Page 106 of Tempting the Highland Spy
Terror coiled like a viper in Grace’s belly. Raibert lashed out again, slicing the knife down in a deadly arc. Harrison evaded the strike.
Again and again, Raibert viciously attacked. Harrison’s gaze locked with his. With each step, Harrison drew Raibert away from Belle. Away from her. Protecting them by putting himself at mortal risk.
Fear whipped through her body. The tip of the blade grazed Harrison’s sleeve. Drawing blood. Grace pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle her scream.
Harrison edged away, keeping his eyes on Raibert, waiting his chance.
Finally, he had a clean shot.
He pulled the trigger.
The roar of the gunshot echoed against the walls.
An agonized howl wrenched from Raibert’s lungs. But the cur didn’t collapse. Didn’t surrender.
Hatred blazed in his eyes. “I’ll kill you!” He ground the threat between his teeth as he hurled himself at Belle.
Harrison lunged, putting his body between them.
One brutal punch connected with Raibert’s jaw.
Harrison seized him in an unyielding hold. With quick, efficient movements, he brought him to his knees.
“Grace, bring me the ties on the curtains.”
As she rushed to untie the velvet cords and bring them to Harrison, Mrs. Carmichael entered the room. She went directly to Belle to console the weeping heiress.
As Harrison moved to secure Raibert’s arms behind his back, the cur rebelled.
Harrison’s fist plowed into his gut. And then his chin.
Raibert’s mouth went wide, even as his eyes closed. In oblivion, he toppled to the floor.
“Oh God, Harrison.” Grace reached for him, pulling him close, needing the feel of his body against hers. He was alive. Her prayers had been answered.
With a touch that spoke of tenderness and longing, he cradled her face against his palm.
“Are you all right?” he murmured.
“Yes.”
“And Belle—she is unharmed?”
“Yes.” Grace swallowed a gulp of emotion at the thought of what might have happened.
“Thank God,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
By this time, the servants had rushed to the scene. The housekeeper hurried to assist Mrs. Carmichael with Belle while Harrison turned to Raibert. Crouching by the unconscious man, he checked for a pulse. With Grace by his side, Harrison methodically bandaged his wounds, then bound Raibert’s wrists with the velvet cords.
Grace wrung her hands together. “You didn’t shoot to kill. Why?”
“We need to find out what that snake knows.”
“Will he live?”
“Yes,” Harrison said grimly. “At least, long enough to meet the hangman.”
As dawn danced on the horizon, Grace hesitated before entering Harrison’s chamber. A few hours earlier, she’d tumbled into the bed she’d once shared with Mrs. Carmichael while Harrison and the Antiquities Guild agents continued their investigation. She’d managed to drift off only after exhaustion overtook her body. They were safe. She’d no doubt of that. Agents of the Antiquities Guild were stationed about the premises, prepared to see to their protection. But in her heart, she could not dismiss the lingering terror, the sight of Harrison dodging brutal thrusts of the knife, the carnage she’d witnessed.
