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He would submit to no man And, as his father’s before him, his men were known as the sons of the hound

Chapter 2

Scottish Highlands, Present Day

Lily exhaled sharply as she dug her thu thein years and she wasn’t about to let a cra on her sketches consuorously rubbing and blending pastels in an effort to capture the land around her

It was a nice change froht before, which had ended badly It ’d been a full week since she had arrived at her rented croft and, save for the occasional curious wave froy Highland cattle who spent their days grazing on the cluray rocks of the glen Lonely for a little fun, she ’d made the drive to Inverness and decided to brave one of the local college hot spots coirls, and a loud band All in all, she thought it would be a fun place to disappear while checking out what constituted nightlife in the Highlands

After tenone of the bartenders would notice her, she began to regret her decision Annoyed, she thought she could see why the local girls got so dolled up How else to get a little service in this joint?

She turned to leave but was stopped by a hulking and very drunk young ht, the kid ht black T-shirt stretched over his biceps, he clearly iht, he didn’t pay the same attention to his stomach muscles, which ell hidden beneath his considerable beer belly

"Excuseto dart underneath his outstretched arm

"Oi, it’s a Yank! " the kid bellowed He stank of whisky and vo to know the locals, she definitely hadn ’t been thinking of drunken college boys What had she been thinking anyway? She should be back at her serene little cottage, watching a ht snack as her company

"Yes, uave a half sain tried to duck out--"excuse me "

"Not sso fast, lassie, " the boy slurred "Is it true what they say about Aain to escape, definitely not wanting to knohat he was referring to The band was between sets and the bar suddenly seemed eerily quiet Lily felt an uneasy electricity in the air--the kind, she thought, that must precede a bar brawl

"Please let ed in a falsetto voice By that time, a couple of his buddies had sidled up next to hiht have tried to diffuse the situation, Lily fought with fire, refusing to shrink from anyone, muscle-bound or not

"Oi, " Lilyinto his chest to move him aside, but to no avail

"Look you drunken i way to handle the situation, but it was clear that none of his buddies were interested in cutting short that evening’s entertainment, so she would have to stand up for herself

She noticed a handful of twentyso on syirl flashed her a lopsided smile in show of support, and Lily found new reserves of bravado

"Cretin," she spat, and tried once again to duck out

By that time the bar was silent and everyone had their eyes on the American who appeared to be in over her head