The Highlander's Curse (12 page)

“There’s
a good lass. Now, gi’us a smile.”

I
sighed and shook my head, our gazes still locked as I let a small smile curve
my lips.

He
grinned back just before I kneed him in the balls.

****

Cailen kept his eyes
closed, waiting until his guard’s footfalls fell silent. This was the third
sentinel this night, and so far, the one who’d checked on him with the least
frequency. He estimated nearly a half hour between visits the last two times.

Plenty
of time for him to break free.

In
fact, he’d already started working on the ropes that bound his wrists. The cask
behind him had proved to be handy indeed. Backing once more to the barrel, he
placed the rope against the hard wood, rubbing the two together. He thought
he’d already broken through some of the threads, and it was only a matter of
time before the others would follow suit.

Cailen
had long since analyzed his surroundings, finding the room to be no more than a
small one meant solely to store whisky and other brews the owner had concocted.
There were no windows, and no doors other than the one leading to the tavern.

He
couldn’t believe he’d allowed Elizabeth and himself to get caught. Especially
by the bloody MacDougalls. He should have kent though. No doubt it was the men
who’d tried to sneak up on them that last night in his camp. Likely been tracking
them ever since, scouring the land for any trace.

It’s
exactly what he would have done on his own land.

The owner
had closed the tavern a while ago, though he still remained. He was talking to
Cailen’s guard, their voices carrying through the wall so loudly he could have
guessed they were in the same room. It was the break in their discussion that
had alerted him to his guard’s approach, and had given him ample time to return
to his sleeping form on the floor. He’d managed to position himself the exact
way he’d been earlier, and to his surprise, the wallaper hadn’t bothered to
check his binds.

It’d be
a mistake he’d have to take up with Donnan MacDougall long after he and
Elizabeth were gone. One of the guards had told him they were to travel to Dunollie
in the morn, and Cailen would do anything to avoid that. He and the chieftain’s
son had gotten into a bit of a stramash over a year ago. Cailen had lost part
of an ear. MacDougall had lost a hand.

They’d
been searching for him ever since, though he suspected that none of them kent
who he was.

Cailen
continued to rub his wrists back and forth, feeling the rope threads shred and
give way. Oh aye, any minute now, so long as he wasn’t interrupted. The
conversation in the pub died down, the two men going their separate ways. One
went into an adjoining room, his door slamming shut before the rustling of hay
reached his ears. Alright, that was the tavern’s keeper, off to bed. The other
had likely walked outside.

Aye, he
had. The front door opened and closed, the man’s pounding footsteps growing
louder.

Gotcha.

The
rope snapped and Cailen launched himself forward, lying on the ground once
more. MacDougall’s cur stepped into the storage room, but Cailen didn’t move a
muscle. Not even a minute later, the man left the room, returning to the front,
where he very loudly sat his arse on a chair or bench.

Cailen
silently rose to his feet and approached the door. It hadn’t closed completely,
so he was able to see quite easily into the other room. The guard sat on a stool
near the kettle, a bottle of whisky in his hand.

He
pushed the door open, allowing just enough room to sneak out. He had to do this
quietly otherwise every Scotsman within earshot would come straight for him.
Inching ever closer to the bastard, he grabbed the rope still attached to his
wrist and shot both hands and the rope over the man’s head. Yanking backward,
he caught him by the neck, and held him there. The stool tipped over, but
Cailen paid it no heed. The direct threat was before him, trying to loosen the
strangling choke around his neck.

Cailen
held the rope for only as long as it would take for the man to be out cold, and
then he released it, letting the guard tumble to the floor. It took him four
steps before he was out the door and into the shadows.

It was
about time he go see Donnan MacDougall.

****

I yawned, tensing my
stomach muscles so no noise escaped my mouth. I couldn’t let myself fall
asleep, and up until the last hour or so, there hadn’t been any chance of that
happening. But now, I was exhausted, and the hunger pangs made we want to fall
asleep just so I couldn’t feel my stomach cramping.

I’d
learned easy enough that Cailen either didn’t sleep, or that he had a
remarkable way of coming to at the first blip of sound or movement; and I had no
way of knowing if Donnan shared that same irritating quality.

Then
again, I’d been operating on the
safe than sorry
model since I’d stepped
foot inside this man’s shack.

Even
when I’d kicked the asshole in the balls, it’d been out self-preservation, and it
had worked like a charm. Donnan had fallen to the ground, holding himself and
gasping. He’d gripped one of my ankles otherwise I would have gotten the hell
out of there. As I’d hoped, his aggressiveness had ebbed, for the most part,
and he’d apologized for his behavior.

I still
didn’t trust him.

The
fire in his little fireplace
popped
and
whizzed
, the flames
jumping up to meet the kettle that was suspended above it. Whatever was inside
smelled awful. And burned. So very burned. The man had nothing on my Highlander
in that department, not with Cailen’s knack for finding and cooking
good
food. Actually, he had nothing on my Highlander in any department.

“Get in
ma bed,” Donnan had ordered before he shoved me onto his bed and joined me.

“I’m
not tired,” I’d replied, trying to push my way back up. “I’ll watch the fire
for a bit, and when I get tired, I’ll sleep over there.”

“Nae,
ye willn’ae. I’m goin’ tae sleep and ye’re no’ goin’ anywhere.”

I was
still lying in his bed, with his arm thrown over my stomach as he snored away.
I was so freakin’ tired, and as hard as I’d tried not to, I thought that I’d
fallen asleep for a while. Until a really loud
pop
came from the fire
and scared the crap out of me. I sighed, closing my eyes again and focusing on
the sound of the fire. There was no way I’d be able to stay awake all night.
And if I did, then what? It’d be impossible to stay awake all day tomorrow, or
tomorrow night, or however long it took me to get away from Donnan MacDougall.

