Page 64 of Hunted By the Hard Highlander

“I am surprised that ye managed to hide from me for so long,” her uncle said, speaking to her as if they were reconnecting. His casual tone turned her stomach. “I suppose that is me fault for underestimatin’ ye. That is a mistake that I willnae make again.”

His hand tightened, the blunt ends of his nails digging into her skin. She could not stop herself from yelping, the pain more acute than that of any falls and squeezes. It seemed to be the exact reaction that he was looking for, and he pressed them forward with an almost gleeful energy.

“I ken better than to underestimate yer husband-to-be,” her uncle continued, enjoying the position he had put her in. He thought that he was going to win, and as they ventured further into the mountains, Aurora became more and more concerned about her own safety. She did not think that she could trust him to follow through on returning her even if he got Adair. “It is why I took so long to act. I had to ken his patterns. His secrets.”

Her uncle yanked her around one last corner, and the tunnels suddenly widened. Aurora’s breath caught, and she tried one last time to keep herself from being pulled any further. It was useless, though. His hold on her was too strong, and her own body was so much weaker than his.

“Ye daenae wish to be in the sunlight once more?” Laird MacGonagal asked, continuing to pull her forward, dragging her heels across the uneven ground. “Surely ye daenae want to be stuck within these stone walls. Or perhaps ye would enjoy bein’ kept in a dungeon.”

“I wouldnae!” she exclaimed as she tried to pull herself away once more.

She could not allow herself to be taken off of Anderson grounds. It was one thing to be stuck here, in a place that Hendry knew well. If she was taken into the forest, hidden within the boundaries of the Highlands, she might never be found, even if she managed to get away from her uncle.

“Then stop tryin’ to get away from me,” he snapped, the conversational tone he had been maintaining as they walked completely dropping. “The more ye struggle and the more difficult ye make this for me, the harsher yer punishment will be.”

Before Aurora was able to say anything else, her uncle’s foot landed on a raised stone. Time seemed to slow down as there was a scraping sound. It was the same as the one that she had heard when she had unintentionally triggered a trap.

“What—”

The mountains seemed to come alive then. Ancient counterweights hidden inside the walls released with a deafening crash. Several pebbles fell in front of them, one landing only a few inches away from her uncle.

Massive stone gates dropped over the opening that they had been running toward. Behind them, heavy iron grilles slammed into place. Both exits were effectively sealed at the same time.

Laird MacGonagal dropped her wrist as he swung around. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. She could see the way that his mind reeled, each and every question that he had but could not bring himself to speak them aloud.

This wasnae chance… Hendry kent that Laird MacGonagal was watchin’.

* * *

“They have been here,” Hendry said to himself as he rushed into the tunnel.

The torches on the wall burned, catching the dust that had been disturbed by Laird MacGonagal as he dragged Aurora away. There were signs of her struggle: a scrap of emerald green fabric on the ground, scuffs along the stone from her shoes as she had attempted to stop her uncle from taking her further into the bowels of the tunnels.

Hendry’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword as he pushed on. He did not bother disguising the sound of his footsteps. Even if Laird MacGonagal had warning, there was nowhere for him to run. And Hendry knew exactly who would win in a physical altercation.

Ahead, he heard the sounds of conversation. It was chilling, hearing the man’s voice and the overly familiar cadence he used. Though he could not make out the words that he was saying, Hendry could tell that Aurora was not responding.

“That is right, lass,” he murmured, marching ahead faster and expertly avoiding the traps that he had left active. “Daenae give him anythin’. Daenae let him have anythin’ that he can use against ye.”

For the next several minutes, Hendry followed the path they took carefully. With each step he took, he closed the distance between himself and Aurora. It was difficult to keep from charging forward, from stopping them here. He knew that the best way to catch Laird MacGonagal was to allow him to walk directly into his trap.

At least, that was what he told himself until he heard Aurora yelp.

“Nae on me watch,” Hendry growled through gritted teeth.

His legs pumping, his breathing tempered, he started to run. As he came across a tripwire, he jumped, landing perfectly on the other side. He knew these tunnels as well as he knew the castle itself. It would take an act of God to cause him to activate one of these failsafes.

It was he who intercepted me letters. He has been here long enough to move through these tunnels confidently.

As Hendry turned a corner, his body shifting with a grace that did not seem to match his size, he heard the sounds of the trap at the end of the tunnel shifting.

The walls of the tunnels seemed to shake with the force of the mechanisms clicking into place. A crash echoed through the space, loud enough to be heard all the way back at the castle. He smiled to himself, savagely pleased at the fact that he had truly anticipated Laird MacGonagal’s moves.

It isnae any time for me to be too proud. He still has Aurora, and she willnae be safe until she is back in me arms.

Hendry’s legs moved faster, his heart pounding as adrenaline flooded his veins. They were trapped now, not going anywhere. That would not stop Laird MacGonagal from attacking Aurora. Now it was an even more obvious risk. If the man did not have anywhere to go, he would turn his rage on the person nearest to him.

“I willnae let him harm her,” Hendry growled, the words getting lost in the cacophony of noise from the activated traps. “Nae when I am so close.”