Page 5 of A Highland Bride Disciplined

The lead pursuer shouted, “That lass isours. She ran. She’s nothin’. Aservant.”

“Yer servant’s runnin’ fromye,” Scarlett snapped back. “Looks to me like she had good reason.”

“This is none o’ yer concern, woman,” one of the men sneered.

“Ye’ll remember kindly to nae address me wife as such,” Kian growled. “And, as me wife, what’shers, ismine.She’s claimed this lass, so I say we’re done here.”

Scarlett’s heart thudded at his side. She hated the way his voice thrilled through her. It wasn’t fair. He’d all but ignored her for hours, but now, standing in the road like her own personal tempest, he felt solid. Fierce. Like a shield.

The men hesitated.

“Andwhoareye?”

“Doesnae matter. Ye are goin’ to die anyway. What’s in a name?”

The silence was deafening.

Then, like all cowards do when puffed up in a pack, they surged forward.

The first swung for Kian.

Steel clanged.

Scarlett gasped as Kian ducked the blow, blade already in motion. He was brutally fast. In a heartbeat he had the man disarmed and bleeding in the dirt.

Tam let out a wild laugh, lunging into the fray with a cry of glee. “Finally! Something worth swingin’ at!”

Another man came toward Scarlett, eyes cruel.

Kian stepped between them without hesitation. “Touch her, and I’ll end ye slow.”

That man wisely turned and bolted.

The rest fell quickly.

Blood stained the road.

The last man dropped his weapon and ran limping toward the hills, not even glancing back.

Scarlett exhaled hard, still clutching the woman’s arm. Her hands were shaking.

Kian turned to her sharply. “What in God’s name were ye thinkin’, leapin’ from the carriage like that?”

“I was thinkin’ she was about to be taken or killed right in front of us!” Scarlett shot back.

“And what would I have done if ye’d been caught in the middle o’ that?” His face was flushed with fury. “Yecould’ve beenkilled, Scarlett!”

She stepped forward, chin tilted high. “So couldshe. Am I meant to turn me head and pretend I dinnae see?”

“Ye’re meant to be cautious!” he shouted, then lowered his voice, teeth clenched. “Ye’re me wife now. Yer life is nay longer just yer own.”

His words hit like a slap.

Not the ownership of them. No, that wasn’t what stung. It was the way he saidwife. Like it mattered. Like she mattered. Like he meant it.

Before she could answer, the woman stirred beside her.

“Erm… Thank ye,” she whispered, voice shaking. “I dinnae ken where else to run when I saw yer carriage.”