I
needed a plan, I knew that. But I was completely out of my element. This wasn’t
home, where I knew that the window at the end of the hall made absolutely no
sound when opened, and that I could tiptoe along the roof just over the garage
and slide down the tire swing rope that hung from the big old tree on the side
of the house. There wasn’t a car I could hot wire and speed away from these
crazies—not that I knew how to anyway. There was no one I could call. No
friends, no police, no family. I had me. And for now, I had Cailen.

If I
even knew where he was.

The
fire popped again and Donnan twitched, hugging me closer to him before rolling
away. Holy crap, I was free! I slid off the bed and snuck across the room,
grabbing my purse, which he’d forced off of me, and snuck toward the door. There
was a gentle scuffling outside the house, and I froze next to the door.

Please
don’t be a minion, please don’t be a minion, please don’t be a minion.

It’d be
my luck that one of Donnan’s goons was patrolling just outside the house.

The
door opened and I backed against the wall, not daring to move or breath. As
though my thoughts conjured him, Cailen snuck inside, jumping in surprise as he
caught sight of me. My heart leapt into my throat and we met halfway. His hands
gripped my arms and he checked me over. I did the same to him.

“Are ye
well?” he mouthed.

I
nodded. “You?”

“Fine,”
he replied silently.

Another
crack from the fire had us both looking at it as a hot ember shot out of the
fireplace and landed on the bed.

“Elizabeth?”
Donnan shot up suddenly, patting at the flames until they died. “Eliza—” He
pushed to his feet, his gaze angrily locked onto Cailen as he barreled toward
us. “The lass is mine, MacKinnon!”

I
glanced at my Highlander, wanting nothing more than to leave. Cailen didn’t
take the hint though. He’d gotten a really pissed off look on his face and
stepped past me. The two Scots met and limbs started flailing. I kept my spot
against the wall, but closed the door so no one else would hear.

Fists
hit faces and stomachs, and the two men grunted as they pounded each other.
They were slamming into walls and rolling on the floor, each man trying to take
control. Cailen stepped back for a brief second before lunging at Donnan,
covering the man’s mouth with his palm. He flipped him around and wrenched his
arm behind his back.

“Get me
somethin’ tae gag him.”

I
looked around the tiny house, finding a pair of socks in a satchel. As soon as
Cailen’s hand left Donnan’s mouth, I shoved the wadded socks inside. Cailen bit
down on the rope around his wrist and untied the knot. “Cut this in half.”

I
bolted for his things and gripped his knife before rushing to his side and
cutting the rope into two. My Highlander shoved Donnan to the floor and knelt
on his back. “Sit on his legs, lass.”

MacDougall
continued to thrash, even after I put all my weight on his legs, and he yelled
through the gag.

Wrists
and ankles were bound.

“That’s
just in case ye get any ideas,” Cailen remarked darkly. “I’ll take it
personally if ye decide tae follow us. Oh, and give yer nephew ma regards.” He
stood as Donnan yelled even louder through the socks. Grabbing my hand, he led
me from the house, only stopping to grab his belongings.

Once
outside, I peered around the surrounding homes. “Where are we going?” I
whispered.

“We
must get tae Kilninver as fast as may be.”

“What
about Bud? Did you find her already?” My feet rushed over rocks, dirt, and
grass as Cailen pulled me at a fast clip.

“We
canna risk it. She’ll make too much noise and alert MacDougall’s men.”

I didn’t
say anything more until he released his hold on my hand and turned to face me.
With every step we’d taken getting us farther from those guys, I’d felt a
little better. Apparently the Highlander hadn’t felt the same way. He still
looked angry and worried, like maybe he needed to punch something.

Cailen
looked me over again, inspecting my arms for damage, and then lifting my chin
with his fingers so he could study my face. “Did he harm ye?”

My
heart thudded again at the look in his eyes. “No. He didn’t touch me that way.”

“
That
way?
”

I
turned my face away, and he dropped his hand to my shoulder.

“Did he
say what he wanted wi’ye? Wi’us?”

“He’s
lonely and looking for a wife. He…sorta figured I should be his.”

“After
I told him…” Cailen practically growled, releasing a loud breath. “I told him
ye were
mine
.”

Yes,
you did. Thud. Thud. Thud.
How could
something so primitive cause this reaction in me? Did he really think of me as
his?

Did I?

Cailen’s
face relaxed somewhat, but there was still an angry edge to it. “Would ye hae
accepted him? As yer husband, I mean?”

I
laughed. “No. I’m against marriage right now, remember?”

“Good.”
He dropped his hands and stepped away from me before looking over his shoulder.
“Stay that way until ye find a good man, aye?”

I’m
looking at one.
While lying in bed with
Donnan, it never once occurred to me that Cailen would leave me behind. I didn’t
know him well, but I believed in him enough to know he wouldn’t strand me with
his enemy.

I
blinked, shaking free of my thoughts, when I realized he was leaving. Rushing
ahead, I caught up with him and walked by his side.

“Why
did he call you ‘MacKinnon’? Does that mean something in Gaelic?”

He
snorted, but never slowed his steps. “MacKinnon is ma family name. It just
means he kent the clan I belong tae.”

We reached
a small patch of trees and bushes, and I stepped around one, taking the
opposite side from what Cailen did. “So, your name is Cailen MacKinnon?”

“Aye.”

He
offered nothing more than that, and I felt a little dumb for asking. “What’s
with the secrecy of your name?”

“Eh?”
He looked at me this time, his eyes narrowing into slits. Oh yeah, he knew what
I meant. But, if he was going to make me explain…

“When
we met a few days ago, you didn’t want to tell me your whole name, and a few
hours ago you avoided telling Donnan your first name. Why keep it a secret?”