Page 35 of Taken by the Ruthless Highlander (Taken by Highland Devils #6)

35

R yder rode his horse hard through the rain as thunder clapped overhead. His chest tightened as he spotted a flicker of light through the dark.

On the hill, not far, was a cottage. It looked like it had been long abandoned, but the flicker of light through the windows caused hope to spring up inside him.

“There,” Nathan called over the howl of the wind. “Ye see it?”

“Aye,” Ryder uttered, veering left and up the soggy path.

He didn’t care who was behind him or whether Nathan had used the opportunity to flee. All he cared about was getting to Morgana.

A shrill scream suddenly cut through the air, filling him with a terror he had never felt before. The very warmth of his being was stolen in an instant.

Undeterred, Ryder drove on for the cottage. He pulled the reins hard, causing the horse to skid to a stop. There was no hesitation—he jumped out of the saddle. By the time his boots sank into the mud, he’d pulled his sword from its sheath, ready to fight.

“Ye go around the back—block any escape routes,” he ordered. “Cohen doesnae leave this cottage alive.”

Fueled with fury and rage, Ryder kicked in the door. His eyes widened as chaos greeted him.

“I’ll kill ye, ye lyin’ cheatin’ bastard,” Orella shrieked as she pounded her fists on Cohen’s back. “Ye told me we were savin’ her from her violent marriage, nae this.”

Cohen was pinning Morgana by the neck as if she were a chicken whose feathers he could so easily pluck.

“What the… Ye’ll get yer hands off her this instance,” Ryder barked, charging toward them. Grabbing Orella by the waist, he pulled her off Cohen and shoved her into Nathan’s arms. “Keep her still.”

“Nathan? What are ye—?” Orella started.

But Ryder had no patience left; Cohen had crossed the line.

“Take yer hand off my wife, and I might let ye keep it,” he hissed.

There was no mistaking the threat in his voice. It came from the darkest pit of his being.

“Oh, look who’s come to join us,” Cohen sneered. He spun Morgana around and held her in front of him, pressing a blade to her throat. “Ye see that? Yer husband is a clever man. Too clever and it’ll be what gets him killed.”

He swung his blade, forcing Ryder to back away.

Ryder didn’t dare look at Morgana. If he saw the fear on her face, he’d lose his composure. No, he had to be smart.

“She’s mine,” Cohen said, his free hand sliding down Morgana’s waist.

“Ye’ll lose that hand,” Ryder hissed, pointing the tip of his blade at the man.

“Kill him!” Orella shouted behind him. “He doesnae deserve to live.”

“Nothin’ like a woman scorned. Am I right, my dear?” Cohen drawled, rubbing his cheek against Morgana’s. “But that’s all right. I’ll make sure that the pain goes away… eventually.”

“Let go of my sister!” Ronnie’s voice suddenly boomed through the room as he burst through the boarded window.

Morgana flinched, turning to the right and away from Cohen’s blade.

It was all the distraction Ryder had needed.

Sidestepping, he turned and drove his blade into Cohen’s back.

“Ryder,” Morgana gasped, her knees buckling.

Ryder was at her side in a flash. Anger ripped through him as he noticed the discoloration around her neck. The bruising would look worse come morning.

A red haze fell over his vision. With as much force as he could muster, he swung his blade once again and drove it into Cohen’s shoulder.

“Bastard,” Cohen hissed.

He wailed louder than a banshee as Ryder twisted the blade and pulled it out. He crumpled to the floor, clenching his teeth to stave off the pain.

“Nay,” Ryder growled. “I’m nae.”

“I wasnae talkin’ about ye,” Cohen sniggered, despite the sweat dripping from his forehead. His gaze flicked from Ryder to Nathan. “I laid it all out for ye. All ye had to do was take it. It was all right there for the taking.”

“What is he talkin’ about?” Felix asked as he blocked the only exit.

“I havenae the foggiest,” Nathan answered, his brow creased in utter confusion.

“Gregory,” Orella whispered, dropping her head to his shoulder. “Yer faither was Gregory. It’s the reason ye were given a seat on the council. It was his will that ye have a place here.”

“Ye lie,” Nathan growled, shrugging her off.

Ryder felt as if all the air had been squeezed from his lungs. He swallowed past the lump in his throat. Morgana clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide in shock.

“Ye were supposed to take that to yer grave,” Cohen hissed.

Orella’s shoulders slumped. “I was there. It was only my second time attending a birth,” she explained in a low voice. “Nathan, yer maither, she… I’m sorry for all of it. But yer faither saw potential in ye that he didnae see in Ryder. Ye came into the world a killer, and he liked that. It was Ryder’s maither who refused to have ye in the castle. So, we kept ye hidden till ye were of age. Ye have always been like a son to us.”

