Niall: A Highlander Romance (The Ghosts of Culloden Moor Book 32)

by Diane Darcy

  She moved around the bricks, and Niall followed, pressing himself close against her.

  “Ready?”

  “O’ course.” He slipped on his mask, though his kilt still gave him away. “Let’s do this.”

  Swiping her phone open, she blocked her number, and texted her brother.

  In less than thirty seconds, Zach rounded the side of the building, his footsteps loud as they slapped against the pavement.

  She could hear him muttering to himself and when he got closer, he didn’t take his eyes off the car, which was handy when Niall suddenly sprang into action, sneaking up behind him.

  “What the —”

  The two men scuffled, and Jenny moved forward to help, but Niall had her brother on the ground, knee in the small of his back as he tied his hands together.

  Jenny surged forward and opened the trunk of her car.

  Her brother was swearing, fighting, but it did him no good. Niall had the advantage of surprise, and the strength, and had Zach well and truly trussed before he’d understood what was happening. He was still fighting as Niall lifted him into the trunk.

  Jenny glanced frantically around, but fortunately nobody seemed to notice them.

  Just as they shut the trunk, two men walked by the street and Jenny ripped off her mask and made a dash for the driver’s door. Once inside, she started the car and had it reversed by the time Niall joined her in the passenger seat.

  Her heart was pounding out of her chest as her brother made noises in the trunk, kicking and fighting for all he was worth.

  “What do we do? Someone is going to report us!”

  “Stop the carriage, lass, open the boot.”

  She did as he asked, wondering if he was simply going to tell her brother to stop fighting, that this was for his own good, or something. Instead Niall jumped out and she heard the muffled sound of someone being slugged.

  He’d hit her brother?

  The trunk was shut once more, and there was no longer any noise coming from the back.

  Niall slid in beside her. “All is well.”

  “Did you hit my brother?”

  “'Twas but a wee tap to his temple, he’ll be fine.”

  Jenny’s mouth gaped. “You hit my brother?”

  “Hurry, lass, we must get Tina.”

  “You’re not going to hit her are you?”

  Now it was his turn to gape. “Hit a woman? Are ye insane? I’d never do such a thing.”

  Jenny was still trying to wrap her mind around the violence to her brother when Niall gestured toward the steering wheel. Let’s go.”

  “But if he’s hurt —”

  “Not to worry. He’s fine. I’ve had more than my share of taps to the head, and know just where to hit. He might wake with a headache, but he’ll be right as rain.”

  Well, the man was a doctor. A therapist, granted, but surely they had some medical training?

  She decided not to question it. It was already done, and if Zach ended up with a concussion or something, that would be on her. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?

  She fought the sudden urge to giggle uncontrollably, and gently put the car in gear and turned onto the street.

  Time to go get Tina.

  Niall watched as Jenny carefully and quietly opened Tina’s back door with one of the keys on Zach’s key ring.

  “Lass, ye stay here. I’ll take care of this myself.”

  “But —”

  “Nae, doonae argue. Just wait here.”

  Niall eased inside, determined to do this quickly and efficiently so Jenny would have less stress over the whole thing.

  The girl was practically hyperventilating.

  You’d think she’d never kidnapped anyone before. In his time, it was a regular occurrence.

  Niall quickly search the downstairs, but there was no sign of Tina.

  He quietly made his way up the stairs, and soon found her fast asleep on a bed, taking an afternoon nap.

  He hesitated a moment. He had no problem kidnapping Zach, or roughing him up a bit, but a pregnant female was another story entirely.

  He thought about Jenny’s concerns over being sued, and decided they were less important than Tina’s peace of mind in her delicate state, and pulled the black mask off his face.

  He eased into the room and gently lifted the girl into his arms.

  She slowly woke.

  “What the—?”

  Alarm filled her face, and he tried to gentle her as he would a horse. “Hush now, quiet now, ye’re safe, ye’re nae in any danger.”

  Her look of alarm turned to one of confusion. “Niall? What are you doing here?”

  Before he had a chance to answer, her mouth dropped open. “Oh my gosh, you’re not going to turn out to be a serial killer or something are you? Because if you are —”

  As Tina’s face filled with mutiny and anger, Niall reassured her once more.

  “Hush now, this is a simple kidnapping. We’ll put ye with your husband, somewhere where ye can work out your differences. I simply didnae wish tae frighten ye.”

  She started to struggle, and he quickly went down the stairs, laid her on the couch, and tied her as gently as he was able.

  She tried to fight him, of course, but had not the bulk, nor the muscle, to do much damage.

  She did get her teeth into his wrist and bit down hard, but these things were to be expected, and he let it bother him not at all.

  With her firmly trussed and gagged he took her out the back door, locked it, and gently eased it shut.

  Jenny had backed the car down her driveway, so he could easily—and privately—put Tina in the boot with her husband.

  Jenny still had her mask on, and when Tina laid eyes on it, Jenny blanched.

  “Why did you take your mask off?”

  “I didnae wish to frighten an expectant mother.”

  Tina loudly mumbled and glared at Jenny’s mask-clad face.

