Men pulled Thor from his horse, shoving him between them as others did the same to Dominic. Greer knew what Thor wanted her to do, but she hesitated to flee. But she caught him looking back at her, and she knew he would die if she remained. He would fight these men, and they would kill him. She whirled her horse around and laid low over its withers as they charged back into the forest. She heard men bellowing and horses pursuing her. But she trusted Rose’s steed since she knew what a daredevil the beast’s owner was. If Rose had trained it, and it survived its mistress, then it would carry Greer with ease.
She pressed her chest to the horse’s neck, ensuring her head was lower than the animal’s. If she didn’t, a low-hanging branch would sweep her from the saddle. She fisted hanks of its mane to help her remain atop him during their breakneck dash among the trees. She couldn’t afford to look back, so she trusted they remained ahead of their enemy since no one yanked her from the saddle. She veered and weaved until she was at least three miles into the dense forest. Then she turned left and headed west. The shift in direction gave her a chance to spy her would-be captors.
There were easily ten riders chasing her, and when she changed course, the last three thought to get ahead of her by turning before reaching where she had. When those men pulled ahead, she yanked on the horse’s reins unexpectedly. The stalwart beast neighed but followed the command. They cut between the main group of warriors and the three that broke off. She swerved again to head west once more.
CHAPTER19
“Lady Greer!”
She heard her name, but it didn’t come from any of the Gunn warriors she evaded. As she charged on, the voice that kept calling her name grew louder. It wasn’t threatening. Instead, it sounded as though the owner searched for her. She recognized the bird call as one Thor taught her years ago. Altering her path once more, she burst out of the trees and into a group of Sinclair and Mackay warriors.
“They have Thor and Dominic. They pulled them from their horses. Ye have to go to them.”
There was no opportunity for anyone to reassure her that men were already on their way. The Gunns emerged from the trees, and the Sinclairs and Mackays surrounded Greer. A man with hair as dark as a raven’s wing and eyes the same shade of emerald as Highland grass after a thunderstorm rose in his stirrup.
“Ye trespass on ma father-by-marriage’s land. Ye pursue ma nephew and niece. Ye can turn back now, and I willna kill ye. Or ye can continue with this fool’s errand and die for it. Are ye that keen to meet our Lord? Because if ye arenae and are just following orders, I give ye the chance to live.”
Greer realized she watched Laird Tristan Mackay speak to men she’d known since she was a child. Men who’d once ignored her when they were weans and she wished for friends. Men who’d grown into adolescents who leered at her. Men who’d turned their back on her when their counterparts assaulted her.
The man who walked his mount forward to place himself in front of the Mackay warriors he led was massive. He was easily the same size as Thor’s father and uncles, but they were related by marriage, not by blood. She hadn’t missed how he addressed her. There was no niece-by-marriage or his nephew’s wife. He claimed her as his family.
Her eyes darted to three men who were Tristan’s replicas. She gazed at Wee Liam—who no longer fit his name but was still called that to distinguish him from his grandfather—and his brothers Alec and Hamish. They all rivaled their father in size. She had a passing thought that the Sinclairs were known for the whisky they distilled, and they shared it with their Sutherland and Mackay relatives. She wondered if that’s what made them grow so large. Then she realized Tristan was likely this size before he married his wife, and she knew Laird Hamish Sutherland—Hamish Mackay’s namesake—was a bear too. She forced herself to focus.
“There are a dozen of us and seven of ye,” Colin Gunn called out. He was her second cousin through Albert. It stung that he would side with the council now that he knew they were related. But she expected nothing better.
“I can count, lad. That’s why I made ye the offer. Ye arenae so daft that ye dinna ken seven Mackays and Sinclairs will trounce yer dozen.” Tristan nudged his horse forward a few more steps. “Will yer mama miss ye? Do ye have a wife and bairns depending on ye?”
When Colin didn’t respond, Greer did. “Ma cousin has a mother and father who live with him, his wife, and four weans. His parents are auld and in poor health. His weans are too young to do aught to support their family. If he dies, they’ll have naught.”
Greer pointed her dirk at another man, then another and another as she listed their family situations. There were only four bachelors in the group. The men looked at each other before they sheathed their swords. Greer breathed a little easier. She didn’t care that it proved she wasn’t worth a fight to any of them. She preferred it that way since they wouldn’t have battled to protect her but to hand her over to more men who would harm her.
