Page 85 of The Highlander Who Loved Me
“Not at all. I’ve been quite the fool, really. I can only pray my niece hasn’t paid the price.”
“If ye think that cutthroat will be satisfied with that book, ye’re wrong. He’ll kill ye both.”
Once again, Connor thought to frighten her, but she had to obey the kidnapper’s summons. There was no choice.
“And what chance will my niece have when you abandon her? Cranston expects me to find a way to him. He wants that book. And I intend to ensure he gets it.”
Connor shook his head. “He wanted the map that leads to the stone. The book means nothing to him.”
“He does not know the map is gone…he doesn’t know the truth.”
“The bastard will know as soon as he gets that book in his hands.”
“I need to buy time. That volume is all I have to barter. That…and the code tucked away in my memory.”
“Bah, ye think the bastard will care about your bluidy secret? By the time Cranston and his thugs were done with yer brother-in-law, he would’ve spat out everything he knew about the stone. The man has no use for ye. None that involve words, in any case.”
“But…you acted as if…the code might be of some value.”
“If ye are telling the truth…if there is some mysterious code Richard Abbott decided to entrust to ye, it no longer matters. From what I know of the man, he wasnae the sort to withstand…pain.”
A lead weight landed with a thud in her belly. She inhaled slowly, drawing calm strength from the breath. “If that’s the case, why did you agree to bring me here?”
“Lass, the most brilliant scholar couldnae answer that question.” He raked a hand through his dark strands. “Truth be told, I cannae explain my actions. Bringing you here was a mistake. I know that now.”
Anger welled in her throat. “You do not view this as a betrayal?”
“I cannae stomach putting ye in danger. I’m taking the ransom to the bastard.”
Something in his gruff voice touched her, chipping away at the ice she’d erected as a shield. How she wanted to believe his actions were rooted in noble instinct. But Connor was not a hero who’d stepped from the pages of a novel. He was a man, flesh and blood with motives that had nothing to do with her. Nothing to do with desire. Nothing to do with passion.
She couldn’t put her faith in him. Laurel needed her. And nothing short of hellfire would keep her away.
Johanna blinked against the veil of moisture blurring her gaze. “And what of my niece? Who will be there for her?”
“Ye think I’d leave the bairn to those curs?”
“She has suffered. We both know that. Even if you keep your vow and bring Laurel to safety, you are a stranger to her. She may not understand that you are there to help, and even if she does, she needs me. I’m all the family she has here. Surely you can understand that.”
“I do, Johanna. But that does not change how I feel. ’Tis madness for ye to go into that viper’s nest.”
“I have no choice.”
“I could say the same, lass.”
He infused his words with regret, the notes akin to pain. Oh, he was a skilled deceiver. If she had not overheard his exchange with Gerard, she’d be tempted to believe his concern was for her welfare, not getting his hands on a cursed—and likely priceless—ruby.
She steeled her heart. “I know the truth, Connor MacMasters. I heard you. And your brother. You intend to keep the book from Cranston, even if that means leaving my niece in the villain’s clutches.”
He scowled. “So, ye were listening. Damned shame ye didn’t do a better job of it.”
“I overheard enough to know you have no intention of taking me with you.”
“Ye think I want to see a woman make herself vulnerable to Cranston’s kind? I dinnae want ye anywhere near those bastards. On that count, I stand guilty as charged.”
“But what of your promise?”
“I will honor every word. Iwillbring that child to safety. But I willnae stand by and watch ye put that pretty neck of yers on the line.”
