Page 88

“Ye arenae worthy of love!” Isla snarled.

She felt the nail finally give. Her shoulders squared, her jaw set. She wasn’t going to sit back and allow this man to hurt her family again.

Her family.

She bit back her tears at the thought.

A family. She was a MacLeod; she finally belonged. And she had to keep believing that her family was looking for her. She just needed to buy herself a little more time until then.

“Alisdair isnae worthy! He thought that he could take me love from me and then move on with his life? Marry again? Be happy?”

Isla hid the nail in her palm and glared at him. She understood now that she was the endgame, the last target. Beneath his madness, Gavin’s instincts were sound in one terrible way: if he killed her, Alisdair would be devastated. Perhaps beyond repair.

She shot up from her seat. “Ye willnae get away with it!”

“That is no concern of yers.” Gavin rose and stepped toward her, and she retreated. She felt the bite of the stone wall against her back and the weight of the nail in her palm.

“Ye will be long dead, Lady MacLeod. Two birds with one stone, ye see. Yer uncle clears his name from yer shameful acts, and I get to torture Alisdair more.” He drew his dirk.

Isla scowled at him and drew in deep breaths. She wasn’t going to go down quietly. He lifted his dirk, eyes wild, and she wrapped her fingers tighter around the nail.

“Goodbye, Isla. Ye werenae so bad, but ye really shouldnae have married Alisdair. Now, ye’ll pay the price.”

Isla gritted her teeth as the blade caught the firelight.

Then the door exploded inward.

Wood splintered off the frame, and cold night air rushed into the cabin as Alisdair filled the doorway, his sword already drawn.

“Get away from her!”

Her eyes filled with tears as she finally let herself breathe properly. He held her gaze for only a moment before turning his full attention to Gavin, who took one step away from him.

Isla couldn’t blame the man. If she were the target of Alisdair’s fury, she would be trembling by now. But fear made him more daring.

With one swift motion, Gavin hooked his arms around her throat and hauled her back against him, the blade pressing cold against her ribs.

“Daenae come closer,” he snarled, “or I will kill her.”

Alisdair froze, before lowering his sword, his eyes still on Gavin.

“Let her go,” he demanded. “This is between ye and me.”

“Nay, me Laird,” Gavin spat. “Ye took Catherine even though ye didnae want her, and yet get to be happy?”

Alisdair’s body shook with the sheer effort of staying still, of not tearing across the room to kill the man where he stood. Gavin noticed and pressed the blade harder against Isla’s ribs, making her wince.

“Gavin.” Alisdair raised his free hand. “Let her go. Let’s settle this between us.”

“Nay.” Gavin laughed manically. “I will get to see the light snuffed out of ye as ye watch her die.”

Alisdair looked at Isla, but she only stared back at him. She wanted to scream, to beg him to run, to tell him she was sorry for ever trusting Gavin. But she held it all in. She kept her face still and her breathing slow, and she curled her fingers tighter around the nail. One wrong move, and Gavin would drive the dirk home.

“Please,” he said, his voice breaking.

Gavin chuckled cruelly, and Isla felt him tense against her. She tensed too, the nail in her palm suddenly feeling heavier than it had any right to. She twisted hard against his grip, and with all her fear and desperation, drove the nail deep into his cheek.

“Shite!” he screamed, his hand flying up to his face.