Page 31 of My Highland Fling
He limped across the bedroom, stepping over broken bric-à-brac and books with busted spines.The cottage owner would have a fit when he spotted the fight debris.Ramsay swiped his hand over his face.He’d have to use his savings to put things right.Meanwhile, he needed advice.Help.
Ramsay dropped onto the edge of the bed and breathed through the pain, daggers stabbing at his side, his back, his kidneys.Someone had kicked him once he’d blacked out.Or, given the way his entire body throbbed, they’d all taken a shot.
He opened his phone and cursed at the low battery notice.Ramsay hit speed dial and waited for Saber to answer.It rang a dozen times before someone picked up.Different time zone.Yeah, that’d slipped his mind.
“Ramsay.”Saber sounded only half-awake.
“I have a problem.”
“Wait, I want Emily to hear.Okay, the phone’s on speaker.”
Ramsay inhaled, then winced at the sharp burn in his ribs.His feline always healed him rapidly, and he was bloody lucky his injuries weren’t life-threatening.He was alive.Determination stole through him, and he gritted his jaw.Once he grabbed those guards by the scruff, they’d piss their pants.They shouldn’t have scared Gabrielle.
“Right,” Saber said.“What’s happened?”
“Is everyone okay?”Emily asked, her smooth voice holding concern.
Ramsay dived into distraction.“I met my mate, which thrilled me because she’s beautiful and makes me smile, but she’s a human.”
“I’m a human,” Emily said indignantly.
“The human part doesn’t bother me so much.She’s a princess.Princess Gabrielle from Konstavia.”
Emily gasped, and there was a long silence before Saber spoke.“Are you certain she’s your mate?”
“Yeah, but it gets worse than that.”Ramsay told Saber and Emily about meeting Gabrielle, his run-in with the tabloid press.He mentioned knotting and the torn condom, the broken engagement, and how Gabrielle’s parents were forcing her to marry a Russian man.Last, he told them about the Konstavia guards breaking into the cottage Gabrielle had rented and abducting her.Her parents had placed a tracker on her, and Gabrielle hadn’t known.
“That’s despicable.”Emily spat outrage.“I’d never do that to my children.”
“They hurt you,” Saber said, a sharp note in his voice.
“They beat me.I’m sore, but once I take a shower, I’ll feel better.”
Saber remained silent for a long moment.“Do you want this woman?”
“With all my heart,” Ramsay said.“We’ve met twice, but I knew straightaway we belonged together.Besides, she may be pregnant.If that’s the case, I want my child to know his parents, to grow up in a safe environment.I’m worried how she’ll react to my otherness, but at the least, I need to rescue her from a marriage to a man she doesn’t know or want.”
“Why are her parents forcing her into marriage?”Saber asked.
“My best guess is they’re suffering money problems, but that’s only an assumption.I don’t know for sure.”
“Where are the others?”Emily asked.
“They’re at the castle gathering.They know about Gabrielle, but not what happened tonight.The guards took Gabrielle a few hours ago.I blacked out.Not sure for how long.”
“Are you positive you’re okay?”Saber asked.
“I’ll take a hot shower and chug some painkillers,” Ramsay said.“Gabrielle mightn’t feel the same way as me, but we have even less chance of getting together if I sit here and do nothing.If we have any chance of a future together, I need to help her.”
The tinny sound of a ringing phone rent the air.
“Wait a sec, Saber.Gabrielle must’ve dropped her phone when the men arrived.It’s ringing.Let me answer it.”
“Call me back.I’ll contact Tomasine and Felix.Maybe Isabella and Leo, too.”
The line went dead, and Ramsay searched for the ringing phone.Every muscle in his body ached, and he’d stiffened up while talking with Emily and Saber.He discovered the phone under a pile of bedcovers.It ceased ringing as he plucked it off the floor.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
