Page 51 of My Notorious Highlander

"We killed two of them—men none of us knew," Erskine said. "All the MacKays, MacLeods and Stewarts are well."

She released a sigh of relief, and they all proceeded up the steps and into the great hall. She stopped and faced Torrin. "You need to have the healer look at that cut on your arm."

"Very well, but it has stopped bleeding and is naught to worry over." His lips quirked into a slight smile.

"Still, I wouldn't want you to catch a fever because of it."

"I like that you're worried about me," Torrin murmured.

"Jessie, what happened?" Aiden rushed toward them, a guard on either side of him.

She sent him a dry smile. "Our wee brother has returned to wreck more havoc on us all."

"Haldane's back? Saints! I tried to come out and help but they wouldn't allow it." He motioned to his two guards. "Erskine told them to keep me inside."

"'Tis for the best. You don't want to go anywhere near Haldane. He'd kill either of us in a heartbeat. He wants Dunnakeil and the chiefdom at any cost. He was going to use me to force the guards to open the portcullis."

Aiden's brow furrowed. "I can't believe Haldane has turned against his own family like this," he said in a saddened tone.

"I'm very disappointed in him, to say the least. He's become the most malicious outlaw you could imagine, and he seems to enjoy it. I've never seen him smile so much." She knew the situation had to be hard for Aiden to accept. He and Haldane had always been the closest of the four siblings, being full brothers and near the same age. He had to be concerned about Haldane and what would happen to him if the MacKay guards ever caught him.

"I wish Dirk was here," Aiden said, looking more anxious by the minute.

"As do I. But he isn't, so we must hold Dunnakeil until his return." She wouldn't tell Aiden that Dirk had been injured on his travels. She didn't want him to worry even more.

"We held supper since we didn't ken where you were," Aiden said. "The men were getting ready to go out and search when you showed up. Where were you when he captured you both?"

"I'd simply taken a walk to Sango Bay." Remembering how she'd been naked with Torrin at the time, she hoped the dim lighting in the great hall hid the heat she felt flushing into her face.

"And Chief MacLeod was with you?"

She glanced aside at Torrin. He had stepped a few feet away to talk to Erskine.

"Aye, he'd followed me. Said he was protecting me in the event MacBain returns."

Aiden gave a sly grin as if he knew Torrin's true motive. "I'm glad he was there."

"So am I. Without him, I couldn't have escaped Haldane."

"Now that he has rescued you… twice, mayhap you will consent to marry him, hmm, sister?"

Chapter Nine

Later that night, Jessie soaked in a large wooden tub filled with hot water and lavender soap. 'Twas heavenly and luxurious. All her muscles ached from where she'd been marched across the moor, then tied up. The skin of her wrists was still red and raw from the bindings.

Thank the saints she and Torrin had escaped Haldane and his cronies. If they hadn't, she or Torrin, or maybe both of them, could've been dead by now. How could her own brother have turned into the most nefarious outlaw in the Highlands?

A knock sounded at her door. Probably the maid.

She lifted her head. "I'm not finished yet. Come back later," she called, wanting to soak some of the soreness out and rest a while.

The door latch lifted and someone stuck their head in. Torrin! A shock went through her system. What the devil was he doing coming to her bedchamber? Everyone in the castle would find out they'd had a tryst. She grabbed the smock lying by the tub and drew it over her nude body.

He quickly slipped inside and closed the door, then barred it before she could utter a sound.

"I didn't say you could come in." Her tone was not as biting as she'd hoped.

He leaned leisurely against the door and gave her a lazy, seductive smile. "I didn't ask."