Page 23 of Taken By the Ruthless Highlander

“What is this? Ye sound as if ye’ve been married for a lifetime already. Surely the lass cannae be that bad,” Felix murmured, pushing the decanter of whiskey toward him.

“It’s been difficult,” Ryder allowed, hesitating to tell Felix the whole story.

Felix would find out, eventually. The question was whether to have him find out through a different channel.

Ryder swallowed hard. If he wanted Felix to trust him, he would have to be honest.

“Tell me somethin’ I dinnae ken,” Felix said as he took a swig of his whiskey.

“I need yer help,” Ryder mumbled, staring into the amber liquid in his glass.

“Is that so?” Felix asked, arching an eyebrow.

“My faither is gone,” Ryder said sternly, his gaze steely.

“Aye, so I heard. Cannae say that surprises me.”

“My wife is the alleged killer,” Ryder continued, swirling the liquid in his glass.

He slowly raised his eyes to Felix’s. The shock on his friend’s face was not a surprise. He could hear how the words sounded the moment they left his lips. It was a confession he wished he could take back.

“Well, I always kenned ye had a death wish. I just didnae think it was that serious,” Felix teased. “So, she did what ye couldnae,” Felix remarked.

“Clearly, ye havenae seen the lass. She barely comes up to my navel. I could throw her across the room like a javelin. There is nay way she could have done it,” Ryder said as he took a swig, enjoying the burn as it trickled down his throat.

“Poison?”

“Nay,” Ryder answered. “According to the reports, his throat was slit.”

“Is that so? Well, yer faither had many enemies. There’s nay tellin’ who could have done it,” Felix said.

“Aye, which is why I need yer help.” Ryder leaned over the table and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Come back with me. I can offer ye a position in my castle. I need men I can trust.”

“I’d ask who ye have on the council now, but from the desperation in yer voice, I’d say it doesnae matter,” Felix noted. “If it is loyalty ye seek, ye ken ye have my sword and my life. I owe ye as it is. If this is how ye wish for me to repay ye, then so be it.”

“Ye ken this is goin’ to irk a lot of people in the castle. They couldnae stand us when we were in there before; I doubt they’ll be too pleased to see ye back among them,” Ryder cautioned, just as the barmaid came around with a jug of ale. He eyed the jug with a sort of lust that could only be quenched by a woman’s touch.

“Ye should probably return to the castle,” Felix urged. “Yer councilmen will be mad if they find out ye came all the way to Lochcairn.”

“They’re locked in the dungeons at the moment,” Ryder confessed. The warmth of the whiskey spread through his body, numbing his insides.

“What did ye do?” Felix asked, the shock in his voice palpable.

“I needed them distracted while I had time to talk to ye. If I can keep them occupied with one thing, I’ll be able to investigate my faither’s murder much more easily—they’ll nae be able to keep up.”

“Ye devious rascal.” Felix let out a dark chuckle. “But what happens when they get out of the dungeons? Dinnae ye think they’d be a bit irate at bein’ held in the first place?”

“And what’s that to me?” Ryder scoffed. “Or have ye forgotten what they did to me?”

“Nay,” Felix answered. “For I was in the same boat.”

“And now we will have our vengeance. What say ye?” Ryder asked as he extended his hand toward him.

A wicked grin spread across Felix’s lips as he took his hand. “Vengeance or nae, I’ll follow ye anywhere.”

7

“Well, Morgana, I must say that ye’ve outdone yerself,” Cohen remarked the moment he stepped into the sitting room.