The Ghost 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 all the readers who have been with me from The Chief to The Ghost—thank you!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  WHEN I FIRST came up with the idea for “Special Ops in Kilts” (which is how I initially pitched the Highland Guard series), finishing twelve books seemed a long way away. Now, six years since the publication of The Chief in 2010, and I can’t believe it’s all over. Writing this series was pretty much a dream come true. I’ll never forget sitting in Bella Andre’s living room with Jami Alden (my critique partners) circa 2003, and telling them all about my “big” idea. It took me a while to feel confident enough to take on such a large project, but fifty single-spaced pages of an outline for all twelve books later, and I was ready. Getting it ready for you guys, however, took a lot of additional firepower.

  Thanks, as always, to my fabulous agents, Annelise Robey and Andrea Cirillo at the Jane Rotrosen Agency, who believed in this project from the start. Thanks also to Kate Collins and the rest of the team at Random House for getting the series going, and to Lauren McKenna, Elana Cohen, Nancy Tonik, Faren Bachelis, and the rest of the editorial and production team at Simon & Schuster for finishing the series with such a fantastic bang. I feel extremely fortunate to have had such wonderful and talented people to work with over the years, and Lauren, I am really looking forward to what comes next.

  I think I must hold the record for fabulous covers. All my covers have been fantastic, but a huge thanks to the art department at Simon & Schuster for putting a fresh twist on the last three, and for really capturing the tone and mood of the story—not to mention some rather exceptional, um, inspiration.

  Finally, to the most important part of this endeavor, the readers who have made twelve books possible and enabled me to complete the series—thank you! Without your support, getting to The Ghost would not have been possible. If you have enjoyed reading these books half as much as I have enjoyed writing them, I’ll consider it a great success.

  The acknowledgments wouldn’t be complete without a reference to my family. Dave, Reid, and Maxine, I could say something sappy, but you guys wouldn’t believe me—which is why I love you.

  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

  THOM “ROCK” MACGOWAN: Climber

  ALSO:

  HELEN “ANGEL” MACKAY (NÉE SUTHERLAND): Healer

  JOAN “GHOST” COMYN: Spy

  FOREWORD

  THE YEAR OF our Lord thirteen hundred and fourteen . . . Robert the Bruce’s war with England for the Scottish throne has reached a crucial juncture with nothing less than the freedom of a nation hanging in the balance.

  For eight years, since the disastrous defeat at Methven that had him fleeing his kingdom as an outlaw, Bruce has avoided meeting the English in a pitched battle, army to army. Instead, he and the elite warriors of the Highland Guard have waged a “secret war,” using pirate tactics of raids, ambuscade, and trickery to defeat his enemies—both English and Scot—and clear most of Scotland’s important castles of their English garrisons.

  But it isn’t enough. Without a decisive victory in battle signaling God’s judgment, Bruce’s claim to the throne will not be recognized by England or the rest of Christendom. One day Bruce will have to take the field. But with the English army once again readying to march on Scotland, he must decide whether that day is now.

  As the armies muster and prepare for what might be one of the greatest battles of all time, Bruce will once again rely on the secret warriors of his Highland Guard—both present and past.

  PROLOGUE

  Hagerstown Castle, Northumberland, England, late September 1306

  IT WAS A horrible, wicked lie! And had she not been eavesdropping on the two tiring women retained by her father to watch over her, Joan Comyn would have told them exactly that.

  It couldn’t be true. No knight could do that to a woman. Not even Edward of England, the self-proclaimed “Hammer of the Scots,” could be so cruel and barbaric.

  Could he?

  A fresh stab of panic plunged through her chest. Though she never cried, her eyes prickled with tears as she slipped out of the alcove where she had been reading a book and trod soundlessly down the winding staircase of the castle that served as their temporary lodgings in the north of England. She wanted to put her hands over her ears to block out the offending words echoing in her head. Punish . . . traitor . . . cage.

  No! Her heart raced and thudded wildly as she ran across the spacious Hall—ignoring all the curious faces that turned to stare at her—to her father’s private solar. She pushed open the big oak door and burst into the room. “It can’t be true!”

  Her father’s frown was dark and forbidding enough to make her start. She sobered, cursing herself for forgetting to knock. John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, hated to be disturbed, and though her father rarely turned his terrifying temper on her, the threat alone made her heart beat a little faster.

  “You forget yourself, daughter. What is the meaning of this? As you can see”—he gestured to the half-dozen knights and barons seated around the table—“I am very busy.”

  She was instantly contrite. Clasping her hands before her, Joan bowed her head and did her best to look modest and respectful—the two qualities her father valued in women (and twelve-year-old girls who hadn’t yet reached womanhood).