Page 28 of Her Forbidden Highlander Husband

“We’ll need to split up. Four men in each group. There are six or seven of them so be ready.”

The men divided up quickly and dispersed. Cam, Colin, and a young lad they called Wolf stayed with Liam and headed in the direction of Scalloway Castle.

On the second rise, Liam spotted the group. Joan was on the seat next to one of the men with her hands bound, but he didn’t see Gwennie, though she was small enough to fit in the back of the gig.

With a battle cry that came from the depths of his soul, he launched his horse into action and descended like hell’s own fury upon the men who had taken his daughter.

In the end, Liam hadn’t needed much help to dispatch the men. His rage had given him the lightning-fast reflexes that came only when faced with the fear of losing a loved one. No amount of training could match the protective instincts of a man fighting for his child.

When the men all lay dead around them, and Cam was helping release Joan from her bonds, Liam moved on shaking legs to the back of the gig. He’d never prayed so hard in his life as he begged God to let him find Gwennie unharmed.

He flipped open the tarp and there was Gwennie bound and gagged with tears on her dirt-smudged cheeks. Liam wiped the blood from his dirk so he could cut her free. She reached for him right away despite the blood splattered on his clothes and face. He held her tight, hating the way her little body trembled in fear.

“See that Joan gets back to Duncan,” Liam ordered the men as he bundled Gwennie on his horse with him to ride back to the village. He needed to keep his distance from the tinker to stop himself from doing something violent to the man. Gwennie was safe, that was what mattered.

He squeezed her close. “Are you well, lass?”

She began to cry. “My bunnies. Broke.”

Liam smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll make new ones straightaway.”

She looked up at him and smiled. She was no worse for her ordeal if a promise of crudely carved rabbits could so easily put a smile on her face.

…

Evelyn was in the solar with Mari and Kenna when a messenger came rushing in to let them know Gwennie was safe and on her way back to the castle with Liam.

After finding out her daughter had been taken, Evelyn had run to the castle for help. She’d been told by the guard on the wall that they’d spotted Liam leading Cameron and a group of men into the forest.

She’d wanted to get her own horse to follow after, but Kenna and Mari told her to let the men take care of retrieving Gwennie. They’d ordered the maids to bring food as if they’d done this sort of thing before and knew how to prepare for what was to come.

It felt like hours before Liam stepped into the room, carrying the little girl. Evelyn hurried and pulled Gwennie into her arms. After she’d held her tight and gotten over the initial panic, she pulled away and frowned.

“Are you hurt?”

“A little bumped up, but nothing that won’t heal,” Liam answered. Of course, he would have already checked her over.

Gwennie whimpered and Evelyn looked down to see marks on her daughter’s wrists. Evelyn well knew what had caused marks like these. Ropes.

“Someone bound your wrists?” Evelyn asked, her voice broke.

“Y-yes.”

“Who? Who did this?” Evelyn’s demand startled Gwennie into tears.

“It was the tinker, though he was forced into it by a group of men. They took his wife and demanded he bring Gwennie to them or they would kill her,” Liam said before turning to address the laird.

Evelyn worried what the men had done to her daughter in the time Gwennie had been gone. She choked on her own tears and held her daughter close. “Did they touch her?”

“I’ve never known Duncan to be a cruel man. I’m sure he wouldn’t have hurt her,” Mari said, always the peacekeeper. But Evelyn would have none of it.

“He tied her up. What kind of man does such a thing to a little girl? And to turn her over to…” She didn’t finish that thought.

Kenna was by her side. She took Gwennie and brushed away her tears. “It will be fine,” the woman said.

“You’re frightening her,” Mari whispered as she pulled Evelyn aside. “Let Kenna see to her. If she’s been hurt, Kenna will help.”

Evelyn knew it was best, but it was hard not to cling to Gwennie.