Another explosion shakes the manor, sounding even closer this time.Dust and small bits of plaster rain down from the ceiling.Dougal jerks his head toward the sound, and in that split second of distraction, I make my move.
I slam my elbow backward into Dougal's gut as hard as I can.
Keltie seizes the chance to take him down, rushing forward with lightning speed.The gun discharges with a deafening crack, but the bullet goes wide, embedding itself in the wall behind us as I throw myself to the floor.I hit the ground hard, rolling away despite my bound ankles.My shoulder slams into the leg of an antique table, but adrenaline numbs the pain.Keltie and Dougal become a blur of violent motion.She moves with chilling precision, each strike calculated and devastating.Dougal is no slouch, though.He fights with the desperate fury of a cornered animal, but Keltie's training is evident in every movement.
I scramble to get upright, hampered by my restraints."Keltie!"
Spotting a letter opener on a side table just a few feet away, I struggle to reach it, praying I can cut myself free.
With one brutal move, Keltie slams Dougal against the wall, twisting his arm behind his back until something cracks.His scream pierces the air as the gun clatters to the floor.Keltie kicks it away, then forces Dougal face-first onto the ground, driving her knee into his spine.
"I've got him," she says calmly, as if subduing psychotic crime lords is a normal Tuesday for her."Are ye hurt, Gretchen?"
"A little bruised, that's all," I assure her, still inching toward that letter opener."Where's Kirk?"
One final explosion rocks the manor, this one so close it makes my teeth rattle.The sound of gunfire intensifies.
"Clearing the way," Keltie warns me.
She efficiently zip-ties Dougal's wrists behind his back The man beneath her is cursing in Gaelic.Blood runs from his nose and the corner of his mouth, but all I feel is savage satisfaction.This is the man who threatened to kill Kirk and who planned to force himself on me.I hope Keltie broke something important.
"Are ye okay to stay put while I secure him properly?"Keltie asks, her eyes darting to the letter opener I'm still trying to reach.
"Yeah, I'll be fine."I strain toward the table but my fingertips barely brush its edge.
Keltie reaches down with one hand, yanks the letter opener from the table, and tosses it within my reach, all while keeping Dougal firmly pinned with her other hand and knee.Keltie is a one-woman wrecking crew.
I snatch the opener and saw awkwardly at my zip ties with the plastic cutting into my wrists as I work.
Kirk bursts into the room, his face a mask of righteous fury.His chest heaves, and he must have run at full speed through the manor.
Now that he's here, I know I'll be safe.
And Dougal is going down hard.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Kirk
ThatriatachDougal MacWraith not only imprisoned Gretchen but also bound her wrists and ankles, as if she were merely his chattel.The rage coursing through me is like nothing I've experienced before.With every ounce of strength inside me, I lunge at Dougal, determined to rip him limb from limb with my bare hands for daring to touch my woman.
"Kirk!"Gretchen cries out."I'm here!I'm okay!"
That's my brave lass.Dougal is a bastard, for certain.But I prefer the Gaelic phraseriatach.It sounds much nastier.
I rush over to her, kneeling beside the lass as she finishes cutting through her restraints with the letter opener."Are ye injured,gràidh?Did he harm ye in any way?Ye seem all right, but---"
"Yes, I'm okay, sweetie.Please stop fussing over me.I only have a few bruises thanks to Keltie arriving just in time."
I blow out a blustering breath, grateful beyond measure that Keltie found Gretchen in time.Keltie still has Dougal firmly secured beneath her.Thebod ceann's face is flattened into the expensive carpet while blood trickles from his nose and mouth, thanks to Keltie.
"Yer a dead man, Balfour," Dougal spits, his voice muffled against the carpet."I have people everywhere who will---"
"Shut your gob," I snarl, helping Gretchen to her feet.Her ankles are finally free, and I support her weight as she stands."You'll never threaten my family again, MacWraith."
My ears pick up at the sound of footsteps in the corridor---heavy, purposeful steps approaching rapidly.
Keltie hears it too, her body tensing as she keeps Dougal pinned while still never taking her eyes off our captive."That'll be the Loch Fairbairn Police.Fergus and Sorley will be happy to drag Dougal to the jail.He bloody well deserves to be handcuffed again.And other less enjoyable things too."
