Enticing Eve: Scandalous Secrets, Book 2

by Tracy Goodwin

  If he wanted an answer, Eve couldn’t speak one, and she opted not to nod either. No, if he wanted a response, she’d make him take the cloth out of her mouth. She’d have a better chance of escaping if she could talk, a better chance of keep him preoccupied.

  “What say you?” he asked, his hand stilling in the process of pulling the cloth from her mouth. “Do you promise not to scream?” he asked.

  Eve nodded.

  “No one can hear, I assure you,” he said then removed the cloth, tossing it onto the hay-strewn ground. “I hate hearing a woman scream.”

  Coughing, she tucked that tidbit of information away for the time being. “Who are you?” she croaked.

  The stranger’s bloodshot eyes gleamed. “I am Lachlan MacAlistair’s eldest son.”

  “Keir,” she whispered. Colin had confided the name of Lachlan MacAlistair’s illegitimate son to her the night the floodgates opened and he told her everything.

  “You’ve heard of me, I see,” Keir’s cheeks flushed a brighter shade of red, almost the color of his hair. “I’m famous.”

  Infamous was more appropriate, but Eve didn’t test him instead choosing to keep her voice calm, struggling to keep her tone free of accusation. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Ha!” Keir raking his pale fingers through his matted hair. “That is the question, is it not?”

  “You are an earl. Colin told me,” Eve said. “Why does Lachlan’s inheritance matter? Why does Colin matter?”

  All humor in Keir’s eyes was replaced by a flash of hatred. “Your husband is a fraud. Lachlan despised him. Lachlan changed his will, you know – including me before he died.”

  “But he was unable to execute it before he passed away,” she surmised.

  “No, he did so. His last will and testament was signed and legally binding; however, it disappeared.” Keir spat onto a mound of hay. “It was stolen, I know it. I am certain that your greedy bastard of a husband did it. Colin MacAlistair denied me my rightful inheritance.”

  “Colin was away when his father passed,” Eve said, “there is no way he could have done so.”

  “Your husband is clever,” Keir asserted. “My father told me never to trust him.”

  Eve struggled to free her wrists. “Colin was abroad at the time of his father’s death—”

  “Don’t you dare refer to Colin as that man’s son!” Keir roared, rounding on her. “Colin is a bastard, nothing more.”

  So are you, Eve thought. Her captor’s hypocritical assertion might have been amusing if he weren’t currently trying to kill her husband while keeping her tied to a chair after knocking her unconscious.

  “Ah,” Keir whispered as he returned his attention to the window. “Let the fun begin.”

  Eve peered over her captor’s shoulder. She couldn’t see the main house though she could see smoke billowing into the nighttime sky above. An orange haze was now illuminating the darkness.

  Had the raging lunatic set fire to the house with Colin in it? What of the servants? Eve struggled harder to break free, twisting and turning her wrists.

  With every attempt to free herself, the rope sliced deeper into Eve’s flesh. Pain seared through her skin until Eve was certain her wrists were now bleeding. She stilled, allowing the sticky liquid to pool around the rope.

  “This was all too easy,” Keir muttered, looking for a brief moment at Eve as if he suspected her of an escape attempt. He studied her. “You were so easily manipulated. I heard Colin confiding in his friend how his guilt ate away at him. I knew if I placed the seeds of doubt within your mind, you’d construe your husband’s misplaced guilt for malice.”

  Remorse, hard and relentless, pounded through Eve’s veins. How could she walk right into Keir’s trap? Where was Logan? She should have looked for him first. What made her think she could handle the intruder herself or assume that Logan would hear her?

  “It hurt him more than I anticipated,” Keir continued. “Your fear of him, your mistrust crippled him.”

  Eve knew something Keir did not. “Colin confessed everything to me. You have told me nothing I wasn’t already aware of.”

  Keir turned towards her, rage contorting his facial features. “I gave him less credit than he deserved, I see.” He returned his attention to the fire. “It matters not for he will still die knowing he couldn’t save the woman he loved.”

