Piper.
He’d almost forgotten—no,not forgotten, never forgotten—but the battle rage had pushed everything else aside. Now it came flooding back.
Piper was hurt.Bleeding. Because of her mother. Because he hadn’t been fast enough to stop it.
Elijah turnedto find her sitting on the ground where he’d left her, her hand pressed to her bleeding arm, her face pale with shock.
“Piper,”he breathed, crossing to her in three long strides. He dropped to his knees beside her. “Let me see.”
“It’s nothin’.I’m fine.” But her voice shook, and there was so much blood.
“Let me see,”Elijah repeated, gently but firmly moving her hand away from the wound.
The cut was deep,running from her wrist halfway up her forearm. Not life-threatening, probably, but bad enough. It would need stitches. It would leave a scar. Another scar for her collection. Another mark of pain inflicted by the people who should have protected her.
“I’m so sorry,”Elijah said, his voice rough. “I should have stopped her. Should have been faster.”
“Ye saved me,”Piper interrupted. “Ye came for me. Ye fought for me.” Tears were streaming down her face now. “I thought… I thought they were goin’ to kill me. Or worse. And then ye were there, and ye…”
Her voice broke on a sob.
Elijah pulledher against his chest, careful of her injured arm, and held her while she cried. His shirt was already covered in blood, some the mercenary’s, some Piper’s, but he didn’t care.
“I’ve got ye,”he murmured, one hand stroking her hair. “I’ve got ye, lass. Ye’re safe now.”
“I was so scared,”Piper sobbed. “When they grabbed me, when they took me, I thought I’d never see ye again. Never see the children again. Never be near them again.”
“But ye’re here.Ye’re alive. That’s all that matters.”
“I thought I was goin’to die,” Piper continued, the words pouring out now. “And all I could think was that I never told ye, all I never said.”
“Hush, lass. It’s all right.”
“Nay, it’s nae all right!”Piper pulled back enough to look at him, her gray eyes bright with tears and something else. Something fierce. “I need to say this. I need ye to ken.”
“I ken,”Elijah said softly. “I already ken.”
“Ye what?”
“I was terrified tonight,”Elijah admitted. “When that man grabbed ye, when he threatened to kill ye.” He stopped, his throat tight. “All I could think was that I couldnae lose ye. That if somethin’ happened to ye, I… I wouldnae survive it.”
“Elijah.”
“I failed Catherine,”he continued, the words he’d been holding back for nine years finally breaking free. “I was too slow, too distracted. And she died blamin’ me for it. Died thinkin’ I’d failed her. And maybe I did. Maybe I wasnae fast enough or strong enough. But tonight, tonight I swore I wouldnae let that happen again. Wouldnae let ye slip through me fingers. Because I…”
He stopped,the final words catching in his throat.
“Because what?”Piper whispered.
“Because I love ye,”Elijah said, the admission feeling like diving off a cliff. “I love ye, Piper Armstrong. I love yer courage and yer kindness and the way ye challenge me. I love how ye protect me children like they’re yer own. I love how ye make me want to be better, to do better. I love everythin’ about ye.”
Piper stared at him,her lips parted in shock. “Ye love me?”
“Aye.”Elijah cupped her face with his free hand, his thumb brushing away her tears. “I ken I shouldnae. I ken ye’re a governess, and I’m yer the Laird, and there’s a hundred reasons why this is complicated. But I daenae care. I love ye. And tonight, when I thought I might lose ye, it nearly destroyed me.”
“I love ye too,”Piper breathed, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “I’ve loved ye for… I daenae even ken how long. Weeks? It feels like forever. And I thought… I thought ye could never feel the same way about someone like me.”
“Someone like ye?”Elijah’s voice was fierce. “Someone brave and beautiful and better than I deserve? Aye, I suppose ye’re right about that last part. But I feel it anyway. I love ye anyway.”
