The Viper Read Online Free PDF Page A

at one point. "I don't see her."
    He didn't answer, pulling her deeper and deeper into the forest. Soon she wouldn't be able to see the castle at all.
    "Stop," she said, jerking back and digging her heels into the ground. "Where are your men? Where is my--"
    The sharp sounds of a whistle behind them stopped her. Lachlan returned the sound and a few moments later two men rode up behind them, leading two additional horses--one of which she recognized as her husband's.
    "You have her?" one of the riders asked.
    Like Lachlan, the two men were not dressed as knights and wore darkened nasal helms, padded black leather war coats studded with pieces of steel, and strangely fashioned dark plaids.
    "Aye," Lachlan responded.
    "Any trouble?" the other man asked.
    "Nothing I couldn't handle," Lachlan said, taking the reins of one of the horses.
    Bella looked around, expecting to see more men joining them. "Where are the rest of your men?"
    The smaller of the men on horseback--the one who'd spoken first--grinned. "We are the rest, my lady."
    Her gaze shot to Lachlan. "Then who is getting my daughter?"
    His expression didn't flicker. Nothing betrayed even the barest hint of discomfort. He looked like exactly what he was: a mean, ruthless brigand.
    He shrugged indifferently. "It was impossible. We didn't have time. Look," he said, pointing back toward the castle, "they've already gotten things under control. The guards are back at the gates."
    But she didn't want to look. Bella felt the horror rise inside her as she realized what he was saying. What he'd done. Her eyes bit into his, and her voice shook with anger. "You lied to me."
    Her anger had no effect on him. "I did what I had to do to get us out of there." No apology, no regret, just a calm take-it-or-leave-it explanation. "The girl is better off at the castle. Where we are going is no place for a child."
    Anger surged within her like a maelstrom. How dare he! She was the one who decided how to keep her daughter safe. "That wasn't your choice to make."
    "Aye, it was. It's my duty to get you to Scone."
    "It's your duty to get me and my daughter to Scone."
    His mouth tightened infinitesimally, but he seemed otherwise unmoved. While her heart was tearing apart into a thousand tiny pieces.
    She glanced back at the castle, seeing the guardsmen swarming the gate. Every bone, every fiber of her being urged her to go back in there. No matter how foolish.
    Joan was the most important person in the world to her. She needed her. How could she possibly leave her behind? It wasn't supposed to happen like this. She'd never intended ...
    She looked at the two other men for help but saw only pity in their eyes.
    The brigand had tired of waiting. "What's it to be, Countess? Will you ride with us to Scone and keep your promise to Bruce, or will you return to your daughter and husband?"
    Clearly it made no difference to him.
    Bella had never despised anyone as much as she did at that moment. She heard the subtle taunt in his voice. He knew she was trapped. Even if she could ignore her duty and turn her back on Bruce and her country, she couldn't go back. If her husband got hold of her ...
    She wouldn't be able to protect her daughter from the grave.
    Emotion rose inside her, burning her throat. Her eyes. Her chest. She'd been a fool to believe one word out of Lachlan MacRuairi's deceitful mouth. She wanted to curse him. To strike him. To rage at him like a madwoman.
    She wanted to collapse in a ball and weep with despair.
    But years of controlling her emotions were not without effect. Never show weakness. Never give him the power to hurt you .
    As Bella forced her anger to cool, she swore that one day she would wipe that sneer from Lachlan MacRuairi's cruelly handsome I-don't-care-about-anything face.
    Without another word, she took the proffered reins and allowed him to help her mount the horse.
    As they rode away, Bella's back was a rigid wall of steel, giving no hint of the shattering emotions tearing