Findlay and Paisley Armstrong.
Rage,white-hot and absolute, flooded through Elijah. But he forced himself to stay hidden, to observe. To understand the full scope of what he was dealing with before he acted.
“Ye did well,”Paisley was saying, circling Piper like a predator. “Very well indeed. The Laird will pay handsomely to get his precious governess back.”
“Ye think so?”the man holding Piper asked. “She seems like just a servant to me.”
“Oh,she’s much more than that,” Findlay said with an ugly grin. “Ye should have seen the way he looked at her. The way he defended her. That’s nae just a master protectin’ a servant. That’s a man protectin’ somethin’ he values.”
“Somethin’he wants,” Paisley added. “Maybe even somethin’ he’s already had, if ye ken me meanin’.”
“Ye’re lyin’,”Piper gasped out. “Elijah would never… We never did any of that.”
“Does it matter?”Paisley pulled a knife from her belt, smaller than the one the mercenary held, but just as deadly. “All that matters is that the Laird thinks ye’re valuable enough to pay for. And he will pay. He’ll pay whatever we ask, because men like him—men with honor and duty—they always do.”
“How much are we askin’?”one of the other mercenaries asked.
“Ten thousand pounds,”Findlay said. “Per year. For the rest of his life.”
Beside Elijah,Declan let out a barely audible sound of disbelief. “They must be mad,” he breathed. “Ten thousand pounds a year? That’s… that’s insane. Nay one would agree to that.”
But Elijah was barely listening.He was calculating. Five armed men plus Piper’s parents. Piper in the center, vulnerable. At least two knives that he could see, probably more weapons he couldn’t.
He neededto separate Piper from her captors. Needed to create chaos, confusion. Needed?—
“Ye’re insane,”Piper said, echoing Declan’s assessment. “He’ll never pay that. It’s ridiculous.”
“We’re desperate,”Findlay corrected. “There’s a difference. And desperate people do desperate things.”
“Like sell their daughter?”Piper’s voice shook with rage. “Like hire men to kidnap her? Like threaten to kill her if ye daenae get yer blood money?”
“Ye always were dramatic,”Paisley said dismissively. “Always actin’ like we were the villains in yer little story. But we’re just parents tryin’ to survive. Tryin’ to make ends meet.”
“By gamblin’away every coin ye had!”
“By tryin’to better our situation!” Findlay’s face flushed red. “But ye never understood that, did ye? Never understood the risks we took, the chances we gave up, all to try and provide for ye!”
“Provide for me?”Piper let out a laugh that sounded half-mad. “Ye never provided anythin’ except pain! Ye beat me! Starved me! Took every coin I earned and spent it on yer addictions! And now, now ye’ve stooped to this? To kidnappin’ and extortion?”
“We wouldnae haveto if ye’d just helped us like a good daughter should!” Paisley stepped closer, her knife gleaming. “If ye’d just given us some of those wages ye’re earnin’ fron the Laird, if ye’d just showed a little loyalty to the people who raised ye.”
“Raised me?”Piper’s voice rose. “Ye dinnae raise me! Ye tortured me! And the only person who ever showed me kindness, who ever made me feel like I was worth somethin’, is dead! She died ten years ago, and I’ve been alone ever since!”
“Stop bein’so dramatic,” Findlay snapped.
“I’m nae bein’dramatic! I’m bein’ honest for the first time in me life!” Piper was shaking now, but her voice grew stronger. “Ye want to ken the truth? I hate ye. Both of ye. I’ve hated ye since I was old enough to understand what ye were doin’ to me. And I’ll never, never, give ye another moment of me time or another coin of me money. I’d rather die!”
“That can be arranged,”Paisley said coldly, raising her knife.
“Then do it,”Piper challenged. “Go ahead. Kill me. Because I’m nae givin’ ye what ye want. Nae now. Nae ever. I’m done. Do ye hear me? I’m done!”
“Shut yer mouth!”Findlay moved forward, his hand raised.
But before hecould reach Piper, before Paisley could bring her knife down?—
A hand shotout of the darkness and grabbed Paisley’s wrist with brutal force.
Elijah had seen enough.Had heard enough. The moment Paisley raised that knife, the moment she threatened to actually harm Piper, his control shattered.
