Page 106 of Dark Victory

“I dinna ken.”

That was not reassuring. Tabby trembled wildly, sick with fear, as Royce went to stand behind Allie, guarding her so she could heal Macleod. He lay unmoving, his pallor deathly. Tabby could not control her fear now; it was consuming. And she wondered if she’d ever told him that she loved him.

But he had to have known. He was always invading her thoughts—and she’d give anything for him to be doing so now.

Suddenly Tabby felt an intense and vicious hatred aimed at her. She glanced up warily at the ramparts. Coinneach stood there.

She tensed, dismayed. He’d been released and returned to Melvaig but the feud had drastically escalated, she thought uneasily. And she recalled Allie’s insights. In the Highlands, grudges were held for life.

Then two women appeared on either side of Coinneach.

They were some distance away, but one was dark, the other petite and fair. There was no mistaking Criosaidh and Kristin. The sense of their hatred and rage escalated impossibly.

“Damn it to unholy hell.”

Tabby turned as Nick paused to stand beside her. What on earth was he doing in the thirteenth century?

He flashed a brief, chilling smile and stared at the witches silhouetted above them. “I want that bitch,” he said.

“You’re hunting Kristin?” She glanced back at Allie and Macleod and cried out. Macleod was visibly breathing now and the color was rapidly returning to his face. He was going to make it!

Nick seized her arm before she could rush to him. “Mr. Tabitha is fine. How are you holding up?”

Tabby was trembling, tears flooding her eyes. She needed to go to Macleod and tell him that she loved him. She had never been so relieved. But even as her heart exploded with the power of her emotions for him, his lashes lifted slowly and their gazes met. When he saw her, he seemed relieved, too.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, instantly understanding his concern for her.

Macleod sat up, rubbing his chest, Allie still kneeling by his side. His focus was on the ramparts, where Coinneach stood with the witches.

“Tabby?” Nick drawled, sounding impatient. “We need to talk about your little adventure.”

She jerked to meet his very direct and intense blue gaze. “Do you want the short version or the unabridged one?”

His mouth tilted up at the corners. “Got some sass at last, Tabby?”

“Kristin followed me here from New York. And that demonic ghost is after me, too. As it turns out, it’s Criosaidh.” She nodded at the women on the ramparts, but glanced at Macleod, still thrilled he was all right. “She came from An Tùir-Tara and she’s gone back in time to haunt me. We’re trying to figure out how to get rid of her.”

Nick’s gaze moved from Criosaidh and Kristin and then back to Tabby. “It looks like the Middle Ages have done you some good. Got you out of that straitjacket you were so fond of.”

Tabby gave in to the urge to let him have it, once and for all. “I have always respected you, Nick, and I have no idea how you got back here, but I don’t like you.”

“I know—I’m too macho and controlling for sweet little you.” He actually chuckled and glanced at Macleod, who was standing and having a rushed conversation with Royce. “What an amazing match, huh? The gentle schoolteacher and the big bad barbarian.”

Tabby flushed. “Macleod is difficult, but he’s a product of his time…and he’s evolving.”

He leaned close. “Not that anything I say matters, but never think you can change a man. You’re stuck with him.” His grin vanished. “I need a debrief, kiddo.”

Tabby was annoyed. Her relationship with Macleod was none of his business, but even Allie had said that Macleod would be a challenge for a while. It didn’t matter. She didn’t mind. Challenges were great! He was alive and that was what mattered. “Later, Nick.”

She started to walk away from him, but he said, “Sam has been worried.”

Tabby stopped in her tracks and turned. Thinking about her sister, whom she might never see again, hurt. “When you see her, tell her I’m fine and that I miss her. Is she okay?”

“She’s a winner, Tabby, and a survivor, but you know that.” Nick nodded at the two women standing on the ramparts. “Ten minutes, Tabby. That’s all I need.”

She sighed.

“WE HAVE TO GO,” Allie said.