Highland Savior

by Sarah Hoss

  “Aye, but so are ye.”

  Trevor gleamed at the compliment.

  Turning from the by-play between the two, Gillian glanced over at Trevor’s mother and her heart stopped in her chest. The look of desire on Annie’s face sent instant anger rushing through her. Annie glanced over at Gillian and blushed at having been caught staring and handed Gillian a cookie tray.

  “What are you two doing today?”

  “I’m taking him to the park.” Taking her cue, Annie reached down and grabbed Trevor’s hand.

  Trevor glanced back over his shoulder and waved. “Goodbye, Mr. Macpherson.”

  “Goodbye, Trevor.”

  Watching them walk down the hall, Gillian moved to close the door.

  “You see? That’s why I can’t take you with me. I think explaining you will be easy enough, for everyone knows about Scotland. Having to explain the modern world to you is more than I can handle today. Plus, if people notice you, then they notice me, and I don’t need that either.”

  “Gillian, I doona think ye should be going out if ye are being hunted as ye say.”

  “I have to. Besides, he should have been arrested by now.” Gillian grabbed the door handle and turned it, but paused. Looking back over her shoulder, she said, “I promise I won’t be long. Please stay here?” She pleaded with him.

  He reached out and grabbed her by the arms, bringing her closer to him. His presence engulfed her and for a brief moment she wanted to give in and take him with her.

  “But yer not certain, are ye?”

  His eyes searched hers and she found herself leaning, wanting to be kissed by him. She wanted the safety he offered.

  Smiling, she tried to reassure him. “I’ve managed this long. It’ll be okay. I’ll be quick, I promise.” She removed herself from his grasp and said goodbye, quietly closing the door.

  Hamish stood staring at the door in disbelief. Never in his life had a woman spoken to him in such a manner, then ordered him around. His pride was wounded.

  All he knew was there were men after her. But instead of him drawing attention to her, wouldn’t it be more like he would defend her? No man would dare try to take her or harm her if he was around. She was exposing herself to danger. Females . . . he would never understand them.

  Guilt washed over him, for in the last several hours, he hadn’t once thought of Margaret. Oh, how he missed his sister. He still couldn’t believe she was gone and because of him she was dead, yet he still didn’t know why.

  He sat down on the couch and rested his head on the back of it, closing his eyes. Anguish tore through his insides, making him feel like he was drowning. The day his sister had died, he’d spent a lot of time trying to figure out why someone would intentionally set his house on fire but came up with nothing. If the attack was meant for him, then his sister was an innocent victim and that made it all the worse. He kept telling himself that he should have protected her, but how could he when he didn’t even know there was a threat? If it was the work of Archibald, then he should have been more prepared.

  That is the one thing that twisted his thoughts over and over again. He hadn’t suspected anything.

  Now, here he sat in another time, face to face with a world and a woman he knew nothing about. Danger stalked her every move. This was a threat he could see, and here he could do something about it.

  “Maybe I couldna save ye, Margaret, but there might be some way I can save Gillian.” Would his soul be free of this pain and guilt? If he was sent here to protect her, then he couldn’t do it sitting alone inside her apartment.

  He glanced down at his clothes. She’d said he would stand out in a crowd. Then what he needed to do was blend in. Rising, he took a few steps over to the window. Hamish peered out and studied the people on the streets. Men and women came and went as if they had important business to attend to. The clothing was odd and a little scandalous. He tried to focus on what the men wore but when a woman glided down the street in a knee-length, fitted skirt and high heels, his eyes never left her backside.

  The phone rang and Hamish startled, hitting his head on the fern that hung from the ceiling. Though it didn’t really hurt, he still rubbed the spot.

  A man’s voice came over the little white box sitting next to the phone.

  “Gilly, are you there?”

  Hamish looked around and walked over to the desk. “No, she is not.”

  “Gilly, it’s your father.”

  Confused, Hamish spoke again, leaning in closer to the machine. “She isn’t here, sir.”

  “Well, I guess you aren’t there . . .”

  Hamish straightened up. “Is the man daft? I just said that.”

  “Call me when you get home, Gilly. Love you.”

  There was a click, then a red light began to blink. Hamish picked up the white box and turned it over a few times examining it. The odd little machine was a curious thing and something he was going to ask Gillian about later.

  Walking back to the window, Hamish noticed a man walking up the sidewalk to the apartment complex. Judging from the distance, they looked to be the same size. He wore strange looking blue trousers, a white shirt, and a brown jacket. This was a man he needed to talk to. Hamish took a deep breath, grabbed the door handle, and left the apartment. Part of him was a little afraid and that wasn’t something he liked to admit. He didn’t know what to expect out there. Hell, he didn’t even know where to look for Gillian. All he knew was that he wasn’t leaving her alone for any reason.

  As he approached the man, he wasn’t sure what kind of reception he would get. He told the man that he was visiting family and that his clothes had been lost. He didn’t understand what the man said when he grumbled about the damn airlines. He asked to borrow an outfit so he could go out to purchase some. The man was friendly and agreed. Luck was on his side.

