Page 1 of Saved By the Cruel Highlander
PROLOGUE
Nine Years Ago
Someone grabbed Holly’s shoulder from behind. The pretty yellow ribbon she’d been admiring fell to the ground as she was roughly spun around. She didn’t get a chance to see her attacker’s features before she was dragged out of the store and into an alley. A smelly sack was put over her head, making her gag whenever she took a breath.
Still, Holly took a deep breath and screamed, even as she fought against the attacker’s hold. It was of no use. She figured there were at least two of them, one on each side.
“Keep her steady!” a man’s voice sounded. “We dinnae want to draw more attention than we already have.”
“If ye eejits waited until she was out of the store, we wouldnae have had to worry about her makin’ too much noise!” the second man said.
Their words only added to Holly’s fear, so she put even more effort into struggling against them.
“Shut her up, will ye!” the first man ordered.
Holly let out another scream, the stench of the sack over her head nearly making her vomit.
Something slammed against the side of her head. Pain exploded, and then, her vision darkened.
Excruciating pain stabbed at the side of Holly’s head. With a groan, she reached up and touched the wounded area. Wetness coated her fingers. She opened her eyes and brought her hand down, noticing the blood staining it.
“Och! What happened?”
Her voice sounded raw and hoarse, as if she hadn’t used it in a while. Or as if she’d been screaming.
She stiffened and took in her surroundings. She was in a dark room, but there were a couple of lit lanterns providing a small glow. One was on an overturned wooden barrel next to her, which was why she’d been able to see the blood on her hand. The other was across the room, on the floor.
She couldn’t make out much detail, but she knew this wasn’t her bright and cheery bedchamber at home. This place was dark and dank, and it smelled of must and mildew.
Holly looked down and realized she was tied to a chair. A thick rope ran around her middle, securing her to the chair, while two others wrapped around each of her ankles and then around the chair legs.
Terror threatened to consume her.
“Where am I?”
Her voice was stronger this time but still hoarse, and her throat hurt a bit. Her head ached something fierce, and her memories were cloudy.
Holly closed her eyes and concentrated. She’d been in town with her father. While he went to the stables to look at the new horses that had arrived the other day, she had gone to look for new ribbons for her hair. Whenever they’d go to town, her father always let her get a new ribbon.
Holly winced as memories came flooding back. She’d been kidnapped! Frantically, she started struggling against her bonds, but they were too tight. She leaned over as far as the rope around her middle would allow and tried to reach the ropes around her feet. A groan of frustration escaped her when only the tip of her finger touched the rope, no matter how hard she strained against her bonds.
She froze as the sound of a key being inserted into a lock reached her ears. Someone was coming! Panic had the edges of her vision blurring.
Should I pretend to be unconscious? Are they here to kill me?
The door creaked open, and loud footsteps followed. Getting closer. Her breathing changed and somehow matched the pattern of footsteps until she was breathing so fast that she was in danger of swooning.
“Let’s see what we have here,” a rough male voice said.
Holly kept her eyes squeezed shut, but when a calloused hand gripped the tender skin under her jaw and forced her head up, her eyes flew open.
The man holding her chin stared at her face. His dark brown eyes roamed over her features, growing tighter by the second. He let go of her jaw as if it burned him, then raised his gaze above her head.
“Ye eejits!” he roared. “Do ye ken who ye have brought me?”
Two men suddenly appeared in front of Holly. One was short and round, with a balding head and bushy eyebrows. The other was the exact opposite—tall and thin, with long, greasy hair and a full beard.
“Just a lass from the marketplace,” the shorter man answered, his eyebrows high on his head in bewilderment.
