Him and I (Declan Harp)

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Declan

My legs kneel in front of Grace who sits on a fallen log. Her hands are rubbing her wrists that have red marks on them thanks to the rope.

"Did they hurt you?" I asked, looking at Grace.

"No," She says in a mumble, clearly upset.

My next question moved me forward, "Do they know, about the baby?"

"No."

I let out a sigh of relief, my eyes looking down at the ground for a second. A noise behind me made me quickly stand and turn. A young girl stumbles out, clearly scared as she looks around.

A growl leaves my lips as I rush towards her, causing her to scream. I grab her and roughly pin her to the small hill, the light from the fires lighting up her face.

"What do you know?" I yelled in her face.

The girl shivered, sobbing as she turns her head from me, "I don't know anything! Mr. Harp! I swear!"

"Jesus, Declan! Stop!" Grace said, grabbing my arm and trying to yank me away from the girl.

"C'mon! What did you do?! What did you do with my wife?" I yelled in the girl's face.

"Nothing! I helped her."

My hands shook with anger, ready to squeeze her crying voice. "No, you helped him! Where are they going?"

"Benton's taking her to Scotland. That's the story I heard."

I continue on, my voice loud and hard, "What's he planning?"

"I don't know, I don't know. We escaped, me, your wife, Miss Emberly. We, we escaped, and then Benton caught us and I was locked in a room."

"Sounds like you led her into a trap."

Grace grabbed my arm again, yanking it away from the girl. "She had no part of any of this, Declan!" Somehow, she managed to slip her way past me, pushing me away from the girl. My eyes burned fire into the girl's scared face as Grace tried to grab my attention. "She's just a scared little girl who was tricked by Benton."

My eyes moved to Grace, my breath racing like my heart was.

"None of us knew what was happening or what he was planning. Anna's still out there with Benton, that's what we need to focus on," Grace said.

As angry as I was, I knew that Grace was right. This scared little cat didn't have anything and Anna was our priority.

My words towards Grace made her mouth drop. "No, you need to get back to Fort James. Michael's there trying to take it over and he'll need all the help he can get." The last thing I need is to watch over Grace as well. And, knowing her, she would never let me do the things I need to do to save her sister, my wife.

"What? You must be bloody out of your mind if you think I'm leaving my sister alone," Grace half yelled at me. Clearly, she wasn't seeing where I was getting at with this.

A sigh left my lips, my tone softening some. "Grace, no one wants Anna back more than I do and I can't do what I need to do to get her back if you're with me." Grace was silent, not agreeing or disagreeing with me. "Please," I half begged, making her pause before she sighed.

"Fine," She said, before taking a step towards me. "Just bring my sister home." I nodded, giving her my answer before watching her turn and walk away. Charlie and McTaggart watched Grace leave while my attention turned to the girl before me.