Highlander The Cursed Lord (Highland Intrigue Trilogy 3)

“Yet you do not answer me, which tells me you know as little as I do about who leads this insane mission,” Rannick said.

Jaffee’s grin turned to a snarl. “I am no fool. I learned well on who commands this senseless mission. How you have not seen the truth for yourself surprises me, but I care not about that. And I care nothing for the coins paid me. I take your life for free, and I will keep you alive so you can see how I make your woman suffer.”

“That will never happen,” Rannick said with such strong confidence that for a moment Jaffee looked as if he believed him. “You will die seeking vengeance and for what?”

Anger overwhelmed Jaffee’s face, distorting it into a mask of evil so hideous that it had his men stepping away from him when they were already at a distance.

“You killed the woman I loved!” Jaffee cried out in torment.

Rannick shook his head, thinking of the only woman he ever killed. “Nabila, the witch I met on foreign soil, was your woman?”

“Aye,” Jaffee said, pounding his chest with his fist. “She was mine. You had no right.”

“She promised to help me and then after having met with her twice, she attacked me. She told me I must die and that I could never be allowed to father a child. I told her I had no intentions of doing so.”

“And yet a child grows inside your wife,” Jaffee accused. “Nabila could see the future. I can only assume that she saw that a child of yours must never be born and I will make sure of that.

Bliss rushed her hand to her stomach, fearful for the bairn that was just beginning to grow inside her. And fearful that her husband would do what he had repeatedly told her… give his life for her and the bairn. Not knowing what else to do at the moment, she began to silently pray.

Jaffee kept talking. “Nabila warned me about a man with a scar on his face that would bring much heartache and—”

“Death,” Rannick finished after Jaffee had stopped abruptly. “Too bad she failed to warn you that it would be you who gave the man the scar.”

“She did warn me, but by then I did not care. I will gladly die to avenge Nabila’s death and to stop you from ever having a child,” Jaffee said, holding out his hand for one of his men to bring him his sword.

“If Nabila truly cared for you, why did she say nothing to me of you?”

Rage hardened Jaffee’s features. “To protect me and give me a chance to avenge her and make certain that child never gets born. And I will see it done.” He gripped the sword tightly in his hand.

Bliss was relieved that the darkness was fading as dawn began to make itself known, the sky faintly lighting though no sun would rise this snowy morning. And an unnatural quiet settled over the woods, the animals themselves taking shelter against what was to come. No more unseen attacks, that was until she felt the tip of a blade poked her lightly.

“My men probably have your men surrounded by now,” Rannick said. “Surrender! It is over!”

“It is you who will surrender if you want your wife to live,” Jaffee said with a smug grin and shouted, “LANA!”

Rannick turned to see Lana standing beside his wife with a dagger resting at her stomach.

“Lana is no Nabila, but she serves me well enough since she was far wiser than Sheed and chose the side who would be victorious.”

Rannick not only saw the fright in his wife’s eyes but felt her fear as well since he shared it. It amazed him to see that with her fear there was also courage, hope, trust, belief, and he wondered how she sustained them all at such a dangerous moment.

Her courage fortified his own and he turned to Jaffee and demanded, “Let her go!”

“Or what?” Jaffee laughed. “You will rain your men down upon me. They are too busy chasing after the few of my men that lead them astray.” He laughed again. “But what does that matter when Lana holds a dagger to your wife? She and the child would suffer a fatal wound before you could reach her, and you could do nothing but watch her die and your child along with her.”

Bliss remained still, the shock of feeling the blade to her side once again and seeing it was Lana had stilled her tongue. She feared the woman while also feeling for her. She had been manipulated by so many people that she could no longer distinguish between right and wrong. Unfortunately, that made her extremely dangerous and difficult with which to deal. But she had faith in her husband, and she hoped he had seen it in her.