Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
Gavin.
He looked around quickly and then pulled his hood back over his blond hair, this time far enough to obscure his features from other people, but it left his face exposed to her.
He looked tense, fraught. He was all hard angles, muscular, and weathered by ten years of pain, trauma, and abuse. The MacLaren heir, a fosterling broken by her father in Inverdane Hall. However, the lion never gave up. He fought and survived.
And now he was here.
His nose was crooked, his forehead deep, his grey eyes dark and brooding. She had only witnessed light inside them a few times over the years, but even so, being in his presence again brought a flood of emotions crashing back.
“It’s time tae leave,” Gavin said.
She noticed the way his gaze ran up and down her body. His grip had not loosened.
“Ye are alive,” she gasped, blinking frantically to make sure that she wasn’t suffering from an illusion.
“Aye, would ye expect anything less? I made ye a promise.”
Isla was dumbfounded but relieved to see that he survived. However, she did not like that he was here.
“Why are ye nae with yer people?”
Gavin paused for a moment, silent sorrow passing across his eyes. She’d seen that look before many times as he kept his emotions tightly packed inside him.
“Because I’m here with ye. Ye need tae come with me. We must leave.”
“Leave? What are ye talking about? I cannae leave.”
“Ye can hardly stay.”
“What I can dae is scream.”
Gavin tilted his head to the side. “Why?”
“Because ye hae accosted me and if I tolerate it then it will only raise more questions. Take yer hand away,” she said.
Gavin stared at her, contemplating the notion for a couple of moments, but then he did as she asked. She didn’t run, but she went back into an alley. He followed.
The sounds of the music faded into the distance. The colorful banners were hidden from view. The air became colder, not that she felt it. The air had never been cold between her and Gavin.
“Ye dress well for yer betrothed,” Gavin spat the words like an insult.
“What are ye doing here? How did ye find me?”
Isla chose not to oblige him in arguing about Iain. She made a great effort in not throwing herself on Gavin, making sure he was truly here. Truly alive.
Gavin took a step forward, and her body welcomed his warmth. Like a magnet he beckoned her to him. Isla made a great effort to stay still.
“I promised I’d find ye, did I nae?” Gavin whispered.
His husky voice, his familiar scent and look in his eyes threatened to be her undoing here and now.
He came for her. He risked his life, his clan, his…
No. No, she couldn’t even entertain the idea. Her future was set for her now. She chose it, embraced it. Gavin put her plans in danger. Put himself in danger.
“Ye never mentioned him tae me.” Gavin’s words interrupted her thoughts.
“I never mentioned a lot.” She cleared her throat and took a step away to breathe and think clearly. She should drive him away at all costs. “We were nae as close as ye thought.”
“Ye helped me.”
“Pity,” she lied.
Gavin’s lips twisted. He exhaled deeply and a shade of red dusted his cheeks. His hands clenched into fists.
“Why are ye being sae difficult? I thought?—”
“What did ye think? Ye should ken better than tae think. The Highlands are broken and there is only one way tae bring them taegether again. I must beat Da at his own game. He thinks he is using me as a pawn, but he is placing me where I can hae influence. Iain will listen tae me. I can make sure that Da dinnae benefit from this alliance in the way he thinks.”
“Ye dinnae need tae dae all that. Ye dinnae need tae throw away the rest of ye life,” Gavin replied.
He sounded desperate. Isla stared at him and thought about all they had shared over the years, how she had ached for him when he was beaten, and how she had been punished when she tried to help him.
There had been so many clandestine meetings and quiet conversations over the years. And as she grew from a girl to a woman she’d come to see him in a different way. He was broken, but he was beautiful, and for a time she had believed that somehow, some way, they might have a future together.
She had let go of that dream when her home had burned and she had been forced to say goodbye to the tattered remains of her family.
“I shall be Lady Anderson, honored and noble. I will be proud tae bear his name,” Isla said, lifting her head.
Gavin flinched at that. He clenched his jaw like he was trying to consider his next words but failed. “Ye sound like him, skulking around until ye are in a position of power.”
She didn’t have to ask who he meant. Her father. The man who burned her home, hunted her brother, Kai, and blackmailed his only daughter with her mother’s life…
“I am naething like him.”
“Then leave with me now. We can return tae Dunrath Keep or Stormhaven. Kai is waiting. They are planning something.”
Kai is alive. She mentally thanked the God for sparing her brother.
“Kai has failed tae outsmart Da once. It nearly cost him his life. It falls tae me now. I am the only one who can undae my father’s plans.”
“I dinnae ken what they are planning. I came tae search for ye as soon as I could. But yer Ma… she is still alive. Kai took her tae Stormhaven. I can take ye tae her.”
Isla averted her gaze. It was the one thing that might have been enough to sway her from her task, but it wasn’t enough.
“I’m glad ye think she is safe, but naewhere extends beyond Da’s reach.
I must stay here. It’s the only way I can protect her.
But if ye want tae dae anything for me then ye will take a message tae her from me.
