Taken By Storm (20 page)

“And my stubbornness will make certain that you return to America with me.”

“Which has been your plan from the beginning, to take me to America,” she accused teasingly.

He kissed her softly and grinned. “And my plans always succeed.”

Storm silently prayed it would be so. It had to be so. She loved him too much to lose him.

B
urke didn’t want to let Storm out of his sight but he knew that in a few minutes she would walk off and be captured.

It had all been planned. William had scouted an area near Weighton where Storm, Tanin, and Angus would be spotted. While the two men would be able to escape, Storm would be imprisoned. Burke and her men would wait in an area where they could remain undetected until the time came to carry out the remaining part of the plan.

They had made certain the capture would take place near Weighton so she would be incarcerated there immediately. News of her capture would spread fast enough, which was why two days was the maximum time she could remain behind the prison walls. After that, there was no telling what orders would be given and what fate she would meet.

“Almost time,” Tanin informed Storm and walked away, leaving the couple alone.

Burke tugged her stocking cap down on her head. “You have the knife I fashioned for you tucked in your boot?”

“Yes. I don’t think anyone will find it between the strips of leather. It is concealed quite well.”

He grabbed hold of her. “I hate sending you off like this.”

She placed a gentle hand on his arm. “I know, but soon I will return with your brother and we will all set sail safely for America.”

“Promise,” he urged. “Promise me you’ll be careful and take no chances.”

“I have promised you time and again, but I will promise you this one last time,” she said quietly and squeezed his arm. “I promise you I will be careful, and I promise you I will return safely.”

He kissed her hard and long, fearful that it might be their last kiss.

Their hands held tight for a moment and then drifted reluctantly apart, and she walked away from him, taking one last glance back before the dense woods swallowed her from his view.

He continued to stare at the trees and bushes, thinking for a split second that he should go after her and stop this madness. But then he would insult her with his lack of confidence in her.

He had thought about simply sailing off to America with her and leaving his brother behind. It wasn’t something he could do. He had promised his father, and he could not break that promise. Besides,
Cullen was his brother, and he could never leave him to die. He was also reminded of the look of love in Lady Alaina’s eyes when she spoke of his brother. They loved as strongly as Storm and he.

He could not desert them. It would be like failing Storm and himself.

There was no easy choice in this matter and little time to make one. Once his attempt failed, there was no other option left to him, though he tormented his brain trying to find one.

Time had run out, and now he had until tomorrow evening to wait and pray that Storm and his brother made it out of Weighton alive.

Storm ached from the punches and kicks the guards had taken delight in delivering to her. Once they had discovered who she was they had pranced and strutted like braggarts, claiming they had captured the uncatchable Storm.

What they hadn’t realized was that the whole time they had been praising themselves they had paid little attention to the way she had watched every twist and turn and noticed every guard post and key hook along the way to her cell.

She now had a good notion of how to make her escape and how many guards would stand in her way, not to mention which ones she felt wouldn’t present much of a problem.

Burke had entered her mind a few times during capture, but she had chased him away. She’d had to; she couldn’t allow her thoughts to be diverted at such an important time. Her only concern now was
to find Cullen and somehow manage to get them out of there by tomorrow night.

The buffoons who had captured her never bothered to search her boot for weapons. They were satisfied as well as surprised by the sizable sword she carried, and assumed it was her only weapon.

She now sat chained to a wall in a cell that held another prisoner who was not Cullen. He was older, thin, and white-haired.

“The angel’s wings have been clipped.”

Storm looked over at the man, who could barely lift his head. “What did you say?”

“You’re the angel who rescues prisoners. You must be, for only the infamous angel would be brought to the likes of Weighton. Who have you come to rescue?”

Here was her chance. “Cullen. I look for a man named Cullen.”

The man managed to keep his head up straight. “If I tell you where this man is, will you take me with you?”

He looked as if he could barely stand on his own, and Storm knew then and there she would not see him die in prison.

“I give you my word.” He smiled, though Storm saw that it pained him to do so.

“The word of an angel is a good thing.” He coughed, and again pain was visible on his thin face. “You will find Cullen in the torture chamber. The guards seem to delight in punishing the man.”

She sighed and shook her head.

“You have no choice?” the man asked.

She knew what he meant. In order for her to free Cullen, she would have to be sent to the torture chamber. By morning at the latest, though tonight might be better, but then she took the chance of being tortured to the point of being useless.

“They like to torture at night,” the man advised. “It would be best if you waited to be sent there tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow night is the escape.”

