Highland Ruse: Mercenary Maidens - Book Two

by Martin, Madeline

  Donnan grinned. “Dinna mind us, we’re just waiting to no’ be caught.”

  Kaid slid him a dark look, but couldn’t help the smile creeping over his lips. He nodded toward Torra. “Lady Torra?”

  Torra spread the tatters of her gown and gave a bow fit for a formal gathering. Her gaze remained fixed on him, as if she did not quite yet know what to make of him.

  Delilah’s face shone with pride at her success.

  “Ye’ve done well, my love,” Kaid said.

  “I’d never let you down.” She glanced toward the castle where all appeared still. “But Donnan is right. We mustn’t tarry.”

  Donnan put a hand on Leasa’s lower back. “Follow me, and mind ye stay quiet.”

  Together they moved through the forest, backs hunched, footsteps careful. All of them but Torra. The woman clattered through bushes and tripped over roots with such regularity, it was as if she were aiming for them.

  Delilah, ever the pragmatic lass, gave Kaid an apologetic smile and squeezed his hand before falling back to aid the other woman through the brush with meticulous patience.

  They were more than halfway through the forest when something rustled several feet away from Kaid. He held up a hand and everyone stopped.

  Except Torra.

  She shoved through a tree, her steps cracking on the dry leaves underfoot while her slender arm snapped a twig.

  It was all the enemy needed.

  The world exploded into shouts and war cries. Men leapt at them from all angles. The movement was apparent but a moment before a man was on Kaid with a blade flashing the light of the moon.

  Kaid reacted without thinking and shoved his sword into the man’s gullet. A savage scream behind Kaid turned his blood to ice.

  He turned and found Torra being held by the throat. Delilah lunged at the attacker, but the man’s blade was too fast.

  The world dragged to the hideously slow pace of a nightmare.

  But this was no nightmare.

  Kaid was awake, watching from two paces too far away to help. The attacker drew his arm back with the intent to strike at Torra. Delilah ran between the woman and death with nothing more than a dagger clutched in her fist.

  The man’s blade moved downward. Faster than Kaid’s feet, which seemed to slide in the layers of leaves beneath his boots.

  Down the blade came, slicing through air, and then slicing into Delilah.

  She fell back, her face alight with surprise.

  The dagger fell from her fingers.

  A cry wrenched from Kaid. The world sped forward, and he moved like a madman, without thought, without care, without anything funneling through him but the hatred of the man who had cut down the woman he loved.

  Delilah.

  It was her name which her attacker last heard before his life was brutally ended.

  Everything had fallen quiet. The fighting had stopped. All the guards were dead.

  Kaid jerked to where Delilah lay on the ground, immobile. A shadow covered her torso, hiding the gore of her wound from him. He didn’t want to see.

  But he had to.

  “Delilah.” He fell to his knees beside her and clutched at her shoulders. The woman he loved.

  A moan eased from her throat and his heart wrenched.

  Her hand fluttered over her stomach where she’d been struck, obstructing his view. “Help.” The word came out between gritted teeth.

  She struggled against his grasp.

  “Dinna move.” He wasn’t sure what he could do to help, but was certain her wriggling around with a stomach wound was not going to improve matters.

  “I need help sitting.” She reached up toward him for assistance. “I can’t get up in this blasted corset.”

  The moonlight glinted at her stomach, but not against blood. No, something metallic gleamed beneath the split fabric.

  “I forgot I’d worn my steel corset.” She grasped his palm, and he moved to help her, his gaze still fixed on her torso.

  “Ye dinna—” The words died on his tongue, absorbed by the relief flooding through him.

  “Percy made us all steel corsets.” She glanced down at a seam of blood that had appeared against the narrow slits of visible skin. Little more than a scratch. “They’re a beast to wear, but this one just saved my life. I put it on when I readied myself to flee, when I thought Torra was—”

  The wonder left Delilah’s face. “Where’s Torra?”

  Kaid kept his hand still clasped on Delilah. Not that he assumed she needed his protection—she’d already proven herself capable enough—but somehow touching her reassured him she was there.

