Desired by a Highlander

by Donna Fletcher

  Thaw started barking as soon as the pup spotted them and wouldn’t stop.

  Willow’s heart slammed in her chest. Of course, the pup would know the difference between Slatter and Sterling.

  “It’s me and Slatter, and I think Thaw is worried you will stop and talk with us and delay his breakfast,” she hurried to say.

  “Our morning walk always makes him hungry,” Snow said with a smile and scooped the pup up. “I’ll see you upon your return.”

  “See you then,” Willow said, knowing her sister understood something was wrong. Thaw always ate before his morning walk.

  “You handled that well,” Sterling praised. “Continue to do so and I’ll make your death swift and painless.”

  Once they reached the woods, Sterling gave her a shove. “Keep walking.”

  “My brother will find out what you’ve done,” she warned.

  “That fool will believe the tale my warriors will weave and I will emerge the hero, having tried to save you from your evil husband. Unfortunately, you died in my arms, begging forgiveness for being so blind to his wicked ways. Now keep walking, my men will make sure Slatter is brought to me.” He laughed. “The same men who left his grandmother for dead when she refused to tell them where he was. Dunn will enjoy telling him how he had stuck her just enough for her to die slowly.”

  Willow didn’t bother to tell him that Slatter’s grandmother lived. It was better he didn’t know. She recalled what her husband had done to the three men who had intended her harm. She was sure the men who had harmed his grandmother would face a similar fate.

  “Of course, I’ll have my fun with you in front of your husband before I kill him. If you continue to cooperate, I’ll keep Dunn and Tyler off you.”

  She didn’t for one minute believe him and she didn’t for one minute doubt that her husband would rescue her or that she would do all she could to help him.

  Slatter burst into the keep, screaming Willow’s name, Devin right on his heels.

  Snow jumped up from the table where she sat, Thaw giving a strong bark beside her, then quieting. “Sterling has her.”

  Slatter rushed over to her as James entered the Great Hall with Eleanor.

  “It made it difficult to believe since we couldn’t find you,” James reprimanded. “And I won’t waste time asking where you’ve been. My sister’s safety is my only concern right now. I have men gathering to begin a search for her.”

  “Sterling pretended he was you and that you and Willow were out for a walk together,” Snow explained. “Thaw wouldn’t quiet. He barked and barked and I knew something was wrong. When Willow mentioned that Thaw was probably worried his morning meal would be delayed if I stopped and talked with them, I knew something was terribly wrong since she knew I always fed Thaw before our walk.”

  A servant rushed into the room. “Lord Tarass approaches.”

  Slatter placed his hand gently on Snow’s arm. “Willow gave you no indication of where he was taking her?”

  “None,” Snow said, shaking her head. “I don’t think she knew, since if she did she would have found a way to tell me.”

  Slatter grabbed James’s arm as he went to walk past him. “I’ll handle this.”

  “It’s best if Lord Tarass is made aware of the situation,” James said.

  “That won’t matter,” Slatter argued.

  “Lord Tarass can help us,” James said.

  “Lord Tarass helps himself,” Snow chimed in.

  Slatter’s eyes glared with fury. “I care not what Tarass wants or thinks. I only care about my wife and bringing her home unharmed. I will deal with this.”

  James barely got his mouth open to speak when Slatter was gone, already out the door, and the man who had arrived with him, following close behind.

  Chapter 27

  Slatter stormed out the door and down the keep’s steps.

  Two of Sterling’s men hurried forward, both sizeable brutes and no doubt the ones Sterling trusted the most to do his biddings.

  Slatter stopped a few steps away from them, his shoulders drawn back, his hands fisted at his sides, and his face twisted with fury. “I’ve got Sterling,” he said.

  Lord Tarass spoke. “You admit you abducted Lord Sterling from my land?”

  “I do,” Slatter said with a glare that dared the man to challenge him.

  “We’ll see to this and we’ll see our lordship safely returned,” the one man, a front tooth missing and with strips of cloth weaved through the braids to either side of his face, demanded.

  “He’s all yours. I care not what you do with him,” Tarass said, with a dismissive wave.

  The man with the braids grinned, the toothless space glaring like a black hole in his mouth as he grabbed for Slatter.

  “Touch me and I’ll kill you,” Slatter warned, “and that’s a promise.”

  The man stopped and gave a nod to the other man. “You’ll follow Tyler and me.”

  Slatter turned his voice low for only the two men to hear when he stepped closer to them. “You’ll take me straight to my wife or I’ll kill you slow when the time comes.”

  Both men startled for a moment than grinned, Tyler, the one who had yet to speak keeping his voice to a whisper when he said, “It’s me and Dunn who’ll be killing you slow while we enjoy your pretty wife.”

  Slatter had to stop himself from reaching out and snapping both men’s necks. He’d wait until later and see them both dead before the day was done. He didn’t look back as he walked off with the two men. Devin would have made himself scarce once outside so that no one would take notice of him. He’d wait and watch and follow and be there when needed.

  The two men mounted their horses and Slatter walked in front of them as they made their way out of the village, the rest of Sterling’s men following behind them. It wasn’t long before the two men directed him into the woods while the other men proceeded in another direction.

