Page 6 of Wedded to the Devilish Highlander
Archer shot to his feet. “Sabotage?”
“Looks like it.”
“Find out who is behind it. Start now. I want names and motives.”
Calum nodded and turned, only to pause under Ivy’s dreamy stare. Archer didn’t miss the way her gaze lingered a second too long.
“Stop moonin’, Ivy. Let the man work,” he snapped. “He’s nae here to entertain ye.”
“I wasnae.”
“Ye were.”
She huffed but didn’t argue, to his surprise. “Would it kill ye tosmileonce in a while, Braither?”
Here it comes.
“Nae unless it’s required.”
He took off after Calum, headed toward the courtyard and the forge.
“Required? Of course, it’s required!” his sister called, her shorter gait hastening as he opened his to put space between them.
“Why would I smile at a dead man?”
“I didnae meanthat. I meant th—” She broke off as they rounded the corner to the courtyard, the sun assaulting them both.
Calum slowly came into view as Archer blinked against the blinding light.
“Me Laird,” Archer heard his man-at-arms say.
His vision became clearer, and the look on Calum’s face was enough to give him pause. “Wha?—”
It took him a second too long to realize that his sister had not only cut her jab short, but she also hadn’t followed him.
Strange.
He whirled around to face her. “Sist?—”
Ivy was standing in the doorway between the keep and the garden, poised almost too perfectly. Her eyes never left his. Her smile was forced.
“What is it, lass?”
Her voice was sharp and dangerously low. “Someone is watchin’ us.Dinnae turn around yet.”
Her insistence made both men freeze.
Archer knew immediately that she wasn’t playing. The way her eyes nearly bulged but didn’t quite so as not to alert the stranger. He heard Calum take a step closer to him, positioning himself at his back.
“Where?” he asked softly, tilting his head to the side to seem nonchalant to the stranger, who was undoubtedly still watching them.
“The low stone wall. Off the garden. Cloaked. Trees.”
“Calum, stay with her. Keep her safe,” Archer ordered.
Calum shifted slightly to the left—a subtle, practiced movement that allowed his massive frame to block the stranger’s line of sight. It was all Archer needed.
Then, he was moving.