  The shoes he had on were becoming easier to wear. The pants, on the other hand, were another story. Twice before he’d left the apartment, he had to readjust himself. He didn’t like the tight feel of the material around his cock. Blue jeans, the man had called them. And a white T-shirt poked out of the V-neck of the black pull-over sweatshirt he wore.

  Now he stood on the sidewalk and glanced in both directions. The man had been kind and told him which stores to try. And he would, later. For he had no real intention of going shopping. First things first, he had to find Gillian.

  Chapter 11

  Philadelphia was big. Way too large for one man to get his mind around. It was hard to grasp the concept and realization of the things Hamish was seeing. No one rode on horses anymore. Horseless carriages made of metal flew past him all the time. With his mind lost in his thoughts about this new world, he stepped off the curb only to jump back when a car blew its horn. He barely missed being run over.

  He ran his hand through his hair and glanced around. How would he ever find her? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Just as he was thinking he should turn around and wait for her at home, he stopped.

  There she was.

  Luck was on his side. But now what? He couldn’t just approach her. She’d be angry that he’d not listened to her and he didn’t want another argument. The only thing he really wanted to do was get her back into the apartment safely, then talk about getting himself home.

  Thoughts of his sister and brothers snuck into his mind like a thief and his chest became heavy. He didn’t understand where he was or how he’d gotten here. Knowing he was three hundred years in the future was a little hard to believe. Plus, it was one thing to know you were away from your home, but it was another thing to know how far away you were. Would he ever see his family again?

  Movement caught his eye and brought his mind back to focus. Gillian had gotten up from her table with a red and white striped umbrella and threw something in a large barrel bef
ore walking away from him. Slowly, he began to trail her. Maybe he would follow and see what she did. Hopefully he would learn something about her.

  People passed him by on the sidewalk and he found it hard to keep focused on his target. With so many different clothing and hair styles, he found it all fascinating. Though, one person did make him step to the side as he passed by. He would never have thought it possible to put that many piercings on one’s face.

  Standing at the next corner waiting for the chance to cross the street, a pretty redhead, in a short dress and high heels, flirted with him long enough he must have stood there for two light changes, for Gillian was nowhere to be found.

  With a respectful nod of his head, he excused himself much to the dismay of the young woman.

  As he lightly jogged across the street, he berated himself for not staying focused. How could he have forgotten about Gillian? It had taken him forever to find her the first time.

  Then he spotted her.

  Fate was on his side again. He leaned back to peer up at the top of the building. Post Office was engraved in large letters. Hamish watched as she came down the steps, stopped, and glanced around. Stepping behind a tree, he waited.

  Gillian turned to her left and began to walk away from him again. The day was sunny and a warm breeze made the leaves dance on the branches from which he took shelter. The day smelled fresh and he took a deep breath. Everything appeared to be built in brick.

  As he began to follow Gillian, he paused and stepped back behind another tree. A man, dressed in a black suit, with a white open-button shirt began to follow Gillian as well.

  Moving slowly and keeping his eyes on the pair, he followed. As Gillian and the man passed by an alley, the man grabbed her and pushed her into the alley and out of Hamish’s view.

  His nerves tingled and his heart began to pound deep in his chest. His only thought was to get to her fast so he picked up his pace and ran. Rounding the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks.

  Antonio shoved Gillian against the wall, then stepped closer, pressing his body to hers. “So blackbird, we meet again.” He raised one eyebrow as he brought his hand up to cup her chin and hold her in place as she searched wildly down the alley for help.

  “What? Aren’t you happy to see me? Really, that wounds me and here I thought we had something special.”

  “Screw you.”

  “It would bring me great pleasure, I’m sure,” he said as he rubbed his groin against hers in mocking sexual movements. Antonio’s left hand came up and caressed her breast. He laughed as she tried to get away.

  “I don’t think so. You have eluded me long enough. Now, you’ll come with me so I can do what should have been done the first night we met.”

  Gillian spat in his face, then began to try and pull free from his grasp. But his anger knew no bounds and he tightened his grip so hard, that after a few seconds her hand began to tingle. She raised her knee with as much force as she could to hit him in the groin, but he anticipated the move and blocked it.

  “You bitch!”

  When he backhanded her across her cheek, tears came to her eyes and her vision blurred. He grabbed her face and forced her to look him in the eye. “Don’t fucking try anything like that again or I swear I will end your pathetic little life right here and now. Do you understand me?”

  She tried to nod yes but his grip proved it difficult.

  “Good. I have to tell you, this really is getting a bit tedious. This ends today.”

  Tears streamed down her cheeks and pooled onto his fingers. Letting go, he roughly gripped her arm at her elbow and began to exit the alley. She stumbled but quickly gathered her footing. She should never have left her apartment.

