would need to hurry her escape plans rather than be taken from here to another unknown place. At least here...she knew a way out.
‘If you would give me a chance to explain,’ he began. He lifted the box he’d kicked aside and placed it before her. ‘Sit.
‘I have convinced them to leave you behind. I expect that your chieftain will send men out for you now that the storm has cleared,’ he explained. She nodded. ‘They will find you.’ He smiled then. ‘Or you will find your way down to them.’ Fia did not deny it now.
It made sense to her. When Brodie did get here, and she had no doubt that Arabella would have him handling it himself, he would unleash hell on these outlaws. Oh, her kidnapping was one reason, but these dastards had attacked his lands and his people. No one, no one, did that and lived to tell.
The only thing that could keep them alive would be the need for Brodie to find out who was truly behind this all. He suspected it was not The Camerons. If they, if Iain, cooperated and helped Brodie in finding out his enemy’s identity, Brodie might let them go.
Or let them live.
She studied him then and realised two things. The first was that Brodie would never let them live. The second was that she did not want him dead.
Oh, she should, but she did not.
‘Why did you do that?’ she asked.
‘Ah, lass,’ he said softly. ‘Cannot even an outlaw have a moment of good conscience?’
‘You are no more an outlaw than I am,’ she said, making her accusation aloud. Those eyes darkened once more and his jaw snapped shut, grinding teeth on teeth. ‘You speak as one when you are with them, but not when we are alone.’ Fia wanted answers now, especially if he was leaving in the morning.
‘Haud yer wheesht!’ he whispered furiously.
‘Ah, there it is,’ she said. ‘Your false tone and speech.’
He approached her then and she felt as though a dangerous animal was stalking her. His movements were filled with the masculine grace and ease of a fighting man—she’d seen it with Brodie and Rob before. When threatened, their bodies shifted and became weapons. It was happening here before her eyes.
Outlaw, my arse, she thought.
‘Have a care for what you say, lass.’ His warning was spoken low, his deep voice whispering it softly, but she did not miss the message.
He was leaving in the morning. The worst he could do was tie and gag her to keep her from telling the others. But she needed to know the truth. If the result of this whole debacle was for naught except to point out the silliness of her romantic dream and to destroy her life, then she would have the truth from him.
‘What outlaw carries a book of hours in his bag?’ His eyes widened and the shock of her question made him choke as he tried to get words out. ‘And what outlaw has a king’s signet among his possessions?’
Murderous. If she had to use a word to describe his expression, it would be that one.
Without another word or glance at her, he rushed to the pile of bags and supplies, searched for the one he’d hidden away and pulled it out. He turned it on end and dumped everything out. If she had not been watching closely, she might have missed the brief touch of his hand on the wrapped book before he sought the other thing she’d mentioned. His hand slipped into the hidden pocket and a look of relief covered his face before he glared at her.
‘You have no idea what you’ve done, lass,’ he said.
‘Tell me then,’ she said. From the tone of his voice and the dark expression on his face, Fia suddenly wondered if she should have remained silent. ‘Who are you?’
‘There is so much more to this than I could ever say. Let that suffice,’ he warned again.
‘You are not Camerons, yet you all play the role to incriminate them in these attacks,’ she said. ‘Tell me.’ She needed the truth. His words had revealed more than she’d expected. So, he was not an outlaw. Was he a nobleman as she suspected?
‘All I can say is there is more here than you can ever know.’
‘Iain Dubh!’
The thunderous voice stopped them as they stood. Anndra kicked the flap and yelled again. ‘Get yerself out here now!’
He closed his eyes for a moment, almost in reverence, before meeting her gaze. Guilt, resignation, anger were all there.
‘What will they do?’ Fia asked as he stood.
‘If I can convince them, they’ll leave you alone and leave me to face the Mackintosh,’ he said.
‘And if not that?’
‘I suspect you will survive,’ he said. He had the ring in his hand, turning it over and over in his grasp. She nearly missed catching it when he tossed it to her. ‘Hide that. Send it to the King if you can.’
The King?
God in Heaven, he was truly involved somehow with the King!
‘What else can I do?’ she asked. If she’d not been curious, if she’d not pressed him for answers, no one would have heard them.
‘Run!’ he whispered just before he did the same thing.
Not questioning him this time, she grabbed up her cloak and did just that.
Chapter Fourteen
Niall did not pause after telling Fia to run.
He barrelled out of the opening, intent on taking as many of them down to the ground as possible. Oh, he had no hope of defeating them on his own. He simply needed to distract them enough to let her slip away.
One of them held a torch, for it was full dark now, and it threw enough strange and moving shadows that should have given Fia more than a good chance to get away. He prayed she was as prepared as he suspected as he knocked three of them over. When he saw something move in the shadows along the path, Niall took off running in the opposite direction, hoping to draw the men away.
And they followed.
Without the benefit of a torch or the moon’s light, Niall stumbled through the camp until he knew she’d gotten away. The lass knew her way around this place and knew the ways out, and, he did not doubt, hidey holes in which to take shelter. He heard Conran call out that she was not in the cave then. To keep their attention
on him, he stopped and turned and threw himself into those behind him.
They became one tangled heap of bodies before the fighting began. Then, he just kept giving and getting—punches, kicks, elbows to the gut and face—whatever blows he could land on one of them. He heard the crunch when his nose broke. The pain of several kicks to his ribs and in his back that told him he would be pissing blood for days. It mattered not. Niall let out all the frustration and anger and loss that had filled him for years in that fight.
And he needed to give Fia enough time to get away.
He’d dragged her into this muddle after all. If he’d played the outlaw instead of the gawping man, she would not have been in the midst of his hunt.
Then, one of the men, Micheil he thought, got an opening and Niall felt his head snap back from the force of it. He smiled a bit as the back of his head smacked into someone’s nose and broke that from the sound of it. Not unconscious, but dazed and confused, Niall fell to his knees and then landed on the ground. They did not stop then, using his inability to fight back to their own advantage. By the time someone—Anndra, mayhap?—called a halt to it, Niall could barely breathe.
‘Bring him,’ Iain Ruadh said. ‘To the cave.’
Lundie’s confidant. The quiet man who knew more than he said.
They dragged him to his feet and along the path back to the cave. And they took no care of further injuries as they did. When he was tossed to the ground inside the cave, he passed out for a short time before being shaken and kicked awake.
‘Where is she?’ Iain Ruadh asked.
Good then. They’d not found her. He said nothing which earned him another kick. That rib and several others were well and truly broken.
‘It matters not now,’ Anndra said. ‘I heard what I heard.’
‘Tell us again what he said,’ the other Iain said.
‘I only went after him to make certain he was no’ beating on the lass again,’ the big man explained. ‘As ye said I should do, Iain.’ Ah, the other Iain had already begun taking control.
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