The Legend of a Rogue - Darcy Burke Page 0,39

or what he’s doing here, whether he went to see anyone—that sort of thing.”

“He’s from Glasgow. That’s all I know.”

Grover turned in a slow circle. “Can no one tell me why this man went to see Dougal Kerr?”

“Why would any of us know that?” Balthazar took his hand from Aunt Leah’s and rose, his brows pitching low over his eyes in anger. “Ye come in here and threaten everyone. Ye strike Miss Marshall and ye did Lord knows what to my daughter.” He looked around at the other guests. “There are more of us than them!”

Exhaling, Grover nodded toward Kent. He came forward and slammed the butt of his pistol into the side of Balthazar’s head, sending him sprawling to the floor. Aunt Leah shrieked, and the other women did the same.

“Tie him up and gag him,” Grover said. “Tie them all up!”

Chapter Ten

Screams from the inn drew Tavish to run to the common room window, his bloodied feet protesting as they hit the near-frozen ground, particularly when he ran over a large rock. He crouched low as he’d done before and peered inside. A pair of the villains were tying the guests to chairs, while others held pistols to keep anyone from rebelling. Tavish noted that Elspeth wasn’t among them but was standing with the leader.

He swore and stood up from the window, going to pace in the shadows of the corner of the building. Holding Lann Dhearg in one hand, he scrubbed the other over his face. He needed to set these people free.

Going back to the window, he counted the villains again. Five. But shit, one of them was the man he’d knocked out with the musket in the stable. Five in the common room, two dead, two missing. He realized Carrie was missing too and swore again.

He should just charge inside. One of them might shoot him, but if he could get to one of the male hostages and untie him so that he could then untie others, perhaps they could launch a revolt and retake the inn. He knew Elspeth would help. He had no doubt of her courage.

Tavish studied the five men and tried to assess their abilities. It was nearly impossible since he hadn’t seen them fight. One was exceptionally tall and rather vicious looking—the one with the blond hair. Tavish would wager he was the one who would give Tavish the most trouble.

The two missing brigands came from the rear of the inn. One was leaning on the other, his hand cradling the side of his face, which was covered in blood. A hostage had done that to him. Tavish wanted to cheer.

A moment later, two of the villains walked to the door. Tavish pressed himself back against the frigid stone.

“MacLean!” one of them called. “Come inside and give us the sword, or we’re going to start killing the hostages!”

Did they really know he had the sword? Tavish gripped Lann Dhearg as the two men walked out into the yard. One was smaller than the other. Tavish decided he’d take out the larger one first. He inched backward, skimming his free hand over the ground in search of the rock he’d found with his injured foot.

“We know you have the sword! Bring it in and save these people!”

Something in his tone told Tavish they didn’t know—as well as the fact that he’d said, “We know you have” it. To him, that indicated they didn’t actually know, which made more sense to him. Elspeth wouldn’t have told them, and Carrie wouldn’t know for sure.

Recalling that Carrie was not with the others, Tavish renewed his resolve and continued searching for the rock. At last, his fingers closed around it. Fist sized, the rock filled his palm as he picked it up. He had one chance.

Lanterns on the outside of the inn cast a glow over the yard. Tavish kept himself low and dashed out along the perimeter until he was closer to the larger of the two men. Standing, he quickly took aim and launched the rock. It hit the man square in the back of the head, driving him to his knees with a loud cry.

Tavish’s breath caught—he’d wanted to knock him out. Then the man pitched forward onto the ground, and Tavish exhaled. He threw himself on the ground as the smaller man spun around, looking for the threat.

His gaze landed on Tavish, and he sprinted forward. Tavish barely got to his feet before the man raised his pistol. But nothing happened.