Ghosts of Culloden Moor 09 - Aiden

by L. L. Muir

  “Are you okay?” Ethan fingered the arrowhead he wore around his neck.

  “I’m fine.” Aiden scanned a quick look at the heavens, unsure where to search for the witch.

  Ethan patted him on the back. “Let’s go. Your instincts are probably right. We’ll search each and every turnoff. We’re going to find her.”

  Aiden nodded, and with one last search of the heavens, jumped back in the truck.

  ~~~

  “It’s time.”

  Zoey sat frozen on the couch.

  Preston extended his hand. “Come on, let’s go upstairs. The master bedroom has a bathroom. Don’t you want to shower first?”

  First? She didn’t want to know what came second.

  When she didn’t reach for him, his lips tightened and he pulled out a knife.

  She gasped and shrank back. “Preston! What are you—”

  “Relax.” He sank beside her. “I’m just going to cut your wrists loose.” He jerked her bound hands forward, the knife flashed, and he cut the zip tie. “There. I don’t want any more pouting from you.” He stood and extended his hand again.

  Heart thundering, a sheen of sweat forming on her body, she still didn’t take it.

  He smiled. “All right. I have a little something for you.”

  “You do?”

  He laughed, delighted. “I knew that would grab your interest.”

  She hoped he’d go out to the van to retrieve said gift, but he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wad of white material. He held the straps with his index fingers, and it unraveled to reveal a shorty nightgown. He smiled and jiggled it in the air. “Yeah? You like it?”

  Zoey swallowed. “Listen, I’m just… I’m just not ready for that yet.”

  “We can take our time. I think some hot water might relax you a bit. Then we can get you ready for the ceremony.”

  “Ceremony?”

  “I’m still married, but that doesn’t preclude us from saying our vows, does it? After, all, I am your fated one.” His lips curved, and she was pretty sure he thought the smile charming, rather than menacing. “We’ll have the perfect honeymoon night. After this, we’ll go somewhere wonderful. Take a cruise, go to the Bahamas. Do you scuba dive?”

  She slowly shook her head.

  He smiled again, genial. “That’s okay. You can learn on site. And over the next few months, you can plan that spring wedding you’ve always wanted.” He said it like he bestowed a treat.

  Zoey seriously did not know how she landed in this mess, but wanted to know how to get out of it. Her instincts told her to play along.

  “But you’re still married.” She made the words accusing, hoping she sounded jealous, that it would play on his vanity.

  “And I’m going to get a divorce! I promise.”

  “That’s what men always say! And then they stay with their wives! You didn’t want to meet my parents tonight. You could have joined my family, met everyone, but you didn’t. That proves you’re not sincere.”

  “All that proves is I wanted you to myself! Where’s your sense of romance?” He extended a hand.

  She shrank back into the softness of the couch.

  He sighed, clearly exasperated. A sly look crossed his face and, still watching her closely, he headed to the refrigerator.

  From her position on the couch, she studied the front door. Two deadbolts and a locking door knob. She didn’t think she’d get them open before he returned. What she needed was a clear shot at the side door. But with him in the kitchen, that was impossible.

  His back was to her, but he kept looking over his shoulder.

  She could hear a water bottle opened, and then he took something out of his pocket. Did he think she was an idiot?

  He recapped and shook the bottle then headed back into the living room.

  “Are you thirsty?”

  “No.”

  He uncapped it and held it out. “Drink it, Zoey. It’ll relax you.”

  She shook her head and, elbows pressed to her sides, gripped her clammy hands.

  He jumped on her and she screamed.

  He pinned her with one knee and tried to force feed her the water. When she frantically shoved at him and twisted her head back and forth, he clamped a hand on her jaw and squeezed her cheeks.

  She swallowed a bit, but mostly spit it out as she started to shake, to cry.

  “Zoey!” He hauled a hand back to slap her.

  Heart thundering, she cringed.

  He held his hand like that for a long moment. “Why do you have to make me so mad? When we dated, you weren’t like this.”

  She was crying. “You weren’t like this, either.”

  He chucked the water bottle and manhandled her off the couch. He dragged her toward the stairs.

  Pulling against his hold, she fought him. “Why are you doing this? Stop it!” She tried to jerk away, but he held tight and dragged her up a step, then another. She grabbed the rail with her free hand and hung on tight.

  “We.” He tugged at her resisting body. “Will.” He jerked her free and gained another stair as she frantically grabbed the rail again. “Consummate tonight.”

  “No.” She held on for dear life. “We.” She scrambled to gain a foothold with her sandals and push against the carpeted stairs. “Won’t.” She let go of the rail and, as Preston fell, she used her brother’s technique and twisted her wrist free.

  She ran for the side door, and for her life.

