The Hawk: A Highland Guard Novel by Monica Mccarty Read Free Book Online Page A

added vantage provided by the wet linen, there wasn’t much to the lass before him. She was a wee slip of a thing. Average height but slim to the point of bony. He’d wager she weighed no more than seven stone soaking wet. Not his type at all. Erik preferred women with a little more meat on their bones. Lush and curvy, with something to hold on to—not as skinny as a reed. He was a big man, after all, and didn’t want to worry about crushing anyone.
    He’d had only a quick glimpse of her face, but nothing had caught his eye. No Venus rising from the waves, this one, that was for certain. Rather with her dark hair plastered to her head, she’d made him think of a half-drowned cat—bedraggled, miserable, and cold.
    But she had nerve, he’d give her that. He admired the way she’d tried to walk, bold as she might, right on out of here. Despite her youth, she had an authoritative air about her. He suspected whoever she was, she was the kind of woman who was used to being listened to. Like the old nursemaid who used to order him about. The memory made him frown. Ada had been impossible to charm—his only real failure in an otherwise spotless record.
    Of all the things that could have gone wrong, Erik had never anticipated a lass wandering into their meeting. He knew he was going to have to do something, something he wasn’t going to like.
    What a mess! He dragged his fingers through his recently shorn hair. Most of the men had cut their hair short to prevent the rampant lice sweeping through the camp. He liked the convenience and had decided to keep it.
    The lass finally found her tongue after Fergal’s grim pronouncement. She didn’t bother pleading with the Irishman—proving her good sense—but turned her thin, pale face to him. “Please, you can’t do this. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t hear anything. I swear I will say nothing about this to anyone. Just let me go.”
    He wanted to believe her. But unfortunately, it didn’t matter if he did. He couldn’t take the risk. It wasn’t just his mission at stake. The last thing Erik wanted was to do anything to antagonize Ulster.
    Bruce’s relationship with his father-in-law was a complex one. On the face of it, Ulster’s loyalty to Edward was unquestionable. However, Bruce suspected one of the reasons they’d managed to avoid capture the past few months was because Ulster had turned a blind eye to any evidence of their presence. But the earl wouldn’t be able to ignore recruiting men right under his nose—especially with the bloody English around.
    Randolph stepped forward. “Of course we won’t—”
    “He’s right.” Erik cut Randolph off with a sharp warning glance. The gallant young fool was going to ruin everything. Erik addressed Fergal, ignoring the girl. “We can’t risk letting her go.”
    The smile that spread across Fergal’s face chilled Erik’s blood. Clearly, he was looking forward to getting rid of their problem.
    Erik sighed, reminding himself that he needed the scourge and forcing himself not to show his revulsion by lopping off his head. But he was tempted.
    The lass made a sound that was half cry, half horrified whimper and started to back away from both of them. But Erik latched his hand around her wrist before one of Fergal’s men could get to her. She tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip and hoped to hell he didn’t break her bones. He’d held butterflies with more substance.
    “I’ll take care of it,” he said. Before Fergal could interrupt, Erik gave him a conspiratorial look and added, “ After my men and I’ve had a wee bit of fun.”
    Fergal’s beady black crow eyes narrowed. “But my men found her.” He looked the shivering lass up and down. “She hardly looks worth the effort.”
    Erik handed the lass off to Domnall and squared off against Fergal. “My men have been at sea for a while,” Erik lied. “Anything looks good to them right now. Besides, this will assure that the deed will never be