The Striker Read online

  Praise for MONICA McCARTY and her New York Times and USA Today bestselling Highland Guard series!

  “Against a richly historical and violent backdrop, McCarty deftly weaves a surprisingly moving love story that demands a skillful writer’s touch. Her exquisite prose makes this a book readers will treasure.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “The characters leap off the pages and into your heart. With a stunning plot that has enough twists and turns in all the right places, McCarty has created yet another captivating story that is sure to please!”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Passion and politics abound in this exceptionally well-researched romance that skillfully interweaves fiction with history and sheds new light on a particularly fascinating and violent time.”

  —Library Journal

  “Readers who deplore ‘wallpaper historicals’ will appreciate not only the romance but McCarty’s efforts to go beyond the superficialities of historical Scotland.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Spectacularly entertaining. . . . McCarty is a master of blending fact and fiction.”

  —Romance Junkies

  “One of those amazing books that captures your attention right from the get-go. . . . McCarty has written a tale fit for a king.”

  —Coffee Time Romance

  “Thoroughly enjoyable. . . . Cleverly interwoven plot twists . . . kept me on my toes!”

  —The Romance Reviews

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  To Annelise, for your faith, trust, and pixie dust!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY came around to work with Lauren McKenna, an editor I have long admired from afar, I knew I couldn’t pass it up. Still, change is never easy. Or at least that’s what I thought. But, apparently, the folks at Pocket Books aren’t in on that little truism. An enormous thanks to everyone at Pocket for making a mid-series transition to a new publisher unbelievably smooth, seamless, and yes . . . easy!

  First and foremost, to Lauren—I am so excited to be working with you after years of hearing so many great things from mutual friends (which I’m happy to say are all true!). There is always a lot of anxiety in changing editors, but your insightful, spot-on comments immediately alleviated that stress. Here’s to this being the first of many books to come!

  A special thanks also to Elana Cohen for making sure that no beats were missed and for helping me to navigate through the new system. Your quick responses, great communication, and always friendly attitude have made the business part of the job a pleasure. I can’t wait to meet you in person!

  Thanks also to the art department for the fabulous Scottish eye candy—uh, I mean covers—and the production team (with a shout-out to production editor Nancy Tonik and copy editor Faren Bachelis) for getting this book ready for prime time and making sure no one finds out I can’t spell.

  And finally, last but not least, to the best-supporting crew in the business: Dave, Reid, and Maxine. I love you guys (most of the time).

  THE HIGHLAND GUARD

  TOR “CHIEF” MACLEOD: Team Leader and Expert Swordsman

  ERIK “HAWK” MACSORLEY: Seafarer and Swimmer

  LACHLAN “VIPER” MACRUAIRI: Stealth, Infiltration, and Extraction

  ARTHUR “RANGER” CAMPBELL: Scouting and Reconnaissance

  GREGOR “ARROW” MACGREGOR: Marksman and Archer

  MAGNUS “SAINT” MACKAY: Survivalist and Weapon Forging

  KENNETH “ICE” SUTHERLAND: Explosives and Versatility

  EOIN “STRIKER” MACLEAN: Strategist in “Pirate” Warfare

  EWEN “HUNTER” LAMONT: Tracker and Hunter of Men

  ROBERT “RAIDER” BOYD: Physical Strength and Hand-to-Hand Combat

  ALSO:

  HELEN “ANGEL” MACKAY (NÉE SUTHERLAND): Healer

  A NOTE FROM MONICA

  THE TWELVE BOOKS of the Highland Guard series span the nine-year period from 1305 when William Wallace is killed to the Scot victory at the seminal battle of Bannockburn in 1314. One of the difficulties in writing a long series like this is that inevitably some stories will overlap in time. The Striker is one of those. The book opens in 1313, but quickly goes back to those days in the immediate aftermath of Wallace’s death before Bruce makes his bid for the crown, giving new readers a chance to see what he went through, and previous readers a chance to fill in some of the gaps. As The Viper told the story of what happened to the women when Bruce was forced to flee, The Striker deals with what happened to the second prong of the attack in The Hawk.

  FOREWORD

  THE YEAR OF our Lord thirteen hundred and thirteen. After nearly seven years of warfare, Robert the Bruce has waged an improbable comeback from almost certain defeat to retake nearly all his kingdom from the English and Scot countrymen who have stood against him.

  The final challenge from the English will come soon, but there are still pockets of resistance in Scotland to the man who would be called King Robert I. Foremost among them is the troublesome southwest province of Galloway, ruled by the most wanted man in Scotland: Dugald MacDowell, the ruthless chief of Clan MacDowell.

  Seeing Dugald MacDowell brought to heel is personal for Bruce, as it was the MacDowells who were responsible for one of the darkest moments in Bruce’s quest for the throne.

  To lead this important mission, Bruce calls on Eoin MacLean, one of the famed warriors of the elite secret fighting force known as the Highland Guard, who has reasons of his own for wanting the MacDowells destroyed.

  But vengeance is never as easy as it seems, and Eoin will eventually have to face the past that haunts him and return to the days before Bruce made his bid for the throne.

  1

  St. Mary’s Church near Barnard Castle,

  Durham, England, January 17, 1313

  IT WAS A damned fine day for a wedding. Eoin MacLean, the man who’d devised the plan to use it as a trap to capture the most wanted man in Scotland, appreciated the irony.

  The sun, which had hidden itself behind storm clouds for weeks, had picked this midwinter morn to reemerge and shine brightly on the sodden English countryside, making the thick grasses around the small church glisten and the remaining foliage on the trees shimmer like trees of amber and gold. It also, unfortunately, caught the shimmer of their mail, making it difficult to blend into the countryside. The long steel hauberk was unusual armor for Bruce’s men, who preferred the lighter black leather cotuns, but in this case, it was necessary.

  From their vantage on the forested hillside beyond the church, the small village on the River Tees in the shadow of the great Barnard Castle looked pretty and picturesque. A perfect backdrop for the equally pretty bride and her knightly English groom.

  Eoin’s mouth fell in a hard line, a small crack revealing the acid churning inside him. It was almost a shame to ruin it. Almost. But he’d been waiting for this day for nearly six years, and nothing—sure as hell not the happiness of the bride and groom—was going to stop him from capturing the man responsible for the worst disaster to befall Robert the Bruce in a reign filled with plenty of them from which to choose.

  They had him. Dugald MacDowell, the chief of the ancient Celtic kingdom of Galloway, the last of the significant Scots opposition to Bruce’s kingship, and the man responsible for the slaughter of over seven hundred men—including two of Bruce’s brothers. The bastard had eluded capture for years, but he’d finally made a mistake.

  That his mistake was a weakness