  Concentrating on the rope, Eve continued to twist her wrists until she was certain the rope was loosening. With her skin chafed and bloody, she rubbed her wrists together, hoping that her hands could slide through the slack if moist.

  “How did you hear his conversation with Logan?” she asked, trying to keep the madman preoccupied.

  Keir stared out the window. “As I explained to you previously, I was listening in the walls.”

  “You are a coward,” she provoked him. She hadn’t planned to say it aloud, yet she couldn’t stop herself. “Lurking behind walls, hiding behind anonymous letters … only someone faint of heart does that.”

  Keir refused to look at her. Either he hadn’t heard her, so completely enthralled by the havoc he was causing at the main house, or he viewed her as a nuisance.

  High-pitched shrieks traveled through the smoky air. Servants fleeing from the flames perhaps?

  Please, God, keep Colin safe. Please keep everyone safe.

  She repeated her silent prayer until Keir rounded on her. “It’s time for me to go, my dear.” His tone was cloying causing a knot to form in her abdomen.

  Something was wrong.

  Keir held a dim gas lamp above his head. “I couldn’t tell you this earlier because you would have screamed. You will indeed die, tonight. Colin wouldn’t suffer nearly enough if he thought there was even a slim possibility you survived.”

  He tossed the lamp onto a pile of hay, which ignited into hot flames and smoke. It was as if the temperature of the barn had risen several degrees in an instant.

  Eve’s cheeks burned from the heat.

  Several horses whinnied behind her, their hooves pounding against their wooden stalls. Eve had no idea how many horses were housed here; however, their desperation was clear.

  They wanted out.

  So did she.

  For the second time tonight, Eve screamed. The sound, loud and blood-curdling caused Keir to laugh.

  “Keep screaming,” he instructed. “By the time your husband realizes where you are, you shall be dead, and he’ll be mine to kill.”

  Keir opened each of the stalls, allowing the beasts to flee. How nice, Eve thought, that he draws the line at killing animals.

  “Don’t do this,” Eve shouted. “Colin will kill you if you hurt me.”

  Keir jeered. “Let him try.”

  “If you do this, I will haunt you,” she avowed, trying again to loosen the ropes binding her wrists. “As God is my witness, you will pay.”

  “Well, well, look at you,” Keir rubbed his hands together, his smile wide. “Had I known you possessed this much fire, I might have kept you for myself. Sadly for you, it is too late. You are fated to die tonight. Perhaps you will burn in hell with your husband.”

  He tipped his head before slinking out of the barn and into the dead of night. Eve knew screaming was futile as the crackling of the fire, hot flames, and thick smoke now held her undivided attention. The barn would probably be engulfed in minutes though the smoke would more than likely kill her first.

  It was small comfort.

  Struggling to break free of her restraints, Eve noticed that though messy, her bloody wrists had gotten her nowhere closer to freedom.

  She tried to tilt her chair over in the hopes that she could reach her blade. Back and forth, she swayed until it tipped over at last causing her to cry out in pain as her side hit the hard floor, one of her arms crushed between the weight of the chair and the floor.

  Try as she might, Eve still couldn’t reach her blade.

  Her eyes darted about the barn, desperate for anything that could help save her
life. Near the fire, closer to it than she wanted to be, lay shards of glass from the lamp Keir had shattered. She could use those to slice through the ropes.

  Eve coughed against the thick black smoke that had enveloped the barn’s interior. Using her shoulders and her knees, she inched slowly along the floor until the heat from the flames all but seared her flesh.

  She reached for a piece of glass, her fingers fumbling with it, sawing at the rope. The rope began to fray.

  Just a little more ...

  Coughing harder now, Eve kept her head on the ground. Her wrists broke free in time for her to claw herself away from the flames. She paused long enough to untie the ropes that bound her ankles to the chair.

  Running from the barn, Eve tripped over a branch. Pain wracked her joints as she hit the hard ground with a loud thud. She still coughed, her lungs fighting against the black smoke that filled them mere moments before.

