Highland Warrior (Campbell Trilogy #1)(94)

Colin’s eyes narrowed menacingly. “Not as long as you do your damned duty.”

His brother’s attempts to intimidate might have worked when they were lads, but those days were long past. “Don’t presume to tell me my duty. I’m a chieftain in my own right. I don’t answer to you.”

Jamie could see his brother’s face twisted with anger. “But as his captain, you do answer to Argyll, and I’ll see these men hung, drawn, and quartered for what they dared.”

“Perhaps, but you’ll not see it here. These are my lands, and I’m responsible for the men on them. If you have a problem with that, take it up with our cousin.”

“I will.”

“Until then, I want you off my lands. Now.”

Colin’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”

“Try me,” Jamie said with deadly calm.

The two brothers squared off, face-to-face in the darkness, their men gathered behind them. Though Colin had the strength in numbers, both knew that if it came to a fight, Jamie and his warriors’ superior skills would win. And Colin would not willingly suffer that humiliation.

Jamie gave his brother an opportunity to salvage his pride. “But know that if I have to fight you, they will likely escape.”

“Are you sure that isn’t what you intend anyway? How can I be sure that you will not let these men go?”

“You can’t,” Jamie said flatly. “As I said before, this is my land and the people are my responsibility.”

The hatred in his brother’s eyes took him aback. Jamie knew that Colin would not soon forget this perceived disloyalty.

Colin ordered his men to their horses, which presumably had been tethered at some distance away so as not to alert them of their presence. He started down the hill but turned back to issue one parting shot. “I never thought I’d see the day that my sanctimonious brother took the law into his own hands and turned on his own. You grow more like our bastard brother every day. Your pretty little wife has gelded you.”

Jamie’s fists furled and unfurled at his side. He’d thought he was immune to his brother’s taunts, but this one pricked. “Do you doubt my loyalty, brother?”

“To whom? Your wife or your clan?” Colin mocked. “You can’t be loyal to both.”

Yes, damn it, I can. But his brother’s words were not without effect. His love for his wife had stretched his duty to the breaking point—challenging his deep sense of justice. Since his brother Duncan’s treachery, Jamie had always seen the law as absolute—right and wrong. But for the first time, the question of what was right and what was wrong was not so easily answered.

He waited to hear the sounds of hooves in the distance and for the man that he’d sent to follow Colin and his men to return before ordering his men forward. They crept through the darkness toward the cave, only the sound of silence billowing in their wake. If all went according to plan, it would be over before it started.

Caitrina was a mass of tangled nerves when she finally entered the cave. Though she was confident that what she was doing was right, it didn’t make it any easier. Nor did it ease the guilt.

It was dark and damp, with a deep chill that penetrated the heavy layers of wool right through to her skin. At least one good thing would come of this: Brian would be removed to safety and warmth. It took her eyes a moment to adjust, as only a single torch flickered near the back wall of the cave. No doubt they were being cautious, worried that more light might give away their hiding place.

Niall moved forward to greet her. He looked horrible—dirty and scruffy, like the outlaw he’d become. He looked as if he’d aged a decade since she’d seen him last. But there was something more. His expression was as hard and angry as before, but now it was tinged with an unmistakable air of sadness.

“What are you doing out here, Caiti Rose?” he said edgily. “It’s dangerous.”

“I know, but I had to come.”

Despite his irritation, he wrapped her in a warm, brotherly embrace. “I’m glad to see you, lass, but you shouldn’t have come. There are Campbells all over these hills.”

She pushed back and looked into his eyes. “For good reason. Oh, God, what have you done, Niall?”

His eyes darkened with a pain so acute, it almost hurt to look at him. “What needed to be done. But I failed.”

“Why? Why would you risk everything like this? You’ve put all your lives in danger. Auchinbreck will kill you if he finds you.”

“He won’t find me.”

“So you will be an outlaw, when instead you might have taken your rightful position as chief? Your men would have been free. Now you will be living in the wild like broken men. And what of the rest of our clan? It’s not only you who will suffer for what you’ve done. You’ve put everything I’ve done to reclaim Ascog for our clan in jeopardy.”

His face was like stone that was ready to crack. “I’m sorry for it. But I had no choice.” He looked into her eyes, his own as bleak as she’d ever seen them. “I had to, Caiti.” His voice caught. “God, they raped her.”

Shocked by his declaration, all Caitrina could ask was, “Who?”

“Annie MacGregor.”

She searched his face, looking for the sign that she knew was there. “And who is Annie MacGregor to you, Niall?” she asked gently.