Willow didn’t bother to tell him that Slatter’s grandmother lived. It was better he didn’t know. She recalled what her husband had done to the three men who had intended her harm. She was sure the men who had harmed his grandmother would face a similar fate.
“Of course, I’ll have my fun with you in front of your husband before I kill him. If you continue to cooperate, I’ll keep Dunn and Tyler off you.”
She didn’t for one minute believe him and she didn’t for one minute doubt that her husband would rescue her or that she would do all she could to help him.
Slatter burst into the keep, screaming Willow’s name, Devin right on his heels.
Snow jumped up from the table where she sat, Thaw giving a strong bark beside her, then quieting. “Sterling has her.”
Slatter rushed over to her as James entered the Great Hall with Eleanor.
“It made it difficult to believe since we couldn’t find you,” James reprimanded. “And I won’t waste time asking where you’ve been. My sister’s safety is my only concern right now. I have men gathering to begin a search for her.”
“Sterling pretended he was you and that you and Willow were out for a walk together,” Snow explained. “Thaw wouldn’t quiet. He barked and barked and I knew something was wrong. When Willow mentioned that Thaw was probably worried his morning meal would be delayed if I stopped and talked with them, I knew something was terribly wrong since she knew I always fed Thaw before our walk.”
A servant rushed into the room. “Lord Tarass approaches.”
Slatter placed his hand gently on Snow’s arm. “Willow gave you no indication of where he was taking her?”
“None,” Snow said, shaking her head. “I don’t think she knew, since if she did she would have found a way to tell me.”
Slatter grabbed James’s arm as he went to walk past him. “I’ll handle this.”
“It’s best if Lord Tarass is made aware of the situation,” James said.
“That won’t matter,” Slatter argued.
“Lord Tarass can help us,” James said.
“Lord Tarass helps himself,” Snow chimed in.
Slatter’s eyes glared with fury. “I care not what Tarass wants or thinks. I only care about my wife and bringing her home unharmed. I will deal with this.”
James barely got his mouth open to speak when Slatter was gone, already out the door, and the man who had arrived with him, following close behind.
Chapter 27
Slatter stormed out the door and down the keep’s steps.
Two of Sterling’s men hurried forward, both sizeable brutes and no doubt the ones Sterling trusted the most to do his biddings.
Slatter stopped a few steps away from them, his shoulders drawn back, his hands fisted at his sides, and his face twisted with fury. “I’ve got Sterling,” he said.
Lord Tarass spoke. “You admit you abducted Lord Sterling from my land?”
“I do,” Slatter said with a glare that dared the man to challenge him.
“We’ll see to this and we’ll see our lordship safely returned,” the one man, a front tooth missing and with strips of cloth weaved through the braids to either side of his face, demanded.
“He’s all yours. I care not what you do with him,” Tarass said, with a dismissive wave.
The man with the braids grinned, the toothless space glaring like a black hole in his mouth as he grabbed for Slatter.
“Touch me and I’ll kill you,” Slatter warned, “and that’s a promise.”
The man stopped and gave a nod to the other man. “You’ll follow Tyler and me.”
Slatter turned his voice low for only the two men to hear when he stepped closer to them. “You’ll take me straight to my wife or I’ll kill you slow when the time comes.”
Both men startled for a moment than grinned, Tyler, the one who had yet to speak keeping his voice to a whisper when he said, “It’s me and Dunn who’ll be killing you slow while we enjoy your pretty wife.”
Slatter had to stop himself from reaching out and snapping both men’s necks. He’d wait until later and see them both dead before the day was done. He didn’t look back as he walked off with the two men. Devin would have made himself scarce once outside so that no one would take notice of him. He’d wait and watch and follow and be there when needed.
The two men mounted their horses and Slatter walked in front of them as they made their way out of the village, the rest of Sterling’s men following behind them. It wasn’t long before the two men directed him into the woods while the other men proceeded in another direction.
He was certain that as soon as they departed the village, James would let Tarass know what was going on. He couldn’t help but think that Tarass already knew something was amiss. When he had planned the rescue, his one worry was Tarass’s sentinels. His warriors were skilled and one did not get past them easily. Yet he and Devin had managed to do so. Had Tarass set a trap as well?