Mackinnon smiled, lowering the blade from Meg’s neck. Alex breathed.
“Now your weapons,” Mackinnon said.
Alex’s dirk and claymore fell to his feet.
“Kick them away from you.”
He did as ordered.
“Stop standing there and gaping, you fool,” Mackinnon yelled to Hook Nose, who was hanging back, obviously hesitating to get within range of Alex. “Hurry up! Fetch the rope and tie him up.”
Alex had to do something soon before the other man had a chance to secure him. But he’d need Meg’s help. He had no choice; he’d have to look at her. Cautiously, he lowered his eyes to her pale face. She wasn’t as bad as he’d feared. Her eyes were wide and glassy but lucid. Her lips trembled slightly. She was frightened but was holding her own. That innate look of control and confidence was less obvious, but it was still there.Damn, he
was proud of her.
He just prayed that she would understand.
His voice turned soothing. “Everything will be all right, Meg. Just do what they say. Can you do that?”
She nodded.
“I want you to remember something, something that will help you. Can you do that?…Good. Think about the night of the masque when I kissed you.”
Her eyes opened a little wider. Thomas Mackinnon’s face flooded with rage.
“I want you to think about what you did to me—”
“Get the goddamn rope, Billy, and shut him up,” Mackinnon spat.
Hook Nose, or Billy, had gathered the rope and was approaching, but very cautiously, eyeing him as if he were a wild beast. Alex had only a few more moments. He stared at Meg, begging her to understand.
Something flashed in her eyes. “I re-mem-ber,” she stuttered.
“Whore. I’ll give you a real man’s kiss—” Mackinnon swung Meg around to face him and lowered his head.
“Now!” Alex yelled.
It was perfect timing. Meg jerked her knee hard into Mackinnon’s crotch and quickly dove out of harm’s way.
Thomas Mackinnon bent over, covering his groin, writhing in pain.
Alex turned crazed—as frenzied as a Berserker in battle. Bloodlust surged through his body. He pulled out the small dirk that he kept tucked in his boot and aimed it right for Billy’s heart. He died with a startled cry on his lips.
Alex spun around to see Mackinnon hobbling toward Meg, his sword raised. Alex was going to enjoy this.
Sensing Alex’s presence, Thomas Mackinnon turned, swinging his sword wildly at Alex. Alex swung his claymore in a high arc. Mackinnon met his blow, but he was no match. They both knew his end was a certainty. Alex could toy with him for a while, but Thomas Mackinnon wasn’t worth his time.
With one powerful blow, Alex knocked the sword from his hand. Mackinnon didn’t get the chance to pull the dirk from his belt. Alex had him pinned to a tree with the blade of his claymore.
“Please, I m-mean no harm to the lass—”
But the rest of his words were cut off as Alex slashed his dirk across Thomas Mackinnon’s throat.
Dead men couldn’t lie.
The attack happened so fast, Meg barely had time to think before it was all over. It wasn’t until after, when Alex had scooped her up and cradled her in his arms, that shock gave way to an uncontrollable shaking—and the vivid recollection of the violence that had occurred in the midst of this deceptively tranquil setting. The forest floor was strewn with the bloody carcasses of over a dozen men, three her own. She mourned their senseless loss. Three more deaths to add to the recent losses would hit her clan hard.
Yet nothing could feel more right than being held by the man who’d saved her. Again. From the start, Alex had taken control of the situation with the swift, decisive command that she’d admired from the first. His incredible battle skills and calm under pressure had acted as a balm to her rising panic. He would not be defeated.
