Page 6 of To Claim His Highland Bride

Without hesitation, the man stepped into the circle of the torchlight. Bryce. Marcus’s cousin, and her one-time attacker when she’d been imprisoned at the seat of the MacDonald clan, Monkstadt House.

“I can see in your eyes that you are surprised to see me.” Bryce’s dark gaze locked on hers.

She couldn’t read his expression, but after their last struggle at the MacDonald stronghold when she’d hit Bryce on the head, allowing her to escape, she was certain he’d be angry. “Why are you here?” She clutched the torch she’d retrieved a moment earlier, using it as a shield. Though not a true weapon, the flames offered her a certain amount of protection. She groaned inwardly. Why had she not taken a moment to don the leather tunic and trousers she’d retrieved from her armoire?

“I came to claim a prize that has eluded me for months.” His tone was suddenly fierce.

Rowena forced herself not to react, though she shivered inside as she faced him. Bryce had tried to force himself on her once already in an attempt to ruin her before she could wed Marcus. Was that his intent now?

Bryce lifted his hand and levelled a pistol at her. “You do not have to worry about me having my way with you. At least not in the near future. I have other plans for you.”

Her torch was no match for a bullet, yet she waved the torch at him, forcing Bryce to take a step back. “I will not surrender to you without a fight.”

He shrugged. “I expected as much.” With a nod of his head, two men appeared out of the darkness. One kicked the torch out of her hands and sent her reeling backwards.

The torch dropped to the rocky beach but before she hit the rocks, she was pulled upright by a beefy hand on her arm. “Nay,” she cried as she was jerked towards a solid chest.

The hilt of the second man’s sword bit into her hip. He dug his fingers into the flesh of her arm as he smiled a wicked smile. “What are we gonna do with her now?”

“We are going to take her back to our lair and wait for my cousin to arrive.” Bryce’s voice hardened on the last words.

Instead of fear, hope leapt inside Rowena. “Marcus is here? He’s returned?” She’d sensed his nearness over the past few days. Why had she not listened to her brothers and her mother? They had been right to be concerned for her safety outside of the castle walls. She opened her mouth to scream, but Bryce stepped closer, placing the gun against her chest.

“No histrionics, or I’ll shoot you here and now.” His eyes locked on hers. There was a shadow of desperation lurking in his dark eyes.

Instead of screaming, Rowena stared down at the pistol pressed against where her heart thundered in her chest. Bryce wanted something from her and from Marcus. Until he got whatever it was, he wasn’t going to harm her. The thought kept her from total panic. With an effort she drew a breath and tried to think of what to do—how to wrest the gun away from him and break free from the big oaf who held her captive—but her brain couldn’t focus on anything other than the fact that Marcus had returned.

Drawing in a breath, trying desperately to think, she attempted to shake off the iron grip on her arm, without success. “Let me go. Marcus will kill you if you harm me.”

“I don’t want to harm you, not unless you force me to do so. I want something far more precious than your feminine attributes, and I intend to use you to extort it from my cousin.” An expression of satisfaction lent brief animation to his features.

She lifted her chin, suddenly understanding. “You want his newfound wealth.”

“My cousin has everything. The strength of a new clan, you, and most likely a fortune from his endeavours on the high seas,” Bryce said in a tightly controlled voice. Beneath the words she could hear his fury.

Truly puzzled by his logic, she shook her head. “How could you know anything about a fortune? Marcus has yet to return.”

Bryce’s lips curled. “I know my cousin. He succeeds at everything. And he has returned. I saw his ship anchoring off Point Neist early this afternoon.”

Rowena staggered on her feet. Marcus had not come for her immediately. Her throat constricted even as she forced herself to breathe. The pain of that betrayal welled and swelled inside her.

A shout from the tower jolted Rowena back to the moment. Someone on the tower had seen the torchlight or motion on the shoreline below and had sounded an alarm.

“Hellfire,” Bryce muttered under his breath. He moved the pistol from her chest. “We must head to the trees.” The second man came forward to grasp her other arm. With the pistol, Bryce motioned Rowena forward. When she didn’t move, the giant men attached to her arms dragged her towards the trees.

She strained her ears to listen for the footsteps of the guards coming down the passageway to the sea gate. The men were running, but they would never reach the shoreline before the three of them disappeared into the trees.

“Hurry up.” Bryce’s pistol dug into her side as the two men swept her forward.

A chill slid through her at the touch of cold metal through her gown. They leapt over the stream that fed Loch Dunvegan and were at the edge of the treeline when Rowena wrenched back, surprising her captors. She broke free of their grasp and pulled away from the cold muzzle of the pistol, praying Bryce wouldn’t pull the trigger. “Help!” She looked for dark figures on the shoreline, but the guards had yet to arrive through the sea gate. Desperate to let them know she had been taken, she redoubled her volume. “Help!”

“Damn you,” Bryce snarled as something hard hit her head.

She swayed as the world swirled before her. Before she could catch herself, she was lifted off her feet and tossed over the back of a horse. Her head pounded as she collapsed against the animal’s warm coat. A heartbeat later, Bryce mounted behind her and none too gently pulled her upright to lean against his chest. The horse lurched forward. She opened her eyes briefly but couldn’t focus her senses enough to stop the world from spinning.

Bryce held her tight as he rummaged in his saddlebag for something. “I’d hoped this wouldn’t be necessary, but I underestimated you yet again. That will be the last time. I promise you.”

He leaned closer. A waft of sweetness reached her, then intensified into a suffocating, cloying smell. A cloth clamped over her nose and mouth.