The scream emerged as a hoarse moan. Writhing against the unrelenting grip that held her, she kicked out as she was swept off her feet and carried out of the stable.
“No!”
She beat her fists on his back, her feeble efforts bouncing off him like a drum. Kicking again, she was rewarded with a low grunt but gained nothing more. Struggling, twisting, she fought for freedom. A far different flight than the one she’d fled only moments before.
Her feet touched the ground and she lashed out once more.
“Piper, stop,” the command was low and harsh. Another abrupt shake rattled her teeth. “Look at me.”
She stared up at him, unseeing. Dread veiled her vision in blackness. In misery. He’d drawn her in to deceive her.
“Piper, please. Look at me, lass.” The demand was soft yet unshakable. A quiet reassurance in the soothing brogue.
Brogue.
The shroud of alarm began to clear and the first thing that came into focus was Connor’s eyes. Harried, yet caring.
“Connor?”
“Aye, lass. It’s me.” He smiled at her, stern yet comforting nonetheless, and Piper flung herself into his arms, clawing at his back to get closer. Safer. She would have climbed right into him if she could have managed it. Soothing hands smoothed her hair, rubbed her back in small circles. “I’m here. I’ve got ye, lass.”
Then, “I’ve got her. See to it nae one follows.”
Blinking away the lingering darkness, Piper peered up into Albert’s sorrowful brown eyes. Of all the people, he knew what she’d run from. What she feared.
Not the unknown as some scolded.
He knew, as she did, precisely what she was afraid of. What oppressive darkness haunted her for years until Connor had come to show her the light.
“Albert.”
“I’m so sorry, m’lady. I tried to stop ye…warn ye.”
He shook his head sadly, as if it were all his fault. It wasn’t. It was hers for thinking any amount of time would dampen the memory of the threat behind her. Or the power of the one that continued to loom over her.
Slipping out of Connor’s embrace, she hugged the older man. “Thank you, Albert. I know you have always…”
Her words fractured, however, he nodded as if he completely understood. “Aye, m’lady.”
“Keep a weather eye on him,” Connor commanded, his voice dark with more menace and anger than she would have thought him capable. “Set a guard if ye maun. He’s to come nowhere near her, is that understood?”
“Aye, sir.” The groom nodded.
“And shoot him is he tries to take my horse.”
“With pleasure, sir.”
Albert touched the brim of his cap and trotted back up the path to the stable. A second later, Piper’s feet were swept from under her as Connor picked her up as if she were an invalid child.
“I can walk.” She wished the assurance emerged in a firmer manner. The clean, masculine smell of him banished the lingering scent of cologne. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she rested her cheek on his shoulder and stole more of the comfort and assurance she craved. “Where are you going?”
He wasn’t headed back to her cottage. Rather, his long strides followed a winding footpath through the trees that led toward the main house.
“Yer house may be well-sheltered but it may no’ be entirely safe any longer. There’s one spot we can be assured nae one will happen upon ye, where nae one will enter wi’out permission,” he told her. “My rooms.”
She wanted to argue, but didn’t. Despite the haven provided by Connor’s firm hold, she had little conviction in her safety. The precarious existence she’d built for herself was flipped upside down, leaving her woozy and battered. As if she’d tumbled along with the landslide when her world went askew.
Panic subsiding, she was left with quivering, nauseating tremors in her stomach. The shock was taking longer to recede. Her chin quavered. She clenched her teeth to subdue it. “He’s never come here before. Not in all this time.”
