Page 61 of Confessions of a Highland Assassin

Ava quickly reached into her cleavage and retrieved a small vile, uncorking it as quickly as she could and holding it out to him. “Boyd, please. If ever ye trust me with anything, I need ye tae drink this right now!”

The panic on her face and the urgency in her voice made him hesitate for a second.

“Boyd, please! That ale ye just swallowed was laced with enough poison tae knock ye unconscious for hours!”

Frowning, he took the vile from her and examined it before tipping it over his lips and swallowing the sickly-sweet liquid. He watched as Ava relaxed and crumpled to the ground in front of him.

“How did ye ken that the ale was poisoned?” he asked her quietly. His head spun with confusion and ached from whatever it was that he’d drank. Nothing made sense anymore and he was tired of fighting. Whatever was in the mug and the vile was swiftly making its way through his body.

Ava heaved a heavy sigh of relief as she looked at him again from her position on the carpet. “Ye may want tae sit down. The antidote will make ye feel a bit sick,” she explained calmly taking the clean night pot that was put under the bed. “It will tak’ a few minutes ‘afore ye feel better.”

Boyd felt his world beginning to swim, just as she said. He reached for the nearest chair, using all his strength not to collapse on the spot.

“I kent that the ale was poisoned, because it was I that poisoned it.”

He stared at her for a second before letting his head sink into his hands and shaking his head.

She continued when he didn’t say anything for a while. “My name is Ava Rose, I’m an assassin that was hired to kill ye. I had…” she hesitated. She didn’t know how to say it. “I—I had tae mak’ ye fall in love with me ‘afore… taking yer life,” she shifted uncomfortably on floor. “But ye have tae understand Boyd, I only took this job because I’m trying tae save me brother’s life.”

Boyd raised his head and examined the earnest expression on her face. Finally, all this started to take a shape that could be true. Yet, was it a coincidence how many times they’d met before? Or it was a part of her plan?

He felt an urge to barf, and Ava put the pot in his hands just seconds before he felt the retching at the end of his throat.

“Me brother has been gravely ill for many years. Our parents borrowed money from people they shouldnae have, tae mak’ sure he always had the healers he needed. After they passed away, it was up tae me tae ensure that nae only was he taken care of, but that the people got their money back,” she paused to take a breath. “I became a-a murderer tae try and pay back the money. I swore I would only ever tak’ the lives of people who deserved tae die. Until…” her voice wavered when she hesitated.

Boyd felt his world returning to normal after the second retch. While Ava spoke of her past and how she’d come to be where she was, his head was finally clearing enough to understand what she was saying.

“Until a few weeks ago, when the debtors became impatient and demanding a double, and then a triple payment of the debts in nae less than two weeks. They kidnapped my brother and threatened tae kill if the money werenae paid on time.”

“How did ye end up here then?” Boyd asked as he senses returned to normal. “How did ye end up pretending tae be a laird’s daughter? Does Sinclair ken that yer using his name? Is he the one who hired ye? For God’s sake, I kent he was a bastard, but still…”

Ava drew a ragged breath and looked him in the eyes. “Nae, he didnae… I was desperate tae get me brother back. So I went tae one of the worst taverns I could find and sought anyone that was looking for someone tae do a dirty job. At first, I didnae want tae tak’ th-the offer when the man could nae tell me why he wanted ye dead,” she became teary again. “But there was nae other way I could find the amount of money I needed, so I agreed tae the mad terms he had. The real Sinclair has nae idea I’m using his name. He even refused yer damned invitation…”

The honesty in her words shook Boyd to his core. “Who was the man that wanted me dead?” His stomach churned with nausea as he said the words.

Ava shook her head and looked at her lap. “I never saw his face and he never told me his name. Part of the deal was that nae questions could be asked.”

Boyd shook his head in disbelief. “So, ye were going tae poison me this evening?”

Her eyes filled with tears when she looked at him again. “Only enough tae knock ye unconscious so that I could tak’ ye intae the village where he would be waiting. He seemed hell bent on making yer death as public as possible. But I just know I couldnae go through with it,” she sobbed.

Boyd nodded. He wondered if Callum had anything to do with the situation but felt confused as to why he’d go to such lengths to humiliate him when they already had an ongoing war. Killing Boyd on the battlefield would already be a very public affair. Hundreds of soldiers would witness his downfall if it came to that.

“I couldnae do it when the time came. I-I felt my feelings for ye growing each day. And when I realized it was love that took over me, I knew I could nae go through with the plan. So I had the antidote ready if I lost my nerve again. I didnae even tell my friend that I had an antidote tae counter the poison. It was the last hope I had. I thought that if things came tae the point where the man insisted I tak’ yer life… I could always pretend ye were dead an’ then give ye the antidote. I ken that it was a long shot…” her head fell as she continued. “But he has my brother, Boyd… he took Neil, and he will kill him if I dinnae do as he says. He paid the debtors and now has me in the palm of his hand…”

Boyd stared at her with his chin resting in his hands. He was completely taken over by the story.

“I ken that ye will probably have me killed for treason, Boyd, or thrown in the dungeons, at least. But I was only going ahead with the plan because of Neil. Nae part of me has ever wanted ye dead. Ye are such a good man…”

Boyd kept his eyes on her as he watched her every move. “I think ye should go ahead with the plan,” he eventually said after a while.

Ava’s head snapped up in shock. “What?”

Boyd put the night pot down and crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair as he stared at the ceiling. “I dinnae ken if I can fully trust ye ever again, Ava… Rose…” he said her name slowly for the first time, trying the syllables on his tongue. It was a difficult thing to rename a person in a matter of minutes. “But I do ken that ye and I have a mutual enemy now. Putting aside the fact that ye were going tae kill me, I believe that ye are in a desperate situation. And I’m in a position right now where I need tae ken the identity of this man who wants me dead. I have a clan tae take care of, Ava. I have my people.”

The tactical side of his mind was taking precedence over everything else that had occurred. Boyd needed to remove the enemy. Hell, that was a lie. He needed to help her. “It disnae help I throw ye in prison and the mystery man walks free. Who’s tae stop him then from hiring another murderer? I would have tae live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.”

Ava’s face was swept away by her astonishment as Boyd began to lay out a plan.