Page 34 of Bound to a Highland Beast
He didn’t know why he had ever expected anything else. He should have known Beag would do something like this, just to infuriate him.
But Tiernan wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of taking this without a fight. He had already killed one of his men, and now the other two were advancing towards him, both with their knives in their hands and menacing looks on their faces. Tiernan adjusted his stance, preparing himself for the fight that was to come, light on his feet. One of Beag’s men attacked first, charging at him, but he was too big and too slow. With a feint to the left, Tiernan avoided the worst of the blow the man was about to deliver and counterattacked immediately, carving a line across his stomach with his knife. He, too, fell to the ground with a thud, just like his partner, staring blankly at the sky as the light left his eyes.
His ribs stung with the shallow cut he had sustained, but the pain was in the depths of his mind. He was so removed from it that he hardly felt it at all, adrenaline coursing through his veins and making him feel nothing but the exhilaration of the fight, the drumming of his heart.
Then there was only one left. The man was foolish enough to try and kill Tiernan instead of fleeing, but having seen the other two lose their lives so easily, he was reluctant to attack first. Tiernan had no such qualms. He threw himself at the man, punching him across the face with his left hand as the right stabbed him in the gut once, twice, before finally letting him crumble to the ground.
A widened view returned to Tiernan slowly, his eyes focusing on more than just his targets. He was covered from head to toe in blood and drops of it dripped from his fingers, pooling by his feet. The three men had all taken their last breaths and Beag stood several paces away, keeping his distance from Tiernan.
That, at least, was smart.
“What dae ye think ye’re doin’?” Tiernan asked as his hand tightened around the blade, his gaze flitting over to Isabeau, who had only just dared to peek her head out from the side of the inn. She had done her best to stay away from the fight, much to his relief, but he knew she had witnessed all the carnage. There was no avoiding it; even if she hadn’t seen him fight, she could now clearly see all the bodies on the ground.
He had half a mind to kill Beag too and get it over with, but he didn’t know if that would be a clever thing to do. He had no idea who Beag’s allies were and how many men were loyal enough to him to seek revenge. He also didn’t know how many other men were lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. Surely, he had not only come there with those three, Tiernan thought. With Isabeau there, he didn’t want to risk it.
“What am I daein’?” Beag asked with a scoff. “What are ye daein’? I told ye tae kill Constantine, nae tae befriend him! An’ yet me men told me that ye spent an entire afternoon with him… an’ nae only that, but ye plan on seein’ him again on the morrow. Did ye think I wouldnae find out?”
“I did, actually,” Tiernan said. “How did ye find out?”
“I have me men everywhere,” said Beag. “They’re watchin’ yer every move. Ye should be careful when ye talk, ye never ken who may be listenin’.”
How did I nae ken I was bein’ followed?
Perhaps the men Beag had set after him and Isabeau were that good or perhaps Tiernan was so distracted by everything else that this had faded in the background, the least of his concerns.
He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, though it hardly helped at all. “What does it matter tae ye how I approach him? As long as I kill him.”
“Dae ye expect me tae believe that ye’re tryin’ tae kill him?” Beag asked. “If ye were tryin’, ye would’ve already done it. Ye’re colludin’ with him, I ken it.”
“Are ye insane?” Tiernan demanded, throwing his hands up in the air. “First, ye force me tae kill him, then ye accuse me o’ colludin’ with him. I’m only tryin’ tae dae what ye asked o’ me an’ yet here ye are, makin’ it all the worse fer me. I have a plan.Ye will either allow me tae enact it, or ye will be at the end o’ me blade.”
As Tiernan spoke, he pointed his knife at Beag, taking a few steps towards him. Sure enough, just as he had expected, he heard shuffling footsteps from the shadows around them, as though there were more men awaiting Beag’s orders. Instead of telling them to attack, though, Beag only shot Tiernan one last, scathing look and fled, his boots echoing in the air around him until they disappeared into the distance.
Along with him, his men disappeared too, fleeing into the night. Tiernan had been determined to kill them too if it came to it. He would kill anyone who dared come close and threaten Isabeau, no matter what it took.
Isabeau… she must be so frightened.
Turning around, Tiernan met her gaze reluctantly, fearing what he would see. Isabeau had just seen him kill three men in the span of seconds, taking their lives with such ease that even a part of him was surprised. He had never hesitated in his killings; he had never second-guessed himself or given any of his victims much thought, but he had wanted to believe it was different now. He had wanted to believe he had turned into a different person.
How wrong he had been to think he could change. Even now, he was nothing but a killer.
And yet, even though Isabeau shied away from the three bodies close to her feet, she didn’t flinch away from Tiernan. She held his gaze, trusting and entirely unafraid.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Isabeau had seen it all. She had watched as Tiernan killed those three men, swiftly and mercilessly, showing no hints of hesitation. They were gone as fast as they had appeared, and Tiernan had shown them no mercy.
Before, she would have been frightened of him, even more than she had once been. But now, she could only feel grateful that he had been there when the men attacked. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what could have happened to her had Tiernan not been there to kill them, and she couldn’t express just how grateful she was to him. Would he ever understand, she wondered?
And yet, had he changed? Or was he still the same man who was once a brigand?
Isabeau didn’t know what to think. Conflicting thoughts plagued her mind, making it difficult to come up with a definitive answer. On the one hand, watching Tiernan kill those men while barely breaking a sweat was nothing short of terrifying, as he revealedhis true skill, which he had hidden from her so far. Never before had Isabeau been so aware that if he had wanted to kill her, he easily could have. On the other hand, though, she was certain he didn’t want to kill her. He had saved her life; he had fought for her, to keep her safe.
How could she be scared of him when he had been the one to protect her? Perhaps it was true that Tiernan was a frightening man, but that was not what she saw in him. Rather, she saw a man who had put his own life on the line to save hers.
With Beag and his men gone—and the threat gone with them—Tiernan slowly made his way to her. His footsteps were small, hesitant, as though he was fearful to approach her, and Isabeau couldn’t blame him. Surely, he thought that perhaps she would be frightened of him after witnessing the havoc he had wreaked.
She wanted to reassure him, to tell him that she wasn’t afraid of him, but no words came out, even as he came to stand before her. Under the light of the moon, his hands, his tunic, everything seemed to be covered in black, the blood so dark that it looked to her like spilled ink. She had seen too much; never before had she witnessed so much death, so much devastation in such a short time.
