Page 23 of The Highlander’s Auctioned Hellion (Auctioned Highland Brides #4)

Alexander was suddenly tense, noting Callum’s stance, and he turned just as an arrow flew in front of Callum’s face, missing Lydia by inches.

“Get down!” he shouted, pushing Lydia to the floor as he gripped the sword concealed beneath his kilt and pulled it out.

Alexander was at his shoulder instantly, the guards all around pulling out their weapons too.

Arrows flew from several directions, and a few of the men hollered in pain, two guards hitting the floor in front of him.

“Everyone, get back!” he shouted, and the congregation scattered. Shouts and cries of fear reached him on the wind as they moved to their carriages or the shelter of the trees nearby.

Callum stayed low, watching Lydia grab for Tommy and her mother, but the frantic look she sent his way made his heart stop in his chest.

Amy. Eilis. Where are the girls?

Staying as low as he could, he spun around, scanning the space outside the church. They had only been a few feet behind him seconds before, but suddenly the girls were nowhere to be seen.

“The arrows must have been a diversion,” Alexander shouted, his dagger pointed ahead. Callum followed the line of it, relief flooding through him as he saw the twins.

The girls were beneath the arms of a huge man running behind the church wall, the noise of the congregation drowning out their screams, but he could see them wailing from where he stood.

“How many?” he snapped.

“Five. I’ll deal with the archer. You get the girls.”

Alexander was suddenly moving, running at full pelt, his body bent double as he ran against the arrows that whipped past him.

Callum looked to Lydia. “Stay there. Dinnae move!” he shouted and then ran after the girls.

The sun was bright in the sky, blinding him before passing behind the church spire.

As he reached the back of the church, a dark shape lurched out from behind the wall, a sword outstretched. Callum cut furiously to his right, slicing the man’s hand off with a blood-curdling scream and stabbing him in the heart.

If ye come after me family, ye dinnae live to see a new day!

He kept running, aware that there was another man at the rear of the church in pursuit.

He could hear the clash of swords to his left where Alexander was fighting the archer, but he only had eyes for the girls as they passed out of sight over the brow of a hill.

As he reached higher ground, he turned, grabbing the knife that was sheathed against his calf and pulling it out.

With an effortless motion, he threw it straight at his pursuer.

The dagger flashed through the air, striking at the man’s heart with ruthless precision, and he fell to his knees with a quiet sigh.

Glancing around, there was no one else to fight, and Callum turned, running after the silhouette as the man carrying the girls reached a horse tethered to a tree branch several feet in front.

Putting on a burst of speed, he heard a shout behind him. Twisting to look at Alexander, he saw that the other man held another knife in his hand as he ran toward him.

The man-at-arms flicked the blade forward, the handle spinning as it flew toward him, and Callum caught it on the first try.

He threw it up in the air, feeling the weight of it as the lighter blade spun downward, heading for the soft ground beneath. Callum gripped the handle mid-air, drew it back, and let it fly toward the man ahead of him.

The knife sailed through the air, hitting the man in the thigh as he tried to get the girls up onto the horse.

Amy was already on the horse, but Eilis was still beneath his arm.

He dropped her onto the ground, hollering in pain as Eilis crawled hurriedly out of the path of his body as he collapsed to the earth.

Callum’s heart lurched as he saw the whites of the horse’s eyes as it panicked, rearing high into the air before cantering away.

Amy, who had been balanced on its back, was thrown violently through the air, landing on the tufts of grass beneath with a heart-wrenching thud.

Lydia watched as Alexander fought with the archer, the arrows stuck in the ground only feet from where her mother and Tommy were crouching.

“Stay here,” she said urgently. “I must see what has happened.”

“Lydia, no!” her mother protested. “Callum told you to stay here.”

“They took the girls, mother! I have to help them!” she said frantically and pushed her brother into her mother’s arms as she lifted her skirts and ran toward the place where she had last seen Callum.

There was a soft groan to her left as Alexander dispatched the archer swiftly and ran off in pursuit of Callum.

