Page 100 of The Highlander’s Savage Vow

"Let her go, Murray," Ruaridh said quietly, his voice deadly calm. "This is between us."

"Is it?" Murray laughed, the sound harsh and broken. "Between us? Nay, MacDuff. This is about what she stole from me. What ye both cost me." His face contorted with rage. "The king summoned me. Charges of treason and blackmail, all because of that MacNeill bitch and her stolen letter."

"Then ye admit it," Ruaridh said, not lowering his sword despite the threat to Iona. "Ye admit tae the blackmail. The corruption."

"Admit it?" Murray's laugh grew wilder. "Why shouldn't I admit it? Every Highland laird plays the game of survival. Let me ask ye, MacDuff, what will ye nae dae fer ye clan? I’m nay different. I’m just better at being a laird than most. Campbell with his English merchants, MacLeod with his gambling debts, Fraser with his bastard sons he wanted legitimized." His eyes gleamed with malicious satisfaction. "I had them all dancing fer me tune, paying me price fer silence."

"And when that wasn't enough, ye tried tae add assault tae yer crimes," Iona said, her voice steady despite the blade at her throat.

Murray's face darkened. "Ye should have been grateful fer me attention. Instead, ye had tae play the righteous maiden, stealing from me and running tae hide behind MacDuff walls."

"She fought ye off because ye're a monster," Ruaridh snarled, taking a half-step forward. "And she ran because ye threatened tae kill her fer it."

"I should have killed her then," Murray said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Should have slit her throat in me study and claimed she tried tae rob me. Would have saved us all this trouble."

"But ye didnae," Iona said, lifting her chin despite Bruce's grip. "Because ye thought ye were too clever. Thought ye could destroy me reputation and have yer revenge through lies."

"Lies?" Murray's voice rose to a shriek. "The only lies are the ones ye told the king! That letter⁠—"

"Was written in yer own hand," Ruaridh interrupted. "Every word of it. Just like the dozen others she saw in yer study."

Murray's face went white. "She told ye about the others?"

"Every detail. How many Highland lairds have ye been bleeding dry with yer threats? She also told the king about the other letters."

For a moment, Murray looked genuinely stunned, as if he'd forgotten how much Iona had witnessed that night. Then his expression hardened into something even more dangerous.

"Well then," he said softly. "That settles it. She kens too much tae live, and so dae ye." He nodded to Bruce. "Kill her. Kill them both. We'll claim they attacked us during a peaceful parley."

"Murray, nay!" Bruce's voice cracked. "She's an innocent lass."

"She's a witness who can destroy us all!" Murray screamed. "Dae it now, or I'll dae it meself!"

But as Bruce hesitated, his grip on the dirk wavering, Ruaridh saw his chance, and that was all he needed. He launched himself forward with desperate fury, his sword arcing through the air toward Murray's exposed flank. Murray spun to meet the attack, releasing Iona as he drew his own blade.

Steel rang against steel as the two men clashed in deadly earnest. Murray fought with the desperation of a cornered animal, his strikes vicious but wild. Ruaridh parried and countered with practiced precision, driving his enemy back step by step.

Behind them, Bruce used his dirk to quickly cut through the ropes binding Iona's hands. "Get behind the trees, lass," he whispered urgently. "This is madness."

"Why are ye helping me?" She gasped, rubbing her freed wrists.

"Because I'm nae a murderer," he said grimly, pushing her toward safety.

Gordon burst into the clearing with a dozen MacDuff soldiers, their weapons drawn. Murray's remaining men threw down their arms immediately, overwhelmed by the fresh reinforcements.

"Surrounded!" Gordon called out. "Surrender now!"

But Murray, seeing his forces defeated, let out a roar of pure rage. He broke away from Ruaridh's blade and charged toward Iona with his dirk raised high.

"If I will go down, then ye must go down with me!"

Ruaridh's hand moved faster than thought. His own dirk flew through the air in a perfect arc, taking Murray through the chest. The MacNab laird stumbled, his eyes wide with shock, then collapsed face-first into the forest floor.

Silence fell over the clearing like a shroud.

"It's over," Gordon said quietly, surveying the scene. "Murray MacNab is dead."

Bruce immediately raised his hands. "I surrender. I'll answer fer me part in this."