Neither man opened his mouth.
“Did you cut out their tongues?” Dirk asked, pretending to be aghast.
“Nay.” Cyrus gave a dark smile. “But I will if you want me to.”
The men’s eyes widened and their faces paled beneath the layers of dirt. “Um… aye… m’laird,” the redheaded man stammered.
“What are your names?” Dirk asked.
“Eli Carmichael,” the red-haired man said.
The one with brown hair and a bushy beard glared at his companion, then blew out a breath. “Neil MacEldon.”
“Well, Neil and Eli—if those are your real names,” Dirk said. “What job were you hired for?”
Both men appeared twitchy, their gazes darting this way and that. Keegan studied them, determining they were near terrified. How loyal were they to Haldane?
“Has Haldane paid you yet?” Keegan asked.
Eli glared. “’Tis no concern of yours.”
“If he hasn’t paid you yet, he likely never will.”
“He paid us some,” Eli said. “And we ken there’s more where that came from.”
Keegan and Dirk exchanged a glance. The purse of coins that was stolen from Dirk’s tent.
Keegan shrugged. “Just because he has it doesn’t mean he’s going to giveyouany of it. And yet, he expects you to risk yournecks for him. ’Tis not fair, is it?”
“If we do the job, he’ll pay us good,” Neil said. “He’s a man of his word.”
Dirk snorted. “And what job is that?”
“Don’t know yet. He said he’d tell us.”
“He won’t be telling you,” Cyrus said. “Because you two are going to spend the rest of your lives in my dungeon.”
The outlaws paled and exchanged a terrified glance. Were they having second thoughts?
“Any man who attempts to murder my sister and my brother-in-law is going to get what he deserves,” Cyrus said, his voice hard.
“We didn’t do it,” Neil said quickly. “’Twas Gil what shot him with the arrow.” He nodded at Dirk.
Cyrus shrugged, looking unconcerned. “You both were on his side, trying to ambush my family, friends and allies. You put my sister’s life in danger,” Cyrus said, his voice quiet but deadly.
“We didn’t ken y-your sister w-was with them,” Eli stuttered.
“Now you do. So, tell these men anything they want to know.” Cyrus motioned to Dirk and Keegan.
“What are Haldane’s plans?” Dirk asked.
Eli squirmed for a moment, staring at the ground, then at the sky. “We heard him murmuring something to McMurdo about…” He dropped silent.
“Aye? About what?” Dirk demanded.
“A lady. Seona—I’m thinking that was her name. She has brown hair and blue eyes, very beautiful. We’re to grab her but not hurt her. Then, he’ll pay us and head back to Durness with her. ’Twas what he said.”
Fury simmered inside Keegan, tensing all his muscles. He wanted to hunt down Haldane and put him out of his misery. “I’ll tell you one thing. None of you are getting your filthy hands on Lady Seona. The man who tries it will get his throat cut.”