  She was alive.

  She was safe.

  His throat drew tight with happiness, and he said it again in his mind twice more just for the sheer joy of it.

  Delilah was alive.

  Torra was easily found, crouched like a frightened child beneath a fallen tree. Scratches showed on her cheeks, but she was otherwise unharmed.

  As Kaid watched Delilah reassure the woman, a realization slammed into him. He’d not hesitated once in battle.

  His vision had not blurred, his heart had only pounded steadily and confidently, as it had done before the massacre. Even his palms had remained dry against the hilt of his sword.

  He didn’t know when, or why, or how, but through loving a woman so brave and sacrificing as Delilah, he found himself restored to the man he’d once been.

  • • •

  Torra lay slumped between the brace of Delilah and Kaid’s shoulders.

  The poor woman had been so frightened, Delilah had no choice but to offer the woman one of Percy’s draughts. She’d only been given half so she could still walk, but was terribly disoriented regardless.

  “Where am I?” Torra slurred. “Why?”

  “We’re taking you to a ball,” Leasa said in a soothing tone.

  Delilah looked at Leasa who offered a helpless shrug. It was a ridiculous answer, but seemed to placate Torra.

  While Delilah felt a stab of guilt over Torra’s drugged confusion, it was perhaps best the woman forgot everything that had happened prior to her taking the dose.

  For now, they were heading toward Killearnan, where Delilah would have to face Sylvi. Already the city line was in view, and Delilah’s heartbeat pounded faster with each step closer.

  “I’m going with ye into Killearnan,” Kaid declared.

  Tension throbbed at Delilah’s temples. “You can’t.” The time for being quiet about the other women was over. “It wasn’t just me who was hired by Lady Elizabeth’s father.”

  A knot of guilt lodged itself in her heart. She hated having to involve the other women. If going against her mission weren’t already betrayal enough, this was the twist of the dagger.

  She shifted Torra’s arm on her shoulders to ensure the woman would not slip free.

  “Who else is there, aside from Elizabeth’s maid?” Kaid asked.

  “Elizabeth’s maid isn’t a maid at all,” Delilah replied. “Her name is Liv. But it isn’t just the two of us who do work for hire. There are several of us. I’m to meet with the woman in charge of us all. Kaid, if you come with me, she’ll try to have you hanged in order to see my assignment fulfilled.”

  Kaid was quiet a moment too long. “I’ll no’ leave ye to go without me.” There was a determined edge to his tone, one she was sure he was used to seeing obeyed.

  But she was not one of his men, so easily commanded. “It’s too dangerous. She wants to see you—”

  “She doesna know anything about me,” Kaid said abruptly.

  He was right, of course. Even Lady Elizabeth’s father did not know who might seek to abduct Elizabeth. It was only known MacKenzie had many enemies and so the possibility was great.

  Elizabeth had been delivered to MacKenzie safely, which made their mission successful.

  A protest readied itself on Delilah’s tongue when Kaid’s look stilled her words. His expression was not hard or insistent, but desperate wi
th pleading.

  “I lost ye when ye left for Edirdovar. I thought I lost ye forever in the forest when ye were struck.” He swallowed. “I canna lose ye again, Delilah.”

  Her heart squeezed around his words and the depth of meaning behind them.

  The inn came into view on the edge of town, nondescript and unnamed from the missing sign outside. Exactly where Sylvi had told Delilah to meet her.

  Delilah gave a resigned nod to Kaid against her better judgment. But she knew from his determined stare toward the building, he would not be dissuaded.

  Within minutes, Leasa, Donnan, and Torra were all secreted into a room through an unseen entrance near the rear of the inn, thanks to a well-placed coin. Kaid and Delilah remained in the main area of the inn.

  A woman with a sapphire blue scarf over her head sauntered down the stairs with such an air of seduction, Delilah could not help but stare. The woman’s dress was a vibrant blue, and tiny charms jingled at her wrists and throat.

  It wasn’t until she stopped before their table and regarded them with sky blue eyes beneath a layer of slanted kohl that Delilah recognized her.

