“But—”
“Doona try to defend your brother! My sister kens who took her virtue. I’ve heard enough lies from your father.”
She wouldn’t defend the man even if he was her brother. He was a worse cad than even Broderick had been. She had only started to say it wasn’t her fault, although she doubted Calum cared. “I am sorry about your sister, but how can abducting me undo what’s been done?”
“It cannae.” Calum stood to leave. “But your ransom will pay for my sister to move to Edinburgh, once the babe is born, so she can begin a new life.”
Dear God. The amount he was asking for must be huge. Not that the amount mattered, since Briana Campbell was safe and sound somewhere and her father would simply ignore a ransom note. That meant… Annie put the thought from her mind. As if he read her thoughts—hopefully, she hadn’t spoken aloud—Calum smiled grimly.
“In case ye are wondering, if your father doesnae deliver the full amount, we will take the rest of the payment from ye.”
Annie raised her chin, determined not to let him see her fear. “He will pay.”
Calum stopped smiling. “For your sake, lass, I hope he does.”
He had hardly cleared the door before Annie’s body began to shake uncontrollably. She had no power to stop it. She fought the nausea that threatened, as well, and tried to think, but she felt as though she was floating in fog.
Eventually the shaking subsided and her head began to clear. She had to get out of here. Somehow. Annie looked toward the entrance, now visible in the dawn light. A pair of booted legs blocked the way. They’d posted a guard. She quickly surveyed her surroundings, which didn’t take long. There was no other way out. She picked up two loose rocks from the floor and laid them beside her.
Had the MacDougall leader already sent one of his men to deliver the ransom note or would he have waited for dawn? How long did she have before the man returned and Calum would find out she wasn’t Briana Campbell? Would he listen if Annie pleaded for mercy and spare her from rape? Annie doubted it, given his remarks that his men could rut her raw. In any case, it wasn’t a risk she wanted to take.
There were five men in the party, plus one who had been waiting here for them when they arrived, so that made six.. Perhaps two would ride to deliver the ransom note. She hoped—prayed—the others wouldn’t just sit in camp all day, but be patrolling or hunting or something. If they left just the one guard… Annie fingered the knife hilt in her boot. Niall had taught her to use it. She choked back a sob, realizing too late that she had grown to love him dearly. A tear trickled down her cheek, followed by another. She wiped them away with the backof her hand and took a deep breath. Niall wasn’t here, but she wouldn’t disappoint him.
She picked up her rocks and moved closer to the entrance to wait for the right moment, as he had taught her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
At the sound of horses approaching, Niall crouched behind a thick pile of dried bracken. The forest had thinned out considerably, giving him fewer places to hide as he tracked Annie’s abductors. It had also given way to a narrow, dirt road which probably explained why those men had not been that concerned about the trail they’d left earlier. Numerous hoofprints were jumbled together, making it harder to find the distinctive one with the missing nail in the horseshoe.
The sound grew louder as the horses came into sight past a small copse of trees. Two riders, wearing MacDougall tartans. Niall wondered what they were doing so far into Campbell lands. Being a MacDonald—and still not fond of Campbells—Niall had decided travelling would be safer for Annie if he wore conventional clothes. The riders had just passed him when one pulled a dark cloak from his saddlebag and flung it over his shoulders. It looked vaguely familiar. When the other rider did the same thing, Niall realized why. The men who’d accosted him had worn the same type of cloak.
Niall stared after them, staying hunched until they’d ridden a good distance and then he slowly stood. MacDougalls had taken Annie? Niall couldn’t fathom why, but that was something that he could ponder on later. They had come from the south and Annie hadn’t been with them, so the other three abductors must be holding her farther along. Niall just hoped there were only three of them and not half a clan waiting.
He checked the hoofprints of the horses that had just passed. Neither of them was missing a nail in the shoe, so he hoped he could continue to track that print. Niall proceeded slowly up the road, his ears alert for other riders. It was still early in the day for travelers to be about, but he didn’t want to be spotted.
He’d gone not quite another mile when he noticed grass that had been trampled off to one side. He couldn’t find the track of the missing horseshoe nail, but it looked as though a number of horses had left the road. Niall looked up. The terrain was steeper here, the trees somewhat sparse, replaced with boulders and shale overhangs that would provide cover. A rocky, rutted trail led upwards.
Niall began to follow it. There wasn’t enough space between the rocks and scraggly bushes that grew out of crags to hide horses, but the deep crevices could certainly hide a man acting as a guard. He hated feeling so exposed, especially since he was unarmed. At least, the damp moss that covered the ground masked the sound of his boots, but he still needed to keep a sharp lookout.
Even so, he almost missed the slight noise off to his left. It sounded like boots shuffling. A soft thud followed. Niall dropped to his stomach and began to crawl, staying close to the side of large boulder. He peered around it cautiously.
The trail had ended abruptly at a flat, open area and Niall realized he must have climbed to the top of a ridge. A guard stood only feet away, leaning against a tree and looking across the clearing toward another man who was tending the horses. Niall recognized his gelding and Annie’s mare. So he had found their hideout, but where was Annie?
Niall scanned the clearing again. There was no sign of her anywhere. Had they taken her someplace else? He frowned. But her mare was here and he hadn’t passed any houses this last mile. He spotted another man standing in front of a darkened crevice. The ledge overhang looked like it could provide a small cave. Was Annie being held there?
Niall snaked his way backwards, praying he wouldn’t dislodge some small rock and give himself away. If Annie washere, he’d soon free her. If not, three MacDougalls were about to tell him where she was.
He wedged himself behind the boulder and then slipped around to its other side. The tree the guard leaned against was directly in front of him now. Niall kept an eye on the man tending the horses and the one by the cave. Neither seemed to be looking in his direction. Niall loosened his belt, wrapping the ends around each of his hands and crept forward. Gavin was better at this maneuver than he was, but if all went well, the guard would go down without a sound.
Things didn’t go well. Niall flipped the garrote over the guard’s head, drawing back and twisting the leather tightly, but not before the man managed to croak out a yelp. The man near the horses turned, as did the cave’s guard, and both started running toward him. Niall dropped the unconscious man and slid the man’s knife from its sheath. The blade didn’t balance like his own, but it would have to do. He assumed a battle position.
The two men were almost on him when he saw a blur in his peripheral vision. Annie burst out of the cave, screeching like a banshee and brandishing the knife he’d given her. His mind registered that she truly did look like Queen Boudicca at the same time he registered she’d just put herself in harm’s way. The man who’d been guarding the cave turned and jumped toward her. Niall raised his arm, his purloined blade flipping over twice as it soared through the air and lodged in the man’s back. He fell forward with a grunt and Niall turned to fend off the other attacker as Annie ran toward them.
“Get back!” he shouted. “Take your horse and ride.”
“Nae without ye!”
“Doona be daft!” It only took that momentary distraction for the man’s fist to find his jaw. Niall’s head snapped back and he went down. Rolling, he managed to miss the other man’s weight crashing down on him. “Slide me your knife, lass!”
