Page 45 of Bound By Deception

20: FIGHT ME

“TELL ME WHAT happened.”

The chief-enforcer’s voice cut through the meeting room, piercing the silence.

“Those two brutes—” Bree began, but her husband cut her off.

“I wasn’t addressing you.” Indeed, mac Brochan’s gaze was upon Mirren, who stood at his wife’s side.

Head lowered, arms wrapped around herself, the lass was shaking.

Heat ignited in Bree’s stomach. Couldn’t he see Mirren was deeply distressed? She needed to visit the healer, not beinterrogated. With effort, she bit her tongue; she’d already drawn far too much attention to herself this morning.

That was an understatement—she’d just landed herself in a steaming pile of shit.

The aftermath of the fight had been surreal, as if she were watching the scene from afar. The first thing she’d done was go to Mirren. Her handmaid had crawled deep into the shadows and curled up like a hedgehog, weeping. “You’re safe now, lass,” Bree had whispered, lowering herself to her knees before her. Mirren’s throat had convulsed, her eyes still wild. And something had twisted deep within Bree’s chest to see her terror.

Just yards from the two women, more enforcers had appeared. They’d then dragged the two men off in chains.

Bree had watched them go, fury kindling in her gut. Those two shit-eating bastards still breathed. How she longed to cut out their hearts.

“I w … was in the b … bakehouse,” Mirren stuttered out the words finally. “T … they cornered me.”

“The enforcers?”

“Aye … t … they followed me yesterday … when I was taking clothing down to the laundry … but I … I escaped them.”

The ember in Bree’s gut flared hot once more.What?

How she wished Mirren had confided in her—she’d have gone straight to her husband. She could have prevented this. Aye, Mirren had admitted that Drago intimidated her, but Bree had no idea that he and his friend had been stalking her like prey.

Bree cleared her throat. “When I found them, one of them was raping her while the other held her still.”

Mac Brochan’s gaze snapped to Bree then, pinning her to the spot. Ire burned in his eyes. Next to him, Torran also quietly simmered.

“Fia … told them to stop,” Mirren gasped out the words, her blue eyes guttering, “and when they refused, she attacked them.”

“With abroom?” The chief-enforcer’s attention remained upon Bree then, a muscle feathering in his tight jaw.

“Aye,” Bree replied, holding her chin high. “There was nothing else to hand.”

A brittle silence filled the meeting alcove.

Mirren gave a choked sob then, her shoulders shaking. “W … will I be blamed?”

Bree jolted, shocked that Mirren would think such a thing. Acting on instinct, she stepped close to her handmaid and put an arm around her shoulders. The gesture felt odd; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d comfortedanyone. Nevertheless, Mirren’s upset cut her to the bone.

“No, lass,” the chief-enforcer replied, his tone softening slightly. “Those men committed a terrible violence against you … and they will pay.”

Bree’s mouth thinned.They’d better. If it were up to her, she’d string them both up by their balls first and let them cry for their mothers before she bled them. Her fingertips tingled at the thought.

Mirren nodded, even as she made another choking sound.

Bree tightened her grip on her maid’s shaking shoulders. She then cut mac Brochan a sharp look. Couldn’t he save his questions until later?

Their gazes fused, and a battle of wills followed, until the chief-enforcer scowled. He then nodded to his second. “Take Mirren down to the healer.”

Bree stilled, an ache rising under her breastbone.

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