  “Oh my gosh, we’re in so much trouble.”

  Tina nodded vigorously.

  “Maybe we should call this off?”

  “Trust me, this is going to work. It always does.”

  He heard Jenny swallow, and then she opened the boot.

  When Tina saw her husband out cold, she started screeching behind the gag once more, and bucking in his arms.

  It did her no good.

  Niall gently set her among the blankets Jenny had laid down earlier. He removed her gag and shut them in.

  Tina’s threats and obscenities came through muffled, but loud and clear.

  He and Jenny got in the car, cringing at some of the more colorful invectives coming from the back. She took off her mask with shaking fingers, then slowly drove down Tina’s driveway before turning right onto the street.

  “Do ye know where you’re going?”

  She nodded. “I have a map on my phone. It’ll take us an hour to get there.”

  Tina didn’t seem to be making any more noise, which was good. Perhaps the lass had accepted her fate or was simply glad to be back where she belonged, at her husband’s side no matter the circumstances.

  With heartfelt satisfaction at a job well done, Niall smiled over at Jenny.

  She sent him a tentative smile in return. “We’re really doing this, aren’t we?”

  With the window down, he hit the top of the car twice, jubilation rushing through him.

  “Aye, lass, that we are.”

  An hour later, they pulled up in front of the cabin.

  It was a two-story wooden structure, and the bright sunlight glinted off the big picture windows in the front. It even had a basketball court off to one side, of which she totally approved. And if the photos on the internet were to be believed, it was quite luxurious on the inside.

  It looked like a great place for a honeymoon. Or maybe the perfect setting to work out a difficult marriage?

  Jenny certainly hoped so.

  She liked the looks of the big deck that spread out in front of the structure
and overlooked the trees that went on for miles.

  She stopped in the huge dirt driveway, turned off the car, and blew out a breath. “What do we do now?”

  “Let’s take the supplies inside, and then I’ll carry them both in.”

  With a nod, she opened her door and got out.

  She was already in this all the way. There was no changing that, no backing out, so she might as well follow through.

  She opened the back door and grabbed bags of groceries. Niall did the same on the other side.

  Still no noise from the trunk.

  Had Tina fallen asleep? Suddenly worried whether they could breathe or not, Jenny dropped the bags, depressed the button on the backseat that opened into the trunk, and peered inside.

  Tina lifted her head, blinking, and Jenny jerked back. She wasn’t wearing her mask.

  She sighed. Like it would matter at this point. She’d just have to hope their family ties and friendship kept her out of prison.

  She shut the seat, the door, and picked up the groceries. “Come on, I’ve got the combination for the front door.”

  The two of them crossed the distance, and Jenny took a breath, inhaling the fragrant smell of pines and the musk of the outdoors.

  Too bad the cabin wasn’t for them. A romantic assignation with the man at her side would have been much more fun, and also less likely to get her arrested. A girl could dream.

  The front door was at ground level underneath the big deck. She checked her phone, punched the combination into the lockbox, and sighed with relief when it opened easily.

  She walked inside, checked her phone again, and punched the combination for the security system. She walked into the kitchen, set the groceries on the counter, and unplugged the phone.

  She’d been assured there was another one in the upstairs bedroom, so she headed up there to collect it as well. When they came back to get Zach and Tina tomorrow, she’d return them to their rightful place.

  She turned around to see Niall had followed her. He didn’t look worried in the least. Beautiful, arrogant man.

  He smiled at her. “Lass. Take a healthy young couple, especially one already attracted to each other, and strand them in a deserted location. I promise ye, they will take care of the rest.”

  She nodded, wishing she felt as confident. “Tina is expecting. What if something goes wrong?”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know, just something.”

  “She’ll be fine. We’ll be back in the morn. Ye’ve got to trust me on this.”

  She nodded once more and when she made to go past him, he grabbed hold of her arms. She stifled a gasp. She wished the heat from his hands, from him touching her, didn’t affect her so much. She looked up into his face, and what she saw there—handsome, attractive, male—only made her want to move closer.

  She suddenly wished the ruse for the weekend was real. That they’d met in college, he was visiting, and that maybe they could be interested in each other, and they could see if that attraction could lead anywhere.

  He swallowed loudly in the silence, and then released her arm and took a step back.

  Well, that told her all she needed to know, didn’t it?

  Of course, she had two kidnap victims in the trunk of her car right now, so she really shouldn’t be thinking about the fact that she stood in a bedroom with an attractive Highland warrior — warrior? Where had that thought come from?

  One last glance before heading downstairs confirmed that was exactly what he looked like. She’d read too many medieval romance novels, apparently, and had cast him in the role of her favorite type of hero.

  The man was a therapist, for heaven sake! Here because she’d agreed to pay him to do this task.

  She needed to stop trying to romanticize the situation, and get with the program.

  He was right behind her when she opened the door again and headed back outside.

  She stashed the two telephones in her backseat, shut the door, and straightened. “Should we wear the masks?”

  He smiled at her. “O’ course. Twill make it more fun.”

  She shook her head and rolled her eyes, but felt a thrill of excitement at the thought of opening the trunk and carrying out the charade, regardless of the fact that her brother and Tina would probably know exactly who she was.

