Prescribed for Love (27 page)

“And if he doesn’t come back?” asked Keith quietly.
Unable to answer
, tears
started to flow down Catriona’s face. Keith gathered his sister in a hug, even with her belly now getting in the
way. “See, this is what I mean. Y
ou obviously have some kind of feelings for him if the mere thought of never seeing
the big oaf
again
puts
you in
to
hysterics.”

“This isn’t hysterics,
this is pregnancy hormones,” insis
ted Cat.

“
Fine, you can c
all it what
ever you want,
but it’s obviously not nothing,” said Keith.

“Condescension doesn’t suit you.”

“Well, what can I say?
I was starting to sound way too supportive, it doesn’t fit with my bad-boy style.” Catrion
a smiled at her brother’s
jest
. He
was always able to cheer her. “You know Cat, if you wanted to stay here, I wouldn’t try to stop you.”

“But what about
you?” Even when Cat had considered the notion in her
moment
s
of weakn
ess, she had always dismissed the idea out
of worry for her brother.

“I don’t know. Hell, we
still
don’t even know if we can return. We haven’t even seen the book. But honestly, I kinda like it here. I can use my skills without having to worry about all the stupid red tape and paperwork.”

“You’d stay here just to avoid filling out some forms?” asked Cat.

“No, it’s not just that. While things are simpler here, everything just seems so much more fulfilling. You know?”

“I think so. I’ve noticed that without the rush of the daily grind, you can really appreciate the small things in life. Ugh, listen to us sounding all philosophical,” laughed Cat.

“I know right—wicked lame,” agreed Keith.

Their
laughter
was interrupted however, when shouts erupted around the keep. Hope surged through Cat as she saw men in the distance riding hard toward the castle. “Keith look!” she said excitedly.

“
Cat that
does not look like
Alasdair
, those men
don’t even look friendly.”

Branan, one of the few guards left behind ran up to the parapets. “Lady Cat, what are ye doing up here? Ye need to get inside where it is safe!”

“Wait, we’re under attack?” asked Cat, still
not putting two and two together
.

“Come on Cat, let’s get you inside,” said Keith. He brought her
to the center of the castle
with the o
ther women and children
.
“Now you play nice with all the other kiddies.”

“Keith, where are you going?” true panic now tinged her voice.

“Something tells me we are going to need all the men we can get. Nothing like trial by fire for all the modifications I made to the castle’s security huh?”

“But, but…” Catriona tried to go after her brother, but was stopped by two sets of arms.

“Nay Lady Cat, it isnae safe,” said Lainie.

“Ye will only get in their way,” added Ailsa.
“And ye have more than just yerself to worry about,” added Ailsa while looking at Catriona’s stomach.

“
Ugh, you’re right,” admitted Cat. “But,
I do need to leave for just a moment, I need to get my
purse!
”

“Nay, ye need to stay.”

“I am getting my bag Ailsa, even if I have to beat the crap out of you to get it!”
Whoa…
pregnancy rage.
Cat ran quickly through the hall
s
to her roo
m. She may not be able to help f
ight, but she would be damned if she would sit in a room without a way to defend herself. She had pepper-spray in her bag
. While it may not kill, it could very well be the difference between life and death.
Cat
briefly contemplated
also
trying to find a knife, but
quickly dismissed the notion. She had no idea how to use a blade. Attempting to use one with her lack of skills would probably only result in the weapon being turned against
her
.

Now back
with the
other
women
and children
, Cat assesse
d her surroundings. The room in which the
y
hid had only one door.
This
worked both for and against them. It
had the advantage of making the room easier to defend, but the disadvantage of leaving no option for escape.
Determined to do everything she could to increase their chances for survival, Cat
grabbed the largest piece of furniture and began to barricade the door. “Are you all just going to sit there, or are you going to help me?”
she yelled
vehemently
.

Many were too afraid to move, but Lainie, Ailsa, and a few other women quickly helped her reinforce the barricade.
They continued in this endeavor until Cat was s
atisfied the door was now as reinforc
ed as it could be. Cat began to plan further,
“Alright ladies,
” began Cat with a militaristic tone,
“
I want to make some contingency plans
.
If those Cameron bastards start to hack through the door, we need to not panic.
Do you hear me? Do! Not!
Panic!
The surest way to get killed
(or worse)
is to
fall prey to your fear
.
Now, heaven forbid,
i
f they make it through our additional barricade I have a weapon of sorts that I can use.” She held of her can to demonstrate.

“What is it?” asked one woman.

“It sprays a mist that burns the eyes. It will temporarily incapacitate our attackers. If they make it through, I will spray them and you will need to make a run for it. We may not have much time, so you will need to be quick.”

“But if it will burn their eyes, will it nae burn ours as well?”

