Highland Vengeance (15 page)

“
Laird you have to help
him,” Travis yelled.

“
Help who?” Olivia asked
frantically.

“
Our laird! I saw them…they
took him. Their faces were covered but I saw them take him,” Travis
said trembling.

Olivia looked up at Broderick and fear
swept through her body as she thought of Camden in
danger.

“
Have everyone search for
him now!” She shouted.

Olivia continued to bandage Travis’s
wounds and he soon became more alert. The young warrior explained
to Olivia that eight men with black cloths over their faces
attacked him and Camden in the woods.

“
They all came at him at
once and I fought hard to help him but I must have been knocked
out. When I opened my eyes, I saw them throw the laird’s body tied
up, over a horse and leave,” he whispered.

“
Why? Why would they take
him? It doesn’t make any sense to take him unless someone else
wanted to be the one that killed him,” Olivia rambled
on.

“
It is my fault m’lady. I am
supposed to protect my laird at all times and I failed,” Liam
said.

“
No, it is my fault. I was
the one with him,” Travis argued.

“
Do not fight amongst
yourselves, it wasn’t your fault. It was bastard that planned this
attack and I will see to it that whoever he is, rots in hell. We
need to find out where they were taking him. Broderick, come with
me. We need to question everyone about what they may have seen,”
Olivia said taking the control of the situation.

Olivia rushed outside to see if anyone
else had been a witness to what happened. There had to be a clue to
Camden’s disappearance and she needed to find it. After speaking
with many of the clam members, Olivia noticed Ian leaving into the
dense forest that surrounded the village. She quickly followed the
man to ask him of his whereabouts when Camden was taken. Olivia
could not imagine that he would harm his own brother in-law but she
would question him anyway.

Ian knew the beauty was following him
and he could not have asked for any greater reward than the one he
was about to receive. After being Malcolm’s spy for the past
several months, Ian felt he deserved to take the stunning countess
and ravage her body. All their original plans kept changing and Ian
had been furious when Maggie insisted on going to the isles with
him to visit his father. His wife was supposed to be at the
Sinclair holding on the night of the marriage so she could have
been murdered with her father and brother.

Before he left Maggie, Ian was going to
make sure Camden’s sister had a horrible riding accident but now
that she had died with the loss of the child, no one would suspect
foul play. Ian wanted to help rule the Sinclair clan from the time
he married Maggie and that was something Camden’s father, Donal
would not let him do. Malcolm recruited Ian months ago and promised
the traitor power in exchange for the downfall of the Sinclairs.
Now he felt glorious as he thought of ruling with the stunning
English beauty at his side.

Ian only wished Camden could see him
now for he held the power in this game of control. The traitorous
villain moved further into the wooded area while his thoughts raced
about this plan working so smoothly. What a fool Camden had been to
trust Ian all this time. The deceiver was grateful that his whining
wife Maggie had never told her brother that he had to use his fists
to make her obey. Ian showed her that a woman should obey her
husband and if not, she would pay the price. Now that his men had
taken Camden to Malcolm, Ian had the freedom to seduce the
emerald-eyed woman. The sinister man would let Malcolm deal with
Laird Sinclair while he dealt with Lady Sinclair.

“
Ian, I would like to speak
with you,” Olivia shouted to him.

He stopped near the stream and waited
for his reward to come to him. Ian’s body tingled with anticipation
as she moved with such grace and elegance, that it was difficult
for him to maintain control. Ian’s mind was reeling with thoughts
for the woman and his erection proved how Olivia affected him. He
wanted her mouth and Ian knew exactly what he would make her do
with it.

When Olivia reached Ian by the stream,
her natural instincts had set off a warning. There was something
about the man that made her uneasy and right now it was the way Ian
was staring at her.

“
When was the last time you
saw Laird Sinclair?” She questioned.

“
I haven’t seen him all
morning. Why do ye ask m’lady?”

“
You haven’t noticed
anything unusual or any strangers in the area?”

“
I have not. Is there
something a miss?” Ian said as he slowly moved his eyes up and down
her body imagining it with no clothes.

The countess felt his filthy stare upon
her and it made her nauseous. Olivia immediately was furious at
herself for following Ian unarmed. The skilled woman knew better
than to make such a foolish mistake. Olivia decided it was better
to leave than continue this conversation with Ian. As she turned to
leave, Olivia became still as she felt the sharp cold blade against
the skin of her neck.

“
What do you want Ian?” She
whispered.

“
You,” he said in a bone
chilling tone.

He stood behind her and with his free
hand, Ian cupped her breast and moaned into her ear. Olivia started
to struggle to get free and Ian pressed the dagger deeper against
her skin. When a small amount of blood began to trickle down
Olivia’s neck, Ian leaned in and used his tongue to wipe it
away.

“
Aye, even your blood tastes
sweet,” Ian whispered.

“
This will never happen,
Ian. Your wife’s body is not even cold and yet you think to have
mine? I will kill you before I let that happen, that is if Camden
doesn’t get to you before I can,” she taunted.

Ian let a low throaty laugh. “Camden is
on his way to Malcolm and I will guarantee that the bastard will
have a long painful death.”

“
You did this! I should have
known it was you. From the time of your arrival, I sensed your evil
nature.”

Ian swung her around and pushed Olivia
back onto a large rock. He moved her legs apart and pressed his
hard arousal against her body.

“
What ye felt was a burning
in yer loins for me wench and I will satisfy that for ya now,” he
laughed.

“
You are a disgusting pig,”
she said spitting in his face.

Ian’s anger took control and he punched
Olivia hard in the belly for her actions.

“
You will obey me now
English chit!” Ian yelled.

