Page 112 of Highland Ruse

Kaid shook his head. “I dinna understand. How do ye know? And why would the lass go with Rhona?”

“Rhona took her.” Another tear ran down Delilah’s cheek. “I promised Claire I’d never let anything happen to her again. I let her be taken, Kaid. I wasn’t there to save her.”

Delilah, Kaid’s strong, beautiful Delilah, broke down then into a fit of sobs. Kaid held her and let her cry against his chest. Beneath his tear-soaked leine, his own heart crushed against his throat.

Claire, with Rhona.

On their way to MacKenzie, that bastard.

His stomach twisted. What would they do with Claire?

Lachlan appeared in the doorway and cast them a wary glance.

“A moment,” Kaid said to Lachlan, who nodded and slipped from view in an obvious show of offering privacy. He wouldn’t go far, Kaid knew, not when they had so many important details to finalize.

Delilah lifted her head and looked toward the empty doorway.

“Go to the room,” Kaid said softly. “I’ll be in later this evening. We can discuss it more then.”

“No,” she gasped. “We have to leave now.”

“It’s no’ possible. No’ with so many men—”

“Kaid, they’ll kill her.” Tears brimmed in her eyes. “So many men cannot travel quickly.” She spoke fast, as if doing so might possibly change his mind. “We could catch them. Stop Rhona before she gets any further.”

“They’re already too far, and we dinna know the path they took.” He tried to keep his tone gentle, but her wounded expression hardened.

“You could have men go after them,” she said.

“My men are needed to prepare for the march on Edirdovar. We’ll save Claire when we get there.” Kaid reached for her, but she jerked from his grasp.

“By then she might be dead. I thought you loved her,” Delilah whispered. “I thought you loved us both.”

If she’d meant those words to be a dagger in his heart, she’d hit her mark perfectly. He almost staggered beneath the pain of the blow.

Lachlan’s dark head peered around the doorway, a reminder of the limited time and the growing list of important details to discuss.

Kaid staunched the ache emanating from deep within. He couldn’t think of the way Claire smiled with such tenderness, nor how she held such trust when she regarded him with her large blue eyes, or the sweet warmth of her skinny-armed hugs.

Kaid swallowed the tightening sensation in his throat. “We can’t always make decisions with our hearts, Delilah.” It was said harshly, more as a reminder to himself than to her.

She lifted her head and regarded him with cold calculation. He felt as much a monster as MacKenzie. “Because a soft heart leads to poor decisions?” The words were like a splash of acid.

Lachlan crossed his arms and studied the hearth with such intensity, his discomfort was palpable.

Kaid caught Delilah’s arms and met her gaze. “Go to the room, Delilah. We will speak of this no more tonight and will leave in the morning as planned.”

In truth, he could not allow himself to focus on the topic anymore. He couldn’t let his mind be clouded with the hurt of Claire’s loss when he had so many lives at stake.

Delilah turned from the room without another word and stalked past Lachlan, who nodded in greeting. He glanced behind him and regarded Kaid. “Is something amiss, laird?”

Kaid shook his head. “No’ anything we can do much about now.” Then he tried as best he could to shove out the racing thoughts about Claire and Delilah. Being distracted would help no one.

He had a war to plan.

• • •

Delilah’s throat burned with the swell of a rising scream. She wanted to let it loose until her throat bled. Maybe the searing cry would staunch the direct flow of damage to her heart.