Anita Clenney - Embrace the Highland Warrior

“Hello,” she called to the wall. No answer. She found the catch, and a section of wall beside the fireplace swung inward. She stuck her head inside, wrinkling her nose at the mustiness. She found a flashlight on a table and set off to explore. Some of the passages were wide enough to accommodate several people, others much narrower. The passage she was in came to a dead end. She turned and went back the other way. She heard a whisper, a tiny sound. She aimed the light at her feet to be sure it wasn’t a mouse. The whisper came again, reminding her of the sound she heard at the lake. Cody? Was he in here, or was she hearing something from the other side of the wall? “Cody?”

There was no answer. She followed the passage to where it forked. A shadow moved, and her heart leapt into her throat. “Hello? Anyone here?” Just her echo, then a hiss. Her hair stood on end. She ran the opposite way, bumping into walls, stumbling. Rounding a corner, she hit a dead end. She ran her hands over the wall, searching for a catch. A section of the wall moved. She yelped and aimed her flashlight.

“Damn, that’s bright.”

“Ronan. Oh, thank God. I got lost in there.” It must have been him she heard.

“You’re found now.” He smiled. “But I’m not Ronan. I’m Declan.”

“You could be Hitler right now, for all I care. Just get me out of here.”

“Where do you want to go? The library, the dungeon? Outside?”

“Outside.” Sunshine seemed like a good thing.

“Outside it is. This way.”

She stepped into a tunnel, dank and musty. “Do warriors have a thing for tunnels?” She had always liked them herself, but she’d had enough of this one.

“Aye. Got to have a way to escape.”

“How long have you been in here? I heard something earlier.”

“A while. I was checking the tunnel for loose stones. The part closest to the entrance is old. It’s getting dangerous.”

“Where does it lead?”

“Outside the castle grounds.”

“A bolt hole.”

“Aye.”

She aimed the beam and saw that the tunnel widened ahead, but Declan opened a door in the wall, and they stepped into the sunlight. “That’s better.” She wasn’t usually afraid of dark places. She explored plenty of caves with the MacBains, but this time she welcomed the sunshine. In the bright light, she could see Declan’s hair was shorter than Ronan’s, but the brothers were startlingly alike, and equally handsome. “Where are you headed?” Declan asked, surveying the place.

“Just wanted some fresh air.”

“Don’t wander off.”

“I won’t.”

“I’ll be close by if you need anything,” he said, pointing to a balcony on the second floor where Duncan and Niall were working.

The weather was mild for Scotland, but she was glad she wore a sweater. There were several fenced areas with horses in the back field. She saw Clydesdales in one area and smaller horses in another. There was a large garage and a number of outbuildings. She saw a bare spot near one of the buildings. A giant buzzard circled overhead, landed, and tucked its huge wings away, probably searching for dinner. Shay followed a cobblestone path lined with boxwoods toward the trees where she saw the warriors stationed last night. She’d always been drawn to the woods, the smell of trees and pine needles and leaves. Some of her best memories were tied to earthy aromas. When she wasn’t off playing with the boys, she often curled up with a book beneath her favorite canopied tree, resting on a bed of pine needles, sometimes just listening to the birds talk. Her solitude would last until Cody found her, usually waiting until he thought she was asleep so he could leap through the low-hanging boughs and scare the crap out of her. He then lay there with her, talking or napping, whatever notion struck. Shay stood at the tree line, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply through her nose. Something pulled at her, a feeling she couldn’t place, a smell that wasn’t right. She turned back, disturbed, because she liked it.

The buzzard was still there, his wings hunched around his shoulders, waiting. He moved, and Shay could see past him, where something dark lay behind the small building. A deer? She squinted and saw it move. It was alive! The damned bird was waiting for its meal to die. Shay moved closer, planning to scare it away. She saw boots, not hooves, and then legs, hips. She yelled as she ran, startling the great bird into flight.

When recognition dawned, she opened her mouth and screamed.

Chapter 17

Cody knocked on Shay’s door. It swung open. “Shay?” He checked the balcony, but she wasn’t there. Maybe the shower. No. The room was empty. She could be with Bree or Nina and Matilda. As much as he loved them, the two old women were going to complicate things.

The small silver jewelry box he rescued from the fire sat on Shay’s dresser. He gave it to her on her sixteenth birthday. He bought it and the white-gold heart inside with the money he made from helping the farmer down the road make hay. He had known he would be leaving for training soon and worried they would grow apart with him gone so much and having to keep his secrets. Then his father had told him Shay’s secret. They probably would have been better off if they just told her. He headed down to the kitchen, where Coira was banging around. The clan had offered to hire cooks, but Coira guarded her kitchen like a pirate guarded his treasure. “Have you seen Shay?” Cody asked.

“Not this morning. She didn’t come to breakfast. Such a sweet girl, but she doesn’t eat enough.”

“I’m sure you’ll take care of that, Coira.” Cody grabbed a biscuit. “I’ll check the library.”

When he entered the room, he saw the secret-passage entrance standing open. His pulse quickened as he stepped inside. “Shay,” he called. His voice echoed back to him, hollow. He smelled her and another scent too faded to identify. He followed her trail through several passages. The scent stopped where the tunnel door led outside. He stepped into daylight as Declan came around the corner, carrying a ladder.

“Have you seen Shay?” Cody asked.

“She went to get some fresh air.”

A scream pierced Cody’s ears.

“That was Shay!” Cody bolted toward the sound.

“Help!” Shay screamed. She knelt on the ground beside Jamie. His bloody shirt hung in tatters. Deep wounds covered his stomach and side. “Help him.” Shay’s eyes were wide, her face pinched. “Please, help him.”

Cody and Declan knelt beside Shay. Jamie was unconscious but breathing. His knees and hands were covered in dirt. “Looks like he crawled here,” Declan said.

“Run ahead of us and get Coira. She’s in the kitchen,” Cody told Shay. “We’ll carry him.” Together he and Declan carried Jamie to the house. Coira met them in the infirmary. They laid Jamie down and stood back as Coira cut away his filthy shirt, revealing long, gaping wounds.

“Claw marks,” Declan said.

“They’re deep,” Coira said, “but the bleeding has stopped.”

Shay hovered over Jamie, holding his hand, as Coira checked Jamie’s vital signs. “Will he be okay?”

Cody could see the tears staining her cheeks.

“Unless it gets infected. He was lying out there for God knows how long.” Coira’s hands moved deftly as she cleaned the injuries.

Infection and sickness were rare among warriors. Strong genes were part of their weaponry. The biggest danger was dying in battle. “I’m going to sound the alarm,” Cody told them.

When he came back to check on Shay, she was removing Jamie’s jeans. She laid them on a chair and straightened his boxers, her movements smooth and sure, as if in familiar territory. Of course she was. She almost married him.