But no sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud crash came from behind them, followed by the unmistakable scent of smoke in the air.
Lachlan swore.
She turned around just in time to see the well-house explode in flames.
Seven
Bella’s heart lurched as she stared at the inferno. Dear God, William was trapped inside!
She heard the cries of the others as they realized the same thing.
Lachlan pulled one of his swords from his back and turned to MacKay. “Get the women and children back. Someone might have heard.”
His voice was calm. Steady. Controlled.
MacKay nodded soberly and started barking orders to the other men, trying to make order out of the chaos.
All of a sudden Bella realized what Lachlan meant to do. Her eyes widened with horror. She grabbed his arm to stop him. “You can’t go in there. It’s too late. You’ll never be able to reach him.”
The old wooden well-house was engulfed in flames, burning like tinder.
Lachlan refused to see reason. His eyes blazed with a strange intensity. “I have to try, damn it. I’m not leaving him.”
Before she could protest again, he broke away and raced toward the well-house. Wrapping his plaid around his face, he kicked down the burning door and raced into the flames, using his sword to defend against the falling timbers.
“No!” Bella heard a bloodcurdling scream tear through the forest. The stab of pain was so overwhelming she didn’t realize right away that the scream was hers.
She lunged forward, but someone grabbed her from behind. Magnus. “You can’t go in there. You’ll only get yourself killed. They need you, my lady.”
Magnus’s plea broke through the haze of horror and shock. They needed her, and there was nothing she could do for Lachlan or William. Numbly, she nodded as tears gushed in hot waves from her stinging eyes and allowed Magnus to pull her back. Pull her away from the flames as her heart twisted with pain.
Oh God, why had he done it? Going into that burning building was suicide. Lachlan was supposed to be selfish. A man who fought only for his purse. He didn’t care about anyone else. Why couldn’t he act true to character just this one time?
They needed him. His duty was to stay and protect them, not be a hero.
Losing one man was bad enough, but two…
Losing him.
A loud crash sounded behind her. Her gaze jerked around, and she blinked in disbelief. Lachlan burst through what remained of the well-house door, dragging another man behind him. It didn’t seem real.Hedidn’t seem real. How could he have survived that? He should be dead. They both should be dead.
“Magnus?” she asked hesitantly, seeking confirmation.
“He has him, my lady,” the big Highlander said with a grin. “He has him.”
She closed her eyes, giving a silent prayer of thanks, as emotion strangled in her throat.
She followed Magnus, who’d gone to Lachlan’s assistance, relieving him of William and helping to drag him away from the flames. Lachlan was bent over coughing, fighting to get air back into his lungs, but William wasn’t moving.
She knelt beside the unconscious warrior. William’s hair was singed and his face was black with smoke and soot. She couldn’t tell whether he was breathing. “What can I do?”
Lachlan’s gaze shot to hers. “What the hell are you doing here? I told you to get back.”
Her heart hitched. His voice was raspy from the smoke, his face was nearly as black as William’s, and his eyes burned into her with an intensity that she didn’t recognize. But none of that mattered. He was alive.
“Are you all right?” Bella couldn’t hide the fear in her voice; it simmered too close to the surface.
Some of his anger seemed to dissipate. Their eyes held and for a moment it felt as though the rest of the world had fallen away. She didn’t understand it, but the connection she felt to this man was at a primal level unlike any she’d ever experienced before. He cared for her. He had to.
