Page 30 of My Highland Fling
“What are you doing?”Gabrielle demanded, aping her aristocratic mother’s authoritative tone.“Leave him alone.”They’d hurt him, and she couldn’t let that happen.
The nearest guardknocked her away, and she went flying.She hit her head on the corner of the bed.For an instant, she saw stars before her vision cleared.Ramsay was fighting back and doing an excellent job when the guards had dismissed him as a nobody.They were taking more care now and approaching with caution.One guard dragged her to her feet.
Gabrielle dug in her heels.“Unhand me, or I’ll have you up on assault charges.”
“You’re getting married.”The guard used brute strength to haul her to the door.
“Newsflash—the wedding is off.”
“Your parents have arranged a wedding to one of their Russian friends.”
A flash of molten heat accompanied the sudden churn of her belly.“What?”
Amusement glittered in the man’s dark eyes.“If you hadn’t done a flit, you’d be married by now.”
“No!”No, her parents weren’t that mean.Tilly hadn’t known—of that, Gabrielle was confident.“How did you find me?”
“We’ve known where you were the entire time.Your parents had trackers placed in you and the princes when you were children in case of kidnap attempts.”
Gabrielle gaped at the guard.Why hadn’t she known this?
A loud grunt from behind had her digging in her heels again.Ramsay!“Don’t hurt him.Let him go.This situation has nothing to do with him.”
“Do you think we didn’t recognize him?He took your virginity, and your marketability fell.Your parents had to find someone who didn’t care about your lack of pureness.”
What?No.None of this made sense.“I don’t believe you.My parents would never give you such a detail.”
The guard’s brown eyes glittered with malice and unconcern for her position.“They did this time to ensure everyone understood the urgency of returning you to Konstavia.If we don’t get you back before this evening, we forfeit our special bonus.”
The guard yanked her outside, uncaring of the pain he inflicted.She yelped, and behind her, a loud crash, followed by an equally harsh groan, had her wincing.
One by one, the three guards exited the cottage.
“Ramsay.Ramsay!”
He didn’t reply.
Gabrielle fought hard, biting one guard on the arm and scratching another.She kicked and screamed, but Ramsay didn’t come.A guard snarled when Gabrielle sank her teeth deep and cuffed her over the side of the head.Blackness slipped over her, and she dropped to the ground.
“Why the hell did you strike her?”
“She bit me.”
Gabrielle was vaguely aware of someone lifting her.A door opened and shut, and someone lay her on a car seat.She tried to object, but nothing more than a croak emerged.“Ramsay,” she whispered, and his name was a weak, nothing sound.Ramsay.Surely they hadn’t killed him?
Her head throbbed so much she struggled to focus.She didn’t want to return to the palace.Was Tilly all right?No, she was in Edinburgh.They’d tracked Gabrielle using a thing her parents had instructed be placed in her body.Their orders had injured Ramsay.This knowledge hurt, smacked of betrayal, and if she’d resented her parents before, she hated them now.She didn’t care about herself so much, apart from this marriage business.There was no way in hell she’d marry anyone.Her parents could argue until they turned purple, but they couldn’t make her wed.
That they’d sold her, and were still treating her like property rankled even more.Ramsay had shown her more love and affection than her parents had ever offered her.He’d earned her loyalty, and she was halfway in love with him because he treated her with decency and care.He never ordered her around, yet he was no weakling, either.
If her parents thought she’d let them control her, they should rethink their strategy.With Tilly and Ramsay’s support, she’d found her backbone, which meant her parents were in for one hell of a fight.
Chapter 15
A New Threat
Painthrobbedthroughhisribs and head, and he tasted iron-rich blood.Ramsay groaned, shifted position.He forced his eyes open and discovered he was lying on the cottage floor.Memories flooded back.Gabrielle’s screams and the bloody humans beating him.He’d got in punches, but he hadn’t been able to go full shifter on their arses.Too many, they’d overpowered him.He crawled to his feet and teetered for long seconds until his head stopped swimming.
He patted his pockets but couldn’t find his phone.Slowly, he turned and searched the wreck of a room.Pictures hung drunkenly on walls, a wooden desk sagged lopsided, and a pile of books and magazines spilled across the floor.Considering the damage, he was lucky they’d left him alive.Ah, he remembered now.He’d shoved his phone under a pillow to keep it close.
