The Viper Read online

  Lachlan started over toward the body moaning on the ground. “Who did I hit?”

  “Chief.”

  He groaned, realizing the leader of the Highland Guard was sitting with his helmed head between his hands. From the dent on the nasal guard and the blood running down his nose, it looked like the small piece of metal between his eyes had saved him from much worse injury.

  “I feel like a damn church bell,” MacLeod groaned. “My head is ringing. What the hell was that?”

  Lachlan grinned. It wasn’t often that he had the chance to best Tor MacLeod, but he savored it when he did. “A piece of my manacle.” He smirked pointedly. “Bàs roimh Gèill.” Death before surrender, he reminded him.

  “Nice shot,” MacLeod said with another wince as he wiped some of the blood from his face. “You’ve learned a few things after all.”

  Lachlan held out his hand and helped him to his feet. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  MacLeod gave him a dark look. “Forget what I said. You haven’t learned shite.”

  “Couldn’t leave you here to rot, cousin,” MacSorley said from above. “Next time you might try asking for help before you go running off on your own.”

  Lachlan’s jaw clenched as he looked at MacLeod. “I assume you know this mission wasn’t exactly sanctioned by the king.”

  “Aye, we’ll have a little talk about your problem following orders later. But Hawk’s right. Next time don’t go off on a rogue mission without help. It took a hell of a lot of work to find you—not to mention trying to get you out of here. We had the devil of a time with the locks.” He gave him a hard look. “And don’t forget I’ve had an unsanctioned mission of my own.”

  Lachlan knew he referred to the rogue mission on the castle where MacLeod’s wife was being held. A mission they’d all joined in.

  Lachlan had underestimated them, and he knew it. He nodded in acknowledgment.

  MacLeod turned up to MacSorley. “Hawk, throw down that bloody rope.”

  While his cousin took turns lifting them out of the pit prison, Lachlan explained what had happened, and MacLeod gave him a quick summary of how they’d managed to get into the castle. It was similar to how they’d entered on the first attempt to free Bella. Boyd and Seton had snuck in earlier in the day with a supply cart and hid in the granary until nightfall. To provide as much time as possible, they’d waited for the guard at the postern sea-gate to change, and then made their move: eliminating the soldiers, donning their garb (much as Lachlan had done), and assuming their position on the wall. They’d signaled MacLeod and the rest of the Highland Guard, who were waiting on a beach nearby.

  Swimming in the darkness, they’d approached the castle by sea, using a rope and grappling hook to scale the wall. MacLean, Lamont, and MacGregor had joined Boyd and Seton in their post at the sea-gate, while Gordon and MacKay prepared a distraction in case it proved necessary closer to the main gate of the castle. MacLeod and MacSorley had been charged with finding him.

  Lachlan didn’t need to ask how they’d gotten past the soldiers watching him; their bodies were strewn across the floor in the guard room.

  “You didn’t have any problems?” Lachlan asked.

  “Sneaking into one of the most highly defended English castles on the Marches? Nothing to it,” MacLeod said sarcastically. “Hell, Viper, why don’t you get yourself imprisoned in the Tower of London next time and make it interesting.”

  MacSorley was keeping watch by the door. “Speaking of, we don’t have much time. It’s the middle of the night, but there are enough soldiers out there to celebrate May Day. We need to find Lady Isabella and get out of here before someone comes to check on them.” He indicated the men on the floor.

  Lachlan recalled what she’d said of her initial captivity. “They kept her in the east tower last time.” Before and after her imprisonment in the cage.

  “Good,” MacLeod said. “It’s close to the sea-gate and not as heavily guarded. We want to avoid the constable’s tower and donjon near the front gate. It’s lit up like the fires of Beltane out there.”

  Lachlan grimaced. MacLeod wasn’t going to like what he had planned.

  The greatest swordsman in the Highlands cursed and argued, but Lachlan knew it was mostly for show. MacLeod loved the challenge just as much as he did. And what he intended certainly qualified.

  “You have an hour,” MacLeod said. “We can’t wait any longer. When the guard at the sea-gate changes we need to be gone.”

  Lachlan nodded. “We’ll be there.”

  He started to leave.

  “Cousin.”

  Lachlan turned to see MacSorley holding up his clothing and armor. “You might want these.”

  Lachlan grinned. He’d forgotten he was naked.

  Bella lay huddled in her plaid on the crude straw mattress. Her tears had been spent hours ago. Though she was exhausted and drained, she couldn’t sleep or stir from the waking nightmare of what had befallen them.

  Over and over she replayed what had happened. Despenser and William’s trap had been perfect. They knew she would return to the convent to see her daughter and prevent her escape from being discovered, and they’d guessed from their previous involvement that Lachlan would be with her. Ironically, love had doomed them both. The love they had for each other, and the love she had for her daughter.

  It didn’t help that she knew she couldn’t have done anything differently. She just wished she hadn’t dragged Lachlan along with her.

  God, how he hated her! Even in the horrible darkness of that pit, the venom in his gaze had sparked like green fire.

  She couldn’t blame him. He had to be going mad down there, facing the demons of his own personal hell.

  “I’m sorry,” she whimpered miserably. “I’m so sorry.”

  The single candle flickered at a shift in the air. The door.

  She glanced over her shoulder and gasped. Her heart slammed into her chest. Standing there, filling the doorway, Lachlan loomed in the shadows like some kind of terrifying phantom in black leather and steel. Piercing green eyes found hers from beneath the brim of his nasal helm.

  Instinctively, she sat up, tucking her feet underneath her, retreating against the wall.

  As if that could protect her.

  “How …?” She didn’t finish the question. How he managed to escape no longer surprised her.

  He held up his finger to his mouth, closed the door behind him, and crossed the room in two strides.

  She held her breath, not knowing what he intended. The things he’d said, the hatred in his eyes …

  He pulled her into his arms, crushing her against his chest and cupping her head with the palm of his hand. “Jesus, Bella, are you all right?”

  The emotion in his voice confused her. She pushed back enough to look up at him. “I thought you hated me.”

  He smiled, sending a pang right to her heart. “I was trying to protect you.” He stroked her cheek tenderly. “I hoped that if they thought I blamed you, they would not try to use you to get to me.”

  Her breath caught in horror, realizing what he meant. She bit her lip, looking up at him hesitantly. “You were very convincing.”

  He laughed and dropped a soft kiss on her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

  Her composure crumpled. “Good gracious, Lachlan what do you have to be sorry for? This is all my fault. I told you I would never betray you, but you were right—everyone is capable of betrayal.”

  He tipped her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “I was wrong. I made it seem black and white. What you did wasn’t a betrayal. They gave you an impossible choice and you chose the less terrible of the two.”

  “They told me they would put her in the cage.” He muttered a vile oath, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “I couldn’t let them do that, Lachlan. I couldn’t let them put my daughter—”

  “Shhh,” he stopped her, soothing her with his gentle embrace. “Of course you couldn’t. It’s over. Don’t think about it.” He comforted her f