How To Steal A Highlander

by Olivia Norem

  Kat shot upright.

  “You. You… tackled me.” Kat balled her hand and thumped his chest, determined to break his hold. She was rewarded with a sensual rumble as Simeon trapped her fist in his.

  “I’m here tae protect ye, lass.” His eyes glittered in the dim light.

  Kat shimmied against the thick wool that wrapped her body, seemingly unaware he was groaning from the friction in his lap.

  “Protect me? Is that why you wrestled me to the ground? And what the hell did you trap me in?” She shoved hard again to gain her release. A ghost of a smile quirked the corner of his lips.

  “Ye were cold.” He suppressed a laugh and watched her hand lift to her hair.

  “You… you took off my wig?”

  “It came loose when ye fainted, Heather.” Sensing the rising tension within her, Simeon unwrapped her, and then lifted her easily and set her gently on her feet.

  Kat’s mind raced. How much time had they wasted? How long had she been out? What was she going to do with him? It wasn’t like you could turn a lost-in-time Highland warrior loose on the Scottish countryside. Or could you? Why couldn’t she look up at him? Because he was too devastatingly gorgeous, that’s why. This easy, peasy mission was going to hell in a handbasket. Fast.

  “I’ll build us a fire, lass, and then find us somethin’ tae eat.”

  “Fire?” Kat’s hands moved to her hips, her jaw cocked at an angry angle as she peered up at him. She realized, too late, that she’d moved closer than intended and invaded his personal space. “No, no, no there’s not going to be any fire.”

  “I cannae let ye freeze tae death,” he protested, and placed his hands on her shoulders. Kat deliberately eyed where his palms rested and arched a brow.

  He removed his hands with a frustrated growl.

  “We don’t need any fire, Simeon. We’re not staying here.”

  “Heather, ‘tis madness tae be wanderin’ through the woods at night. I promise ye, ye’ll be safe eno’. I willnae let anythin’ happen tae ye.”

  Wow! Where exactly was this guy from? Thinking the matter settled, Simeon spun away to be about his task. Kat sprang after him and yanked his arm. He frowned and looked at her fingers circling his arm. When his brow winged up, Kat removed her hand. Okay, tit for tat.

  “Listen to me, Simeon, let’s just take a moment here. It’s not like what just happened hasn’t shocked the hell out of both of us. Let’s talk for a moment, okay?”

  “If that be yer wish, lass,” he sighed, “but I could hae had a fire already tae warm ye.”

  “Just stop with the fire okay? Trust me.”

  He cocked his head slightly, his eyes flickered down to the wig, and then he looked at her with a sidelong glance.

  “Trust ye?” He puffed upright as he crossed his arms defensively.

  It was Kat’s turn to sigh.

  “My name’s not Heather. It’s Katherine Moira Goldman, and I’m a thief.”

  ###

  Holy hell! Where did that come from? She just confessed her identity and her coveted occupation to this man! Was this some residual effect of Simeon’s release from his curse? That everyone around him was affected by an invisible lasso of truth? Kat slowly sank to the ground and waited for his response.

  “Katherine,” he said slowly. He tested the sound in his mouth. The way he pronounced her name with his thick brogue sent a delicious shiver down her spine.

  Simeon crouched next to her in a comfortable squat and nodded. “Aye, the name suits ye. But as tae the other, a thief ye say? Ye dinnae look like any thief tae me, lass. Unless ye be in the habit o’ stealin’ a mon’s heart.”

  Kat rolled her eyes.

  “All right, I’ll prove it.” She didn’t see his eyes flare as she pulled up her dress and unfastened the tiny pouch from the hem of her stocking. She grabbed his hand roughly and forced his palm flat. Kat shook out the coins into his hand. “See that? That’s what I took. There’s also a painting in the car.” She jerked a thumb behind her.

  “Car?” He tested the word as he’d tested her name. “That is whot ye call that odd conveyance?”

  “Yes.”

  Simeon turned the coins over in his palm thoughtfully. “These coins, they be gold. Viking in origin. The’r no’ uncommon, lass. I cannae see why ye’d be compelled tae steal them when for certs yer car is more valuable.”