Lydia kept running, watching out for any other men who were waiting to attack her. As she reached the slope of a hill, there were two bodies in her path. She swallowed, never having seen a dead man before, and averted her gaze.

As she reached the top of the incline, she heard a shout ahead and watched as Callum caught a knife in midair and threw it at the girls’ assailant.

Her heart leaped into her mouth as the blade landed inches away from Eilis’s leg, and the man collapsed, throwing the little girl aside.

“Callum!” she shouted, but he did not hear her. Lydia gasped as Amy’s tiny form went hurtling back, landing on the ground beneath as the huge beast cantered away.

Lydia sprinted toward Amy, reaching for Eilis and grabbing the little girl’s hand as she fell to her knees beside her sister.

Alexander reached them too, gripping the arms of the girls’ kidnapper and dragging him away.

“Amy, Amy? Are you all right?” she breathed.

The little girl’s face was tear-stained, and she was crying pitifully. She was holding her arm as if in pain, but nothing looked as if it were broken.

“I told ye to stay where ye were!” Callum said, even as he moved his big body between Lydia and the church.

She glanced behind her, pulling Eilis toward her so that the girl could rest against her skirts.

“Are there any more of them?”

“I cannae see. I dinnae think so, but ye shouldnae have come here.”

Lydia watched Alexander drag his captive behind a copse of trees and closed her eyes as there was a wail of pain and then silence.

The man-at-arms emerged, his sword still drawn but stained with blood.

“Where did they come from?” she asked.

“Laird McCarthy, they must be his men,” Callum muttered darkly.

This was a different man from the Laird she had come to know. Lydia had never seen him as a soldier before in the heat of battle.

His pupils were almost black, his gaze sharp and assessing as though every blade of grass were an enemy. He looked effortless, fearless, and confident, despite the danger all around them.

“Are ye injured?” he asked her.

“No. I’m all right. Eilis, are you hurt?”

Eilis was a tiny shape beside them, cowering into the earth, reaching for her sister. Callum moved out of the way as though to allow the twins to reach each other, but instead, both girls gravitated toward him.

Lydia smiled as two pairs of hands gripped Callum’s jacket as the twins plastered themselves to his sides.

His eyebrows almost reached his hairline as he stared down at them in confusion.

Then, moving slowly as if he did not believe they really wanted comfort from him, Callum’s arms went around the girls. They buried their faces in the crook of each arm as he gathered them into a tight hug, his big head lowering between them as they all came together.

Lydia’s chest tightened at the sight, this little family coming together in a way it never had before.

How I wish I could be a real part of it all.

At that thought, Callum’s blue eyes found hers, and her breath hitched as he reached out an arm and gathered her against him in a close embrace.

“Ye’re safe now,” Callum murmured, and Lydia wasn’t sure who he was addressing as his big hand caressed Eilis’s hair. “I willnae let anythin’ happen to ye. Nae ever again.”

Alexander returned, standing over them, sword still raised, but it seemed the threat had passed for now.

“Come,” Callum said finally. “Let us get ye back to the carriage. We should return to the castle as soon as we can.”

Lydia rose from the ground, picking Amy up as the girl’s little arms went around her neck.

They all trooped back toward the church, Callum and Alexander never taking their eyes off their surroundings for a moment.

There was a look of profound relief on her mother’s face as she rushed forward, Tommy clinging to her skirts.

“Are you all right?” the Duchess asked.

“The threat has been dealt with, Duchess,” Callum said solemnly.

“But who were those men?” she asked frantically, and Lydia looked at Callum, his eyes growing cold with hate.

What happened? Why is someone sending men to snatch the girls from under our noses?

“A neighboring clan. We should all get into the carriage and return as soon as possible.”

Callum looked down at Tommy.

“Tommy, ye are charged with makin’ sure yer mother gets back to the castle safely, is that clear?”

Tommy’s little chest puffed out as he nodded and took his mother’s hand, leading her back toward the carriage.

“I should go with them,” Lydia said, moving to hand Amy to Alexander.

“Dinnae even think about it,” Callum growled. “Ye arenae goin’ anywhere without me.”