“What’s one more scar?” Theo hissed before charging at him.
The bandit didn’t have a clue about the rage he had unleashed.
Theo struckhard.
Four men lay at his feet, clutching at the final moments of their horrid lives. He glared at them with contempt before turning his attention to the horizon and dropping his bloodied blade.
“Nay.” He gulped as he spotted Stephen’s horse darting toward the copse of trees with no rider.
Fury, rage, and ire all rolled into one massive emotion that sent him charging for the stables.
“Oi, ye cannae take me horse,” a thin man complained the second Theo grabbed the reins of his horse.
“I’ll bring it back,” Theo huffed as he pushed the lad to the side and mounted.
There was no time to waste. Lavina, Amber, and Maisie—their lives rested in his hands. He just prayed he wasn’t too late.
Kicking his heels into the horse’s flanks, he steered the beast out of the stables as if it were a hound of hell. His side throbbed as he rode like a storm rushing over the moors. The mere thought of losing Amber and Lavina nearly drove him to the point of madness.
The fog hung thick over the moorland, curling low around the hills like smoke from some ghostly fire. The sun was little more than a pale smear behind the lazily drifting clouds, but Theo didn’t slow down.
The horse thundered beneath him as its hooves pounded the sodden earth. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, clearly signaling for him to stop.
Years of experience would have told him he was riding into a trap, but with Lavina’s life on the line, he’d risk riding through the gates of hell to bring her back.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark figure on horseback. But then that dark figure turned into two.
“Lavina!” His voice cracked like thunder, sending the nesting birds to the sky.
Lavina glanced over her shoulder, and he saw the fear in her eyes.
“Ye bastard!”
It was one thing for the bandits to take his woman, but another to tie a rag around her face, silencing her. It stoked a fire within him that roared like a banshee.
Fury shot through his chest, spurring him faster.
“Ye’ll die for this,” he growled under his breath, lowering his body to the horse’s neck.
He would reach them. Hehadto reach them.
Pushing the horse as hard as he could, he closed the distance.
The bandit turned, his eyes wide with fright. It was clear he hadn’t thought anyone would give chase or catch up, yet there Theo was, drawing his sword and delivering a fatal blow.
It was quick. Far too quick for his liking. He watched as the man swayed to the side. Grabbing the reins of the wild horse, he stopped them both.
Without a word, he slipped from his saddle and grabbed Lavina.
“Sick bastard,” he grumbled when he noticed that her wrists were tied to the bandit as insurance.
If the man went down, he was hoping to take her with him.
Steeling his nerves, Theo dared a look at her as he pulled the rag out of her mouth.
“Theo, they took her. Ye cannae waste time with me,” Lavina pleaded, tears streaming down her face. “Please, ye cannae let him have her.”
Theo glanced around. He couldn’t leave her alone in the middle of the moors. Not after everything she had just endured. But if he wasted too much time, he’d lose his chance of getting Maisie back.