  Kat reached for the coins, but Simeon’s fingers closed over them quickly.

  “Hey! Those are mine.”

  “Tae be certs the’r no’. Ye just confessed ye stole them. Better tae let me haud them when their owner seeks them oot.”

  “Look, I don’t know how it works from where you’re from, but those coins are very important to me. You have no idea what will happen if I don’t deliver them,” Kat warned.

  “Seems tae me yer caught in some sort of intrigue, Katherine. ‘Tis well ye released me then, for I’ve sworn to protect ye. If these coins be important tae ye, then the'r now important tae me as well.”

  Kat exhaled audibly. “Well, I’ll let you hold them for a few minutes if it makes you feel better. But let’s deal with the immediate, shall we? How long have you been in that… that mirror?”

  “I dinnae ken.” Simeon shrugged his shoulders.

  “What year was it when you were… cursed or whatever it was?” Kat waved her hand at him.

  “Whot year is it now?” Simeon answered her question with a question.

  “2018.” Kat replied smugly. Simeon’s mouth gaped open. His expression changed from confusion to disbelief and shock to more confusion in the span of seconds. He stood up quickly and took a few steps away from her. His chest tightened as he stared out across the loch below. More than four hundred years had passed! Isobel had imprisoned him for four centuries? How many generations of his relatives had lived and died in that span of time?

  He staggered another step and lowered himself gingerly onto the crumbling wall. The realization of the passage of time sunk in with gloomy import. Everything would be gone. Everything he had known. Gone. His people, his family, his clan, nothing of anything he had ever been acquainted with would have remained. His castle was probably in a ruined state like the one he rested upon now — nothing but broken remnants of a former time. Almost half of a thousand years! Entire civilizations could rise and fall in that space of time. The number was incomprehensible.

  Kat choked back the lump of empathy that threatened to spill tears. She had felt his raw emotion leach out across the darkness, sorrow radiating like a thick, dark sludge, blanketing everything with gloom. Even the wind suspended its breath in wait for the Highlander’s next words. How would the seemingly invincible warrior-god oust this arrow lancing his soul?

  Kat placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. “Simeon?”

  “Aye, lass?” his whispered reply was choked with grief.

  Kat rounded his shoulder and sat close. She briefly glanced at his profile, and then followed his gaze staring out across the loch. Her voice came low and quiet. “I assume you’ve been in there a really long time then?”

  He sighed softly and nodded. “Beyond imagin’.”

  Kat slid a comforting hand to his bicep and gave him an encouraging smile. “Try me. I mean, after what I just saw happen in the car, and a mirror that lights up… and… and… you…” He turned his face toward her and covered her hand with his own. “I don’t think there is much you could tell me that I would find unusual right now.”

  She took both his hands between hers and spoke gently. “I’m sorry, Simeon, and I know there is nothing I could tell you right now that would make it better. But, however long you were… away, there had to be a reason. Just like there is a reason you are here right now. There had to be a reason I just blurted out who I really am and what I do, just like I blurted out the words to release you.

  “And I don’t think either of us knows what those reasons are yet, but… fate, I guess, has put us together. You’re not from this time and I’m not from your
s, but I’ll help you Simeon. I don’t know why I’m helping you, but if we take this slowly…”

  Simeon pushed aside his grief as Kat’s words sank in. The reasons were very clear to him. He’d been denied his life and family and imprisoned because of a witch’s jealousy and quest for power. But right now, he was further ahead than he’d been before Katherine had glimpsed into that mirror. He was free from the interminable stone chamber. He had the ground beneath his feet and fresh air filling his lungs. Come hell or high water, he was in a better position right now to take his revenge on Isobel than he had ever been before.

