She punched him square in the nose.
It was a good punch. Not her best, given the circumstances and the constricting qualities of her dress. But Logan was not expecting it, and she put her full weight behind him.
There was a dullcrack,and blood spurted from his nose. He staggered backward, clapping a hand over his nose, but did not drop his sword. In fairness, thatwasa sign of a good warrior.
“Run!” Megan screamed at Alaina and Hamish. “Run!”
Hamish grabbed Alaina’s hand, dragging her away. To run back toward the Feast Hall would mean darting past Logan’s blade, which was too much of a risk, so they wisely turned the opposite way, moving deeper into the Keep. Megan raced after them.
At least she tried. She’d barely made it three steps before a hand clamped in her hair, fingers digging deep into the braid, and hauled her backward. She gave a strangled scream, sure that her hair was being yanked out by the roots. Her feet left the floor, and she landed with a painful, breathtakingthunkon the polished stone flags. The back of her head knocked against the hard stone, making her vision swim.
Megan groaned, lifting a hand to a rapidly swelling lump on the back of her head. There was no blood, but tiny, torn flowers scattered all around her, having fallen from her hair.
There was no time to think. A hand clamped over her mouth, stifling any potential screams.
Logan leaned over her, his face twisted with rage. She suspected that her punch had broken his nose, and drops of blood slowly trailed out of one nostril. A drop fell, splattering on the stone floor just beside Megan’s head.
“Very clever,” he breathed. “Ye hit harder than I might have expected. But I still have a sword, lass. Ye misjudged there.”
He carefully placed the sword across her throat, the blade resting directly against her skin. It was icy cold, and she knew without looking that it was horrifically sharp. When she swallowed involuntarily, there was a sharp twinge of pain as the blade grazed her skin. A single hot drop of blood welled up.
So,Megan thought bleakly.This is how I end. Well, I always kent I would end up goin’ down fightin’. Just like Da.
“Me nieces belong to me, just as me sister belonged to me,” Logan whispered. “Ye ken, when the old laird died, I instructed her to come back to Keep MacAdair, and to bring her daughters. She said that she wanted to stay and that her heart was broken. She couldnae live without her husband, she said. Nonsense. She was still young enough for a decent marriage. I had plans for her, but she threw herself off the Keep walls, driven mad by the loss of the man she loved. So, ye see, by marrying Alaina to a man she cannae love, I am savin’ her. Daenae ye see?”
“I can see that ye are as mad as a march hare, man.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Aye, I should have ken ye would nae have understood. But nay matter. I’ll take Alaina with me today. Unfortunately, I must bring yer betrothal to an end, as I ken now that ye will only get in me way. Goodbye, Lady Megan. Ye would have made a fine Lady MacCulloch, I’ll give ye that.”
Megan closed her eyes, waiting for the final press of the sword. It would be a quick end, at last.
Then, a voice echoed through the silence.
“Ye are a dead man, Logan.”
Her eyes flew open just in time to see dismay cross Logan’s features.
“Ryder,” they both whispered at the same moment.
CHAPTER 25
Ryder tightenedhis grip on his sword hilt. He’d chosen a short sword, whereas Logan’s was clearly a long sword. Logan’s sword had more power and greater reach, but it would also be more challenging to maneuver in the narrow corridor.
The blade was wickedly sharp, however. He dragged his gaze down to Megan, who had scrambled out of Logan’s reach. A thin red line scored across the front of her throat. If there had been any pressure behind that blade, she would have been dead by now.
Fury bubbled up inside him, tightening his chest and clawing up his throat like bile.
How dare he? Howdarehe?Ryder forced himself to swallow thickly. Now was not the time for letting emotions cloud his vision. Ewan would be here soon, with his sixth sense for danger, but for now, it was only Ryder and Logan. The hallway was too narrow for more than two men to fight.
Really, it was too narrow even for that.
Never turning away or even blinking, Logan rose smoothly to his feet, eyes fixed on Ryder.
“Have a care, son,” Logan murmured. “Ye might nae have heard what ye thought ye have heard.”
“I’m nae in the habit of mistrustin’ me senses,” he shot back, glancing at Megan out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t dare take his eyes off Logan, even for a minute. “Are ye hurt, love?”
She sat crumpled on the floor, leaning back against the wall. It was clear that her breath had been knocked out of her.