  ~~~

  They decided two cars would drive down different side-lanes, and the other car would stay on the main road to make sure the van didn’t pass by while they searched off-road.

  Ethan and Aiden drove down the first, and the other car drove to the next mailbox.

  When they reached the log house at the end of the lane, it was lit from within, and when they pulled forward, a middle-aged man and his wife came out to stand on the porch. Ethan leaned out the window. “Have you seen a white van come down your drive?”

  “No, we haven’t.”

  Ethan quickly explained the situation, and they promised to keep their eyes open and call the police if they saw anything suspicious.

  Back at the main road, they quickly repeated the same scenario three more times. No one had seen Zoey. No one had seen a white van.

  Aiden started to lose hope. Surely the villain had simply driven south. Surely the roadblocks had not been set up in time. Aiden’s gut hollowed. Was she forever lost?

  Ethan wiped away tears as he drove. “I didn’t want her to go off to the big city. I didn’t think it was safe. Who would’ve thought something like this could happen in our own home? Why didn’t I listen to you? This is a nightmare.”

  Aiden could not console the man. He felt dead inside, as dead as he’d been under the grasses of the moor. He pushed the button to lower the window to call for Soni again. Zoey was all that mattered. He could not leave, could never leave, until he knew she was safe. Surely the witch would understand?

  A girl darted out into the middle of the road.

  Ethan slammed on his brakes. The trucks hind end bucked.

  Aiden’s heart skittered in his chest, and both hands shot to the dashboard for support.

  They jumped out of the truck.

  Ethan called, “Zoey?”

  A giggle in the night air, off to the right.

  Aiden’s legs weakened as he searched the darkness. “Lass? Are ye there?”

  An outright laugh sounded and the girl darted forward once more. The lights from the truck illuminated her entire being. She spun and flashed a swirling black cape, an impish face, and a smile that could slay a dead man’s heart.

  Soncerae.

  She stopped. Her cape whirled, then settled. “Did ye call for me, then, laddie?”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Zoey rushed outside and around the corner toward the front of the house.

  She heard Preston fall down the steps she’d lightly navigated only seconds before, boots scraping, body thu
mping, cursing. She prayed his slip gave her extra time.

  For a few seconds, she considered running up the dirt road, toward the main one.

  She’d never outrun him.

  Like one of the wild creatures living in these woods, she darted off to the side and into the trees. Instinct had her diving between two bushes, curling into a ball, not moving so much as an inch. She tried to regulate her breathing.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Preston’s voice floated in singsong, carried amusement, and that ratcheted up her fear. The guy was delusional, crazy. Light flashed over the trees. A flashlight app on his phone, perhaps?

  She could use a phone right about now.

  “I know you’re here, Zoey. If you’d run through the woods, I’d have heard you.”

  She should have kept running. She considered doing it now. She could hear Preston shaking bushes, coming nearer. Cold sweat chilled her body and her heart thumped so hard she worried he’d hear. Why had she worn a light-colored dress?

  She wanted Aiden so badly in that moment. There was a part of her that trusted him so much, she couldn’t believe he hadn’t already appeared to save her and defeat Preston, starting with a Scottish battle cry.

  Surely, if she just waited a while longer, Aiden would find her?

  It was a ridiculous hope.

  She didn’t even know where she was. So how could he, a newcomer to the area, know where to find her?

