Alex closed his eyes, his heart pounding with fear for Caitlyn. He couldn’t believe Innes accompanied her and allowed her inside the walls. He had no trouble believing Caitlyn did something so daring and reckless, but he’d believed Innes had more sense. He would never have agreed to trade Caitlyn’s safety for his life. He let his head hang as his heartbeat rang in his ears.
“Do you care for some water?”
Alex jerked upward and slammed the top of his head into the stocks, unprepared for Caitlyn’s lilting voice or the water ladle pressed to his cracked lips. He hadn’t had nearly enough to drink over the past few days.
“Caitlyn, once we are away from here, you and I shall have a long talk.”
“If you say so.” Caitlyn glanced around, but they still seemed to be of no interest to anyone. “I’m going to lift this from you. Can you get out?”
“Aye. Free my right side first, I can hold up the bar if you can move my other arm.” Alex bore the weight of the heavy hinged piece of wood once his hand was free. He pulled his head back, and Caitlyn lifted down his arm. Without thinking, she wrapped her hand around his left-hand fingers and turned toward the wall and the hidden opening. Alex winced from the pain that shot through his numb limb. Pins and needles made it feel like it was on fire. He ducked his head and entered the secret passageway behind Caitlyn. As the door shut, they heard a voice call out that Alex escaped. “Now what?”
“Ye remain silent and follow me.” Kenzie materialized from farther in the tunnel.
“Be careful,” Caitlyn whispered to Alex. “There’s a body near here. I had to.”
Kenzie reached out a hand to Caitlyn, who grasped Alex’s right hand. The trio trudged through the narrow, low tunnel. Alex banged his head several times, seeing stars in the darkness, but he continued to follow Caitlyn. He wished to draw the dirk Kenzie gave him, but it meant letting go of Caitlyn. He feared getting separated, and he didn’t want to break the contact that assured him his wife was alive and well. Kenzie came to an abrupt stop, catching Caitlyn between her and Alex, who was unprepared. “Let me check if we are alone, and I will signal Laird Kennedy and his mon.”
Kenzie eased the silent door open, looking in all directions, including overhead to the hillock’s overhang. Satisfied no one lay in wait, she slipped out and gestured to Innes and David, who dashed toward her. As they arrived, Caitlyn and Alex emerged from the tunnel.
“Go and do nae look back. Do nae come back.” Kenzie waited for no one to respond, pulling the tunnel door shut.
Alex glanced at Caitlyn, who watched him. The party of four took off into the meadow grass, but the movement alerted the guards, who raised the alarm. They heard the postern gate burst open. Alex checked back over his shoulder, dismayed to find at least a half-dozen men pursuing them. When he glanced at Caitlyn, she had her skirts gathered to her knees, but even with them unobstructed, her legs could never outpace the Scott warriors. He twisted and wrapped his arm around her waist, hauling her over his shoulder. He hissed, “Faster.”
Alex pushed himself to run as fast as he could, desperate to get Caitlyn away from the encroaching danger. Even with her weight bearing down on him, he moved past Innes and David, who ran with swords drawn. As Alex passed them, the two warriors closed ranks behind Alex and Caitlyn, protecting Alex’s back and Caitlyn’s head. As they approached the camp, Innes released an ear-piercing whistle. They burst into the area as men from four clans rose and drew swords, scrambling to prepare for attack.
When Alex spotted Tavin and Brice, he hurtled toward his father and brother. Innes was right behind him. Without a word, he lowered Caitlyn to the ground, and the men surrounded her. Her tiny stature compared to the mountainous men made her invisible. Alex drew the dirk from his waist while Innes, Brice, and Tavin stood with their swords raised. Alex raised his arm, ready to launch the knife when a voice approached.
“You need this.” Henry and a handful of the gallowglasses emerged from the trees. No one had heard them hiding there. He returned Alex’s sword before he and his men melted back into the shadows. Alex lost sight of him immediately and prayed his trust wasn’t misplaced when he believed Henry wouldn’t attack from the rear.
“What is going on?” Abraham demanded from the tree trunk to which Brice had bound him. “Who was that?”
“Your son’s acquaintance.” Alex glared at Abraham, even though he doubted the man could make out his expression. “He hired gallowglasses to capture me, but he wanted the satisfaction of killing me himself. Mayhap he should have, had he paid instead of expecting their services for free.”
“Gallowglasses,” Abraham spluttered. “That bitch.”
Caitlyn tried to press between Alex and Brice, but the brothers were immoveable. She wanted to hurl insults at him, but Alex was faster.
“Blaming a woman for your son’s pathetic behavior? You trusted your wean to run your keep and now you have four clans at your door.” Alex snorted. “And I find you tied to a blummin’ tree! You’re hiding behind her skirts!”
“It’s her fault,” the laird insisted.
“Nay. Your son hired her brother, who got himself killed at the end of my sword.”
“You?” Abraham guffawed, but he screeched when Alex launched his dirk toward him and embedded it in the trunk beside the trembling laird’s head.
“That is how your men wound up injured in Stirling.” Alex thrust his sword forward, bringing the tip beneath the laird’s nose for a moment before stepping back into the protective circle around Caitlyn. “And that is how the gallowglass died.”
The sound of men crashing through branches and running feet stomping toward them interrupted Alex’s taunts. The camp kept their cook fires few and barely smoldering, so Sully and his arriving men came barreling toward them only to knock into one another as those at the front realized the size of the force they faced. There were nearly two hundred men amassed in the trees.
“Can you imagine how I would react if my sons made the foolhardy choice to endanger our entire clan?” Tavin stepped forward, and Alex, Brice, and Innes closed the circle around Caitlyn. “But then again, they could never be so foolish as to antagonize a clan that’s allied with nearly everyone along the border. They wouldn’t capture the heir to a clan that’s already beaten your shiting-yourself-arses every time they crossed swords. And my sons most definitely do not defy the king when his son is their bluidy neighbor.”
“Sullivan Scott, you have but one choice to make: die for your crimes here or face my father for them.” Robert Bruce stepped forward. “My father placed me at the Hermitage to oversee Liddesdale and the border. You encroached on my land when you met the Armstrongs and Elliots at a spot I know they did not choose. You defied the royal decree to desist. Now you will face the consequences.” Robert turned toward Abraham. “And so shall you.”
“Me? I’ll banish him for what he’s done, but it wasn’t my fault.”
Stunned faces turned from Sully and Robert to Abraham, shocked that he cast off his son rather than take responsibility. Alex shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You raised the mon, and he’s your tánaiste. Banish him if you want, but that won’t remove the blame from your shoulders. Had you not picked a fight you couldn’t win, your son wouldn’t think he had a reasonable chance in hell of making my clan back down. This is as much your fault as his.”
Sully reached behind him as Caitlyn strained to see. He grabbed hold of something and yanked. Caitlyn screamed when she spied his hand fisted in Kenzie’s hair as he dragged her forward. The very thing she feared was coming true. The woman had sacrificed her life to free Alex. “She freed you. Now you will watch her die for her treachery.”
