Ahead a dark suit and hardly discreetearpiece labeled one of the agents as he stood scanning the crowd.Approaching from behind, Claire tapped on his shoulder to gain hisattention. He looked over his shoulder with some annoyance andnearly turned away before his eyes widened in surprise.
“Take me to your leader.”
“Wake up, Danny,” Hugh grumbled, kicking atthe young man’s foot, which was dangling over the edge of the sofahe was sprawled out on, an arm flung over his eyes to block out themorning light streaming through the bank of windows.
“Go away,” Danny muttered irritably, rollingonto his side away from Hugh.
“Danny!” he barked more forcefully. “Wakeup, lad! Where is Sorcha? Where is yer sister?”
“God, stop yelling, would you?”
Hugh paused at the barely intelligiblewords. There was “music” playing loud enough in the room to make itnearly impossible to think, much less sleep, and Danny thought hewas loud? Reaching down to grab Danny by the arms, Hugh dragged himunder protest to a vertical position. “Where is she?”
“That will probably bruise, you know,”Sorcha’s brother groused, loosing himself from Hugh’s grip andbending to retrieve a can of soda from the floor next to the sofa.He swirled the contents of the half-empty container with a gruntbefore tipping it to his lips with a grimace. “She’s gone,man.”
“Gone where?”
“Where do you think?”
The explanation told Hugh nothing andeverything, and he sat heavily on the sagging sofa, dropping hiselbows onto his knees and running both hands through his hair,fighting the temptation to pull it out by the roots while the heavybeat of the music thrummed through his brain. He didn’t know whichmade him more insane. The music or Sorcha.
All their arguing to separate hadn’t turnedthe tables in her favor, so Sorcha had let him believe that thematter was settled and then bolted like a deer in his sights assoon as he slept. Anger, fury … and something akin to pride for herresolve and determination swept through him. His fair lass did notlike to lose.
But neither did he.
Hugh lifted his head and pierced her brotherwith a menacing glare. “Ye will take me tae her,” he directed withall his ducal command, but as he was quickly learning, theAmericans of this bloody time had little respect for nobleauthority … and not much sense for self-preservation.
“Nay, verily, I will nae,” Danny drawled,scratching his backside as ambled to the refrigerator and removed abottle of water. Uncapping it, he tipped his head back, gulpingdown the contents and eyeing Hugh cautiously over the top as if hewere expecting some physical application of force.
At least the lad had the good sense to bewary of him, Hugh thought with a grunt as he stood clenching hisfists. He was nigh prepared to rip Danny limb from limb and mostcertainly it showed.
“I was already handed downmy diktat this morning,” Danny added, “and that wasspecifically not to take you to her. Sorry, dude.”
“I could force ye.”
“I know you could,” Danny agreed readily,setting the bottle aside and pulling a carton of milk from therefrigerator. “Told her you probably would, too. My sister has norespect for my life.” He gathered a bowl and spoon from thedishwasher and set them on the counter before shaking the contentsof several boxes displayed on the counter. He chose one, poured thecontents into the bowl, and covered the whole of it with the milkwhile Hugh waited impatiently with his arms crossed ominously overhis broad chest. Danny shoved a spoonful of the stuff into hismouthed and chewed loudly, saying around it, “Make it quick, okay?I’m not much into pain.”
The lad had unknowingly offered the perfectdefense in not defending himself at all. It went against the grainfor Hugh to attack those weaker than he. Bullying Danny intocapitulation would be akin to forcing his page into the front linesof battle. Hugh grunted with vexation. “Verra well. Gi’ me yer keysand I’ll go myself.”
“Dude, you know I don’t own a car,” Dannysaid around another mouthful. “We’d have to wait for one of theminions, and by then it would be too late anyway.”
Hugh gnashed his teeth with tenuouslyleashed vexation as he paced the room. Of course, Sorcha had knownshe was essentially marooning him here when she left. Indeed, shewould have counted on it. Bugger it, she was a crafty lass, butwhat did she expect him to do? Sit on his hands while her life wastorn in two? “Bluidy hell, what was she thinking?” he mutteredaloud, more to himself than to Danny.
“I suppose she was thinking to make somekind of noble sacrifice or something,” Danny answered anyway. “Shewanted to clear the path for you to go to Scotland, to do what shepromised. I’m supposed to take you to Canada and get the rest of itdone as planned while she distracts the Feds.”
“And I am tae just leave her tae the wolvesand walk away wi’out a second thought for her and the consequencesof this rash folly she’s undertaking?” Hugh snapped back, longingfor a neck to throttle.
Danny lifted his brows and shrugged in a waythat told Hugh he agreed with him, but verbally Sorcha’s brotherremained her loyal compatriot. “That’s about the sum of it. Shealso said to tell you … let me see if I got it right. Much can beexcused if it’s done for the right reasons. Sound familiar?”
Hugh loosed an aggrieved grunt, knotting hisfingers in his hair to stifle the urge to put his fist through awall. Blast the woman! Had she completely lost her senses? Sorchawas by far the most infuriating woman he had ever met. Never hadthere been another who would defy him so. Who would chance hiswrath. He couldn’t believe that she would make such anill-considered, perilous play. That she would risk everything for…
Bracing an arm against the window frame,Hugh looked up