  Isabel.

  The excited flutter of recognition quelled when Delilah’s fellow spy fixed her focus on Kaid.

  “Who is this?” Isabel spoke in an accent as exotic and foreign as the gem glittering between her brows and the heavy spicy scent hovering around her.

  Delilah rose to embrace Isabel, who refused to take her gaze from Kaid.

  “I’ll explain when I speak to Sylvi,” Delilah said.

  Isabel walked around them like a cat eyeing her prey. “She’ll not let you take him with you.”

  Kaid rose to protest when a door opened and Sylvi appeared, wearing her customary men’s trews and loose leine along with a hard expression. She flicked a gaze toward Kaid and grinned, obviously assuming Delilah victorious.

  Delilah’s heart went heavy and slid into her stomach. Though she’d tried many times to come up with a way to tell Sylvi, it all sounded so insufficient in her head. And it all resonated with the exact words Delilah had so dreaded to say.

  She had failed.

  “It’s not what you think.” Delilah spoke as soon as the door sealed her inside the room alone with Sylvi.

  Sylvi raised a brow.

  “I didn’t bring him to be punished. I—” The words stuck in Delilah’s throat.

  The enormity of what she’d done slammed into her. She’d gone against her orders. She put Elizabeth, Liv, and Leasa at risk and destroyed the discretion of their entire assignment.

  Delilah suddenly wished to be anywhere but there.

  “Delilah.” Sylvi’s voice was sharp enough to cut through the fog of self-pity, something Delilah desperately needed.

  “I went to Edirdovar,” Delilah said.

  The skin around Sylvi’s eyes tightened. The cramped room had one lone window, which let in a slant of morning sun. It sliced into the dingy chamber and glowed against the blonde braids twisted back on Sylvi’s head. “Why did you go there?”

  “I had to help the MacLeod clan achieve peace to ensure there would be no more massacre—”

  “That was not what you’d been told to do.” Sylvi’s tone was tipped with an ice so cold, it frosted down Delilah’s spine.

  She steeled herself against the disappointment resonating in Sylvi’s hard stare. “I know. I deviated from the plan, but I don’t think I’ve ruined—”

  “Is Elizabeth at Edirdovar?” Sylvi asked.

  Delilah nodded.

  “And what did Laird MacKenzie say to you when Elizabeth arrived? Or was it you who came after her?” Sylvi’s mouth thinned.

  “She arrived after me. I was thrown in the dungeon.” Delilah winced against her next admission. “Along with Leasa.”

  Sylvi’s brows rose. “And how, pray tell, did you escape that? How many of his men did you kill? Did he find out why you were there?”

  “He didn’t know why I was there. I swear it.” There was a note of desperation in Delilah’s voice. She hated how it sounded in her own ears.

  Sylvi strode to one side of the room. The heavy boots she wore thudded against the uneven floorboards. “Delilah, do you know what you’ve done?” She stopped and stared with a look of such stark disappointment, Delilah actually felt the force of it strike deep in her heart. “You haven’t just failed your mission, you’ve failed me, and you’ve failed your sisters.” Spots of color showed on Sylvi’s pale cheeks. “You’ve put all of us in terrible danger.”

  There was a clatter outside the door before it burst open and Kaid strode into the room with Isabel staggering after him.

  “I willna have ye talk to Delilah in such a way.” He planted himself in front of Delilah with a wide-legged stance. “If ye’ve rage to spew, direct it at me, but no’ at her.”

  Delilah was stunned into silence. Part of her was outraged at the intrusion, at how clearly helpless he thought her. But there was another part of her, a wounded, sad part, which had never been defended before, and reveled in this masculine show of protectiveness.

  Everything he’d said and done up to this point proved something rewarding enough to make all the hurt of this meeting worthwhile. He cared.

  About her.

  “Shut the door, Isabel.” Sylvi turned slowly and let her cold gaze slide down Kaid. “Who the hell are you?”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Kaid stared at the woman dressed in men’s clothes and knew she would not be easily handled.