  Preston was right. No doubt Aiden and her family were headed to Seattle right this moment. They’d never know she was nearby, needing them.

  She was completely on her own.

  Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt like a trapped bird, waiting as a cat stalked ever closer.

  Leaves crunched near her, and though everything in her said to remain still, she burst from the bushes and sprinted.

  Laughing, Preston caught her from behind, wrapped both arms around her waist, and lifted her off the ground, his back bowing.

  She screamed. Terror, loathing, and anger rose into the night air.

  He continued to whoop, enjoying her fear. He screamed, mimicking her, and laughed again. He was a maniac. “There’s no one to hear you, darling.”

  “No!” She thrashed against him. “Stop it!”

  She clawed at the hands holding her, kicked with her heels, but he didn’t seem to notice as he laughed in triumph, shook her. He bent to say directly into her ear, “You’re mine, Zoey. If I have to train you to my hand, not only will I do it, but I’ll enjoy the process. You just need a little medicine to make this go easier.”

  She sobbed, once, unable to hold it in.

  She couldn’t get away.

  No one was coming for her.

  She collapsed as the fight melted from her and she started to sob in earnest.

  Preston set her feet on the ground. “Don’t move or I’ll make you very sorry.”

  He shucked off his jacket and threw it on the ground.

  Something thumped within the jacket.

  ~~~

  “I cannae go with ye. I willnae.”

  Stark fear held Aiden in its grip, and he lifted a hand. To ward off the tiny witch? In supplication? “I must find Zoey.” If Soni took him away now, if she sent him to God or the Devil, it wouldn’t matter which. He’d be in a hell of his own making if he didn’t see Zoey safe first.

  Soni glared in reproach, and swished her skirts. “Do ye think I’m goin’ to snatch ye away, like a wicked little witch, when yer friend is at risk?”

  He didn’t know. He hoped not. He felt he deserved punishment. “I’m sorry, Soni. I didnae mean to offend ye.” Sudden hope blossomed within him. “Do ye know where she is?”

  She snorted. “O’ course I do. But ye’re not movin’ fast enough. Ye need to go, Aiden.” Her eyes widened and her mouth parted as she seemed to see something within. “Ye need to go now.” She whispered each word slowly and drew out the last.

  His hackles rose as she uttered the last word, turned, and took off running. Fast as a woodland sprite, she sped in the direction they’d just come from.

  Ethan called out in confusion.

  After a split-second hesitation, Aiden sprinted after her, cold sweat chilling his skin. She stopped at the end of a grass lane they’d bypassed without noticing, pointed, and disappeared in a swirl of green.

  Aiden never ran so fast in his life, racing down the pathway and into the darkness of the trees, his strides, his speed, like never before.

  He rounded the corner and saw the white van, slightly illuminated by moonlight and a glow within a nearby house.

  A scream of terror, followed by laughter, sounded to his right and fear struck through his heart.

  Zoey.

  Without a second thought, he dashed into dark woods, saw the flash of a light within, and surged toward it.

  He wanted to bellow Zoey’s name, but years of training and caution held his tongue.

  On feet that seemed to fly, Aiden ran, jumping over rocks, twigs, logs, until he found her—wrapped tight within a laughing man’s arms. He watched the fight drain out of her, watched hope drain away as she sagged, sobbing with fear.

  His jaw tightened and his vision blurred red with rage.

  He threw himself forward and, just as the other man heard or sensed him, Aiden wrapped a long, solid arm around his neck, jerked him away from Zoey, and squeezed.

  ~~~

  Preston released her suddenly, and Zoey fell hard to the ground.

  Pushing up with her hands, she peered over her shoulder.

  Aiden.

  He’d come. She’d wished for him, desperately, and somehow, impossibly, he’d found her. She didn’t care what he said. He was hers. Her fate. Surely he must see that too?

  With one arm around Preston’s throat, and his other hand holding the back of Preston’s head, pushing it forward, Aiden appeared unmoved by Preston’s struggle as he choked life out of the much smaller man.