  Those same flames had now fully engulfed the barn. She turned towards the main house noting the red and orange flames consuming the interior of the structure, its thick smoke billowing above into the nighttime sky.

  It was a clear night, in spite of the earlier rain, Eve noted. Stars dotted the veil of black sky, and the full moon glowed as if mocking the man-made cloud of smoke.

  Eve pushed herself up against her palms then got to her feet. She had to help Colin. Keir was going to kill him.

  Setting off at a run, Eve struggled to remain

  upright, her ankles twisting in the hidden striations of the dark ground beneath her feet.

  With each setback, she sprang again to her feet.

  Dear God, please don’t let it be too late.

  Her thoughts traveled to Keir’s accusation about Colin being a murderer. If Keir wanted to see a murderer, she would make certain he did. For, God help her, if she found Keir, Eve would kill him without a moment’s hesitation.

  Keir wouldn’t stop torturing them until he was dead.

  Eve would make certain that Keir joined his wretched father in hell.

  * * *

  Colin pushed through the thick veil of smoke, his handkerchief pressed tight over his nose and mouth.

  Where is she?

  He found the entrance to a hidden corridor that snaked through the walls of the estate. He raced through the winding path without a shred of luck finding Eve.

  Eve wouldn’t be in danger if you hadn’t come back. His conscience taunted him. She’d be safe if you hadn’t pursued her.

  He exited the catacombs on the second floor, searching each room.

  “She’s not here, Colin,” Logan shouted from the other end of the hallway. “I checked. Perhaps he took her somewhere else?”

  Keir’s note said Eve was in the house but what if he’d been playing Colin yet again? What if Colin had wasted time in this damned maze when all the while Eve was in danger somewhere else.

  Eve could already be dead.

  His heart skipped several beats at the mere thought. No, Colin refused to believe she was dead. Instead he led his friend down the hallway. A beam fell in front of them, blocking their path. Colin motioned to the other end. They must use the servants’ staircase.

  He followed Logan down the narrow, winding staircase. They’d almost reached the last step when Colin heard a loud creak above them. He looked up to see a blazing beam fall from the ceiling. It slammed against the large chandelier, causing it to fall.

  The chandelier whooshed past Colin and Logan, a hot breeze following in its wake. When it hit the tile floor, glass shattered into thousands of sharp fragments.

  “That was too close,” Colin mumbled.

  Logan reached the bottom step and turned, motioning Colin towards the long hallway. Thick smoke hung about the hall.

  The two men crouched low, trying not to breathe the heavy black smoke. Furnishings, tapestries – the entire interior of the house was ablaze. Wood buckled under the intense heat of the flames.

  They were almost to the door. He could feel the brisk night air, as Logan made a run for the exit with Colin quick on his heels. Colin reached safety in time to see Logan fall to the ground. He knelt beside his friend.

  “Pity,” a hollow male voice jeered. “I thought he was you.”

  Keir! Colin snapped to attention, his head turning towards the voice. Illuminated by the raging inferno behind him, the man looked unearthly, like some beast from a brothers Grimm fairy tale or a monster Odysseus encountered during his journey home in The Odyssey.

  “Where is my wife?” Colin thundered, standing upright, noting he stood several inches over his nemesis.

  “Where is my wife?” Keir mimicked him.

  Colin bridged the gap between them in three hurried steps, “Where is she?” he thundered, lunging at the man then grabbing him by his collar before slamming him hard against the ground.

  “You’re too late,” Keir said in a controlled voice. “You’ve wasted too much time to save your darling wife.”

  Colin’s heart hammered against his ribs. No, dear God, not Eve! He pushed against Keir’s windpipe, robbing the animal of breath.

  “I shall ask you one more time. Where is Eve?” he demanded through clenched teeth. Keir wouldn’t have killed her, would he? Eve was Keir’s leverage over him.

  Keir clawed at Colin’s arms, bunching the fabric of Colin’s shirt in his fists. He gasped for air.

  “Tell me where she is,” Colin hissed.

  Keir’s expression changed. In one instant his cocky demeanor was replaced by fear as if he now knew Colin would indeed kill him.