  Her clothing was all black, and her hair was braided back from her face and twisted into a wild mass of blonde hair. She looked more Scottish and wild than English. Even a subtle underlying lilt to her words suggested as much.

  Hostility shone bright in her pale eyes. The openness of her dislike made the black bow tied at her neck appear nothing short of ridiculous.

  “I’m Kaid MacLeod of Sutherland, laird of the Clan MacLeod.” He squared his shoulders. “It is my people Delilah sought to help.”

  “It is you who caused Delilah to abandon her mission?” The woman named Sylvi tilted her head and regarded him. “If I’m correct, I am assuming you’re the very man she was supposed to bring in to kill. And now you’re here. How very convenient.”

  The tall, slender lass was obviously trying to intimidate him. It would have been funny were he not so concerned for Delilah.

  “Nay, she aided my people because she has a good heart.” He glanced back at Delilah. Her face was flushed bright red. His explanation faltered into silence.

  “Do not talk about me as if I’m not in the room.” She clenched her fist. “I helped your people because seeing the cruelty they’ve endured broke my heart.” Her shoulders sagged. “Sylvi, if you saw them…”

  A wash of uncomfortable warmth spread over Kaid. He didn’t want his clan to be pitied, but wasn’t that the perspective he’d forced upon her when she arrived? It had gotten her to help him, which he had desperately needed.

  Sylvi stood in front of the one window to peer out before speaking. The morning sunlight left her hair a glow of white around her shoulders and face. “Your heart has always gotten you into trouble, Delilah.” The words were said with more kindness than their previous conversation. “I know how much you wanted this mission.” A hard set returned to Sylvi’s jaw. “This meant everything to all of us.”

  “I know.” Delilah spoke so quietly, it made Kaid want to stand in front of her once more.

  “I dinna know what her success with ye would afford her,” Kaid said. “But what she’s done for my people will save lives.”

  Sylvi looked between Kaid and Delilah. “You didn’t disclose the details of our mission?”

  Delilah’s cheeks went red. “I told him it was Elizabeth’s father who ordered we bring any potential attackers to justice.”

  The chilly touch of Sylvi’s gaze settled first on Kaid, then back on Delilah, and her expression relaxed. Somewhat. “I’d like to see your castle.”

  “Ardvre
ck,” Kaid provided.

  “Yes. Ardvreck,” Sylvi amended. “I’d like to see it.”

  “Ye’d be a welcome guest.” Kaid gave her a bow. Probably an awkward one, most likely stiff. Hell, he didn’t know what he was doing, but he thought it might help his cause.

  Delilah’s cause.

  “You should know we travel with a woman who is very ill,” Delilah said and quickly explained Torra’s situation. “Our travel may be slow, but we can plan as we ride. I would also like to get Elizabeth and Liv out of there as quickly as possible.”

  Sylvi hesitated. “If it weren’t for Elizabeth, I’d say we could just kill MacKenzie now.”

  Kaid felt himself suddenly liking the blonde woman more. “We need Torra to take back the land with the support of her people. If MacKenzie dies without an heir, who knows who will take his place.”

  Sylvi’s sigh was almost inaudible in the silent room. “So many complications. Very well. We’ll bring Percy and discuss our options on the road. Let’s not waste another moment.”

  A rush of victory swelled through Kaid. Not only had he been able to defend Delilah’s choice, but he had enlisted the aid of what appeared to be a very capable woman.

  This would all be over soon, so long as they could get Torra to cooperate.

  • • •

  They’d snuck back into Ardvreck Castle with their hoods up against the moist chill of the night air, creeping in the dark like thieves.

  The journey had taken over four days.

  Delilah helped ease Torra into the large bed of the chamber she’d shared with Leasa when they were last at Ardvreck. The woman immediately curled into a ball and pulled the covers over her head.

  A sense of urgency nipped at Delilah, tempting her to leave Torra as she was.

  Kaid waited for Delilah in his room. He’d slipped the words into her ear with a velvety voice and a look of such longing her body still hummed with the effects.

  How she wanted to lose herself in his touch, his kiss. She suppressed a sigh lest it come across as impatient.