“Nothing more to say?” Skelly asked with a laugh.
Annis leaned her head forward struggling to speak and Skelly stretched up on his horse to hear what she would say. She smiled and let her roiling stomach loose right in his face.
Skelly spit and sputtered and grabbed the end of his plaid to wipe at his face with disgust and anger.
“Did no one warn you about my wife’s mouth?”
Skelly turned a savage look on Brogan being led into the clearing by a group of men, his wrists secured with rope and several bruises marring his face.
“You may suffer her untamed mouth, but I will not,” Skelly all but raged and turned, his hand raised to deliver a vicious blow to Annis.
“TOUCH MY WIFE AND I PROMISE YOU THAT YOU WILL SUFFER A LINGERING AND GODAWFUL PAINFUL DEATH!”
Her husband’s powerful roar sent a shiver through Annis and surprisingly stopped Skelly from striking her.
Skelly turned a laugh on Brogan. “It will not be me who suffers as you watch what I do to your wife.” He wiped at his face again. “Cut her down. We leave since the fool does not realize he walked right into my plan, and I am well aware that his men follow behind him.”
A man climbed on the branch and cut the rope as Skelly waited beneath to catch Annis and grab her to drape over the front of him on the horse.
“Get him on a horse. We need to move fast,” Skelly ordered, and his men hurried to see it done.
Brogan worried that Troy might be too far behind, though he worried more about his wife. Fury had raced through him, and he had wanted to charge at Skelly when he saw Annis hanging by her wrists from the branch of a tree, though seeing her vomit in Skelly’s face appeased him some but concern for retaliation had him worrying again. Then there were the bruises on her face. He definitely was going to make Skelly suffer—endlessly.
He had allowed the idiots who captured him to rough him up a bit and they were so pleased with themselves that they never bothered to look for any other weapons but the sword he had carried. He figured his hands would be tied once caught, so he had tucked a small dagger in his waistband, the blade pointing up. He was paid little heed while they rode, which gave him enough time to cut at the rope that bound his wrists.
Troy had alerted him to a signal he would give when they were nearby, and he listened praying it would come soon. He wanted this done and his wife back safely in his arms.
The signal came just as he sliced the last of the rope, though made it appear as if it was still intact. He kept his eye on Skelly in the lead. He would speed off once the attack came, no doubt his plan from the beginning. He would leave his men behind and get the coin for himself. Skelly had made one mistake. He had misjudged Brogan’s love for his wife and his tenacity to see her safe. Brogan would be right on Skelly’s tail and when he got his hands on the man, he intended to see him suffer unmercifully.
The attack came with speed and surprise, Troy and Brogan’s men descending on them with fierce roars and swinging swords. And just as Brogan suspected, Skelly took off with Annis. He stopped briefly to grab a sword from Troy before following after the mercenary.
Brogan kept on his tail, urging his horse faster and moving closer and closer to him. Skelly suddenly veered into a dense part of the woods making it difficult to keep sight of him and to follow. He lost Skelly for only a moment, though it seemed longer, then came upon him again and Brogan’s heart slammed against his chest—Annis was no longer with him.
“ANNIS! ANNIS!” he shouted and when she did not answer his stomach knotted and fear raced up to choke him. He called out again. “ANNIS! ANNIS!”
That she did not answer meant either she was unable to, or she was dead.
Brogan brought his horse to an abrupt halt, his only thought to find his wife. There would be time to chase after Skelly.
“I always wanted to see if you could really die,” Skelly shouted after stopping and turning his horse around. “Let’s find out!” His legs dug into the sides of his horse to speed toward Brogan.
Brogan didn’t want to spare the time to fight the man. His only worry was for his wife, but he had no choice and while he would have loved to have made the man linger in pain, he had no time. Skelly would suffer a swift death.
Brogan raised his sword ready to meet the man head on when an arrow struck Skelly in the neck, sending him flying off his horse. Not sure if he was under attack, he dropped off his horse and took cover. He had to find Annis.