“Regrettable son, more like it. We could have ruled the Highlands. But ye had to go all noble,” Cohen snarled as she kneeled before him. “And ye, wife, are the biggest disappointment of my life. I belong with Morgana, but ye… ye just hated the fact she caught my eye. Ye couldnae let us be happy. I wish I never married ye.”

“Ye were my husband,” she said.

Ryder felt Morgana pull his dirk from his belt. He watched as she handed it to Orella.

Amid the chaos, he saw peace and order. And while he wanted to deliver the killing blow, he knew it was Orella’s.

“But unlike ye, husband, I’ll make sure ye’re dead. And when I see the light leave yer eyes, I’ll be free.”

“I’ll haunt ye till the end of the earth,” Cohen gargled as she drove the dirk into his chest.

Morgana buried her face in Ryder’s shoulder. “Get us out of here.”

“Felix,” Ryder barked and jerked his head.

Felix nodded once and moved to Orella. “Come on, love, let’s get ye back to the castle, where it’s nice and safe,” he cooed.

Ryder pulled Morgana to the corner and looked her over.

“Are ye all right?” he asked, keeping his voice level.

But the truth was, he was thrilled to have her back. The fact that they had been so close to losing each other rattled him to his very core.

“I think so,” Morgana said, watching Felix escort Orella out of the cottage.

“Can ye ride?” Ryder asked.

But instead of answering, she broke down in tears.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, wishing he could make all the pain go away.

“Oh, hush now. We’ll get back to the castle, and I’ll make this right.”

“There’s nothin’ that will make any of this right,” Morgana sniffled. “Oh, Ryder, I’m sorry. He said he had found Feya. I thought she’d be here. I trusted him.”

“Aye, so did Orella,” Ryder murmured. “And she was his wife.”

“How could he do this? He was goin’ to… I mean, he was right there…”

“Did he touch ye?” he asked, his voice hardening. “Morgana, answer me. Did he touch ye?”

“Nay,” Morgana hiccuped, swiping her hand across her cheek. “Orella stopped it. He thought she was dead, and she… she clobbered him over the head with the log right there. And then…”

“Hush,” Ryder soothed, pressing her head to his chest.

The wounds were far too fresh from them to rehash everything. All he wanted was to pick her up and carry her out of the madness that surrounded them.

“I’ve got ye. He’s dead. Ye can see him right there. He will never touch ye or Orella ever again.”

“Orella…” Morgana glanced around the room, concern and panic flashing through her eyes.

“She’s on her way back to the castle. She’s with Nathan and Felix,” Ryder explained as Ronnie shook off the daze from his feeble rescue attempt.

“Did we win?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head. “Morgana, ye’re safe. This is fantastic.”

“How is this fantastic? Feya is still missin’,” Morgana pointed out.

Ryder shook his head as he flashed her a huge grin.

“What?”

“Yer sister is at the castle,” he explained. “She’s the reason we came lookin’ for ye. What do ye say we get back?”

Morgana glanced at Cohen’s lifeless body. She quivered as Ryder escorted her out of the cottage. The rain pelted the awning of the porch, but it wasn’t as violent. There was a tenderness about it that reminded her of spring.

“Are we just goin’ to leave him there?” she asked as Ryder untied the horse from the post and brought it over. “Even after everythin’, he doesnae deserve a shallow grave. People need to ken that it was him who had caused so much strife and disorder. I’ll bet ye now that the rumors about ye will stop.”

“Well, I wouldnae go that far,” Ryder said as he helped her into the saddle. “Although it would be nice nae to have to look over my shoulder every second of every day.”

Silence fell over them as Morgana shifted in the saddle. Ryder could feel the weight of the moment as he turned his horse around and led them away from the cottage.

He let the horse settle into a slow pace. The longer it took them to get back, the longer he could stay in a bubble of comfort, knowing his wife was alive and right there with him. He didn’t care if it rained the entire time. As long as she was with him, that was all that mattered.

“What are ye thinkin’?” he asked.

“This mornin’, it felt like ye were givin’ me the cold shoulder. Like ye were mad at me,” Morgana mumbled.

“It doesnae matter,” Ryder said. “The minute I kenned ye were in danger, I dropped everythin’ to get to ye.”

“Why?” Morgana asked.

Ryder wrapped his arms around her to cocoon her in his warmth. “Because I love ye, that’s why. And I realized I just cannae breathe without ye.”