“We ride for ma nephew. Ye either ride ahead of us and return to the rest of yer party, or ye choose the wiser option and enter the forest again. Ride due north, and ye will come to the road that can take ye back to yer land. The men ye rode with arenae likely to live, so nay one will tell that ye didna return to the others.”
“Smug bastard.” Colin sneered at Tristan and licked his lips as he stared at Greer. “There are a score and a half of men waiting for us to return. Ye number seven. There couldnae be that many on their way to Thormud. We’ll ride back just to watch ye die. How are ye so certain of yerself?”
“I’m Laird Tristan Mackay.” He spoke as though merely stating his name made the answer obvious. He shook his head, and Greer pictured him rolling his eyes. “I married Lady Mackay and ended a longstanding feud with the Sinclairs. Before our marriage, I met all four of her brothers on the battlefield and lived to tell the tale. So, I think that ought to explain why I’m so bluidy certain that I will kill all of ye and sleep like a bairn in ma wife’s arms tonight.”
Tristan jerked a thumb over his shoulder and chuckled.
“Ye can see the three lads who look just like me. I made half of them. The other half is made of the finest Sinclair steel. Ma wife isnae just the bonniest woman in Scotland. She’s also fiercer than any mon alive. They may have inherited ma size and strength, but they inherited their mother’s cunning and precision. Ye willna survive them. And if any of us return with a hair out of place, ma wife will find ye, kill ye, and dump yer bodies at yer families’ doors with her fondest regards. She’s a wee protective of her weans and me. I ken ye’ve all seen her compete each year at the Gatherings.” Tristan shook his head and shrugged. “I’m giving ye a choice. She willna.”
Greer shifted her gaze to the three younger versions of Tristan. Their expressions beamed pride as they listened to their father. Anyone could see they thought as highly of their mother as Tristan did. None of the Sinclairs or Mackays with them looked any different. These men clearly respected Mairghread, and they knew Tristan didn’t exaggerate. She looked back at her cousin and could tell he considered Tristan’s offer.
“Colin, Aggie needs ye. Ye ken she canna manage yer ma and da along with yer weans.” Greer prayed guilt would stir the man into action. Their gazes met, and she knew it worked. He nodded and signaled for the men to turn around. The Gunns rode ahead of the Sinclairs and Mackays, who continued to encircle Greer. She hadn’t realized she had progressed as far west as she imagined. Weaving through the trees distorted her sense of distance.
They spotted more Sinclairs and Mackays waiting for them. When they joined the other men who’d been on patrol, Greer’s brow furrowed. There were far more men than she expected. There were at least thirty between the two clans. Tristan ordered the Gunns to continue on into the woods, and the Sinclairs and Mackays fanned out to make a horseshoe around those who already encircled her. Keenan rode with the group they joined.
“Lady Greer, I’m Alec.” The man was clearly a few years younger than Greer, but he had the hardened expression of a warrior who’d already ridden into battle many times. “Wee Liam, Hamish, and I will remain with ye. We’re going to stay here. The rest of our men will ride with our father. They’ll get Thor and his mon. Yer husband willna forgive us if ye get any closer.”
“I understand. Thank ye, but ye should lead alongside yer father.”
“I’m Wee Liam.” A second younger version of Tristan stopped his horse alongside her. “He willna forgive us if we arenae the ones who stay with ye. He willna trust anyone as much as us, and it would hurt him far more if we didna protect ye ourselves.”
Greer inhaled deeply before she sighed. She knew Wee Liam spoke the truth. Thor wouldn’t overlook his cousins leaving her safety to someone else. The three warriors and Greer watched as the others continued riding. They remained too far away for her to make out what was happening. She strained to spot Thor, but the riders gathered tightly, so she couldn’t tell one man from another.
“How are there so many of ye?” Greer continued to look forward, so she spoke to any of her protectors.
“We were with Da visiting a village on the border,” Hamish responded. “There’d been a storm that damaged several crofts. We spent last night with one of our patrols. Men arrived to relieve the current patrol this morning, and the current patrol was giving them an update. The same was the case for the Sinclairs. Their camp wasna far from us. Keenan had already passed them when he reached us. He’d told them to prepare to ride, so they joined us as we went past. He explained once we were all together.”
