Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

looked into his soul. What she was about to say was important to her and she wanted him to remember. “When you kill my father, tell him it is from me.”
    He studied both her eyes and her words. “You know we are leaving? Who told you?”
    “No one.” She turned, walked to the bed and sat down. “It is the only way. If you wait until he uses Rachel to draw you out, he will have the advantage.”
    He was quick to sit down on the bed beside her and take both of her hands in his. “As soon as you told me it was your father, I sent lads to watch him. He may well lead them to Rachel. Try not to worry.”
    “I will try.”
    “Good. I will be pleased if you use this time to take good care of yourself and get well. I expect a healthy wife when I return.” He kissed her forehead again and got up. Just as he closed the door, he heard her whisper, “Come back to me, Kevin MacGreagor.”
    He stood outside her door for a while and then went back in. He took her hands and pulled her to her feet. “Listen to my heart and hear my words.” He placed his hands the same as before and waited until she rested against him. “Remember the feel of this and be comforted while I am gone.” He closed his eyes and memorized it as well.
    She stayed close, but this time she felt something deeper than comfort and safety. It was more even than the excitement of being near him. She loved this man.
    When she started to pull away, he said, “I will come back to you, I give you my pledge.”

    It was early in the morning when Baron Stoneham locked the bedchamber door, slipped the key into his belt, and went down the stairs. He had just entered the dining room for his morning meal when he stopped dead. Three giant Highlanders stood beside the table with their arms folded across their chests. He quickly looked around for his two-man guard and found them slumped in the corner, unarmed and unmoving. The woman servant still held a platter of pastries in her hand , and looked as though she were going to pass out from fright at any moment.
    “How the devil did you get in here?” Stoneham demanded but none of them answered. “Which of you is Kevin MacGreagor?” Still none of them answered so he tried again in Gaelic. It didn’t help, so he thought of another approach. “I assume you got my gift. You were pleased, of course. If I were you , I would kill her, she is worthless.”
    It was all Kevin could do to control himself. The man before him was indeed a MacGreagor, just as large and just as intimidating as any Highlander could be. He wanted to kill Stoneham with his bare hands and do it now. Instead, he nodded.
    The baron couldn’t quite believe his eyes when the woman stepped out from behind Kevin. “Athena?”
    “I am surprised you remember me,” she said in her native tongue. “You left me without children.”
    He laughed. Then he slowly looked her up and down as though he were undressing her with his eyes. She was still a vision of beauty even at her age. “I could give you one now.”
    Kevin could feel the tension rising in both Thomas and Clymer, so he shifted his weight just a little to calm them. Both men eased.
    Athena pretended not to mind what he was doing. Instead, she gave Stoneham a once over with her eyes as well until they rested on the slight bulge in his belt. She looked up and smiled seductively. It made him do exactly what she wanted and when he reached out and pulled her to him, she slipped her hand in his belt and got the key. Her other hand went to his crotch and painfully grabbed hold to remind him what she was capable of. He instantly released her and pushed her back.
    Athena laughed at the giant she once called husband and folded her arms to show she wasn’t one bit afraid of him. “Aye, you could give me a child. I will have Rachel.”
    He didn’t look at all surprised. “So the filthy girl told you about her sister.” He shifted his attention then to the one he assumed was Kevin -- the one in the middle. “We have been expecting you. I hope you brought an army, you will need one.”
    The woman servant couldn’t understand a word they said, but she did recognize Rachel’s name. She couldn’t help herself when she looked at the Highlander nearest her and asked, “Anna?”
    “Silence,” the Baron roared.
    For the first time in years, she ignored him and asked again. “Anna?” She stared at Thomas hoping for some sign that Anna was alive. When she didn’t get it, she caught her breath.