“I will be ready.”

She laughed along with the man, since how ready could he be?

“When you free me, I will walk on my own. I give you my word,” the man assured her.

“Do not worry. Regardless of whether you can walk or not, you will come with Cullen and me. I will not leave you behind.”

“Bless you,” he said, and Storm caught the glisten of a tear in his eye.

She had a decision to make. Did she take a chance and be sent to the torture chamber tonight, giving her time to see to Cullen’s condition and to determine their escape? Or would tomorrow provide her with enough time?

“Don’t go tonight,” the man cautioned. “Anger them tomorrow and they will take you and leave you there to think about your fate. It will give you the time you need and spare you the torture.”

“You are wise in their ways.”

“I have been here many months. I know their ways and how they think. Many of them like to gather at night to watch the tortures.”

“Which leaves the other guard posts empty,” she said, happy to learn that bit of information.

“The guards believe themselves safe since there are many guards that patrol the outside.”

“I need not worry about the outside.”

He nodded. “You have help.”

“Plenty of it once we leave here,” she assured him.

“Then it’s up to you, me, and that Cullen fellow.”

The night proved difficult for Storm. Sleep eluded her, her thoughts on Burke and her aches painful, not to mention that the guards took great delight in coming into the cell throughout the night to deliver a few more blows to her body.

She wasn’t sure when morning came since the cell had no window, so there was perpetual darkness, but her fellow inmate alerted her to sunrise.

“It is the workings of the prison that keeps me informed of time. Wait a few hours and cause a commotion that will irritate them. They will remove you fast enough.”

“How do I determine nightfall?” she asked.

“The guards gather at sunset to fill themselves with food and drink before torture.”

Storm nodded. “I will return for you.”

He nodded. “Be careful. You are a wee wisp of a thing.”

“An observation that usually proves fatal to many,” she informed him with a smile and began to make a commotion.

It was spitting at the guards and calling them cowards that got her yanked from the cell, but not before she sent the white-haired man a wink.

The revolting smell in the torture chamber nearly had her heaving. She didn’t want to think of the many things that produced such a repugnant odor or that she could very well be the cause of one of the odors if she remained too long.

Luck was on her side when the guards placed her in a cage that hung from a rafter in the ceiling.

“Good place for you to watch the show tonight and know you’ll be next,” one guard jeered.

She spit at him again, and he gave the cage a whack with a heavy stick and sent it swirling around and around and around.

The two guards laughed as they left the chamber.

Storm held firm to the bars of the cage until it finally slowed. She had to focus her eyes since the spinning in her head had yet to stop. When she was finally able to see clearly she looked around the room.

She cringed at the various torture devices—metal pinchers, a stretching rack, prodding irons set hot with fire from the cauldron hanging over flames, and others whose uses eluded her. She refused to linger too long on them. Just the idea of what pain they could cause made her wince. She finally spotted a man chained to the wall, his head hanging down to his chest and his body slumped. He wore only a plaid kilt too soiled to determine the colors. He had long dark hair that was matted with blood.

That he had suffered endlessly was obvious.

“Cullen,” she called out, having heard the guards’ footsteps fade in the distance and feeling safe that no one would hear her.

The man didn’t move.

“Cullen,” she said more strongly.

He lifted his head, though barely, before it sagged again.

Storm knew what would get his attention. “Cullen, Alaina sent me to free you.”

His head shot up and she winced. One eye was almost swollen shut, and dried blood caked at the corner of his swollen lip.

“Alaina?” he asked, looking around.

“Over here,” she said, working to slip the knife out of her boot and get started on the lock.

Cullen looked about until he finally saw Storm. “Who are you?”

“A friend of Alaina. She waits for you near St. Andrew where a ship will take you both to America.”

“How can this be so?”

The lock was easy, and before she knew it, she was free and standing beside Cullen. Looking past his bruises, she could see the resemblance to Burke. She wished there was time to speak with him, but she had to make the escape plan clear. Between the two of them, they could incapacitate the men and make a swift departure.

“Your brother has come for you.”

“Brother?”

“There is no time to explain about your brother. Just rest assured you have one. This is what we must do,” she said, and outlined her plan of escape. “Are you strong enough?”

He looked her up and down. “Are you?”

She smiled. “You’re just like your brother.”

“We shall see,” he said skeptically. “Tell me of Alaina. Is she well?”

“She waits impatiently for you.”

“As I do for her.” He shook his head. “I do not see how you will be able to get the keys from the guard. You are but a wee thing.”