  Perhaps there was something to be found in this time that would destroy Isobel’s power forever? Perhaps this winsome, nettling lass would play a part in his vengeance? Perhaps fate had tipped the scales of time to allow him to properly avenge his family and his clan? While the reasons for his predicament were still unclear, Katherine had made him cognizant of one important point. He needed to get his bearings. Judging from what he had experienced of her “car,” many mysteries of this century awaited. It would be beneficial to have assistance. And then there was the perilous situation his bonny Katherine appeared to find herself in to consider…

  Kat watched his face as Simeon slipped deeper in thought. She couldn’t imagine how she would handle the news if she found herself in his situation. The plain grief etched on his face scored her heart, and the feeling was… bewildering. Simeon was the first person she’d ever come across who sparked such compassion.

  The last time she suffered a shred of empathy was for a stray kitten found behind B&G’s Oysters on Tremont Street. Thank goodness her brother Colin hadn’t been immune to the furball’s degree of cuteness either, as he took it home and promptly named it ‘Sushi.’ But this man was no kitten and Kat threw all caution to the wind. For the first time in her life, she allowed herself to simply feel. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight.

  “Whot are ye aboot, lass?”

  “I thought you could use a hug,” she confessed, giving him an extra squeeze. Kat’s head nestled in the crook of his neck and she allowed her eyes to flutter closed. It was strangely natural, fitting against his body like this. While Simeon’s arms were hesitant at first, he returned her embrace.

  His hold washed over her with an odd sense of comfort, yet the moment was bittersweet. Everything about this felt correct, but it also served as a stark contrast to how solitary her life was. How many life-changing moments had she experienced alone? Granted, they weren’t anything to surpass what Simeon had just experienced, yet the startling truth was, no matter if the moments graced the pinnacles of joy or the depths of sorrow, they were infinitely more durable if they were shared.

  Her heart swelled with contentment, knowing at the very least, Simeon was not experiencing this alone. Her imagination wandered with uncertainty and with hope. What would it be like to share a life with this man?

  Kat tamped down the chords of sentimentality.

  She reluctantly released her hold and sat very still within the circle of his arms. She lifted palms laying them flat on his chest and leaned back to peer up at him.

  “’Tis well yer married, lass,” Simeon crooned then cleared his throat. He loosened his embrace and Kat pushed herself abruptly to her feet. What the hell was she thinking? Her way of life didn’t allow for such intimacies. Kat distractedly looked at her hands and nervously flexed her fingers.

  “Yer husband. Does he treat ye well, Katherine?” The thick brogue pierced the still night. Without meeting his eyes, Kat shrugged one shoulder and answered him evasively.

  “Well enough, I suppose.”

  Simeon smiled with a slow nod. Centuries may have passed, but one thing remained obdurately accurate. He knew when a woman was lying. Meeting the spleeny Mr. Goldman might prove to be just the balm he needed to release the years of anger broiling deep inside him.

  Kat turned away and retrieved the bag. She extracted a curious, shiny packet, peeled it back slightly, and held it out to him. “Here. You’re probably hungry.”

  Simeon sat straighter as she extended the dark brown object to him. “Is this whot’s become of food then?”

  “No.” She chuckled seeing the look of dread on his face. “I mean, yes. It’s a snack…uhm, sweets. I’ll get us some real food when we get closer to Inverness. I just need to make a call. Then we’ll be on our way.”

  Simeon took the protein bar and lifted it to his nose.

  She watched him take a hesitant bite and smiled at the look of pleasure on his face. Just as she pulled the burner phone from her pocket and stepped away, Simeon caught her by the arm and stood. How was this man so quick? And stealthy?

  “What?” Kat demanded.

  “Show me yer hands, lass.”

  “No.”

  Simeon pried her fingers apart without hesitation and exposed the coins she’d slipped from his palm. The lass was quick of hand to be certain. He hadn’t even felt her remove them from his grasp. He scooped the coins from her hand and trapped them tightly in a closed fist.

  “Those are mine you know.” Kat huffed.

  “Aye, and I’ll be keepin’ them safe for ye.”

  There was no point in arguing with the granite stare here in the middle of nowhere. Besides, she’d just pilfer them back anyway. Yet the fact he was in possession of the coins chafed her pride.

  “This is a tenuous accord we have, Simeon. Try not to fuck it up.” Kat whirled away and dialed the secure number she was to use only in case of life or death. She ignored the deep chuckle behind her as she spoke the coded message into the phone.

