Highlander's Challenge (4 page)

Whoever took Jenny had changed the game and was tracking her, although she could swear she hadn't been followed. Whether they wanted her dead or not, she couldn't be sure, but the sunlight glinting off the goon's knife was enough to get her moving. She wasted no time in nailing the little weasel.

Her forearm across his throat, the other pinning his knife hand to the dirt, she leaned her knee into his chest.

"What have you done with Jenny?" 31

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

His brow crinkled as his eyes shot to hers, then to something behind her. In one swift motion she snatched the knife from his hand, rolled away and up onto her feet to face whoever thought they'd get a drop on her. She hoped it wasn't the Scot.

The man she'd pinned rolled to the side as a sword sliced through the air, cutting brutally into his upper arm, barely missing his head. He yelled and clutched at the gaping hole in his flesh where blood poured out of his body, then staggered off into the woods.

Tuck swallowed hard. That was meant for her. Apparently they'd changed their minds and wanted her dead after all.

"What I wouldn't give for my gun," she whispered hoarsely.

The unknown swordsman turned his black eyes to her. "Ye clootie!"

She barely had a second to take in the chaos exploding around her, the sound of steel against steel, men shouting, horses whickering. The two she'd encountered on the road were battling with everything they had, while the huge swordsman with murder in his eyes bore down on her. As he heaved his claymore over his head in a mighty swing, she took her best and only shot. One powerful kick to the groin followed by a roundhouse kick to the head. His eyes rolled back as he fell to the ground, his sword landing in the dirt with a heavy thud behind him as it slipped free of his hands.

Surveying the others, she immediately realized they were outnumbered. But she'd gotten these reenactments guys into 32

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

the middle of something that didn't concern them, and she had to protect them as best she could.

She quickly assessed the situation. The Scot she'd unhorsed was holding his own, sword-to-sword with two men.
Impressive
. If she had the time, she'd take a moment to admire his form, but pretty-boy was having some difficulty. Three men had surrounded him, two with swords and one with a knife. He was barely keeping them at a distance and had already taken a blow to the shoulder. She tucked the knife she'd snatched into her belt at her hip, not wanting to kill any of them since they were her only link to Jenny. Silently, she eased up behind the men surrounding the Englishman. Swiping her leg wide, she put the one closest to her on his back and promptly knocked him out. She would've rather tried to get some facts out of him, but didn't have time. The other two seemed hell-bent on murder.

One of the attackers noticed her success in taking out his comrade and turned on her. He gave her a sinister grin displaying several yellowed teeth as he weighed his dagger in his hand, then lunged straight for her.

Stupid move.

Knocking his knife arm to the side, she struck him under the chin with the heel of her hand then followed with her elbow. One arm locked behind him, she jerked up her leg, slamming her knee into his face. He slumped to the ground with a groan.

She spun on her heels to lend the Englishman a hand, and ground her teeth together. Pretty-boy had managed to stick 33

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

the last man clean through with his sword before slumping to the ground at the base of a tree, his doublet covered in blood. Grumbling, she hurried to his side. She wanted them alive, but that couldn't be helped now, the Englishman was wounded.

She dropped to her knees beside him and examined his shoulder. His electric baby blues rolled around in his head before focusing on her as she applied direct pressure to the wound.

"It doesn't look too bad," she said, ripping away the sleeve of his shirt to use as a bandage.

"'Tis glad news," he said with a dazzling, somewhat lopsided smile.

Sitting there with a gash in his shoulder, he could still make her breath catch. A regular Prince Charming. He had it all. The hair, the eyes, the build, the bone-melting accent, even the smile. If anything, he proved she was still a woman, her type or not.

His eyes suddenly widened. Someone was bearing down on her, but she couldn't roll away and leave him exposed. Pivoting on her toes in a crouched position, she barely managed to block the thrust of a knife to her back. Apparently the one she'd taken out first had come around a lot sooner than she'd anticipated.

