The sound of glass shattering stunned him.
He jumped back as an arrow hit the wall behind him. His eyes shot to Stephen.
“Ye all right?” he asked, bolting for the arrow.
“Where the hell did that come from?” Stephen asked as he hurried to the window.
Theo’s eyes widened when he spotted the piece of parchment pinned to the wall. Swallowing back the dread that threatened to consume him, he plucked and unfolded it.
You have something that rightfully belongs to me, and I’ve come to take it back.
“Go wake up the men,” he barked, just as he looked up to see campfires lighting up one by one.
Flexing his jaw, he yanked the arrow from the wall and snapped it like a twig.
“Take Lavina, Amber, and Maisie to the council chambers. If worse comes to worst, use the tunnels to get to the hills.”
“Nae without ye, Me Laird,” Stephen growled. “Me duty is to help ye.”
“Aye, but I cannae fight if I’m constantly worried about Lavina. Ye need to get her—and anyone ye can find—out of here. Ye’re the only man that I trust who will protect her,” Theo pressed.
He moved to his desk and took a dirk out of the drawer, as well as his pistol.
Anger surged through him, hotter than anything he’d felt before. Although he had planned to use the girls as bait to lure Lord Lewis to him, he had not expected the man to attack so soon.
“The fool thinks he can challenge me onmelands and succeed? This is McGowan land. And I’ll make him pay for what he’s done to Lavina. So come and claim her, Laird Lewis. I dare ye.”
“I’ll take them to the hills,” Stephen relented.
“Ye must be gentle with Amber. She’s just started talkin’, and I dinnae want her to go mute again.”
“Aye. And when this is over, maybe ye’ll get me that lovely kitchen maid,” Stephen joked.
“Nay,” Theo said with a firm shake of his head. “I need ye to focus.”
“And just where do ye think ye’re goin’?” Stephen asked, his eyes sharp as blades.
Theo strapped the dirk to his belt before turning his attention to the man.
“I promised Lavina I’d give her everythin’ she wanted, and it looks like I’m startin’ with givin’ her Micah’s head. But before that, we must make haste. I will nae take any chances that Lavina or Maisie are still in the keep. I willnae lose her, Stephen. Do ye hear me? I cannae.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The soft glow of moonlight spilled through the narrow gap in the curtains, casting silvery beams over the stone floor.
Lavina stirred beneath the furs as a faint smile curved her lips. Theo lingered at the forefront of her mind as she envisioned his hand trailing down her spine.
She arched her back and pressed into his pillow as she savored the purr of his low, husky voice, dripping with longing and desire. She turned toward the warmth she imagined at her side as her fingers reached for a chest that was no longer there.
It was a whisper of a motion that pricked her ear. Every hair rose and prickled as it dawned on her that she might not be alone, after all. She peeked through her eyelids, half expecting to find Theo by the fireplace. But the room was still. Too still.
Then, she heard a breath. She froze as she stared at the fire that had long since died to embers. Still, the chill biting her bare skin felt unnatural.
Instinct wrapped around her ribs like a vise, causing her breath to catch as she strained to listen. She wished she could calm her frantically beating heart; it drummed in her ears and hammered violently against her ribcage.
“Theo?” she whispered, hoping her voice would not tremble. But the terror wouldn’t release its grip on her. “Is that ye?”
The low groan of wood made her wish she could melt into the mattress and disappear with the shadows.