She grinned. “I’ve done this before. Trust me.”

Less than an hour later Cullen was shaking his head while chaining the gagged guards to the wall. “I can’t believe you overpowered him.”

“Believe it, and know we have little time to get out of here.”

His movement was remarkably agile for a man who had suffered such torture, but then Storm had seen men in worse condition respond with strength. The promise of freedom could give the weakest man courage.

It didn’t take long to free the older man, and though he stumbled, he made his way along with them.

Cullen saw to two other guards and Storm took care of another one herself. They were almost home free. Another twist, one more turn, and they would be out of the prison where Burke and her men waited to help them.

The older man faltered, and Cullen was quick to support him and keep him moving. Storm followed behind, ever ready for the unexpected.

Suddenly a guard came out of nowhere, charging at them.

“Get out of here,” she yelled at Cullen. “I’ll be right behind you.”

He nodded and took off.

Burke and Tanin stood behind the open door, waiting.

“They should have been here by now,” Burke said, his fear near to bursting.

“Give her time. Storm knows what she’s doing and we have time yet,” Tanin said.

Clouds scurried across the night sky as if running away from something just as Storm was surely doing. He couldn’t help but worry that the plan had failed and she was now being tortured.

A shuffle of footsteps interrupted his worries, and he and Tanin braced for attack.

Cullen flew out the door and looked around.

Burke and Tanin were on him in a second.

“You must be my brother,” Cullen said, shoving the older man at Burke. “We’ll talk later. I need to go back and rescue the woman that came for me.”

Burke handed the old man off to Tanin and grabbed Cullen’s arm. “I’ll get her.”

“Not without me. I owe her,” Cullen said, and charged back into the prison.

S
torm felt her life slipping away. The guard, even though he had suffered a knife wound, had overcome her and now held her up by the neck, braced against the cold stone wall. Dampness from the stone seeped into her garments, sticking them to her body while she labored for breath and knew that death was near.

Could this be her end? By a simple squeeze of a hand? Her vision blurred, and then she thought of Burke and how he waited just a short distance away. He had promised he would keep her safe. He would come for her. He would save her.

He would be her avenging angel as she had been for so many.

He would not fail her.

She only needed to survive until then.

She found her last ounce of strength and struggled
with the man, beating at his neck. His fingers faltered just enough for her to catch a much-needed breath. Then his meaty hand closed around her slender neck once again.

She pummeled him with her small fists and lashed out with her feet, delivering blow after blow to every part of his body she could reach.

She was feeling faint, feeling life slipping away again, and all she could think about was Burke. If she could have spoken, she would have screamed his name.

Instead, she let loose in her head, hoping somehow Burke would hear her.

Burke.

“Not that way,” Burke said, Cullen in the lead.

“Are you sure?” his brother asked, stopping short.

“Absolutely.” Burke charged to his right with a force that propelled him like a battling ram. He could almost hear Storm calling out to him.

Over and over and over in his head, he heard her frantic calls and he was desperate to reach her.

He turned the corner with Cullen on his heels, and what he saw turned his worry to rage. He charged at the man who dared to put his hands on the woman he loved.

His fist connected with the man’s lower back and took him down in one blow. To make certain he stayed there, he delivered several more and then hurried to scoop up Storm.

She coughed and choked. “Out of here.”

“You can barely speak and still you give orders,” Burke said, hurrying along the corridor and up the steps with her in his arms, followed by a chuckling Cullen.

“Now I understand her reputation,” Cullen said.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Burke said with pride and hurried out into the night where Malcolm and Tanin waited for them.

There was no time to stop and discuss the particulars of the escape. Time was of the essence. They needed to get as far away from the prison as possible. Once the escape was discovered, soldiers would cover the land like locusts. There would be no safe place to hide.

Burke refused to put Storm down. He kept her firm in his arms and carried her without difficulty. There was no way he would chance losing her again. It would take nearly a full day to reach the ship, and then under cover of the night, they would sail away and finally—finally be safe.

“I can walk,” Storm argued.

“Your neck is bruised.”

“My feet are fine.”

“Perhaps, but I feel safer with you in my arms,” Burke said adamantly.

“You need to speak with your brother,” she urged.

“It can wait until we reach the ship.”

“No, it can’t. You have waited a long time for this moment. Talk with him. I can walk on my own.”

“I almost lost you,” he growled beneath his breath.

“I, however, had no doubt you would rescue me. I called out for you and you came for me.”

Burke near stumbled over his own feet. “I heard you. In my head I heard you.”