  Through blurred watery eyes, she saw the silhouette of someone running into the alleyway. A new panic rose throughout her body for she feared it another of his men. First rule in abduction is to not let the abductor take you to a new location. She began to struggle and hollered, “Fire!” hoping someone would come to her rescue. If she was going to die, then he would be forced to do it here. This was her only chance for survival.

  “Fire!” Kicking and screaming, she struggled to get out of his grasp. She had to flee from him. But all the commotion she made only angered him more, a feat she hadn’t thought possible. With a punch to the side of her head, the last thing she heard before she fell into oblivion, was the sound of footsteps and someone screaming her name.

  Hamish watched in horror as the man in the alley abused Gillian, but as he watched her try to get away and the man punched her, he knew he had to go in and save her. He didn’t know what he was running into, but seeing her lifeless body lying on the ground drove him on.

  “Gillian!” Hamish ran as fast as he could. Terror built in the pit of his stomach when she fell. He glanced at her briefly before centering all of his attention on the man. Antonio, she had called him. Anger replaced terror and flowed hot through him; energizing his strength and determination to protect her and kill the man in front of him.

  Hamish ran toward him. Arms pumping with effort, brow furrowed. Antonio turned at the sound of Gillian’s name being hollered. When he was mere feet away, Hamish jumped and lunged at him, bringing his fist down at an angle toward Antonio’s neck, causing him to stumble backward. He followed, driving his fist into the man’s face.

  Antonio stumbled backward again, falling to the ground with the punch, landing on his left side. As Hamish reached down to grab him and pull him off the ground, his opponent took a weapon out of the waistband of his pants.

  When the weapon was poised in the air at his chest, he took a step back, the firearm looking unfamiliar. Antonio stood with a sneer on his face.

  “That’s right, not so tough now are you?” He planted his feet and laughed. Gillian made a noise and both men stared at her as she began to wake. He used the moment to step toward Antonio, hoping to unarm him. Antonio turned just in time to let off a round, hitting Hamish in the arm. He flinched, then flew at him, and the two wrestled for the gun. Hamish got his arm turned so that the gun was pointed toward Antonio. A shot rang through the air and the man’s face turned into a look of surprise.

  Hamish stepped away from him. Watching him fall to the ground as blood seeped from his waist.

  “Hamish!”

  Turning, he ran over to Gillian and helped her rise.

  “We have to get out of here. Someone had to have heard the shots. Police will be here any minute.”

  He nodded, grabbed her hand, and jogged to the end of the alley. Gillian waved down a taxi. Once they were inside, they sat in total silence. He gently touched her face where a red spot lay on her cheek. His hands slid gently over her body as he quietly examined her in the backseat, hoping she hadn’t been seriously hurt.

  “I think I’m okay,” she whispered. “Just a bad headache.”

  A cough from the front of the car brought them back to the rest of the world. The taxi driver glanced at them in his rearview mirror. “Where to?”

  Hamish leaned into Gillian. “Take us somewhere quiet for a moment. We need to gather ourselves.”

  She nodded. “Go to Fairmount Park, please.”

  “You got it.”

  Hamish grabbed her chin in his hand and gently turned her face to look at him. The appearance of blood and scrapes on her skin angered him. A protective feeling washed over him as he continued to search her person for injuries. He leaned in again and placed kisses on her cheek trailing back toward her ear and whispered. “Play along. Are ye sure ye feel well?” Relief flooded him as his perusal of her showed that there were no further injuries.

  He felt Gillian smile. To the taxi driver they would appear to be two lovers enjoying a stolen moment. “My back hurts a little. I imagine from falling. And my cheek stings like the dickens.” Her hand instinctively came to tou
ch her cheek, only to rest on his hand. “It’s my nerves that are quite rattled.” She leaned back, then placed a kiss on his lips.

  Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, he nodded. He watched as she searched his face, then gently touched him, searching his body for injuries. He held still when her eyes widened and began to water. She’d seen his arm.

  Placing a gentle kiss on her lips, he pulled her in close. “I’m all right. We’ll take a look when we get to wherever it is we’re going.” He rested his forehead on hers and rubbed his hand up and down her arm trying to sooth her.

  She nodded and took a deep, shuddering breath.

  They turned off Kelly Road onto Mt. Pleasant. Following the circular driveway, they stopped in front of the first house they came to.

  Gillian never took her eyes off Hamish. “Can you wait for us?” she asked the driver. “We’ll only be a minute.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Hamish kept a hold of her hand. Opening his door, he led her out of the car.

  “Look,” she said, pointing over the car’s roof. “There are some restrooms.” She led him into the ladies room, locking the door behind them. “Take your coat off.”

  He removed his coat and winced as pain shot up and down his arm. Blood soaked his shirt and she unbuttoned it, slipped it off his shoulders, and examined his arm.

  “Looks like the bullet just grazed you. That’s good.” She took the scarf from around her neck and tied it around his arm to stop the bleeding.

  “It stings like the devil’s touch.” His eyes never left her face as she busied herself taking care of him and he knew she worried. So did he. He was not in his element here. How could he protect her properly? He had to come up with a plan.