The Highlander's Hope - A Contemporary Highland Romance (14 page)

Chapter
Fourteen

Iain’s mind raced.  He had no weapon on him, and couldn’t risk Cat getting hurt.  He snuck towards the opening to get a better idea of what he was dealing with—and if it turned out to be Malcolm and James, he’d murder them both.

He could hear them.  Ther
e were at least two men, maybe three.  Scottish.  And unless his brother was keeping quiet, he wasn’t there.  If they were the ones who attacked Cat, then the situation could be dangerous.  Could he make his presence known and lead them away so Cat could escape, or would he just draw attention to her?  Would it be better to just stay quiet and hope they didn’t notice the steps?

Except for the fact that he was furious that they’
d hurt Cat.  They were on his land, in his home, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to protect what was his. 

Making use of his
anger, Iain stalked up the stairs and pushed away any thoughts that he was doing the wrong thing.  At the very least, he’d lead them away from Cat.  He cleared the last step while quickly taking in the scene.  Two men, about twenty feet away, one in his thirties, and another in his fifties. 

“Ye better have a damned good ex
planation as to why ye’re on my property and snooping around my home.  And if I find out ye’re the ones who attacked my guest, there’ll be hell to pay.”  He tapped the long metal flashlight against his palm and moved towards them to draw their attention away from the room Cat was hiding in.

It was the older man who answered him.  “
The name’s MacTavish, and this here’s Campbell.  Ye must be Callum’s lad then.  My apologies about the girl—that wasn’t meant to happen, and the man responsible has been disciplined.  She startled him, and he reacted on instincts that weren’t very good.”

“
She could have been killed.  And ye’ve yet to tell me what ye’re doing here on my property.”  Iain took them in, wondering about his chances in a fight.  If they remained unarmed, he thought he stood a fair chance, though the younger man was built like an ox.

“We’re here because yer brother thinks the Highlander’s Hope is on yer land, and
ye know the legends, the symbolism—that Scotland will gain its independence when the Hope is found.”  He shrugged, even if his eyes sparkled.  “And aye, they’re just tales of old, but given the importance of the necklace, we can’t have it falling into the wrong hands.”

“
Nationalists?  Well, I fully support Scotland’s independence, but I doubt any official group has condoned yer actions or the violence used, which leads me to believe ye’re working on yer own.  So don’t go hiding against the Nationalist movement, when ye’re no more than bullies.”  Iain scoffed, trying not to give anything away.  His nerves were on edge—the men had closed the distance between them, splitting up, so he’d have a harder time keeping an eye on both of them.

“Those are some harsh words, lad.” 
MacTavish looked annoyed, despite his lips curling into a smile.

“
Well here are some more.  If ye’re hoping to find anything of value in what my brother’s had to say, then ye don’t bloody well know him.  He’s always been one to talk, and there’s yet to be any truth to anything coming out of his gob.  So the two of ye can piss off and if I see ye on my land again, ye’ll be dealing with the police.”

Campbell
was big but he was slow, so when he charged forward, Iain sidestepped him and lunged at MacTavish, catching him at waist-height and knocking him off his feet before he had a chance to react.  MacTavish hit the ground hard, but Campbell hadn’t missed a beat.  Pain erupted across Iain’s back and knocked him to his knees when Campbell hit him with a wood plank.  Another blow had Iain’s vision erupting in a spray of light and darkness as he was knocked forward, his head swimming.

Iain
managed to roll onto his back, hoping to catch the next blow, when Campbell’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the ground. 

Cat stood there holding a rock in her hands, shaking.  “
He could have killed you.  I had to.  The cops… I called on my cell.  They’re on their way.” 

She dropped the rock and went to
Iain’s side, helping to steady him and get him on his feet.  Iain turned to MacTavish, his head still swimming.   “I suggest ye take yer friend and get the hell out of here.  Next time I see any of ye on my land, I’ll be armed and ye won’t get a warning.”

He could try and hold them for the cops, but truth was, he feared the attack would escalate, and he wouldn’t be able to protect Cat.  Better to let them go and let the authorities deal with them later.

MacTavish hauled Campbell to his feet as the man started to come to, blood pouring from a gash on his head.  “If ye think this is over, ye’re gravely mistaken.” 

Iain
watched them go until he was sure they wouldn’t be returning.  Worried about Cat, he held her close.  Adrenaline coursed through his body and left him overwhelmed and on edge, even if it wasn’t enough to erase the pain.  It could have easily been far worse though, and for that he was grateful. 

“Thank ye, love.”
  The poor girl was shaking like they’d fished her out of the loch in the middle of winter.  Putting his arms around her, he held her tight, wishing she didn’t have to go through any of this.

“He was going to kill yo
u, Iain—and I nearly killed him.”

“
Hush, love.  Don’t go worrying yerself.  I’ll heal before long, and that bastard got no more than he deserved.”  Iain kept scanning the area, half expecting more men to come traipsing through the ruined walls.  If they did, there’d be little he could do to fend them off.  He felt like he’d been hit by a train, his back and shoulders battered and bruised.  “Did ye really call the police?”

“No.  I couldn’t get any reception down in the hole
, but thought it’d keep them from hanging around.  But we should call the cops, Iain.  This is totally getting out of control.  I can’t bear to think of what might have happened.”  She could barely hold his gaze for more than a second, and it made his heart ache.

He
brushed her cheek and tried to get her to look at him.  “Cat, we’ll manage.  And I don’t want ye worrying about something that didn’t happen.  Let’s just get back to the house for now.  We’ll sort it out.” 

“No
, we won’t.  They could have killed you, damn it.  And you know what?  No necklace is worth that.”