  “Christmas came early this year (the job didn’t go as planned). I did a bit more shopping than I thought I would (someone is with me) and I hope you won’t mind that I overspent a little on gifts for the… children (I need your help). Crap, I guess I’ll have to pick up some extra wrapping paper too (I’m going to the safe house). Hugs and kisses to you and Auntie Charlotte (Colin has the details). Bye for now.”

  Kat snapped open the cover of the burner phone and took out the battery and the SIM card. She smashed the card with a rock and put all the broken bits in her pocket.

  Raising her head to meet Simeon’s questioning gaze, she shook him off quickly. “That’s beyond explaining just now. Come on, let’s get out of here and address your most obvious problems first.”

  “My obvious problems? Aye. I hunger.” Simeon rubbed his stomach. “The snack was no’ verra filling.”

  Kat snorted. “I was talking about your clothes.”

  Simeon looked down at his clothes and straightened proudly. “‘Tis the plaid o’ Clan Campbell, lass.”

  “Yeah?” Kat snorted, leaned over to fasten his seatbelt. “While that kilt is pretty hot, you don’t exactly blend.”

  Chapter 7

  For a man from the seventeenth century, Simeon was, surprisingly, a quick study of modern conveniences. Kat explained the illuminated knobs on the dashboard and what they meant. He remarked how the conveniences of the individual climate controls were truly a marvel — blowing air hot or cold to one’s fancy, but it was the radio that enthralled him.

  Despite several attempts to remove his hand from the classic rock or pop, he continued to stab at the buttons. They exchanged frowns as he flipped through station after station, finally settling back as the interior was filled with traditional Celtic music.

  “Is this the instrument ye tortured me with a’fore, Katherine?”

  “I thought turnabout was fair, since you wouldn’t cease your endless chanting.” Her patience was being tested, and she knew she’d need a motherlode of it to handle Simeon’s curiosity and nescience of the twentieth century. She turned the dial up on the heat to full blast and couldn’t help but voice a complaint.

  “It’s fucking freezing you know,” Kat grumbled. Simeon only laughed and turned his head to catch the full force of the frigid breeze.

  “I can’t believe you broke the window. Why did you have to break the fuck
ing window?”

  “Och, but ye’re a fiery lass,” he mused.

  Kat secretly delighted as Simeon clutched the arm rests in a death grip when she punched the accelerator. But once he accepted the rushing speed, he encouraged Kat to urge the SUV faster. He delighted in the fact he was the first Campbell of his clan to reach such speeds and told her so. Head and shoulders out the window, with plaid and hair blowing wildly behind his perfect profile, Kat tugged his sleeve to pull him back inside.

  “You know, Simeon, this is just a teeny-weeny bit of advice here.” Kat pinched two fingers together to illustrate her euphemism. “You’re going to have to show a little restraint. You can’t just punch everything you don’t understand.”

  “I merely tho’ I’d swapped one prison for another, lass.” He flashed her a disarming grin. Even in the low light of the dashboard, Kat wasn’t immune.

  “I suppose,” she sighed. Kat slowed down, much to his disappointment, when they came upon a larger village. “Here we go…this is just what we need.” She scanned the storefronts and spied a small sporting goods store.

  “’Twould appear the shopkeepers hae all retired for the night, lass.”

  Kat chortled and remembered her brother’s motto. ‘Since when did a little thing like store hours ever stop us from getting what we wanted?’

  “I am a thief, Simeon.”

  “Och, lass. I cannae allow ye tae steal anythin’ on me behalf.”

  Kat pulled into the alleyway, hiding the passenger side of the car in the shadows.

  “Allow me? Oh puh-lease!” she scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I’m a really good thief, Simeon. Besides, you’re not exactly in a position of authority here.”

  “I dinnae ken yer husband would want ye tae take such risks as well.”

  “Enough about my husband already.”

  “Does he mistreat ye, lass?” Simeon asked gently. He studied her face carefully waiting for the answer. He knew men of questionable character who wouldn’t be able to stay their hands married to a lass of this temper, especially one given to curse so often, but the thought of Kat being abused rankled him.