  He was certain that as soon as they departed the village, James would let Tarass know what was going on. He couldn’t help but think that Tarass already knew something was amiss. When he had planned the rescue, his one worry was Tarass’s sentinels. His warriors were skilled and one did not get past them easily. Yet he and Devin had managed to do so. Had Tarass set a trap as well?

  But for who?

  It seemed it was taking forever to reach his wife, when it truly hadn’t been that long. But he didn’t know Sterling’s plans for Willow and the longer it took to reach her the more harm she could suffer. He prayed that wasn’t so, and prayed even harder that he wouldn’t be too late to save her.

  Willow tried to keep a safe distance from Sterling, but he hovered around her like an annoying gnat. The cold stone she sat on chilled her backside and sent a shiver through her now and again. He waited impatiently for Slatter but then so did she. She prayed her husband would arrive soon and this would finally be over.

  Sterling stopped suddenly and glared at her, then grinned.

  The blow came so fast and so unexpected Willow barely had time to blink. It sent her tumbling off the stone, her head hitting the ground and blood pouring from her lip that she felt already swelling.

  “Something to anger him and make him lose control,” Sterling snickered.

  Willow got to her feet and went to wipe the blood away with the edge of her cloak.

  “Don’t,” Sterling ordered. “It looks much worse with the blood.”

  Willow remained on her feet and kept a steady eye on Sterling, ready to avoid another blow if necessary. She wondered what her sister Sorrell would have done in this situation. She would have tried to escape him by now or she would have driven him crazy with her endless chatter and curiosity.

  That gave Willow a thought.

  “How is it that you and Sterling resemble each other?” she asked.

  “That’s a tale better left for Slatter to hear,” he said with a chuckle.

  “If I were to take a guess, I would say you both have the same father but different
mothers and seeing what an evil man you are leaves me to assume your father is just as evil. Slatter’s mum must have realized it and wisely left him.”

  “She was a whore and her son a bastard. Neither of them meant anything to my father,” Sterling snapped, then turned an angry glare on her.

  “Perhaps but she outsmarted him, running off, no doubt, to keep her son safe,” Willow said a slight snicker to her tone.

  His hand shot out, but Willow was prepared and he stumbled forward missing her.

  “Willow!”

  She turned and ran at the sound of her husband’s voice, though she hadn’t spotted him, barely missing Sterling’s hand that reached out again to grab her.

  “Willow!”

  Her husband continued to call to her, his voice filling the surrounding woods and she was so excited when she spotted him that she didn’t see that Sterling had gotten close. His hand clamped around her neck, jolting her to a stop.

  Sterling dragged her to the middle of the clearing where they had been waiting, and she gasped for a breath since his grip was tight.

  “Let her go, you’ve got what you wanted now… me,” Slatter said, rushing into the clearing. He kept his eyes on his wife, not only seeing the fear in her eyes, but feeling it, and it wasn’t only fear for herself that dominated both, but for him.

  Sterling shoved Willow away and when she went to run to her husband, she saw one of the two men that flanked her husband had a blade pointed at his back, and she stopped where she was.

  “Dunn would only be too glad to stick Slatter as he did his grandmother,” Sterling said, his grin smug.

  Dunn laughed, poking Slatter with the tip of the blade, not drawing any blood, just enough of a poke to let him know what awaited him. “The old crone failed to give me what I came for so I left her to die a slow death. You’ll have a slow death yourself while watching us enjoy your wife.”

  Willow caught the way her husband’s muscles tightened in his face. His anger was near to exploding.

  “But first I have a tale to tell you,” Sterling said, joyous with his impending victory.

  “Don’t bother, it’s obvious,” Slatter said. “You’re my half-brother.”

  “Your mother was my father’s whore,” Sterling spat annoyed he had spoiled it for him.

  “And your father didn’t like that I was born the better looking one,” Slatter said with a laugh.

  “He wanted you dead,” Sterling said, spittle flying out of his mouth with each word.

  “Of course he did. How would it look if there was a man who resembled his heir walking around? What would people say? And would this man try to claim his title and lands that rightfully belonged to his true son? But my mum understood that the man she thought she loved was an evil man and meant her and her son harm, so she did what any loving mum would do… she ran.”

  “When did you realize all this?” Sterling asked.

  “It became obvious after a while. What other explanation could there be? What I am curious about though is why impersonate me? Why not kill me and be done with it? It must have been your father’s edict that once you found me I was to die.”

  “That was his order, but killing you right away would have been no fun, especially when I could do things in your name that was never permitted me as heir to my father’s title. I so enjoyed creating havoc in your name, watching people destroyed by what I did and not suffering a bit of blame or repercussion for it. But, alas, my father grows weary of me not finding you and seeing the matter settled. He threatens to send others after you and I can’t have him finding out what I did. So, unfortunately, my fun has come to an end and it’s also time for you to come to an end.” He shook his head. “I had hoped to trick your wife into bed, but she knows her husband far too well. So, I will give her a quick poke while you lay dying and before I kill her.”

  “At least let me hold my wife one last time,” Slatter said.

