Page 105 of Tempting the Highland Spy
Bloodlust flared in his eyes. “I’ll enjoy seeing you die.”
Behind him, she spotted a sudden movement.
Harrison!
A crimson stain marred his white shirt. Had he been wounded? Or was that another man’s blood?
She shoved aside her fear. Harrison was alive.
That was all that mattered.
As he bolted into the room, his gaze locked on Raibert. Gaslight glimmered on the revolver in his hand.
“Throw down the knife and move away from her. Now.” Harrison’s command was low and laced with quiet rage. “Before I put a bullet in your heart.”
Dagger in hand, Raibert spun around. Close enough to Grace that one swift movement would plunge the blade into her chest, he blocked her escape.
He glared at Harrison. “Bugger it, you’re still alive.”
“O’Hanlon got the worst of it.” Harrison leveled the gun at Raibert’s chest. “You had Fairchild killed. I know that. Belle didn’t know what you’d done, did she?”
Raibert sneered. “The simpering fool sees what she wants to see.”
“You had Fairchild killed to get to his money,” Harrison went on.
“What good is an heiress who hasn’t come into her fortune?”
“But Fairchild’s death wasn’t enough. You ordered O’Hanlon to kill the investigator he’d hired. Why did Lowry have to die?”
“The weasel knew too much.”
“He was searching for the MacKendrick dagger,” Harrison pressed. “He’d uncovered evidence against you.”
“The bastard tried to extort money out of me. I couldn’t let him live.”
“And the dagger…”
“So, that’s why you haven’t pulled the trigger.” Raibert laughed, the sound as raw as a scream. “You think I’ll tell you in exchange for my life?”
Harrison slowly shook his head. “I don’t bargain with vermin.”
“Thatsghian dubhwill garner a king’s ransom. Nothing that bastard Fairchild owned could compare to that piece. Even if you kill me, you won’t get your hands on it.”
“You’ve made a crucial miscalculation. You’re assuming I don’t already have it.”
“You’re lying.” Raibert ground out the words.
“Surely you’re not fool enough to believe I came here to protect some tycoon’s daughter. You know what brought me here.”
Raibert’s hand trembled, as if he struggled to restrain himself. “You don’t have it…it’s not possible.”
“Can you be sure of that?” Harrison coolly planted a seed of doubt. “You do know the lady is a skilled thief. She’s a clever one.”
Perspiration dotted Raibert’s brow as he clutched the knife. His upper lip twitched. “You’ll never leave this place, you bastard. Never!”
With a sound more feral than human, Raibert launched his attack.
Like a mad dog that possessed no fear, he slashed the blade. Harrison dodged the brutal thrust.