Tell her that I am still thinking of her and that I will see her again when it is safe, when I hae dealt with Da. ”
“Isla…”
“Nae. Dinnae say anything more, Gavin.”
“But I promised tae find ye.”
“Aye, and now I release ye from that promise. Ye are nae beholden tae me any longer. Ye are free. Inverdane Hall is in ruins. Ye hae yer revenge. Gae back tae Dunrath Keep. Gae back home. I need tae save the Highlands.”
“Ye need tae save yerself,” he said, and his arm shot out again.
He took her arm once more and lunged forward, pressing her back against the wall.
Her chest heaved, her bosom rising as her body was trapped beneath his chest. She could feel the strength bristling over his body, the heat emanating from him, and the powerful aura that had always left her weak at the knees.
“I can take ye away from here. We can ride way and leave all of this behind.”
Isla narrowed her eyes and stared at him as though he were a stranger.
“I cannae just stand by and let my father hae his way anymore. This is the life I’m choosing fer myself.”
“This is nae yer life.”
“I am nae the same lass ye kenned. I will soon be an Anderson, and that is the path I must walk.”
“Ye speak as if ye hae nae choice, yet I am here offering ye a way out. Ye are nae shackled like I once was. Ye fought tae protect me when I was broken, when yer Da tried tae crush me. I’m only here because of ye and now I’m trying tae return the favor.”
“Aye, and I’m telling ye that ye dinnae need tae. Now it’s ye who is acting like my Da, pretending like ye ken what’s best for me even though I’m telling ye otherwise,” she said, her words whipping through the air.
Gavin’s grip did loosen at this. He flinched as though he was slapped.
“Ye need tae learn tae be free, Gavin. Ye are nae a prisoner any longer. Gae back tae Dunrath Keep. Learn how tae be a lion again.”
Her voice was softer this time, although her resolve was undoubtable. She found it hard to look in his eyes because she had gotten lost in them so many times already that she felt like a prisoner as well. Tension ran across her chest and her breaths were labored.
Gavin stumbled over his words.
“I… I dinnae ken who I am without ye,” he whispered.
His hand slid around her face, his fingers caressing her cheeks. His lips parted and his head tilted and for a moment she felt herself being drawn towards him. There were so many times when she had dreamed of stealing a kiss from the pained, brooding lion, but now it would ruin everything.
She twisted her head away and brought her free hand around, slapping his cheek. The impact cracked through the air. His hand fell away.
He looked betrayed, as though she had just slipped a dagger in between his ribs.
“Whatever there was between us, whatever there might have been… it burned along with Inverdane Hall. We are destined tae walk different paths, Gavin. My life is here now. Dae what ye must, but it cannae be here. It’s time for us tae sae goodbye.”
Gavin’s eyes were filled with pain. Isla wondered if she had just dealt him a harsher blow than he had ever suffered from her brothers or father.
“If ye truly belong tae him, ye should nae look at me this way,” he said.
The words burned through the alley and struck her right in her heart. A small eruption of emotion burst out of her lips and she clutched her chest with one hand, while placing the other over her mouth, as though she was trying to stuff her emotions back inside.
It hurt because he wasn’t wrong. She had wanted to kiss Gavin. It would have been the easiest thing in the world at that moment, and the opportunity to escape with him and ride through the glens was tempting.
But she would never be able to live with herself. Too many people depended on her. Too many people had suffered already.
All this time she was the one who tried to save Gavin yet she was the one who condemned him at last.
But if she wasn’t harsh then he would linger there. He would ruin himself, and she would not allow him to do that. The Highlands demanded much of her, and so as she pushed Gavin and twisted away from his grip, she carved away that piece of her heart that remained tied to him.
People could not walk two paths in life. They had to choose. She could not be with Gavin and Iain. The die had been cast, and if there had been an opportunity to be with Gavin then it had been missed.
“It’s time I walked away. I suggest ye dae the same,” Isla said, and started dragging her feet back towards the village square.
It was hard to begin, but each step became easier than the last. She tried not to look back over her shoulder because it was too difficult to bear.
As she returned to the town square she saw a few women twirling around Iain. He looked happy and joyful, as though nothing troubled him at all. After the life she lived it was refreshing to be with someone who knew how to smile.
She sauntered through the crowd and as soon as he caught sight of her he beamed. He stepped away from the other girls, as though Isla was the only one who truly captured his attention, and held out his hand, taking hers. He noticed that she looked troubled.
“Isla, did something happen?” he asked.
“Nae,” she shook her head. “I was just thinking about the plight of the Highlands and all the people who hae suffered because of it. I hope that they can put their pain aside and find happiness, somehow.”
“We will help them tae dae that, taegether,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips. “But until then, we shall dance.”
Isla giggled as she lost herself to the music again, allowing herself to feel free. However, occasionally she did glance at the surrounding crowd in case she caught a glimpse of Gavin, but he was nowhere to be seen.
She hoped he took her advice and left. It would be easier for both of them if he did.