Page 57 of The Highlander's Twisted Deal
Callum paid little attention to them. He only cared for what he knew now. And it was nothing.
Nothing beyond the fact that Ava had disappeared.
17
Ava jerked awake, and everything hurt. Everything.
Her head throbbed, most of all, and the healer side of her coolly categorized each injury she had and weighed up the danger of it.
Head wound, blunt object to the back of the head. Nasty, but not life-threatening. No dizziness, no nausea. Likely bled, but head wounds always bleed a lot.
Stiff neck, due to head hanging forward for an extended period of time. Uncomfortable but, again, not dangerous.
Cramps and pain in hands and wrists. Caused by arms bound tightly behind the back, ropes cutting into wrists. Uncomfortable, and if no blood flow returns to the limbs soon, tissue death might occur.
Cramps and pain in legs and ankles, same reason. Same prognosis.
She breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself. What did she remember?
It was all a blur, really. She left Keep McAdair early in the morning as planned. She hadn’t been walking long. It was a well-used road, so she was fairly confident of being able to pick up a ride on the back of a cart to Keep MacLennan.
Otherwise… But she had pointedly decided not to think about having to sleep in a ditch overnight and continue her journey in the morning.
Ava remembered the thoughts that had gone round and round her head. She longed to see her friend, to throw her arms about Paisley and tell her the full story. Paisley was always so kind, so loving, and at least at Keep MacLennan, she would have put distance between herself and Callum.
She’d thought about him more than she should, about the way he’d avoided her eyes when handing over the money.
She’d seen that before.
A lump formed in Ava’s throat as she remembered it—remembered the livid pang of pain in her chest.
And then what? She’d walked faster, head down, glancing up hopefully every time a cart rumbled by. Some of them were obviously overfull of cargo, and the cart drivers shrugged helplessly as they went by, and her heart sank a little further.
She’d paused when the carriage approached. It was a modestly sized one, not really suited to the rough Highland roads, with curtains covering the windows.
A man sat hunched over in the driver’s seat, his collar pulled up, his hat pulled down against the drizzle. Ava considered waving, trying to attract his attention, but she had no need to.
The driver tugged on the reins, pulling the horse to a halt, and she sighed in relief. Her feet were aching already.
“Can ye give me a ride to Keep MacLennan?” she asked hopefully.
“Aye, lass,” he replied. His voice was muffled but strangely familiar. She thought nothing of it—she was tired, after all.
“Thank ye, kind Sir. I’ll ride up in the front with ye, so as not to disturb…” She paused, peering through a crack in the curtained windows, and squinted. “Oh. Oh, it’s empty…”
And then, something heavy crashed down on her head, and she collapsed, unconscious.
And now, she was here, tied to a chair, blindfolded.
Swallowing hard, Ava gently twisted her wrists, testing her bonds. She hadn’t lost all feeling in her arms and legs, indicating that she hadn’t been tied up for long. She was indoors and wasn’t cold.
There was a crackling sound to her left, and a sensation of warmth on that side of her body, indicating a fire. The blindfold around her head smelled clean and faintly scented of lavender, not a filthy rag. However, it was tied tightly and was made of good, thick material. She couldn’t see a thing.
She tugged on her wrists again and heard a gentle puff of laughter.
Fear ran down her spine. She’d been afraid before—of course, she had—but now, it was a present, sharp thing. Whoever had kidnapped her, they were in the room with her. She couldn’t imagine they had good aims in mind.
Are ye going to face yer end quivering and cowering?Fight back. If ye cannae use yer fists, use yer words.