Storm smiled and pressed her cheek to his, her arms wrapped snugly around his neck. “I knew you would. I knew you would not let me die.”

He rubbed his cheek hard against hers. “You frightened the hell out of me.”

“It’s a good way to keep you on your toes.”

Burke laughed. “I see you have adopted my sense of humor.”

“It is a part of you I love. Why wouldn’t I want to emulate it?”

Burke stole a quick kiss. “Damn, but I love you so very much.”

“And I love you just as much, but now you need to see to your brother.”

Burke stopped and lowered Storm to her feet. He didn’t want to let her go but Storm was right. Not only did he need to speak with Cullen, he was eager to speak with him. He had waited many years for this and it was finally here. “Stay in front of me where I can keep an eye on you.”

“Of course,” she said with a smile and took off to catch up with Tanin, who led the group.

Burke shook his head.

“I admire that woman,” Cullen said, coming up beside him.

“So do I,” Burke agreed as they kept pace with each other and the group.

“She says you are my brother and that your ship
waits to take Alaina and me to America with you.”

“Storm speaks the truth. We should be meeting up with the others shortly. Alaina is with them.”

He heard his brother gasp and felt and understood his relief.

“I never thought this possible,” Cullen said. “But then I never thought I had a brother.”

“You do,” Burke confirmed. “Shall I tell you the story?”

“Please, I am anxious to hear it.”

Burke started from the beginning when their father left Scotland, leaving his young son behind with his sister-in-law, the child’s only relative since his mother had passed. With no chance of owning land in Scotland, his father had decided to journey to America to build a life for him and his son.

Burke went on to explain how their father had returned, only to discover that his sister-in-law had died, leaving no sign of the child. He spent years searching for Cullen, but was never able to find him.

“Father’s heart broke a little more with each unsuccessful trip,” Burke said. “He’d leave America with such hope of finding you, but he never did.”

“Yet you found me,” Cullen said.

“Luck and Storm. Without either of them, I would have never located you. I also had hired men to track you down and one had given me a good place to start. Storm took it from there.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Cullen admitted with a shake of his head.

“‘Hello, brother’ would be a start.”

Cullen stopped walking and held out his hand. “Thank you, brother. You have saved my life.”

Burke reached out and gave Cullen a huge bear hug. “Damn, I’ve waited a long time to do that.”

They were quick to keep going, both realizing the importance of time and both anxious to reach safe port as soon as possible.

Burke continued to tell him about their father and the wealth that awaited him.

“I’m wealthy?” Cullen asked incredulously.

“Extremely,” Burke said with a satisfied grin.

“The news just keeps getting better.”

Burke explained more about what awaited him in America and then finally asked the question that had haunted him all these years.

“What of your life?”

“Not much to tell,” Cullen said. “I remember being passed from family to family until an old man took me in. He was a bow maker and an excellent archer. I lived with him from the time I was ten and he taught me his skills. His home was high in the Highlands, which is why Father probably had difficulty finding me. It’s a land unto itself.”

“Lady Alaina had mentioned your skills with a bow.”

Cullen’s face brightened. “How is she?”

“As eager to see you as you are to see her. She really does love you, you know.”

Cullen shook his head. “I’ve wondered time and again how a lady such as herself could love a man like me.”

“Why wouldn’t she?”

Cullen stared at him as if he were daft. “She is a lady. I am but a peasant.”

“Not in America. Besides, you’re probably wealthier than her father.”

“Truly?” Cullen asked in disbelief.

“Without a doubt. I offered the earl one of our gold mines in exchange for your release.”

Cullen shook his head. “One of
our
gold mines?”

“Yes, and the fool thought he’d get the gold mine, you, and me. Now not only does he lose all three but his daughter as well.”

“That makes me happy,” Cullen said with a grin that turned to a wince.

“That lip looks painful.”

“My heart feels too much joy to acknowledge pain.”

The brothers smiled and continued walking. There’d be time to talk more of their past, but for now they hurried their steps toward the future.

In an hour’s time, they reached the area where Alaina waited along with the others from camp. They would all travel from there to Burke’s ship, and by nightfall tomorrow they’d be on board and setting sail.

The problem was, they wouldn’t be safe until they were on the ship. Soldiers probably were already beginning to prowl the woods in search of them, and being they had a good head start, they had to keep it that way.

Everyone was advised to keep their voices hushed while Burke and Storm saw to organizing the group
in sections and placing one of Storm’s men in charge of each section.

“Where’s Alaina?” Cullen asked, anxiously searching the sea of faces.

