Page 85 of Desire's Ransom
“Here.” Her voice, coming from the left side of the cave, was soft and inviting. For a torturous moment, he wondered what she was wearing. Or not wearing.
“I can’t see you.”
“This way,” she purred.
He grimaced. She obviously expected him to feel his way to her. He ventured carefully forward with outstretched hands, lowering them when he realized they were breast-height.
He’d taken four steps when a sudden hard shove in the middle of his chest knocked him back against the cave wall. His head struck rock, and in that dazed instant, he felt the sharp point of a blade slip under his chin.
“Where are your men?” she bit out.
Her voice was no longer soft.
No longer inviting.
And her words sobered him as fast as a slap.
She wasn’t inviting him to a tryst. She was conducting an interrogation.
She knew. She knew his men hadn’t returned to Cormac O’Keeffe. That spy, Aife, must have brought her the news.
He had to think fast. Which wasn’t easy when his head was spinning and there was a dagger at his throat.
“Answer me,” she hissed, giving his chin a painful jab.
He sucked a breath between his teeth. She’d probably drive that blade into his throat if he told her the truth. Besides, it was too late for her to stop anything. The wheels were already in motion.
His best option was to feign ignorance. “What do you mean?”
“They didn’t go to the tower house,” she said. “So where did they go?”
He pretended surprise. “They’re not at the tower house?”
“Nay.” She gave him another jab. “And I think ye know where they are.”
“How would I know that?” he said tightly. “I’ve been your prisoner this entire time.”
“Where…are…they?” she demanded.
“I swear I don’t know.” That much was true. He wasn’t exactly sure where they were at this moment, only where they were headed.
“If they don’t bring me the ransom, ye’ll never see your bride.” She pressed the point of her dagger against the vein pulsing in his neck, not hard enough to break the skin, just enough to make him nervous.
“Wait. Are you sure?” he said. “They have to be there. You saw how loyal they were to me. They would have gone with all haste to collect my ransom.”
“If they were in such haste, then why have they not returned?”
“Perhaps Cormac didn’t have the coin yet,” he suggested. “Five hundred pounds is a great sum. Perhaps he needed more time.”
“Then your men should be waiting for it there…impatiently. But they’re not.”
Gray was a clever lass and an expert interrogator. It was a challenge to outwit her quick mind. He’d have to switch tactics then and prey upon her soft heart.
“They’re not?” He let his shoulders sink. “But if they’re not there… Oh, god.”
“What?”
“You don’t think they…” He was glad she couldn’t see the deceit in his eyes. “Nay, ’tisn’t possible. They’re loyal to me. I know they are. They’d never do such a thing.”
“What?”
“’Tis too underhanded to consider.”
“What?” she ground out, punctuating her impatience by poking his jaw with her blade.
“Could they have…betrayed me?” His voice cracked over the words. “Do you think they might have…confiscated the ransom?”
“Shite.” Clearly, this would not be good news for Temair.
“It doesn’t seem possible,” he said. “And yet… What other explanation could there be?”