“Well, it doesn’t actually burn th
em, it just feels that way,” explained Cat.
“
But, you will
have the advantage of
be
ing
prepared for the spray. As long as you keep your eyes as covered as you can you should be fine. But, if you do get some in your eyes, just keep running, the burning will eventually stop.
A little temporary discomfort is worth the escape.
Does everyone understand?” A chorus of ‘ayes’ answered Catriona. She had no idea if she was over-preparing, but she had always lived by the ‘better sa
fe than sorry’ mentality. “Now,” she continued, “
I notice we have some young children, and some elderly who will need assistance getting out. I want everyone to break into pairs so we can all h
elp each other escape if the need arises
.”

Catriona went around the room assigning pairs.
She made sure each person sat with their partner.
However, once everyone was sitting
, unease
began to settle within the room; t
here was nothing else they could do but wait.
Slowly, the sounds of men
fighting
began to draw nearer
. To try and hide her
fear
, Cat looked through her purse for anything else she could use as a weapon. She had her tool set, but the hammer and othe
r tools were all short handled; the items
were unlikely to provide her with any real protection. But
, unwilling to waste any possible defense, she
put them in various folds of her gown.
Worst case, I can
throw them
at some asshole’s head
and run like hell.

The only other item that struck her as useful was her can of
hairspray. Combine that with her
lighter
and she had a makeshift flamethrower. It may not do any actual damage, but it at least might scare the shit out
of someone—buying her a little more time.

Time passed as if in slow motion. Cat felt like hours went by, but for all she knew it could have been five minutes.
There had been a
few
tense moments when the fighting seemed to
be
near
ly upon them
, but then the
clanging of steel
would draw further away. Cat was just about ready to believe
their luck had held, when all hell broke loose
.

At least two axes began to hack through the door. Many of the women immediately began to scream
in panic—
just as Cat had to
ld them not to. Although, if Cat
were to be completely honest
with herself
, she was having a hard time
controlling her own fear
. She
quickly circled the room in an attempt
to quiet the women and children, while also moving them to the side walls. If the Camerons decided to hurl any weapons once they broke through, she wanted everyone out of the direct
line of fire.

By the time the men out
side began to hack through the
barricade, Cat was glad to see most of the women
had entered fight-or-flight mode. They would be ready
to follow her
earlier
instructions. Now, Cat just had to make sure she fulfilled her end of the bargain.

As the men began to work through the last major obstacle, Cat raised her pepper-spray can. As soon as she caught of glimpse of the men, she depressed the white cap. “Go!” she yelled. “Go, go, go, quickly!”

Cat was just about to attempt her own escape, but paused when
she heard a wail behind her. One of the small children had been left behind.
Seriously? The buddy system is not that hard!
She grabbed the young girl and then
bolted from the room
.

Unfortunately, her escape did not go as planned. As she ran, she suddenly fell hard to her knees—o
ne of the men grabbed the hem of her skirt.
Argh, these dresses are gonna be the death of me!
She pushed the girl forward, and thankfully the child now had enough wits about her to run.

Focusing on her attacker, Cat grabbed the hammer she had stashed earlier and began to repeatedl
y wail him o
n the head. When he let go, Cat scrambled to her feet. She ran to the hall and turned left, seeing more men that way, she quickly reversed her direction.

“Catriona!”

“
Alasdair
?” Relief washed over her. But then a sudden pain hit her in the chest.
Of co
urse! I would be hit by the one
freakin’
arrow to make it
through that stupid
six inch window.

***

Alasdair
froze with fear as he watched Catriona fall under the arrow. He simply could not believe he had fought for months, then rushed back to defend Duart Castle against a surprise Cameron attack, only to arrive just in time to be able to do nothing. Letting out a roar, he ran to her side. He
allowed himself to breathe once he realized she still lived.
But, he did not like how much she was bleeding.

He grabbed the nearest man and ordered, “Find Keith and send him to my chamber. Tell him his sister has been hurt. Hurry! As if yer life depended on it!” Picking Catriona up as gently as he could, he rushed to the room.

He just managed to lay Catriona on the bed before Keith rushed in behind him, “How is she?”

“I cannae say.”

“Move, let me see,” said Keith as he pushed
Alasdair
to the side.
Alasdair
thought his soul had been ripped out of his body when he heard Keith say, “This is too serious of an injury. There is nothing we can do, not here anyways.”

“But in yer time?”

“In our time she would have a good chance if she got to a hospital quickly. But we don’t have the book, she can’t get home.”

Like a madman,
Alasdair
ripped into the secret compartment
in his chamber wall
. “Here,” said
Alasdair
handing Keith the book.

“You’ve had it this whole time?”

“Ye can yell at me later,
”
ordered Alasdair.