Deflecting his hand, and sending the dagger tumbling into the dead leaves, she knocked him to the ground. He took her with him. Rolling in the dirt, she took a few swift blows of his meaty fist to her side. But she refused to lose. 34

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

Grabbing him by the hair, she yanked his head back from where he lay atop her. His howl echoed in her ears, then was abruptly cut off when the heel of her hand slammed against his chin. She rolled his limp body off hers then jumped back to her feet.

Ignoring the pain in her side where the thug had pummeled her, she rushed back to the Englishman.

"Unusual fighting technique," he said, his eyes studying her closely as she resumed direct pressure to his shoulder.

"Whatever it takes, I always say." The absence of steel clashing against steel caught her attention. She chanced a look back at the Scot, hoping he was still alive. She couldn't fail these guys as she had Jenny.
No, I did not fail. I will not fail
. Thankfully, the Scot was okay, but now two assailants lay dead and the rest had disappeared into the woods like wraiths. Even her most recent attacker. He apparently had a very hard head.

Twigs crunched beneath heavy feet. Her eyes flashed to the Scot and those muscular legs as he marched in her direction. Traveling slowly up his body, she nearly swallowed her tongue at the size of him. He was as big as a hundredyear-old oak and likely as solid. Forcing her gaze away, she gave the dead man laying beside her a cursory glance. But she didn't recognize him. He wasn't one of the tourists she'd seen earlier and neither were any of the others.

This was too weird. Why didn't they come at her with guns? Why the antique clothes and weapons? Pretending to 35

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

be a part of a reenactment group would be good cover, but why not hide guns on them somewhere? The guy at Raghnall Castle had a gun. And why didn't she remember reading anything about a reenactment event when she and Jenny were planning this trip?

Things just weren't making any sense and neither were these two nutcases with her. They fought entirely too well for playacting and didn't seem all that surprised to be battling for their lives.

Putting aside the questions she couldn't yet answer, she concentrated on the Englishman's wound. Wrapping the makeshift bandage around his shoulder, she pulled tight to slow the bleeding.

Powerful fingers wrapped around her upper arm and jerked her to her feet. She hid her wince at the sudden stab of pain in her side.

"Who the devil are you?" the burly Scot demanded, staring down at her with the most amazing eyes she'd ever seen. Golden amber, like a lion's, drilled into her. She'd known men taller than her before, but they'd all been long and lanky like basketball players. This was a whole new experience.

His eyes narrowed and warmed as he looked more closely at her face. She felt her skin flush slightly with his perusal. This attraction thing was getting way out of hand. She never ever blushed.

Slowly, his gaze cooled, and he shook her—hard. "Answer me, mon!"

36

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

She shot him a glare. Although it was her fault he was caught up in this mess, she'd saved the ungrateful bear's ass, and he still thought she was a man!

"The name is Tuck," she said, her voice filled with enough venom to make any normal person take a few steps back. This man barely blinked.

"You lured us into the woods, didna you?" he snapped, his hand tightening on her arm. "Didna you!"

"I didn't lure anyone anywhere, you idiot! Now, let me go so I can finish dressing his shoulder or he'll bleed to death." She jerked free as the Scot's gaze turned to his friend. She quickly knelt beside the Englishman and finished what she'd started. The wound was worse than she led him to believe, but he'd be okay after a few days in the hospital. The Scot lowered to one knee beside him. "Damn you, Ian. You're a better swordsman than that."

"I'm afraid I was ... distracted." She felt their eyes on her and lifted her head from her work. They were looking at her like some specimen under a glass.

Assuming they wanted answers to why they'd been attacked, she said, "I'll explain later, but first we need to get you to a doctor." Her paramedic skills were excellent, but they couldn't compare to what a doctor and a fully staffed hospital could do.

Tuck wished Jenny was there with her. She could sure use her medical expertise right now, and her client would no doubt enjoy taking care of the blonde Adonis. 37

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

The Englishman laughed roughly. "A physician? The last thing I need is a bloody leech."

