Loch

Chapter 14

Isla struggled to shout for help but the man had one arm locked around her throat in a powerful chokehold, and her cry of desperation came out as a gurgled whimper. She dug in her heels, tearing furrows in the soft turf. He was impossibly strong and had no difficulty hauling her along. She fought and clawed, trying to break free. He let out a curse as her fingernails dug into the back of his hand.

A series of images flickered, strobelike, across her vision as she thrashed: her captor's fair skin and brown hair, the gray sky, the green grass, the ruined castle, a man running. With the images came a flood of questions. Who was her captor? Why was he taking her? Was she going to die? How had she let this happen? She’d been so focused on watching the Indian that she hadn’t heard this man creeping up on her. What if he was working with the Indian and his partner?

“Hurry up!” a voice shouted.

“You want to help me?” her captor replied. “I think she’s had a few too many scones. She’s a heavy one.”

Irrationally, Isla wanted to inform the man that she worked out regularly, but her more immediate concern was the fact he was dragging her toward a silver SUV that sat idling in the car park. What could she do?

And then, the man released her. She fell hard to the ground, her breath leaving her in a rush.

She looked up to see the Indian kneeling over her. His partner, the blond man, flashed past them and slammed into her fleeing abductor. They crashed to the ground, the blond man rolling and coming up to his feet in a fighting stance.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you,” the Indian said.

Isla scooted backward on her bottom, but the big man seized her by the upper arms and picked her up as if she were weightless. She knew in an instant that, compared to the man who had initially seized her, this was the far more dangerous of the two.

“Calm down,” he said, releasing her and holding out his big hands, fingers splayed. “We don’t mean you any harm.”

“Let her go!” Grizzly came running toward them. He skidded to a halt, ten paces away, and stood, fists clenched, elbows cocked. Had the situation not been so dire, Isla would have laughed at the absurdity of his posturing in the face of the much larger man. He looked like a bantam rooster facing down an eagle.

“Bro, you need to chill. I’ve got to help my friend,” the big man said.

In response, Grizzly picked up a small stone and flung it at him. It went wide, cracking the windscreen of a nearby jeep.

“Dude, don’t piss me off. Just keep an eye on her.” With that, the man turned and ran toward his friend, who was now chasing the man who’d tried to seize Isla.

“Let’s get out of here.” Grizzly took her by the wrist and tried to lead her to their car, but something kept her locked in place.

The roar of an engine and the squeal of tires cut across the sounds of pursuit as her kidnapper’s accomplice — the man who’d been waiting in the idling SUV — peeled out. The vehicle shot across the car park, headed in the direction of the driver’s fleeing accomplice. As they watched, he stuck his arm out of the window.

“He has a gun.” Isla gasped. “Look out!”

A series of loud, sharp bangs rolled across the car park.

The running men scattered. Moments later, the SUV skidded to a halt long enough for the failed kidnapper to jump in, and then they were away.

“What just happened?” Grizzly asked. “Who the hell were those guys?”

Isla slowly shook her head. “Which ones? The kidnappers or the guys who saved me?”

Grizzly threw up his hands. “None of this makes sense. The men who saved you are the same ones who were stalking us?” He took a deep breath. “They’re headed back this way. Let’s just get the hell out of here.”

“No.” Isla wasn’t completely sure why, but she sensed she could trust these men. Furthermore, she wanted answers.

“Isla, are you crazy? Just because they saved you doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous. Maybe we’re dealing with two sets of kidnappers, and one pair chased the other away, and now they’re coming back for us.”

“Or maybe they’re only following the same trail as us, in which case we have a common enemy.”

Grizzly let out a scornful laugh. “I’ve worked in television long enough to know that the enemy of your enemy is not always your friend.”

“This isn’t television,” she said, watching as her two rescuers strode purposefully toward them.

“We’re searching for a lost treasure, you almost got kidnapped, but you got saved by a giant Indian. Sounds like Hollywood to me.”

“You can run if you want to,” she said. “I’m going to find out who they are and what they want.”

“Fine.” He scanned the ground until he found another rock.

“Don’t do it,” Isla said. “You’ll just make them mad.”

“Whatever you say.” He slipped the stone into his pocket and stood, hands on hips, waiting for the men.

The two men stopped ten paces away, and they regarded one another for a few silent seconds before the blond man finally spoke.

“So, are you two good guys or bad guys?”