Alec had moved quite a distance away from the others. Jamie thought he was deliberately trying to draw the bandits as far from the women as possible.

The thieves slowly followed him. They took their time, too, acting as if they had all the time in the world to see their kill completed. Alec was much larger than his enemies, but he was unarmed. The odds certainly didn't favor him. Two of the four bandits carried blackened clubs. The other two waved curved swords in the air. The slicing motion made the air whistle. There was dried blood crusted on the blades, indicating their earlier attacks had been successful.

Jamie thought she was going to be sick. They were such evil-looking men. They looked as if they enjoyed their sport; two were actually smiling. What teeth they had were as black as their clubs.

"Daniel, please go and help Alec," Jamie ordered, her voice weak with fear.

"There are only four of them, lass. It will be over in just a minute."

His answer infuriated her. She knew Daniel stood in front of them to offer protection, yet didn't think that was noble given the fact that his friend was about to be slaughtered.

Jamie reached over Mary's shoulder and shoved Daniel's back. "Alec doesn't have a weapon to defend himself. Give him my dagger or your sword, Daniel."

"Alec doesn't need a weapon."

He answered her in such a cheerful voice that Jamie was certain he'd lost his mind.

She stopped trying to argue with him. "Either you go and help him or I will."

"All right, lass, if you insist." Daniel shrugged Mary's hands away from his tunic and started toward the men circling Alec.

Yet when he reached the edge of the clearing, he stopped. Jamie couldn't believe what she was seeing. Daniel calmly replaced his sword in his scabbard, folded his arms across his chest, and damn if he didn't grin at Alec.

Alec grinned back.

"We're wed to half-wits," Jamie told Mary. She decided she was still more frightened than angry, as her voice actually shivered in the stillness.

A deep bellow suddenly gained her full attention. The battle cry came from Alec.

The bone-chilling sound sent Mary into a fit of screaming.

The circle had tightened around Alec. He waited until the first was within striking distance, then moved so swiftly he became a blur of motion to Jamie.

She watched him grab hold of one man by his throat and jaw, heard the horrid sound of bone cracking when he twisted the enemy's neck into an unnatural position.

Alec hurled the man to the ground just as two others, shouting their intentions, attacked from his left side. Alec slammed their heads together, then tossed them atop the crumpled man on the ground.

The last of the four dared to gain advantage by striking from behind. Alec whirled around, slammed his boot into the man's groin in what appeared to be the most effortless of motions, then lifted the man off the ground with one powerful blow of his fist centered beneath his jutting jaw.

The pile on the ground had grown to pyramid proportions. Daniel had been correct in his boast that it would soon be over, for less than a full minute had passed.

Alec didn't even look winded. That amazing thought had just taken root in Jamie's mind when a new sound caught her attention. She turned just as three big men came rushing toward her from the cover of the bushes on the opposite side of the boulder.

Like snakes they'd slithered through the thicket to get to the prize.

"Alec!" Jamie shouted.

"Jamie, you must protect me," Mary screamed.

Before Jamie could respond, her sister pulled her away from the boulder. Mary flattened herself against the rock, then pulled Jamie in front of her. Though Mary was almost a head taller than her younger sister, once she'd hunched her shoulders down into the crease in the rock and tucked her face between Jamie's shoulderblades, she was well insulated from attack. The boulder shielded her back, and her sister shielded her front.

Jamie didn't try to protect herself. She understood her duty. Mary came first.

If need be, she'd give her life to keep her safe.

The three men were almost upon them when Jamie remembered the small dagger she held in her hand. She took aim and threw the weapon, deliberately choosing the biggest of the three. Her aim proved true. The bandit let out an ear-piercing scream and collapsed.

Daniel charged the second of the three dark-haired men and knocked the villain to the ground with a mighty blow to his midsection. Alec had a greater distance to cover. By the time he'd almost reached his prey, it was too late. Though Jamie fought like a wildcat, the bastard had her in what appeared to be a death grip. His knife was pressed against her heart.

"Stop where you be," the man shouted at Alec in a high-pitched screech. "I got nothing to lose now. If you come any closer, I'll kill her. I can snap her pretty little neck as easy as not."

Daniel had finished his fight and was slowly advancing from behind. Alec motioned for him to stop when the villain gave a fearful glance over his shoulder. He tightened his hold on Jamie's hair in reaction to this new threat, then twisted the mass around his hand as he jerked her head back.

Alec saw the wild, hunted look in the man's bleak eyes. It was obvious the bastard was terrified, for Alec could see his hands were shaking. His enemy was of medium height, with a bloated face and stomach. He was going to be a quick kill, Alec decided, once he'd released Jamie and she wasn't in jeopardy. The man was in a panic now, however. His fear made him as unpredictable as a cornered rat. The enemy might very well try to kill Jamie if provoked… or if he believed his situation was completely hopeless.

It was hopeless, of course. He would die. His fate had been decreed the moment he touched Jamie.

Alec kept his fury contained, waiting for his opportunity. He affected a casual stance, folded his arms across his chest, and tried his damnedest to look bored.

"I'm meaning what I say," the captor shouted. "And shut the other woman up. I can't think with her screaming like that."

Daniel immediately went over to Mary. He clamped his hand over her mouth, forcing her to be silent, yet never once spared her a sympathetic glance. His full attention was on Jamie's captor as he also waited for his chance to strike.

The fear slowly ebbed from the enemy's eyes. He snickered, obviously sensing victory was now on his side. Alec knew he had him then. The rat was getting ready to scurry out of his corner. He was feeling content, and that false confidence was going to be his destruction.

"This one be your woman?" the man bellowed at Alec.

"She is."

"You care for her?"

Alec shrugged.

"Oh, you're caring all right," the enemy shouted. He chuckled with glee then. It was a foul, grating sound. "You don't want me killing your pretty, now, do you?"

He tore at Jamie's hair, hoping to cause a grimace as further proof of his power and their impotence, but when he glanced at the hellion he'd captured, he realized he'd failed.

His hostage was glaring at him. He knew he was hurting her, but she stubbornly refused to cry out.

Alec had avoided looking at his wife's face, knowing the fear he'd see in her gaze would undermine his concentration. His rage would be uncontrollable then.

Yet when the blackguard twisted Jamie's hair so forcefully, Alec instinctively looked at her.

She didn't appear to be afraid. God's truth, she looked bloody furious. Alec was so surprised by her show of courage that he almost smiled.

"Get me one of them fine horses," her captor ordered. "When I'm feeling safe and sure you ain't sniffing after me, I'll let your pretty go."

Alec shook his head. "No."

"What say you?"

"I said no," Alec answered, his voice as calm now as the soft wind. "You can have her, but you cannot have her horse."