Betrayed Read Online Free PDF

hall, staring morosely into the flames spitting from the central hearth.
    “Brooding over yer sins will do naught ta alter the outcome,” Krayne issued firmly.
    Duncan swung around on his stool. “I’ve bin waitin’ fer ye.”
    Krayne waved the ransom message he’d scripted at his brother. “All we need is a token of proof and Little Jock will ride it over. Where is she?” he added, looking around.
    “In the pit.”
    Krayne knew he’d heard wrong. “Where?”
    “The pit.” Duncan thumbed the floor, indicating the ancient dungeon dug below the kitchen’s storeroom that was no longer even good enough for storing wheat and oats due to excess damp.
    “How long?” He’d already knocked his brother off his feet once today and was sorely tempted to make that twice.
    “Ye needn’t mince me with that wolf look,” Duncan groused, cupping a hand between his thighs. “The bitch kicked my bloody balls in! Were it up ta me, I’d throw the keys away.”
    Krayne winced in sympathy, but made an instant decision. As tempting as the prospect was, he couldn’t relegate their hostage into Duncan’s care and be done with the little wildcat. “The idea is ta keep her alive,” he barked before turning abruptly to make his way down to the kitchens.
    Brayan McAllister looked up from rolling oatcakes. “Aboot time. The wee lassie’s screams near curdled my custard tarts.”
    Krayne gave him an apologetic grimace as he passed through into the larder. The castle was thick with yellow-headed McAllisters, his mother’s clan, but the European-trained cook could have been a reviled Maxwell, and Krayne might still have been tempted to keep him. “I wouldna allowed this had I known.”
    There’d never been a key, of course. Krayne drew his dirk to slash the twined rope that bound the hatch door through iron rings, wagering Brayan was in for a rude surprise when he met the girl properly. Wee lass, indeed!
    When he raised the heavy oak slab, Amber neither answered his summons nor came forward. He swung down the rope ladder, cursing the stubborn wench. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust.
    Dread stole into his blood when he saw the slumped figure on the floor.
    “Brayan,” he shouted, rushing to Amber’s side. He slipped his hands beneath her knees and waist and lifted her into his arms. He put an ear to her chest, and was relieved to feel the steady rise and fall. “Brayan!”
    “Aye, here I am.” The McAllister cook popped his head into the hole. “Mary and Joseph,” he exclaimed as Krayne came toward him, “ye’ve killed the lass.”
    “No one’s dead yet, ” Krayne muttered, thinking he’d like to toss Duncan down here for the night. He’d forgotten that they’d reinforced the trap door years ago and blocked the breathing gaps to keep the rats from entering the kitchen. Supporting her neck, he pushed the limp body up so that Brayan could grab Amber beneath the arms. “How long was she screaming fer?” he demanded as he hauled himself from the pit.
    “Och, ’twas but the one wee scream,” Brayan said sadly as he lowered his burden to the floor, horrified now at his exaggerated complaint.
    Krayne lifted Amber into his arms again and carried her through the kitchen. In the light of the fire, he saw the dirt streaking her cheeks, the pale bluish tint beneath her eyes.
    She looked so young, so incredibly fragile.
    She weighed nothing in his arms.
    The two halves of her ripped gown trailed to the floor, leaving her exposed but for the sheer cotton shift, and he felt an instant bastard for doing that to her. Then the swell of her breasts drew his gaze like a lodestone and his self-loathing took second place.
    The firelight and the semi-transparent shift revealed just enough of dark areolas centred on firm breasts to tease his imagination. Even as his groin tightened, a fiercely protective urge arose within him. He couldn’t deny the hot need filling his shaft, but he didn’t have to feed it. He adjusted her