Page 49 of Never Tempt a Scot
Brodie skidded to a stop, raised a pistol, and fired a shot. Reggie sank to his knees and toppled over.
“You bastard!” Willie rushed at Brodie, and the two clashed in a clang of knives and fists.
Both she and Fergus stood their ground as the two brawny Scots fought like ancient Celtic warriors. But Fergus soon shook off his shock and grabbed Lydia from behind, pressing a dagger to her throat.
“Not a sound,” he warned in a deadly tone. “Or I’ll cut your pretty neck to ribbons.” He dragged her back deeper into the woods. She was still able to watch Brodie battle the other man through the trees.
Willie dealt a glancing blow to Brodie’s shoulder. Blood soon stained the fabric of his clothes, but he didn’t stop. He kept fighting, pushing Willie back toward the fire. He caught Willie’s fist in one hand, and the other held the blade now aimed at his heart.
Holding Willie’s wrists, he forced the man back through sheer brute strength. When Willie’s feet touched the burning fire, stirring up sparks, he hissed and tripped. Brodie fell with him, both men rolling until they came to a sudden halt, with Brodie lying beneath the other man. Lydia nearly screamed, but the knife at her throat kept her silent.
“Ha! Willie got him!” Fergus hooted.
“No, please no ...” Brodie couldn’t be dead. Not because of her. He couldn’t be.
Tears blurred her eyes as Willie shifted and rolled off Brodie. As she blinked the tears away, she realized that it wasn’tWilliewho had moved, but Brodie. Willie fell onto his side, and she saw that a dagger was buried in Willie’s chest, hilt deep.
“No!” Fergus yelled.
Brodie scrambled to his feet, pulling his own dagger again as he searched for the source of the cry. When he spotted them, he started forward slowly, his blade at the ready.
“Not another step!” Fergus shouted, and he pushed the knife deeper into Lydia’s throat. She couldn’t help it—she yelped at the prick of pain, and Brodie froze.
“Release the lass and I willna kill you,” Brodie called out.
“No!” Fergus snapped. “Ye killed my brother!”
Brodie retrieved the pistol he had dropped and calmly began to reload it in the clearing. “You wish to join him?” His movements were slow and eerily calm as his gaze moved between them and the pistol as he worked to reload it.
Fergus took another few steps into the woods, keeping her in front of him. After a tense minute of her and Fergus watching Brodie, he faced them again.
“Let her go, man. Or I’ll put a bullet between your eyes.” He calmly raised the pistol level with their faces.
“You’d better let me go. He’s a crack shot.” Lydia honestly had no clue how good of a shot Brodie was. Likely he was good, but she did not wish to test that by risking her own life.
“All right!” Fergus hollered. “I’m letting her go.” He released his hold and pulled his knife away from her throat. Lydia took a few tentative steps forward before she was sure she was free. She dashed toward Brodie, who opened his arms, and she leapt into them without a thought. He swept her up and spun her behind him, putting himself between her and Fergus. She clutched Brodie with relief, but when she glanced over her shoulder, she saw Fergus running toward Brodie, his dagger raised.
Without thinking, Lydia shoved Brodie out of the way. Fergus crashed into her, and she felt a blinding pain in her left arm.
Brodie stabbed his blade into the other man, sinking it deep into Fergus’s chest. The man stumbled, caught the blade, and pulled it out. The look of surprise on his face lasted a few seconds before he fell to his knees and collapsed.
Lydia stared down at the knife wound on her arm.
“Are you hurt?” Brodie saw the bloody gash on her upper arm.
She raised her eyes to his and tried not to gasp with the pain.
“Christ, hold still, lass. You’re bleeding.” He pulled a handkerchief from his coat and lifted her arm.
Lydia gasped as he pulled the fabric of her sleeve away.
“I’m sorry. I wish you didna have to feel that, but there’s no time for gentleness.” He examined the wound and then wrapped a handkerchief around her arm. “Hold that tight.” He knelt at her feet and lifted her skirts. She was in too much pain and shock to question what he was doing. He cut part of her petticoat off and used it to wrap around the handkerchief and cinch it tight.
“That should do for now, but we need to find a doctor.” He glanced at her body. “Can you walk? I have a horse waiting. It isna far.”
“Yes.” She gladly followed him when he offered her a hand, placing her good hand in his outstretched one.
By the time they reached the horse hidden a good distance away, her legs were trembling and she was beginning to stumble. Brodie caught her just before she collapsed in his arms.