  Sterling laughed, shaking his head. “I know how sneaky you can be and what a liar you are. Actually, we’re not that much different. We think more of ourselves than others.”

  “You obviously don’t know my husband,” Willow said.

  Sterling laughed again. “I know enough to impersonate him.”

  Slatter’s brow narrowed. “You don’t know everything about me.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” Sterling challenged.

  “I’m going to make sure that you know you’re dying and there won’t be anything you can do about it,” Slatter said with such conviction that the two men flanking him took several steps away from him.

  “That will have to wait. The shout echoed around them.

  Everyone turned shocked eyes on Tarass and his warriors as they poured out of the surrounding woods. All except her husband, he moved with speed and seeing the fear in his eyes as he rushed at her, Willow turned and threw her arm up as Sterling went to stab her in the chest. The blade caught her forearm, slicing it.

  Slatter didn’t hesitate. He caught his wife with one arm as she stumbled from the blow and he swung with his other arm, his fist catching Sterling in the jaw and sending him tumbling to the ground.

  Devin was on top of Sterling after that, tying the man’s hands behind his back before he came awake.

  Slatter clamped his hand over his wife’s wound and he almost cringed when blood started seeping through his fingers.

  “You have to wrap it,” Willow instructed, pain raced through her but she fought it, needing to keep focused to let her husband know what to do. “Rip the sleeve off before you do, then wrap it tight. Use my cloak.” She shook her head, a lightheadedness taking hold and she worried she would faint.

  “You need to get her back to the keep,” Tarass said, hovering around them.

  “You set a trap?” Slatter accused while doing as his wife had directed.

  “I had to learn the truth for myself, since I wanted the actual culprit caught and made to suffer for his crimes. Now get your wife to the keep. I’ll see that Sterling and his friends are returned to Macardle land for now.”

  Slatter looked to Devin.

  “I’ll make sure of it,” his friend said with a firm nod.

  Willow fought against the faint that hovered around her. She needed to stay awake, keep focused so she could instruct Eleanor how to tend her wound.

  “You’re going to be fine. I’ll have you home soon,” her husband said before she was handed to someone while he mounted a horse, then she was up in is arms again.

  He was worried for her and she was as well. She didn’t know the extent of the wound only that it bled and pained her. If it was a deep cut, it would not heal easily and there was always the chance of losing some of the motion in her arm.

  She squeezed her eyes shut tight, forcing herself not to think about it, to think only on what had to be done to heal it.

  “You’re in pain,” her husband said and he sounded as if he suffered along with her. “We’ll be home soon.”

  She would have smiled if she wasn’t gritting against the pain. After a few moments, it became too much.

  She opened her eyes and said, “Faint.”

  “What was that?” Slatter asked, not having heard her.

  She tried to repeat it, but there wasn’t time. She dropped into a dead faint.

  Slatter’s heart pounded against his chest like a mighty hammer when his wife’s body turned lifeless in his arms. “Willow! Willow! Don’t you die on me. I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you. You’re my world now, Willow. Do you hear me? You’re my whole world.”

  Willow came awake to the sound of worried voices and she felt herself being rushed up stairs. She was home.

  “Wake up, wife, I demand it,” Slatter said, after placing her on the bed in their bedchamber.

  She opened her eyes to see her husband’s face planted in front of hers.

  “You’ll not leave me,” he said in a harsh whisper.

  His eyes glistened with unshed tears and her heart ached for the pain s
he saw there. “Never,” she whispered and puckered her lips to kiss him.

  Slatter slipped his hand under her head to lift it some while lowering his lips to reach hers.

  It was a brief kiss, one that let him know she wasn’t going anywhere.

  He rested his brow to hers. “You’re my life, my world, nothing exists without you beside me.”

  There was no charm to his voice nor did he wear his usual teasing grin. It was all from his heart and Willow felt her own heart swell with love for her husband.

  She went to lift her arm, wanting to touch his face and grimaced with pain. His loving words and concern made her forget about her wound.

  “Your wound,” he said as if he had forgotten about it as well.

  Once her husband moved away from her, she saw that Snow, Eleanor, and Carna stood waiting, their faces pinched with worry.

  “Help me sit up,” Willow said, reaching out her uninjured arm to her husband.

  Slatter looked ready to argue, then shook his head. “You’re the healer.” He lifted her gently and got her situated comfortably. “What else can I do?”

  “Wait in the Great Hall until summoned,” she said and raised her finger when he looked ready to fight her. “I need to focus on my wound and with you present that will be difficult for me to do. So please go and let James know what is going on and wait for Tarass and Devin to return with Sterling and his men.”

  “You’ll let me know—”

  “As soon as I know the extent of the wound, so will you,” Willow assured him. “And you will let me know about Sterling?”

  “You have my word.” He gave her a quick kiss and was gone.

  “How bad?” Snow asked, stepping forward.

  “We’re about to find out,” Willow said.

  With nothing to do but wait, Slatter felt lost. He paced the Great Hall in front of the large fireplace, around the tables, went to the door, stopped, giving a second thought to waiting outside for Tarass and Devin to return, but worried he’d miss word from his wife.