Page 96 of Deception of a Highlander

Her gaze was bright and determined despite her pallid skin. She had offered her confession of love before the battle, and like a fool, he had denied her. No longer did she want his comfort.

She wanted revenge.

He loosened the rope that bound her wrists and eased her to a sitting position.

“I can still smell him.” Her lip curled. “Are you sure he’s…”

Her fingers rubbed against one another, their trembling subtle yet unmistakable.

He placed his hand atop hers. “He can never hurt you again.”

“Thank you.” She refused to meet his eyes as she pulled her hand from his and rose to her feet.

“Are ye well, Mariel?”

She drew a deep breath and pulled a dagger from the man’s belt. Resolve lined the stubborn set of her mouth. “Lord Hampton is here. As is Jack. We’ve already wasted too much time.” She moved as she spoke, darting into the hall. “I have a strong idea where to find Aaron, and I suspect the other two will be nearby.”

Kieran followed her down a maze of stairs and false walls before stopping at a pair of polished doors. His grip tightened on the hilt of his blade until the worn leather burned his palm. Primal energy coursed through his veins and roared in his ears. Blair’s wrongs would be righted with the edge of Kieran’s sword. His family would be safe once more.

Mariel shoved the doors open to a smaller version of the lavish room they had come from. A man clad in yellow silk stood out from the rich, dark furnishings. There was a frown evident on his lips. His narrow shoulders and wiry frame were hardly a source to contend with, but Kieran had seen enough on the battlefield to know how deceiving appearances could be.

Mariel stepped forward with her blade locked in her hand. “Lord Hampton and Jack—where are they?”

The man dropped a fistful of coins into the leather satchel on the table in front of him.

“I’m unarmed.” The man’s voice was smooth, and a look of calm settled the initial shock in his gaze.

“I didn’t ask if you were armed, Aaron.” She caught him by the shirt and shoved him against the wall. “You told me they were here, now where are they?”

Kieran stepped forward and then stopped himself. Mariel had sought revenge for two long years. He would not take that from her. Unless, of course, the bastard didn’t divulge Hampton’s location soon. Kieran’s muscles burned with his own need to exact vengeance.

“My guards will be here in a moment,” Aaron said with nonchalance in an obvious attempt to brush her off.

Kieran stepped forward again and raised the blade of his sword. “Yer guards are all dead. I suggest ye answer the lady.”

The man’s eyes widened, and he turned to Mariel as if seeking confirmation.

She pressed the dagger to his neck. “Tell me where they are.”

Her body was rigid, her face smooth and expressionless with a cold gaze Kieran had never seen before.

A thin line of blood trickled down Aaron’s neck as Mariel tightened her hold on him. “You have one last chance to tell me where Jack is.”

He leaned away from her, his face twisted in a tortured grimace. “In your old room.”

Mariel shoved him away from her. He backed into the corner with a hand to his neck, the beginnings of a bruise forming around his eye. “It doesn’t matter what you do to me,” he snarled. “He won’t stop until he finds Blair Hampton.” Aaron turned his pale blue gaze to Kieran. “The barbarian will be dead by then. Just like his brother.”

Kieran’s heart lurched in his chest. “Brennan.” He hadn’t realized he’d spoken the name out loud until Aaron’s lips slid into a wicked sneer.

“Yes, your precious brother. He took almost a year to kill. When he was finally disposed of, we hadn’t expected you to cease your barbaric ways and settle as laird in his stead. Not that your presence matters at this point. Soon you will join Brennan, and your land will belong to that daft sister of yours once more. Your land is priceless, you know? Once Lord Hampton reclaims his wife, his newly inherited wife, he will have access to the wealth of your lands. You should hear how easy it was to seduce that bitch into marrying Lord Hampton in the first pl—”

A shot rang out, and Aaron’s head snapped back, his vehement words forever silenced.

* * *

Mariel stared in horror as blood pooled around Aaron’s lifeless form. She had imagined him dead many times but had not actually thought ever to see it. His death did not elicit the surge of powerful victory she had once envisioned.

“Some people talk too damn much.” A smooth, polished voice came from the other side of the room. The man’s accent held an air of pretension that smacked of nobility.