He burstfrom his hiding place, moving with the deadly speed of a trained warrior. His hand caught Paisley’s wrist, twisting it viciously until she dropped the knife with a shriek of pain.
“Getyer hands off of what’s mine,” Elijah growled, his voice deadly quiet.
The clearing exploded into chaos.
The mercenaries reachedfor their weapons. Declan burst from the trees, engaging the two nearest men. And Piper—brave, beautiful, furious Piper—threw her head back hard, connecting with her captor’s nose.
The man howled,and his grip loosened. Piper wrenched herself free and stumbled toward Elijah.
But Paisley recovered fasterthan expected. She dove for her fallen knife, her face twisted with desperate rage.
And broughtit up in a vicious arc?—
Aimedstraight at Piper’s unprotected face.
22
Time slowed to a crawl.
Elijah saw the knife coming,saw the hatred in Paisley’s eyes, the desperate fury that made her lash out at her own daughter. Saw Piper starting to turn, her face still flushed with anger and defiance, completely unaware of the blade arcing toward her.
He moved.
But he was too far away. Tooslow. Just like with Catherine, he was going to be too late.
Piper’s armcame up at the last second, some instinct making her try to protect herself. The knife meant for her face caught her forearm instead, slicing deep. Blood bloomed instantly, dark and terrible in the moonlight.
Piper cried out,stumbling forward, and Elijah caught her before she could fall.
“Enough!”he roared, the word tearing from his chest with such force that everyone in the clearing froze. “Enough!”
He released Piper carefully,making sure she was steady, then turned to face the mercenary who’d held her captive. The man with the broken nose who was still trying to grab her, still trying to complete his job.
Elijah’s vision went red.
He crossedthe distance between them in three strides, his sword already drawn. The mercenary barely had time to raise his own blade before Elijah was on him.
“Ye touched her,”Elijah snarled, his sword crashing against the man’s with brutal force. “Ye put yer hands on me woman.”
“I was just followin’orders,” the man gasped, stumbling back under the assault.
“Ye threatened her.Hurt her. Terrified her.” Each word was punctuated with another strike. “And for that, ye will die.”
“Wait, please! I was just hired.”
“I daenae care.”
Elijah’s bladefound its mark, sliding between the man’s ribs with practiced precision. The mercenary’s eyes widened in shock, then went dim. He crumpled to the ground, dead before he hit the dirt.
Elijah turned,blood on his sword, fury in his eyes, to face Findlay and Paisley. They’d backed up against a tree, their faces pale with terror. Paisley still held her knife, but her hand was shaking so badly the blade trembled.
“Ye cut her,”Elijah said softly, advancing on them. “Ye drew yer own daughter’s blood.”
“It was an accident—”Paisley started.
“It was attempted murder.”Elijah’s voice was ice. “And ye’re goin’ to pay for it.”
“Stay back!”Findlay’s voice cracked with panic. He looked at the remaining mercenaries, the four who’d been hanging back, watching. “Kill him! Kill the Laird! Whoever does it gets double the money! Triple! Whatever ye want!”