“
Did you beat your wife
also? Is that why she truly lost the baby and bled to death? Did
she never do this?” Olivia said spitting at him again.

That had done it. Olivia knew she had
pushed Ian far enough and now she would be able to free herself of
this vile man. Ian’s face was red with fury and he let go of his
grasp, using his fist to punch Olivia hard in the face. He got off
a few more good hits to her face while she tried to maneuver from
Ian’s hold. Olivia felt a searing pain through her side right
before she kicked Ian hard between the legs and when he slumped
over, Olivia slammed her fist into the back of his head.

The laird’s wife started to run but Ian
grabbed at her skirt and it tore clear up her leg, making her fall
to the ground. Olivia kicked again and got Ian’s face hard with her
boot. As she crawled further from her attacker, Olivia looked up
and saw Broderick standing in front of her with his bow drawn and
his arrow pointed directly over her head. In an instant, the
countess felt the slight breeze made from the arrow as it flew over
her head and into Ian’s chest.

Olivia ran to Broderick and then turned
to see Ian standing, trying to pull the arrow out of his torso. The
fearless woman grabbed the weapon from Broderick and drew back the
arrow with her aim at Ian.

“
Ian, it was the worst way I
have ever received information but I thank you for it anyway,”
Olivia shouted.

Her finger released the arrow and it
pierced cleanly into the forehead of the man who had been disloyal
and betrayed Camden.

She turned to Broderick and found an
astonished look on his face. The warrior was unsure of all that had
happened but when he came through the trees and saw Ian grabbing at
her skirts, he knew something was wrong. Broderick had noticed the
blood on her neck and that was when he let his arrow pierce Ian’s
chest.

“
Come Broderick, we must
hurry. I know where Camden is,” she said breathlessly.

“
M’lady, are you alright?”
Broderick said as he grabbed her arm to stop her from running
away.

“
I am fine but we need to
hurry and help my husband.”

Broderick was furious with himself that
he let anything happen to the laird’s wife. He could see her face
swelling and starting to bruise. It was obvious that Ian had hit
her and Broderick was grateful that the man was lying on the cold
ground with Olivia’s arrow through his head. The two ran back to
the village but Olivia started to slow her pace before Broderick
did. The giant warrior knew something was amiss because Olivia had
outrun him many times before. When Broderick turned, he saw the
laird’s wife holding her side and when she moved her hands, blood
was soaking through the dress.

“
My God, you are wounded
m’lady,” Broderick gasped.

“
It is only a minor cut so
do not get all worked up over nothing. Just help me back to the
cottage so I can stitch it up,” she demanded.

“
You think to do it
yourself?”

“
Broderick I swear if you
tell a soul about this wound, I will cut your tongue out and eat it
for dinner,” she threatened.

From the look on her face, the warrior
believed every word she said. Olivia was furious that Ian had
gotten his blade through her. She quickly removed her gown and
stitched the cut without flinching. Olivia had more important
things on her mind than a silly flesh wound.

Broderick had called everyone together
for Olivia to explain what had happened. She told the clan and
Camden’s warriors that Laird Sinclair had been deceived Ian. She
explained that his men had taken her husband to Malcolm.

“
Lady Sinclair put an arrow
clean through Ian’s head,” Broderick announced.

Everyone was silent as they watched
Olivia to see how she would respond to the charge.

“
Damn right I did! The
bastard was a traitor and had my husband taken. God only knows what
they are doing to him. Ian tried to force himself on me and any man
like that shouldn’t continue to live,” she insisted.

Everyone cheered at Olivia’s statement
and her show of valor for their laird. Her feelings were certainly
correct about Ian and now that he was dead, she would no longer
need to worry about him. Olivia called Camden’s men to gain their
opinions on what they should do next.

“
Tell me what you believe
our laird would do now if he were here,” she demanded.

“
We need to save him first.
We should go to Malcolm,” Broderick replied.

“
Yes, our laird needs us
now,” Liam added.

“
I know Camden needs our
help but that is not what I asked. What would Camden do if he were
here? Stephan?” She asked the soldier.

“
He would continue with the
plan to rescue the Sinclairs,” he said sadly.

“
Aye, he would Lady
Sinclair,” Keith responded.

“
I want to help Camden more
than any of you but ask yourselves what good it would do to save
him before the others. Camden would only become laird of a
graveyard by the time we reached the Sinclair holding. We will
ready everyone now and leave to the Sutherlands. We can leave
Travis there to recover and then we will head to the Sinclair land.
Broderick, you will have to lead for us. I am afraid I do not know
my way around the Highlands yet,” she said honestly.

“
You are not thinking to
come with us, are you m’lady?” Keith said in shock.

“
Damn it! I already fought
your laird about this and now he is gone so I am charge,” she
demanded.

“
M’lady you are the laird’s
wife but I am first in command now,” Liam said.

“
Alright Liam, I dare you to
tell me that I cannot go with you. Do so and see what happens. Go
on…tell me a woman cannot battle as well as a man,” she
threatened.

“
Lady Sinclair is now first
in command,” Liam said with a smile.

Olivia smiled broadly at his statement
and then she knelt to the men and placed her hand over her
heart.

“
I made this pledge to you
before but now I believe you understand why. I will honor and
protect my laird and his elite guard in life and in death,” she
said softly.

Olivia stood and each man quickly knelt
to her.

“
In life and in death,” they
all replied to the English warrior woman.

“
M’lady just promise us that
you will explain yourself to Laird Sinclair when he sees you. You
are already black and blue. If you aren’t harmed anymore then I am
sure he will be strangling you himself,” Broderick
laughed.