Highland Outlaw (Campbell Trilogy #2)(33)

He gritted his teeth, sweat running down his temple. The loss of blood had made him weaker than he'd realized.

The Enforcer's broad back loomed before him, an easy target. There was no one else around. He could make his escape before anyone realized what had happened. There was nothing in his way….

Take the damn shot.

Patrick lowered the bow.

Damnation.

He couldn't do it. No matter how much he hated him, he couldn't shoot a man in the back. The Campbells might have forced him from his home, turned him into an outlaw, and hunted him with bloodhounds, but Patrick had not lost all honor. No matter how slippery the reins of civility had become, he was not yet a cold-blooded murderer.

Besides, if he was forced to flee, there would be no one to prevent Lizzie from marrying Robert Campbell and Pat rick's land would be forever in Glenorchy's hands. He couldn't let that happen.

Self-doubt was not something that normally troubled him, but he couldn't escape the feeling that in not killing Jamie Campbell, he'd failed his clan.

What part did honor have in the life of an outlaw?

He hoped to hell he did not live to regret it. For the blood of every MacGregor killed by the Enforcer from this day forward would be on Patrick's hands.

Upon further consideration, Lizzie was not particularly eager for the meeting between her brother and Patrick to take place. She feared that her astute—and annoyingly overprotective—brother would see more than she wanted him to. Lord knew she'd never been very good at hiding her feelings, and there was no denying that Patrick Murray roused a maelstrom of “feelings” inside her. Just what they were, she didn't know. But she didn't want Jamie to reach any conclusions before she did.

Thus, she felt some measure of relief when Patrick left word that he was not to be disturbed. Worried that he'd taken a turn for the worse, she sought out the healer, who informed her that though he'd appeared well enough that morning, he'd weakened considerably by the afternoon. The older woman had given him a posset to ensure a good night's rest, and had every hope that he would be better in the morning.

By morning, however, Patrick was still not feeling well enough to appear.

“I thought you said he'd all but recovered?” Jamie asked idly, washing down the herring he'd chosen to break his fast with a long drink of cuirm, the strong ale preferred by Highlanders.

Lizzie's brows wrinkled. “I thought so as well.” She plopped a piece of buttered bread in her mouth and chewed it slowly. “He seemed much better a few days ago.”

“If I didn't know you better, Lizzie, I'd think you were hiding your knight from me.”

Blast her fair coloring. Lizzie knew her brother could no doubt see the flush heating her cheeks. The last thing she wanted was Jamie curious. Once he sniffed trouble … he had a streak of doggedness in him that defied belief.

Her brother's attention, however, was shifted from her pink cheeks to a disturbance in the entry and then by the timely arrival of a messenger who burst into the great hall and demanded to see Jamie immediately. From the harried looks of him, he'd ridden all night.

The young guardsman bent to whisper something in Jamie's ear, and whatever he said provoked a reaction unlike anything she'd ever seen in her brother. His face turned white and every muscle in his body went taut. Rage she recognized, but this was different. If she didn't know better, she might think it was fear.

“I'll kill him!” Jamie said, exploding up from the table and slamming his drink down hard.

“Who?”

“Our cursed brother.”

Colin. Oh no, what had he done this time? “What's happened?”

But Jamie wasn't listening to her. He had a far-off look in his eyes, his mind consumed by the news he'd received. “I have to go. Immediately.”

“Where?”

He turned to look at her, for a moment seeming to remember where he was. “I'm sorry, Lizzie. There's no time to explain. It seems I will be unable to see you to Dunoon after all. You will be safe here.”

“Of course I shall.”

“I will leave instruction with Donnan about the hiring of more guardsmen. I want a man with you at all times.” Anticipating her objection, he added, “Even near the castle, Lizzie. I'll take no chances until the MacGregors are subdued.”

Lizzie nodded, one guardsman's face coming to her.

“I must ride with all haste to Bute.”

His voice was cold and emotionless, yet Lizzie thought she'd never heard her brother sound so tortured. Whatever or whoever it was that had a hold on him was much worse than she'd thought.

She put a hand on his arm. “Godspeed, brother.”

His eyes were bleak. “Have care, Lizzie.”

But it wasn't herself she was worried about. If the look on her brother's face was any indication, it was Colin who should be worried.

Chapter 7

A few days after Jamie Campbell's fortuitous departure, Patrick strode outside for the first time in nearly a week. The brightness of the sun surprised him, and he had to squint for a few minutes to allow his eyes to adjust.

His short—and nearly catastrophic—sojourn out of bed a few days ago had hit him harder than he'd expected. The pretext he'd come up with to avoid coming face-to-face with Jamie Campbell had proven more real than he wanted to admit.