“Ye
can’t give up, Cat.  Not when ye’re so close.  It’s too important to ye.”  And that was the truth, even if he also had so much riding on the necklace.  “We just need to be more careful.  We’ll take more precautions from now on, and I swear, I’ll do all I can to protect ye.”

She nodded, but didn’t look at him
as she started to head back.  Her body was taut with coiled tension, and by the time they were back in the library, she’d barely given him a second glance.

When she did finally
look at him, it was clear she was still struggling with what had happened.  “I want you to see a doctor.”

“I’ll be fine, love.  Don’t
worry.”  He took her hand in his, but she yanked it away.

“It will
not
be fine, Iain.  How can you even say that after what just happened?”  She shook her head, cursing under her breath as she started to pace the room.  “You’ve been on my case about not being careful enough, but what about you, huh?  You think it’s perfectly fine to nearly get beaten to death, and then not even bother to have your injuries looked at.”

The last thing he wanted to do was drag
a doctor into this, but he found that, oddly enough, he actually cared about whether or not she was angry with him.  “I’ll have Angus take a look.  There’s no one else around, anyway, and while he’s here, he can also take a look at yer head.”

“Let me see.”  She motioned for him to take off his shirt.  “I want to see how bad
ly you’ve been injured, especially if you’re thinking of only having a
vet
look at you.”

He didn’
t protest too much, since she cared enough to be upset that he’d gotten hurt. His muscles screamed in protest as he tried to pull his tee over his head, grateful when she came to his aid.  Taking care, she gingerly removed his shirt, and then stepped around him to look at the damage.  When she sucked in her breath and said not a single word, he knew his back must already be bruised.

Turning to face her, he saw that her tears had spilled over, though there was more there—she was furious, and with an in
tensity that made him think that, for Campbell’s sake, it was a good thing he was long gone. 

“
Hush, love.  Dinnae fash yerself.  I’m fine.  It’s just a few bruises.”  And maybe a cracked rib or two, though he thought it best to leave that part out.  He pulled her into his arms and brushed her cheeks dry.  “Angus will send me to a physician if he thinks I need to go.”

She stepped out of his embrace and turned away, holding her arms across her chest as if to ward off a chill. 
“I think it’d probably be best if I got going.”

It felt like the air had gotten knocked out of him.  “Go where, Cat?”

“Cambridge.  I need to get a new tire and then I’ll be on my way.”  She wouldn’t even look at him.

“Just like that
?”  He scoffed, his temper getting the better of him in the face of her leaving.  “And here I thought ye were better than that.  Go on then.  Let MacTavish find it—or even better, James and my brother.”

Iain
expected her to turn around, ready for a fight.  Or to turn around with a smug smile to say she knew he was baiting her but she’d prove him wrong and they’d find the jewels.  And he hoped she would look at him with that fire in her eyes that erased all thoughts but her from his mind.

Yet she did none of those things. 

“I should go check my email and let my assistant know I’m ok, and will be back in Cambridge in a few days’ time.”  She headed for the door, but he’d be damned if she was going anywhere.

“Cat…
ye can’t go.”  He grabbed her arm and pulled her around.  “We’re too far into it to give up now.”

Her face was flushed, and the fire in her eyes had returned, even if it was tainted with pain.  “It’s just a necklace,
Iain.  You get that, right?  And though you may be willing to get your head bashed in over it, I’m not going to help you do it.  Those men aren’t like James and Malcolm—they’re dangerous.  And you bloody well know they’re not going to stop until they get what they want.”

“And ye think they’ll leave just
‘cause we’ve given up looking for it?  Well, that’s where ye’re wrong, Cat.  The only hope we have of keeping safe is to find the necklace before anyone else does.  Once it’s safely locked away and the find is made public, then there won’t be any point to them threatening us.”  He didn’t want to have to say it, but knew it might be the one thing to make her stay.  “Ye’re the one who brought this to my doorstep.  My family and I are now under threat because of it, and I’ll be damned if ye think ye can just leave without first putting things right.  None of us are safe until it’s found.  Not me and my father, nor you, even if ye flee to Cambridge.”

At his accusation that she’d put them in harm’s way, t
he blood drained from her face, leaving her freckles to stand out against now too-pale skin.  He wanted to comfort her and tell her it wasn’t her fault, but knew they’d both be better served if her hurt was turned to anger.

“
Ye’re staying put, Cat.  Ye hear me?  Once ye find the necklace, ye can take yerself off to wherever ye bloody want to go—but not before that.”

Anger sparked in her eyes, but there was also a keen intelligence there, and he knew, despite her anger, she was not fooled.  “I’m sorry that I dragged you
into this, Iain, but short of tying me up, I’m going.”

Her words had his control slipping as he pulled her to him and nuzzled her, his arm wrapped around her waist to keep her from escaping.  “Don’t tempt me, love.
  It’d be a lovely sight to see ye trussed and squirming.”

“This isn’t funny,
Iain.”  She pried herself from his embrace, and with a shake of her head, turned to go. 

Well, h
e’d be damned if he was going to let her walk out on him without giving it a second thought.  He pulled her around, ignoring the tears that welled up in her eyes.  “You’re not leaving, Cat.  Not until this is over.”

“
I’m sorry.  It was a mistake to involve you.  You see that, right? I can’t bear to have you get hurt again.”  She struggled to get free, but he held on tight, as the tears finally spilled over and rolled down her cheeks.  “Let go of me, Iain.  I can’t do this.”

“Ye
can and ye will.  We’ll find the Hope, aye?  Cause they’re not going to go away, love.  We’ve no other choice.”  He kissed her tears away until she stopped struggling and let out a weary shudder.  He hated to see her so upset, but hoped he could turn her mood around.  “So… are ye going to stay or do I need to get the rope?”

She let out a laugh
, which helped to ease his worries.  “I think we might both like that far too much—and you’re still injured.”