She sat back on her heels, her limited patience at an end.

"Would you drop this stupid reenactment stuff? This isn't a game. This is real blood, those were real weapons." They exchanged frowns then pinned their gazes on her once more.

"I'll ask again, lad. Who are you?" the Scot snarled. With a muttered curse, she stood. "This is ridiculous. We've got to get Prince Charming here to a hospital." She reached for his good arm, while continuously scanning the area for any sign of another attack.

With a sudden push against her shoulder, the Scot knocked her on her butt.

"He isna a prince, you dolt, and his name isna Charming." Grumbling beneath her breath, she scrambled to her feet. Her blood-covered fists on her hips, she stuck her face in his—almost. He was too tall to intimidate properly, blast her luck. "I don't care if he's the friggin' King of England! He needs a doctor."

The Scot lowered his head with a growl until their noses nearly touched. "No thanks tae you." She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but held it back. "You listen to me, you stupid, ignorant—" Grabbing the edge of her vest near the collar, his dark expression changed to confusion as his gaze dropped to the slick material, then returned to hers. "You watch your tongue, lad, or you'll be finding it on the ground."

"You'll be the one eating dirt, Sasquatch," she hissed. 38

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

The Englishman burst out laughing.

The giant released her with a shove and looked to his friend. "What do you find so amusing, you bleedin'

Sassenach?"

He shook his head with a wide smile. "The lad does not appear to be afraid of you, Colin. I find that enormously humorous."

Tuck let out a long puff of air, noting the thick bead of sweat covering pretty-boy's upper lip. He was in a great deal of pain, but still managed to jerk his friend's chain. She figured that was a good sign as to his recovery, but it would be short-lived if they didn't get him the medical attention he needed. And standing around arguing with a big stubborn ape wasn't getting the job done.

"Unless you want some help intae the next life, you'll shut your yap," the Scot said, but his wounded friend merely laughed harder.

She shook her head. These two were beyond weird. Handsome, but weird.

Shoving aside her irritating observations, she reached down for the Englishman's good arm and slung it over her shoulder. "Come on, we've got to get out of here before they regroup and comeback. You boys can play later."

"We'll not be going anywhere until I have some answers, lad," the Scot said.

If he calls me lad one more time
..But they didn't have time for a little heart to heart about her true gender. They needed to put some distance between them and the kidnappers. 39

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

"I'll explain as we walk," she said, then pulled pretty-boy to his feet.

With a grunt from King Kong, he shoved her out of the way and took his friend's arm. "I dinnae know what you're blathering about, but we'll not be walking." He pierced the air with a sharp whistle. Barely a second passed when his horse came trotting toward them through the woods, the white stallion not far behind. Tuck sniffed. "Nice trick, Tarzan. Now, get him on his horse. I'll ride behind to keep him steady." The tip of his sword came dangerously close to her throat.

"Dinnae go thinking I trust you, lad. I am not convinced you didna have something tae do with this, but you've done what you can for Ian's wound, so I'll put up with your lip. For now." Her gaze followed the edge of the finely honed steel, across his massive fist, up to his face. He was serious. She knew that look all too well.

One of her fingers twitched, eager to reach for the knife at her waist, but she knew she'd never be able to retrieve it before he separated her head from her shoulders. And yet, she wondered if he'd really do it. Somehow she didn't think so, but that was one theory she wasn't foolish enough to test. Narrowing her gaze, she stared at him, determined to make it crystal clear that he didn't intimidate her in the least.

"I don't have any warm fuzzy feelings for you either, but at the moment neither of us has much choice." His jaw clenched beneath the thick black stubble. "Aye," he said, lowering his sword. "But I'll be taking the dagger." 40

Highlander's Challenge

by Jo Barrett

He sheathed his sword and held out his hand. She reluctantly relinquished the weapon. Two was better than one, but she'd allow him this small victory. A satisfied smirk touched his lips, setting off a small spark inside her. Why did he have to have such a sexy mouth? And why did I have to notice it? Argh!