Page 65 of Road Trip With a Rogue

She wanted him to kiss her.

Stupid.

Finch caught Lucien’s loose horse by its reins and brought both mounts to a stop, then dismounted and gave Jem a none-too-gentle kick in the ribs to make sure he was definitely unconscious.

Daisy retrieved her last knife from near the fire where Jem had dropped it, every muscle aching now that the excitement was over. She watched impassively as Finch found a coil of rope in the back of the cart and made short work of tying Jem’s ankles and wrists.

Lucien stalked over to Connor to do the same, but when he knelt down beside him, he glanced back at her with a guilty look.

“He’s dead.”

Alan was still conscious, slumped in the doorframe, and he made a low sound of anguish. “Connor?” He glared at Lucien. “Dead? Ye’ve killed my brother!”

Lucien returned his glare. “He shot at me first. And he would have hanged for kidnapping if I’d sent him to the magistrate.”

Alan snapped his mouth shut, clearly realizing the same fate still awaited him. He was bleeding from the pistol shot Lucien had inflicted, and Daisy’s stab wounds,and he groaned as Finch bound his shoulder roughly with his cotton neckerchief.

“Why bother to patch me up if ye’re plannin’ to see me swing?” he groused.

Lucien stared down at him irritably. “I’d gladly send you to the gallows, but the lady, here, prefers mercy.” He gestured toward Daisy. “You’ll live. But don’t forget that every breath you take, from this moment until your last, is becauseshespared you.”

Alan nodded, his face white, and glanced over at Daisy, who sent him an impassive stare.

The knowledge that Lucien wasn’t going to execute the remaining two men made her almost giddy with relief, but it warred with an angry frustration that their stupid actions had resulted in the death of their brother. Perhaps this loss would be enough to stop them trying something so foolish again. She certainly hoped so.

Connor’s mount had galloped off at the first sound of gunfire, and neither of the horses that had pulled the cart had saddles.

“Shall I drive the cart back to Gretna?” she asked, already dreading the task. She just wanted to lie down and sleep. Her head was throbbing, her knee hurt where she’d grazed it, and she was feeling distinctly lightheaded. She hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Lucien shook his head. “You’re in no state to drive, or ride, for that matter.” He remounted his horse in a fluid move and held his hand down to her. “You’ll ride with me.”

His tone brooked no argument, and she didn’t have the energy to object. She simply grasped his hand and placed her foot on top of his, using it as a step as he pulled her up to sit in front of him, astride.

The horse pranced in protest at the additional weight,but he quieted it, and she quashed a shiver of awareness as his arms came around her on either side. She wasn’t used to riding like this. Her bottom nestled snugly between his thighs, in his lap.

She swallowed as an unwelcome jolt of awareness skittered through her. “Are we going back to Gretna?”

“No. Perry and Violet have gone to Carisbrooke Hall to let them know to expect us. It’s only a few more miles.”

Daisy was feeling so bad she didn’t want to go evenonemile, but she certainly didn’t want to stay here, so she simply nodded as he wheeled the horse and urged it away from the cottage.

“Hoi!” Alan shouted, aggrieved. “Ye can’t just leave us ’ere.”

Lucien didn’t even spare him a look. “I’ll tell someone you’re here when we get to the next town. Bury your brother wherever you see fit, and if I ever see you or him”—he nodded toward Jem’s prone body—“ever again, I’ll see you both hanged. That’s a promise. Do you understand me?”

“Aye,” Alan muttered. “Understood.”

“Good.”

Lucien kicked the horse forward.

“I’m sorry you killed again because of me,” Daisy said softly.

He transferred the reins to one hand and wrapped his free arm around her waist, tugging her back so her spine pressed more securely against his chest.

“I’m not going to lose sleep over it, Hamilton,” he said, a hint of irony in his tone. “And neither should you. He deserved it. Which is more than I can say for most of the poor bastards I killed in the name of King and Country. None of them wanted to be in a war, any more than I did.They were just doing what they were told.Thosethree were stupid, greedy bastards. It was justice.”

Daisy nodded wearily. She could hear Finch’s horse following somewhere behind them, and hoped the rising moon would provide enough light by which to see.