Chapter Thirteen

Torrin pushed himself to his feet, hot pain lancing his side and abdomen from the two sword wounds. Blinking and trying to wipe the sand from his eyes, he saw his archer some thirty or forty feet away, an arrow aimed at one of the MacBains.

"Sim!" Torrin yelled.

When he turned, his eyes widened and he came running. "I'll get you inside the gates, Chief."

"Nay!" he growled. "Give me your bow and arrows." He could stop Haldane from a distance with those. And he damned well intended to slaughter him.

"I'll carry them. Where are you going?"

"Haldane got Lady Jessie! I'm going to kill the bastard." If Haldane killed her… God, he couldn't think of it. He had to get her back. Sheathing his sword, he gritted his teeth and took off running across the upper part of the beach, toward the sand dunes where Haldane had disappeared with Jessie over his shoulder. Considering the pain slicing through Torrin, 'twas more like he limped forward. Still, he moved as fast as he could.

"You're bleeding badly, m'laird!" Sim chased after him.

"Do you think I care?"

"We'll find her. Struan! Luag!" he yelled back to the other MacLeods. "Come!"

Moments later, Iain was running alongside Torrin. "Saints, man! Where are you going? You've lost a lot of blood. We must get you inside the gates!"

"Haldane ran off with Lady Jessie. We're going to get her back," he ground out, trying to ignore the pain lashing through him with every step and the blackness teasing the edges of his vision.

"I'll go. Let them take you back," Iain said.

"Nay! I'm going to kill that whoreson myself." If he didn't pass out first. Saints, he couldn't. He had to save Jessie. If she died, he didn't want to live.

"Hang on, Chief." Struan got under one of Torrin's arms, and Luag the other. They practically carried him through the massive sand dunes as they moved overland.

"Follow the tracks," he said, his vision blacking out for a moment. Nay, he had to stay awake for Jessie. Her damnable brother was a monster and he'd kill her with not a care in the world.

Torrin grew dizzy, and it appeared the sand was turning to grass. Indeed it was.

"There they are," Sim said, pointing with his bow.

In the fading light of sunset that glowed beneath the rose-colored clouds, Jessie's hair was a bright red flag against the green beach grasses as Haldane ran with her over his shoulder. Torrin loved her fiery hair. And he loved the way she pounded her fists against her despicable brother's back. Thank the saints she was still alive and fighting.

"We must catch them," he said through clenched teeth, willing the pain away. He still had time to rescue her.

"Why the devil is he bringing her out here?" Iain asked.

Torrin shook his head hard, trying to think more clearly and keep himself alert. His gaze scanning the undulating landscape leading out to the rugged headland, he figured it out. "Damnation! He's taking her toward the cliffs. When Dirk was a lad, he was almost killed out here when McMurdo shoved him down a cliff."

And McMurdo was with Haldane now, his gray hair and beard resembling dirty wool in the waning light. His clothes were bloody, for Torrin had gotten in a few good strikes before the coward had fled. The archer, Gil, accompanied them.

"I'll kill every last one of them," Torrin swore through his teeth.

"I'll help you," Iain said.

They were all winded when they neared a jagged ravine that cut deep into the headland, high above the sea. His men released him and he forced himself to stand, his knees threatening to buckle. Cold sweat drenched Torrin's clothes, and his side burned like the fires of hell where McMurdo had stabbed him and MacBain had gotten in a deep slice. The two must have missed the vital organs, thank the saints, or else Torrin would be passed out or dead by now.

"We have to get to them on the other side of the ravine," Torrin said.

"Stop right there!" Haldane ordered.

On the opposite side of the deadly narrow gorge, fifty feet away, Gil nocked an arrow and aimed at Torrin. Haldane lowered Jessie to her feet, then stood behind her and held a dagger to her throat. Her skin was deathly pale when her eyes met his. His chest tightened painfully, for he'd not felt such excruciating fear since he'd found his severely injured sister eight years ago in that dark wood.

"Don't move, MacLeod! And keep your men where they are!" Haldane yelled to be heard over the ocean wind. "If anyone comes around this ravine, you'll find your lady on the rocks below."

Torrin glanced around, seeing that Iain stood close behind him but to his left, and Sim kept his bow hidden behind his back and leg.

"What do you want?" Torrin demanded, trying desperately to think clearly. He needed a plan, but everything was going fuzzy.

"We'll have to wait until that Dirk imposter shows up, won't we?" Haldane asked.

What the devil? Torrin frowned.

"He must be wanting to trade her for Dirk," Iain muttered.

"Does Dirk know you're out here?" Torrin yelled.

"Aye. He saw." Haldane grinned.

Rage burned through Torrin that Haldane would find this amusing. "You harm one hair on her head and you're a dead man, Dirk or no Dirk."

"Don't threaten me, MacLeod! I have what you want. You can kiss my arse." Haldane moved Jessie even closer to the edge of the cliff, only a foot remained between her and the drop-off. Waves crashed onto the rocks two hundred feet below.

Blackness and oblivion teasing at the edge of Torrin's vision again, he wavered, but prayed he wouldn't pass out before he could get Jessie safely out of Haldane's clutches.

"If I pass out…" he said to Iain, "or die, promise me you'll rescue her."

"Of course, man. But you're not going to die."

"I hope you're right." Torrin gauged the mad look in Haldane's eyes. Then he turned and glanced behind them, not seeing Dirk or anyone approaching from the dunes. He had his doubts that Dirk even knew they were out here.

A scream sounded, drawing Torrin back around in alarm. Loose dirt and stones slid from beneath Jessie's feet and dropped into the abyss.

"Pull her back from the edge!" Torrin yelled.

Haldane grinned and appeared to be chuckling. God's teeth! He truly was a madman. Torrin itched to end the bastard's life.

Haldane held Jessie by one arm, while she grasped both hands onto Haldane's plaid as her feet scrambled for purchase on the crumbling edge.

"Pull her back, you bastard!" Torrin ordered, his heart thudding in his ears so loudly he could hardly hear anything else.

Haldane shook his head slowly, looking mightily entertained.

Placing his hands behind his back, Torrin motioned with his fingers. "Give me your bow," he murmured low to Sim, hoping he was close enough to hear above the wind.

Moments later, the smooth yew wood slipped into his hand, along with an arrow.

"You, there! Stand back where I can see you!" Haldane shouted.

Keeping the bow hidden behind him, Torrin glanced aside and noticed Sim had moved back and to his right.

McMurdo murmured something to Haldane, who looked frantic for a moment as his gaze darted back and forth over Torrin and his men. "Put the bow down, MacLeod!" he ordered.

"Pull Jessie back from the edge and release her, and I will." With no further need to hide the weapons, Torrin held the bow in one hand and the arrow in the other, down at his sides. He could nock the arrow and let it fly in a second if he had to.