  She twisted onto her backside and scooted away from the men, her feet scrambling to find purchase in grass, twigs, and pine needles.

  She couldn’t take her gaze off the men, could feel her own breathing stutter as Preston gagged from lack of oxygen. He choked, flailed, and scratched at Aiden in much the same way Zoey had struggled earlier.

  Aiden was unmoving as a mountain behind him.

  “Aiden.” She pressed a hand to her own throat, the violence laid out before her making her sick. “Please stop.”

  Her dad rushed into the clearing, a flashlight in hand, beam wobbling crazily.

  Zoey jumped up, and, legs shaking, rushed into her dad’s arms.

  “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

  Her mouth trembled. “He scared me. If Aiden hadn’t come…”

  Dad took in Preston’s struggle. “Aiden, stop. His eyes are bugging out. You’ll choke him to death.”

  “As is my intention. I could break his neck if it would be less distressing. ’Tis also quicker. But I felt he deserved some pain and misery for the anguish he’s caused Zoey. A slower, more painful death seems merited. I’d burn him for her, but I’ve not the tools nor the time to set a fire.”

  “Aiden,” Dad tried again. “You must stop now.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “Please, Aiden, stop.”

  Brows drawn together, Aiden looked to where they clung to each other. “But this is justice.”

  “We’re pacifists. We don’t believe in hurting others, no matter the provocation. Let’s let the police have him. Justice will be served and you won’t have blood on your hands. I don’t want you to have regrets later.”

  Aiden glared at her dad, incredulous. “Regrets? As long as Zoey is safe, I’ll have none.”

  Preston sank, held up by Aiden. On the verge of passing out, Preston’s face twisted and bulged and turned blue in the glare from Dad’s flashlight. .

  Zoey felt blood draining from her face. Perhaps the dizziness was partially from the small amount of the drug Preston managed to ge
t inside her, but the majority was from the violence. “Aiden, I’m begging you to stop. I don’t want Preston’s blood on my hands, or on yours.”

  Dad moved forward and set a hand on Aiden’s bulging arm. “You’re killing him and distressing Zoey.”

  A glance at Zoey, and he made an impatient noise deep in his throat and released Preston.

  Preston fell onto the jacket he’d discarded earlier and gasped for breath.

  Aiden, visibly upset, turned away. Zoey went to him and put a soothing hand on his arm.

  Preston rolled over onto his back and pointed a gun at Aiden.

  Zoey screamed.

  Preston laughed, a rasping sound, and deliberately aimed the barrel at Zoey instead.

  Aiden shoved her behind him and stepped forward in one movement.

  “No!” Zoey tried to get around him, to protect him with her body.

  Aiden tripped her to the ground and she twisted toward the men just as Preston shot her highlander through the heart.

  Zoey screamed as Aiden fell to his knees, then to the ground.

  “Aiden, no.” She crawled to him, ice-cold and sobbing. “Please, Aiden, no.” Was he dead? He couldn’t be dead. She grabbed his shoulders, ran hands over his chest and found it bloodless. A sliver of hope raced through her and she shook him. “Aiden?”

  Preston stood. “This doesn’t change anything, Zoey.”

  Aiden sat up and rubbed his chest. “That hurt.” His tone menaced and promised retribution. He thrust her away just as the gun went off again in a double rap. Aiden’s body jerked twice more.

  Zoey screamed. “Stop! You have to stop! You’ll kill him!”

  Aiden rolled and, in a smooth move, stood, apparently unhurt. He yanked the gun away, and slammed Preston with a hard fist to the jaw. The crack was sickening and Preston was unconscious before he hit the ground.

  Dad ran forward. “Are you hit?”

  Aiden studied the gun. “Nae.”

  Dad considered the fallen man and after a moment, whistled. “Well, he’s still breathing. At least you didn’t kill him.”

  Aiden blew out a harsh breath and rubbed his chest. “More’s the pity.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Aiden stood still while Zoey ran her hands over him. “I’m well, lass. Truly.”