The Viper (Highland Guard #4)(39)

Before she could protest again, he broke away and raced toward the well-house. Wrapping his plaid around his face, he kicked down the burning door and raced into the flames, using his sword to defend against the falling timbers.

“No!” Bella heard a bloodcurdling scream tear through the forest. The stab of pain was so overwhelming she didn’t realize right away that the scream was hers.

She lunged forward, but someone grabbed her from behind. Magnus. “You can’t go in there. You’ll only get yourself killed. They need you, my lady.”

Magnus’s plea broke through the haze of horror and shock. They needed her, and there was nothing she could do for Lachlan or William. Numbly, she nodded as tears gushed in hot waves from her stinging eyes and allowed Magnus to pull her back. Pull her away from the flames as her heart twisted with pain.

Oh God, why had he done it? Going into that burning building was suicide. Lachlan was supposed to be selfish. A man who fought only for his purse. He didn’t care about anyone else. Why couldn’t he act true to character just this one time?

They needed him. His duty was to stay and protect them, not be a hero.

Losing one man was bad enough, but two …

Losing him.

A loud crash sounded behind her. Her gaze jerked around, and she blinked in disbelief. Lachlan burst through what remained of the well-house door, dragging another man behind him. It didn’t seem real. He didn’t seem real. How could he have survived that? He should be dead. They both should be dead.

“Magnus?” she asked hesitantly, seeking confirmation.

“He has him, my lady,” the big Highlander said with a grin. “He has him.”

She closed her eyes, giving a silent prayer of thanks, as emotion strangled in her throat.

She followed Magnus, who’d gone to Lachlan’s assistance, relieving him of William and helping to drag him away from the flames. Lachlan was bent over coughing, fighting to get air back into his lungs, but William wasn’t moving.

She knelt beside the unconscious warrior. William’s hair was singed and his face was black with smoke and soot. She couldn’t tell whether he was breathing. “What can I do?”

Lachlan’s gaze shot to hers. “What the hell are you doing here? I told you to get back.”

Her heart hitched. His voice was raspy from the smoke, his face was nearly as black as William’s, and his eyes burned into her with an intensity that she didn’t recognize. But none of that mattered. He was alive.

“Are you all right?” Bella couldn’t hide the fear in her voice; it simmered too close to the surface.

Some of his anger seemed to dissipate. Their eyes held and for a moment it felt as though the rest of the world had fallen away. She didn’t understand it, but the connection she felt to this man was at a primal level unlike any she’d ever experienced before. He cared for her. He had to.

“Aye,” he said softly. “I’m fine.” Seeming to catch himself, he turned to Magnus, who was still examining the unconscious William. “How is he?”

“His pulse is slow and his breathing is shallow. I don’t know—”

Suddenly, William’s chest started to rumble. He wheezed in a staggered breath of air, and then exploded in a fit of coughing that racked his entire body. He rolled to the side, curling into a ball, and coughed until Bella thought his lungs would give out.

She glanced up and caught Lachlan’s eye, beaming a relieved smile at him. She was surprised when his mouth curved in a wide smile in return.

She sucked in her breath. Her heart slammed against her ribs. The transformation was stunning. Gone was the heartless, dangerous mercenary, replaced by an almost boyishly handsome man who could steal her heart if she let him. The realization jarred her.

“How is he?”

Bella turned to find Queen Elizabeth by her side. She’d been so caught up in the moment, she hadn’t noticed that the women had circled around them.

“I don’t know,” Bella answered.

William must have heard the queen’s question through his violent coughing spasms. “I’ll b-be fine.” His voice sounded worse than Lachlan’s.

He tried to sit up, and Magnus helped him. “Take it easy. You took in a lot of smoke.”

“I would have taken in a lot more.” William looked to Lachlan. “Thank you. I owe you my life.”

Lachlan shrugged off his gratitude. “How are your hands?”

William held them up, examining the singed leather of his gauntlets. “Minor burns,” he said. “I’ve had worse.”

“What the hell happened?” Lachlan asked.

“I must have used too much powder. The entire building collapsed, and I was hit in the head with a beam.”

Suddenly, William reached into his cotun and smiled. Pulling out a carved wooden horse, he handed it to the young earl. “I did manage to retrieve this, though.”

The little boy beamed with pleasure. “You found it!”

“Aye,” William said. “I hope you will not lose it again.”

Wide-eyed, the lad shook his head. “I won’t. Thank you, Sir William.” He turned to Lachlan. “And you, Sir Lachlan.”

The lad looked so solemn, none of them had the heart to correct him. They weren’t knights.

But they weren’t regular soldiers, either. Bella’s brows furrowed, looking back and forth between Lachlan, MacKay, and Gordon. None of them were. Which begged the question, just what were they?