Page 58 of Confessions of a Highland Assassin

Ava gripped Boyd under the shoulders while Skye attempted to lift his feet. They struggled for a while but managed to lift his body onto the back of the cart between the two of them.

“There’s nae time for tears now,” Skye said gently as she tried her best to comfort Ava. “We have tae go, Ava. What’s done is done. Time is of the essence now,” she quickly looked at Boyd breathing deeply on the back of the cart. “We have tae follow through with the plan.”

Ava nodded quickly and took a deep breath before lifting herself onto the back of the cart beside Boyd. They were both dressed in their dark cloaks with hoods drawn up. Everything would be jeopardized if anyone stopped them at his point.

Skye climbed to the front and took the reins, urging the chestnut stallion to walk. As the cart jostled forward in the early morning light, the rain fell lightly on them. It was fortunate that the stable boys always left a fresh bed of hay in the cart for the following morning.

Ava used her cloak to try and shield Boyd from the light rain. He looked so handsome and serene as he lay there, unconscious from the potion he’d downed. She wept quietly to herself as she stroked his face in a loving gesture. The ring was still on her finger. He loved her. And he was willing to do anything for her. Yet she was putting him through hell. Letting a few tears slip down her cheeks, Ava reached for the dagger in her cloak and cut a few pieces of rope from the nearby bale of hay.

She looped the rope around his wrists and secured his hands in front of him as the cart came to a stop a short while later. “I’m so sorry…” she whispered in Boyd’s ear, kissing him for a final time on the cheek.

“We are here, Ava. The people are starting tae come out. We should drag him from here and get as much attention as possible. If that man who hired ye is watching yer every move, he will surely be waiting for ye.”

“Aye,” Ava said and shut her eyes as she took a deep breath. This is it, Ava Rose. The grand finale, ye have tae do what is right. She gave herself a talk before wiping her face clean with her cloak.

“Ye can do this,” Skye reassured her as she lifted Boyd’s feet.

Slipping her hands beneath his arms, Ava lifted him up as they slid his body from the cart and onto the damp ground. Even between the two of them, Boyd’s muscular structure and towering height was a challenge.

They braced themselves for the distance that now separated them from the village center. The long stretch of dirt leading to the stage, exactly as the stranger desired. The spectacle would ensure that they received as much attention as possible.

People were already beginning to take notice of the odd scene. A curious baker who’d been up since dawn called his wife and the shop apprentice to come and take a look at the women dragging a man through the muddied street.

Boyd’s feet dragged through the mud as Skye let his legs fall to the ground. She walked around and helped Ava pull one of his arms as they stepped backwards through the town center.

People came out of their houses and gasped, turning to their neighbors with low whispers of shock and excitement.

Ava felt dizzy. She looked at what was happening though it was just a bad dream; as if it was not her dragging the man she loved to his death. But as she was staring at Boyd’s legs and boots sodden with mud while trying to avoid the people’s worried gazes, she realized this was really happening. The grief that was cutting through her chest could not be imagined.

Ava and Skye were both out of breath by the time they stopped in the middle of the town square. Panting, they lay Boyd’s body at the foot of the stockade that was used to punish common criminals for petty crimes.

The crowd was beginning to grow as more and more people came outside to gawk.

“That’s the laird!” a woman called from somewhere amid the madness as the people closed in around them. It didn’t take long for the word to spread that something was up.

Ava could feel her heart beating through her chest as Skye stepped away, giving her the floor for what had to be done, though not that Ava knew what exactly was about to happen next. She turned to the left when a loud but slow clap emanated from the back of the crowd.

The onlookers parted, clearing a path in the sea of people.

“Well, well, well…” the clapping grew louder as the man who had hired Ava, the devil himself, stepped out of the tavern and into the street. “I was beginning tae think ye wouldnae be showing,” he mocked. “I’m impressed, Ava Rose.”

The onlookers gaped in shock as they turned to the hooded figure standing over their laird. Boyd was regaining consciousness and stirred lightly at her feet.

Ava withdrew the hood of her black cloak and let the tendrils of her long hair fall down her back, maintaining eye contact with the man as he approached. A hushed silence fell over the crowd, as everyone knew Ava Rose the healer. Only a few were aware that, by night, it was Ava the assassin who walked among them. “I’m here and have held up my end of the bargain,” she said as calmly as she could. “Ye have what ye want now, let’s get on with it.”

The man let out a booming laugh that echoed across the crowd. “Nae so quickly, Ava. I need the bastard tae be awake for this part,” he said as he strode toward Boyd and knelt down in front of him.

Ava caught herself just in time, balling her fists at her sides and fighting to urge to throw her body over Boyd and protect him. She didn’t want the man anywhere near him.

He reached down and roughly gripped Boyd’s chin in his calloused hand, yanking Boyd’s semiconscious face toward him. “Are ye able tae hear me, lad?” his voice was low and nasty.

Ava saw the flicker of confusion across Boyd’s face as the man spoke.

He stood and towered over Boyd before clicking his fingers in the air. “I thought ye might need a little help coming tae eyer senses.”

The crowd parted again as a highlander in a green and black kilt carrying a bucket came walking up to Boyd. Before Ava could do anything, he emptied the contents over him, making him jolt with shock and gasp from the icy water.

“That’s better,” the man grinned again and looked down at Boyd as he opened his eyes and groggily stared at the world around him. Reaching up, the man gripped his hood and pulled the fabric back. Long locks of dirty blond hair fell down his back.