  Surely they’d all laugh about this later. Or, if she was going to prison over this, she’d at least be able to look back and say she had a good time.

  “Okay, let’s do this.”

  She opened her car door and retrieved the two masks. Grinning at each other, they put them on, and her excitement over what they were about to do kicked up a notch.

  She was sick in the head.

  There was definitely something wrong with her.

  If she had to blame anyone, she was going to blame it on Niall. The man definitely made her life more exciting and fun.

  “Are ye ready, lass?”

  “Ready.”

  “Open the boot.”

  She waited until Niall was in place, ready for anything that happened, and then she popped the trunk and hurried back to help.

  “You two aren’t fooling anyone!” Tina glared up at them and Jenny had to fight the urge to giggle.

  She was in so much trouble later!

  Zach was groggily waking, which she had to admit was a relief. If he had a concussion or something, she’d never forgive herself.

  Again, she was just going to have to trust in Niall. The man was a doctor, and he had experience with this.

  She pushed her misgivings away, and watched as Niall leaned in and scooped Tina out of the trunk.

  “Shut it, lass.”

  As Zach started to protest, she shut him in the trunk again, and ridiculously, stifled a laugh. She was in so, so much trouble!

  “Come lass, help me with the door.”

  She ran ahead of Niall, held open the main door, then ran upstairs and stood by as Niall gently placed Tina on the master bed.

  The place was decorated in plush rustic. Iron moose lamps with tan lampshades, a bedspread covered in walking moose, beams in the ceiling, hardwood floors, and plush throw pillows and rugs.

  The place screamed romance. It really would make a good place to honeymoon. She hoped they appreciated it.

  Tina lay on the bed, gagged and bound, but was no longer fighting. “Good girl, stay here, and I’ll get your husband.”

  “Do as he says.” Again, Jenny had to not giggle over the threatening words, as Tina glared at her.

  Both of them ran back down the stairs, out to the car, and repeated their earlier actions.

  This time, when the trunk opened, Niall had a fight on his hands as Zach tried to kick him the moment the trunk was open.

  Niall jumped back, then grabbed Zach by his legs and hauled him out, balancing him on the edge of the trunk at the last moment so he could regain his footing.

  Once he did, Zach bent over and tried to ram Niall in the stomach with his head, but again Niall was too quick, and Zach ended up falling on the ground.

  Jenny leapt forward, but Niall grabbed her and held her back.

  “Are you all right?”

  Zach’s head snapped up, and he looked from Jenny, to her car, and then back to Jenny.

  “Jenny?” His mouth was still gagged, but she could clearly understand what he said.

  “Oh no, it’s not me. I swear.”

  Nail hauled Zach to his feet.

  This time, Zach didn’t fight, but looked between the two of them, confusion evident in his expression. “What are you doing?”

  Again, his words were clear, even through the gag.

  “You’ll find out soon enough, laddie.”

  Niall marched Zach inside and up the stairs and shoved him down next to Tina.

  “We’ll be back in the morning to fetch ye. If I were ye two, I’d be making the most of my time here.”

  He reached inside his shirt, and hauled out a piece of plaid that looked like a scar
f.

  “This is a hand-fasting cloth. As soon as ye’re ready, tie your hands together and renew your wedding vows.” He tossed it between them. “You’re welcome.”

  With that, he rounded the bed, loosened Tina’s rope a bit, and then grabbed Jenny’s hand and hurried her down the stairs and out the door.

  Within the minute, they were both in the car, and her wheels were spitting dirt as she drove down the road.

  Her breath was coming in harsh pants and she giggled. “I can’t believe we actually did that!”

  Niall grinned.

  She started to laugh harder. “Oh, my gosh! The look on Zach’s face! I really hope you know what you’re doing!”

  “I do, lass. Trust me on this.”

  Trust him? Smiling she blew out a breath.

  Apparently, she did.

  Chapter 9

  As Niall watched, he could see Jenny coming down from the high usually associated with a fight, but in this case, with a kidnapping.

  “Are ye all right, lass?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, even as her hands gripped, loosened, and then gripped the steering wheel again.

  He chuckled. “Take a breath. Yer reaction is completely normal.”

  She shot him a grin. “And you would know, wouldn’t you?”

  He nodded once. “I would know.”

  She did take a breath, and then smiled again. “All right, I’m going to let it go now. There’s nothing I can do at this point anyway; it’s all on Zach and Tina.”

  “It is. If they’re foolish enough to let love, marriage, and a babe on the way become less important than their pride, then I suppose they’ll deserve what they get.”

  She nodded, still visibly shaken, but calming some, her mane of dark hair partially covering her face.

  He figured it was time to turn her attention elsewhere. His as well, as he was having a hard time looking away from her lovely, flushed face. “We’ve got a few hours of sunlight left. What’s on the agenda for the rest of the day? Is there aught I can help ye with?”

  She glanced at the numbers prominently displayed on the smooth front of the car and he realized it was the time.

  Her face suddenly took on a panicked expression. “Oh, my gosh!”