  “The barn,” Keir muttered.

  Colin slammed the man against the ground then stood, turning towards the barn.

  God Almighty, it was gone! Fire had engulfed it, the wood framed structure with flammable hay possessing little chance at withstanding the blaze until it turned to a pile of charred wood. Several small orange flames lapped at the wreckage while black sooty smoke still billowed above the ground where the structure once stood.

  The air, thick with smoke and the stench of scorched timber, caused Colin’s nostrils to burn.

  Eve couldn’t have been in there. No, she would never have survived it.

  Colin refused to believe she was dead as sharp pain sliced through Colin’s back, piercing the flesh between his shoulder blades. He turned as Keir took another blow. This time, Colin was able to grab the pitchfork before it further mutilated his skin.

  The two men wrestled to gain control of the weapon. Colin pushed the handle upwards, striking Keir’s forehead. The man staggered back a few steps, dazed from the blow.

  “Your precious wife was restrained in the barn,” Keir sneered, gaining his footing once again. “She was awake when I left her, screaming for help.”

  “No!” Colin screamed. This couldn’t be happening. “Shut up!” Colin demanded, ramming him against the hard earth.

  “She’s dead,” Keir continued, taunting. “The fire engulfed the barn in a matter of minutes. She never had a chance.”

  “You’re lying!” Colin shouted, wrapping his fingers around Keir’s throat.

  Keir smiled a sadistic smile that turned Colin’s blood ice cold. “I took her away from you much the same way you stole my inheritance.”

  Colin squeezed tighter around Keir’s neck. “You son of a bitch!”

  “She called for help, but you didn’t come. You disappointed her, even in the end,” Keir whispered, now gasping for air.

  This animal killed Eve.

  Dear God, Colin couldn’t comprehend it. His vision blurred, a haze of hatred he assumed until he felt his own wet tears fall onto his cheeks.

  He was killing the man. Colin’s conscience warned him of it; however, a wave of hatred like none he had ever known washed over him, propelling Colin forward. He tightened his grip, constricting the man’s airway, well aware that he wouldn’t stop until the bastard was dead.

  How terrified must Eve have been?

  How much pain had she endured?

 
; Colin wouldn’t allow her murderer to live.

  “You will join Lachlan in hell,” Colin muttered through clenched teeth as the man kicked at the grass beneath him, clawing at Colin’s arms. With each attempt the monster took towards freedom, Colin squeezed harder ensuring he couldn’t escape his fate.

  Through his tears, Colin could see the surprise in Keir’s eyes, and then the fear.

  “Did you really think I would let you live after what you’ve done?” he muttered, squeezing even harder.

  Even in the moonlight, in the haze of smoke and soot, Colin could see life draining from Keir Dunlop’s pale face.

  The madman gasped for air, a gurgling sound coming from his throat. Keir’s eyes darted back and forth, “Y-you c-can’t.”

  Colin knew he could. In fact, he would.

  As Keir gasped for his final breath, his eyes bulged in horror. Then his face turned blue, and his head slumped to the side.

  At last, Colin was certain the man had indeed arrived in hell …

  “I’ll see you there,” Colin muttered.

  Chapter 19

  The closer Eve ran to the main house, the hotter it became. Her nostrils burned from the heat and odor of charred timber and other materials.

  Please let everyone be safe.

  She saw the servants first. Some carried buckets in their hands. They must have attempted to put out the fire before coming to the conclusion that it was a losing battle.

  “Mrs. MacAlistair!” a woman shrieked.

  Eve turned to see Mary running toward her, followed by Norris.

  “Mary, is everyone all right?” Eve demanded, rushing towards the woman and grabbing her arms.

  “I-I don’t know,” Mary turned, her eyes resting on what remained of the main house. “The servants are accounted for but Mister MacAlistair and Mister Ambrose have yet to be found.”

  Eve’s eyes darted to the main structure. The roof had collapsed and the interior was lost though most of the exterior stone remained defiantly intact.

  “Colin,” she said. “Where was he last seen?”