“Can’t find her?” Burke asked with a grin.

Cullen gave a frustrated shake of his head, while glancing from person to person until…

“That’s my Alaina,” he said softly when what appeared to be a young lad removed a stocking cap and her long red waves fell free.

He rushed to her side, scooping her up in his arms and hugging her tightly to him. Alaina buried her face in his chest and when she lifted her face, tears stained her cheeks. Cullen kissed them away and they held on to each other as if they never intended to part.

Burke watched them, his smile wide.

“It must feel good to have found your brother and to reunite him with the woman he loves,” Storm said, taking Burke’s hand.

He grasped on to her. “I only wish my father could be here. He had searched so long and hard for Cullen.”

“I think he knew that you would not fail him and died with a peaceful heart.”

Burke leaned down and kissed her. “Did I tell you I love you today?”

She nodded. “While you carried me.”

“Well, I’m telling you again. I love you.”

She poked him. “I think the Longton brothers love—”

“For life,” Burke finished, stealing another kiss.

“You mean I’m stuck with you until I die?”

“Longer,” he said. “You’re never getting rid of me.”

She tapped her chin. “Maybe I should reconsider?”

Burke laughed heartily. “The deal is sealed, sweetheart, you’re all mine.”

“Really?” Storm said and moved to step away from him.

Her hand still in his, he yanked her back to him. “You’re mine—” He kissed her forehead. “Mine—” He kissed her nose. “Mine!” He kissed her lips slowly and easily until her arms wrapped around his neck and the kiss turned deep and intoxicating.

“Soldiers have been spotted.”

Tanin’s warning tore them apart.

“How far?” Storm asked.

“An hour or less. We need to get moving,” Tanin advised.

“We’ll move out in groups, dividing and meeting up just outside of St. Andrew,” Burke instructed.

Cullen and Alaina joined them.

“Once my father learns of the escape, he will send men to St. Andrew to make certain your ship doesn’t leave port,” Alaina said.

“The earl knows Burke’s ship is docked at St. Andrew?” Storm asked.

Alaina nodded. “He questioned me about the American and I answered.” She shook her head. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have told him.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Cullen said, holding her close
to him. “Your father has his ways of getting information.”

“Our best bet is to get moving and keep moving,” Burke advised. “We have to get to my ship. We’re going to go in groups.”

“Alaina and I will stay with you and Storm,” Cullen said.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, brother,” Burke said and slapped him on the back. “Let’s get going.”

They left, spreading out, and kept a hectic pace. They had to make certain to keep the soldiers a good distance away from them. From what Tanin had told Burke there were more than a few soldiers, and that meant it would be more than a mere skirmish.

They would have a battle on their hands, and Burke wouldn’t take the chance of possibly losing Storm again. Now there were his brother and Alaina to worry about.

It wasn’t difficult for Burke to maneuver in the dark, but he knew the others weren’t finding it easy, especially Lady Alaina.

She had slowed them down considerably.

“Go ahead,” Cullen said at one point. “We’ll catch up.”

“No,” Burke and Storm had said in unison.

As far as they were both concerned, they all would remain together.

“I’ll do better when dawn breaks,” Alaina said. “I’ll be able to see where I walk then.”

Burke smiled. “You’re doing fine, don’t worry.”

His brother, however, sent him a look that he
understood. Daybreak brought light, which meant the group would be more visible, making tracking them easier.

Several hours after sunlight, Cullen informed Burke that they needed to rest.

“Alaina cannot keep up this pace,” Cullen said.

“She doesn’t have a choice,” Storm said, sounding harsh.

“She’s not like you,” Cullen argued. “Used to endless treks through the woods day or night.”

“Storm is right” Alaina said, coming up behind Cullen. “I don’t have a choice. Now let’s go.”

Cullen grinned. “That’s my woman.” And hurried after her.

They kept going long into the afternoon and Burke was near ready to breathe a sigh of relief. They were getting closer and closer to St. Andrew and his ship. They were going to make it.

The yell pierced the air like a sharp knife and brought everyone to an abrupt halt.

“Malcolm’s group,” Storm said and drew her sword before charging forward through the woods.

The melee was a clash of swords and fists, and chaos reigned for some time.

Burke had no time to worry about Storm. It seemed he fought off soldier after soldier. Sweat and blood soon tainted the chilled air along with moans of the wounded and dying.

When it finally ended, Burke stood looking around at the carnage, searching and praying that Storm wasn’t among the wounded or dead. Relief flooded him when he saw her bending over a body.