On the road ahead of the coach, four men with handkerchiefs wrapped over their faces were fighting Ryder. The coachman struggled with the nervous horses, looking pale with worry. One of the horses kept trying to rear up, and of course, if they bolted, it would be dangerous for the people inside the carriage. Ewan stood at the horses’ heads, holding onto the bridle of the most nervous one. Without him, the horse would definitely rear up and bolt forward to escape. Ewan couldn’t risk letting go, not yet. He had clearly drawn his sword, rushing to help Ryder, but had to drop it to calm the horse. He kept turning around, trying to get glimpses of his laird.
Ryder had at some point dismounted, his great sword flashing in the sun. She watched, open-mouthed. He had shrugged off his heavy cloak, presumably to avoid it tangling around his limbs.
He moved with a sinuous sort of grace, the sword a glinting extension of his arm. The rain dampened his linen shirt, making it translucent and clinging to the rippling muscles of his back and shoulders.
As she watched, he ducked a sword-swing from one of the attackers as easily as if he were ducking a thrown bread roll. His sword came forward, impaling the man. Without missing a beat, he withdrew the blade and rounded on the next man, darting past his parry and striking off his head.
The third man fell, then the fourth, and then there was silence. Ryder stood, his back still turned to her, the rain falling all around him. It pattered on the rough track, splashing in already overflowing puddles, gray water reflecting the gray sky.
Ryder let out a long, shaky breath and then turned at last toward the coach. His eyebrows shot up when he saw Megan standing there.
“I thought I told ye to stay in the carriage,” he managed, annoyance creeping into his voice.
Megan cleared her throat. Her dagger seemed a bit silly beside his great sword, dripping with blood and rainwater.
“Aye, well, that wasnae a command for me, was it?”
His jaw clenched, and he strode toward her. She flinched, half tempted to step away, perhaps to dive back into the safety of the carriage, but that seemed cowardly. So she stood her ground, lifting her chin.
“Ye thought it wasnae a command for ye, eh?” he snapped, glowering at her. His dark hair clung to his forehead in damp curls. “How did ye reckon that, exactly?”
Megan opened her mouth, ready to let loose with a witty retort. To her horror, however, she found that she had none ready. Ryder gave a brittle smile when she stayed silent.
“That’s what I thought,” he said brusquely.
There was a rattle behind them, and Alaina gingerly eased open the door.
“Close that door!” Ryder shouted, pointing at her. “Stay inside. Keep it closed and locked, do ye understand?”
Alaina paled and retreated. It didn’t seem as though she’d gotten a look at the dead men, for which Megan was grateful.
“Ye see what ye have done?” Ryder snarled. “Ye encourage me sisters to be disobedient to me, too.”
“If ye cannae command their obedience yerself, I am nae sure that ye deserve it,” Megan shot back before she could stop herself. “And look at what ye have done here. All of these men are dead!”
Ryder’s eyebrows shot up. “Ye say it like it is a bad thing.”
“Ye should have kept one of them alive. How will ye ever discover who is behind these attacks if ye keep killin’ all the people who could tell ye?”
Ryder sniffed. “They would nae have told me the truth. It matters nae.”
“Oh, it doesnae matter, does it?” Megan growled, clenching her jaw. She was surprised at just how angry she felt. How dare he throw orders at her like that? His sisters might grumpily concede to his requests, butMeganhad no intention of obeying him.
“Nay, it does nae,” he continued. “They will nae succeed, anyway. The only thing that could have gone wrong here is ye or the girls getting’ out of the coach and distractin’ me. Which, of course, ye bloody well did.”
She pointed at the dead bodies littering the road in front of them.
“Ye didnae look very distracted to me, if ye daenae mind me sayin’.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What if I do mind ye saying it?”
“Well, there’s nowt that can be done about it now. I’ve said it, and I’ll nae take it back.”
He gave an incredulous snort, shaking his head. “Ye have some gall, lass. Ye arenae even denyin’ the fact that ye defied a direct order from me. Ye daenae seem to think that it matters at all.”
She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “Because it doesnae. Ye seem to believe that ye are me laird and master, Ryder, and that is nae the case. We are partners in this, ye andme, and if ye daenae learn to cooperate with me now, this is goin’ to be a disaster.”
“Partners?Cooperate? I think perhaps it’s ye that has the wrong end of the stick here, lass.”
