Read Online Captured by a Laird by Loretta Laird - Free Book Online

his hand to cup Anna’s rear, Stref looked at her with a wolfish grin.
    Taking an unsteady step backwards, Anna met Stref’s eyes, and then lowered hers to the hay covered floor.
    “She is gone,” she admitted in a voice so low that Stref strained, at first, to comprehend the words.
    Suddenly he stilled as realisation dawned on him. His body froze and his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
    “How could she escape from a locked room?” he asked. “I gave strict instructions for the room to remain secure.”
    “I–I went in to check on her. There was a noise coming from inside. She pushed past me and ran. By the time I got up, she was nowhere to be seen.” Anna voice faltered as she told her tale, tears springing conveniently from her eyes.
    “Did you sound the alarm? Did you send some rider to track her?” Stref frowned at the charade that was being re-enacted in front of him. Something seemed amiss.
    He walked closer to Anna, extending his finger and using it to lift her chin. Under his intense scrutiny, Stref saw a flash of guilt cross her face indicating his instincts were correct. He growled an animalistic rumble that filled his chest and immediately wrapped his hand into Anna’s thick hair, pulling her close. He bent his head down to the level of her face.
    “Tell me the truth,” he spoke quietly with unconcealed menace.
    “He took her,” Anna sobbed. “Haigh has her. He made me open the door. I have heard about what he does to women. I was scared. Oh, Stref, I am sorry.”
    Stref pushed Anna aside. She fell into a pile of hay, her body racked with grief. Stref looked down at her dispassionately, his mind working overtime trying to piece together the evidence.
    “It makes me wonder how he gained access to my well-guarded keep,” he said, pausing at the stable door to look back at the wench.
    “Haigh is welcome to the little whore!” Anna spat after his retreating form. “I did you a favour when I let him take her. Maybe he will teach her how to be a real woman. I’ve heard he has ways to get what he wants from those he takes.” Anna’s smug smile caused Stref’s blood to boil.
    Clenching his fists to subdue his anger, he roughly reached for his saddle and pulled himself back onto his stallion.
    “When did they leave?” he demanded, not expecting an answer from the spiteful woman
    “Hard to remember,” Anna sang as she pulled herself from the hay. The dry yellow sticks stuck to her garments, and her hair hung in a matted mess.
    “You had better not be here when I return,” Stref spat, looking in disgust at the woman who had once warmed his bed.
    A surprised Clyde appeared in the doorway of the stable.
    “There is one angry bird out here,” he interjected. “It seems to have lost something.”
    For the first time since entering the stable, Stref smiled.
    “Clyde, saddle up,” he grinned. “We ride to Haigh’s, and that bird will lead the way!”
    Clyde was instantly beside his laird in the stable. “What causes this raid?” he asked, never for a moment doubting his master’s call.
    “He has taken something that was mine,” Stref said. “I will see it returned.”
    “Then we ride!” Clyde called, summoning the recently returned men with a shrill whistle.
    Moments later the party headed for Haigh’s rocky home. The golden shape of an eagle flew above them, level with the lead horse. Its shrill cry, filled Stref’s heart with a bloodlust that both scared and excited him. Stref drove his heel into the hard flanks of his horse with relentless determination. He, as much as any other, had heard tales of Haigh’s ruthless treatment of his captives. Rape and torture were the tools of the older man’s trade, and Stref baulked at the fragile girl that he himself had placed in danger; a girl that he had decided to claim as his own.
    “Are you sure that this lass is worth the challenge?” Clyde asked several hours later, when the horses paused for a much-needed rest. Their flight from Rwenor