Page 1 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

Prologue

One year ago

“But that is all we have!” the man cried as he fell to his knees. “Please. My wife is pregnant and starving. She and the babe wilnae make it if ye take this from us!”

“Ye should have thought of that before ye tried to withhold.” Raising his hand, Teague backhanded him, and the man fell to the floor. Sobbing in fear, the younger woman quickly ran to him. When Teague lifted his hand again, Theo reached out and grabbed it.

“We have what we want,” he said coldly. “We have more houses to search, and I wilnae tolerate taking up time so ye can slap some silly woman.”

“Oh, I will do more than slap her. Ye see the curves on her?” Teague grinned nastily.

Theo’s stomach turned. The rounded hips of a woman carrying another man’s baby were not for anyone to leer over.

“Which will take up even more time,” Theo said. “Save yer lustful thoughts for the lass waiting to warm yer bed tonight. However, there must be some repercussions for the man’s lying tongue. I shall meet ye at the next house.”

Theo pulled out the horsewhip and nodded. “Go on. I wish to finish this business in time for supper.”

“Ye’re a cold bastard, Theo. Just like yer father,” Teague chuckled. “Let’s go, men. Leave Theo to his pleasures.”

Schooling his features, he showed none of his disgust as Teague and the men trickled out of the house. Once he was certain that he was alone, he lowered the whip.

“I cannae explain now. There is no time. But if ye will scream as though I am striking ye, then I will make certain that food comes yer way.”

The two looked at him in bewilderment, and Theo raised the whip. Immediately, the man screamed, and his wife cried.

Theo waited a beat. “One more time.”

Again, the two did as he asked. Their terror was real. “That should be enough. Later tonight, I will return. There will be no knock at the door, so ye must check every hour before dawn. I will return some of the food. I cannae return all of it, but I will do my best. If the guards see the food before ye bring it in, the consequences will fall on yer head, so ye must not allow that to happen. Do ye understand?”

The man glanced at his wife and nodded.

“Good. The guards wilnae check yer residence for a while, so ye need not fear another attack until the spring. Harvest will be more plentiful, and ye will have more to share. I must ask that ye not tell a soul what I have done.”

“I don’t understand,” the wife whispered. “Why are ye doing this? Yer father is the laird. Ye are…”

“Just like him?” Theo answered with a grimace. “If my father knew that his son was not just like him, I would not see the dawn. The only hope for us is to continue with appearances. Ye will tell no one of this night.”

“My brother...” the man said hoarsely. “Ye killed him a year ago.”

Theo desperately wished he could tell the man that he remembered his brother, or that his brother was safe. In some cases, he was able to smuggle those marked for death out until it was safe for them to return. Only those he trusted most knew what he was doing and would testify to the executions that never happened. His father never questioned the absence of bodies. He was already thirsting for the next victim.

But he didn’t dare tell this man that because there were times when he couldn’t save them. He had enough blood on his hands to damn him for all eternity. There would be nothing to save him from that, but there were still people here that he could save.

He couldn’t take much more of this. People were dying around him because of his father. It was time to put an end to the madness.

“I am sorry for that,” he said as tears welled up in the man’s eyes. “I save those that I can. He may be gone, but for yer wife and yer unborn, this is all I can offer for now.”

“Thank ye,” the wife whispered. “When ye are laird, there may be hope.”

Without a word, Theo turned and left to stop Teague and his men from terrorizing the next dozen or so people. He wanted to believe that his father had somehow found the darkest souls in the Highlands and gave them power within the guard, but he feared that it was his father’s blackened soul that ignited the evil in others.

What would he do when he looked at the reflection in the water and saw that same evil staring back at him?

A man—a laird—had to have heirs, but Theo could never be a father. Not if his only example had been responsible for the terrifying scars that ran over his arms and down his back. And how could he be a husband when he watched his father beat down his mother?

No, Theo didn’t have that luxury. When he wed, it would be for duty. His nights would be for the good of the clan and not for pleasure. And when he had a son, he would send them somewhere safe, where they could be raised by a kind heart and learn good leadership qualities.

This he could offer his people. A future no longer tainted by Patrick MacDougal.