Page 84 of Wedded to the Twisted Highlander
“Laird McFair,” the messenger said with a wobbly bow.
Thomas said nothing. He stood like the sentinel that he had been trained to be.
“I’ve come wit’ news from Laird Chalium. He wishes to meet in person.”
Thomas eyed the messenger and moved toward him. Circling him, he contemplated what the man was thinking after witnessing the fate of the mole in his ranks. Was he worried that the same fate awaited him?
The thought was oddly satisfying.
Thomas arched an eyebrow as the messenger pulled a piece of parchment from his sporran.
As the last wisps of sunlight faded beyond the Highland hills, Thomas’s eyes narrowed, and he clenched his jaw. With a subtle nod, he signaled his men to encircle the room, ensuring that there was no way out except through them.
The messenger’s eyes widened with fear as he lowered his head and clasped his hands in prayer.
A small, cruel part of Thomas relished the knowledge that this pitiful soul was at his mercy. But as he gazed deeper into the messenger’s eyes, his thoughts shifted to his sister, Olivia.
Was she, too, in a similar predicament? But was she cowering in fear, at the mercy of her enemies? The very thought sent a shiver down his spine, and his fingers tightened around the familiar leather of his dirk.
His eyes never wavered, his expression a mask of calm, calculated interest.
“Speak,” he commanded, his deep voice low and even.
The messenger hesitated, his eyes darting around the room once more before returning to him. “Laird Chalium demands that ye meet him at the old oak tree on the border at sundown tomorrow,” he said, his words tumbling out in a rush. “He says—He says ye’re to bring Astrid to exchange for yer beloved sister, Olivia.”
Flexing his jaw, Thomas stared at the man hard.
It didn’t surprise him one bit that Laird Chalium would want to trade. The bastard had been after Astrid for months if not years now. And to have her so close…
Thomas swallowed hard. How many times had he tasted the same bittersweetness of revenge and justice? Yet, he couldn’t relish it, knowing that Astrid was the reason behind Laird Chalium’s attack.
“Ye think ye can come into me castle—me home—and tell me what I must do?” he growled, breaking the silence.
He charged toward the messenger, refusing to hold back an ounce of his ire and anger. Grabbing him by his collar, he lifted him off his feet.
The man thrashed about, desperate for air that Thomas was so easily denying him of.
“Ye’re goin’ to listen to me and listen to mewell,” Thomas said, his voice as soft as a butterfly’s wing. “If yer Laird harms a single hair on me sister’s head, I’ll plow through his ranks like a farmer takin’ the plow to a field. I’ll nae just stop at his gates, but I’ll also make sure that there’s nothing left of his memory. I’ll wipe every trace of his existence off this earth.”
He loosened his grip and watched as the man dropped to the floor and crumbled like a coward at his feet.
For a brief moment, Thomas couldn’t help but feel a pinch of pity for the man. How was he to know that he was betting on the wrong man?
“Get up,” Thomas barked as he gave him a swift kick.
The messenger scrambled to his feet as terror gripped him.
Thomas looked at the man’s soiled breeches and smiled. “Tell yer Laird that I’ll meet him, but he’ll nae be gettin’ what he wants.”
“Then Laird Chalium will b-be forced t-to take her, n-now that he is aware that she has returned,” the messenger stuttered.
Thomas grabbed the man’s collar again, growing more irritated. How he wanted to kill the messenger. To see his body piled next to his other conquests. It would have been grand.
But if there was one thing Thomas was certain of, it was that Astrid was going to need protection, and Olivia would need a miracle.
He raked his fingers through his hair, refusing to look anything but calm and collected. Deep down, he wanted Astrid by his side. She was the source of his strength now. He had handed it over to her willingly, and now she would have to be the one to stoke the flames of vengeance.
“I suggest ye run back to yer master before I unleash the hounds on ye,” Thomas growled as he tossed the messenger like a sack of flour.
