Free The Highlander Next Door by Janet Chapman

“And ye say Hazel believes Birch drove out to the Vaughns’ house?”
    Peg nodded. “She said a girl came to the shelter this morning and told Birch she was worried because Misty hadn’t been at school in over a week and missed all her final exams.” Peg hugged her belly protectively. “Apparently Misty confided to her friend that she’s pregnant and was afraid of what her father would do when he found out.”
    Niall slapped the envelope against Sam’s chest and headed down the steps, but stopped at the bottom. “Call your men and tell them to be here by the end of the week.”
    Sam shot him a grin. “Actually, they’re arriving tonight.”
    Niall looked at him for several heartbeats before giving a nod, then took Peg’s arm and started up the road, shortening his stride to match hers. “How far to the Vaughns’ and how do I get there?”
    “They live on the back side of Bent Mountain,” she said, gesturing toward the mountain crowding the town up against the Bottomless Sea. “The Vaughn homestead is only about six miles away as the crow flies, but twenty by road. You head toward Turtleback and take a right just this side of the first bridge, then keep bearing right at every fork in the road after that. It’s been forever since I’ve been out there, so Ike may have finally built a bridge over the brook about a mile from his house. If not, a four-wheel-drive can make it across.”
    Niall stopped when they reached the side door of the Trading Post. “Can ye give Hazel a ride home? And tell her not to worry,” he added when Peg nodded. “I’ll bring her daughter back safe and sound.”
    Peg grabbed his sleeve when he turned to leave. “Um, you do know that if you shoot anyone, you’re going to be filling out paperwork for weeks, don’t you?”
    Okay then; apparently Duncan had been voicing his doubts about giving his ancestor a badge and gun out loud to his wife. Niall reached inside his jacket and pulled his gun out of its holster, slipped out the magazine, grabbed Peg’s wrist, and set the empty pistol and ammunition into her hand. “There’s no bullet in the chamber. And do me a favor and tell my cousin that he’s starting to piss me off.”
    Peg hugged the large-caliber weapon to her bosom. “The moment I see him,” she promised, only to quickly sober. “Sally Vaughn does whatever her husband tells her, and I’m afraid for her, too, if you end up bringing their daughter back with you.”
    Niall nodded. “Are there any other children besides the girl? What does Vaughn do for a living?”
    “No, they only had Misty. And like most everyone in these parts who’s not catering to tourists, Ike’s a woodsman. Think Logan Kent thirty years ago; compact, strong, nimble in the woods. But unlike Logan, Ike has a short fuse when he feels someone’s questioning his authority. Wait,” Peg said, catching his sleeve again when he turned away. “Let me call Duncan and have him meet you there.” She went back to clutching the pistol with both hands, glancing around to make sure no one was nearby as she moved closer. “The magic might come in handy.”
    “Nay,” Niall said as he finally strode off. “Jack Stone warned me that incident reports don’t have a code for magical apprehension.”
    “Dammit, Niall, at least take your gun.”
    He waved without looking back. “I’ve managed to survive this long without it,” he said, grinning when he heard Peg mutter a curse in good old understandable English just as he rounded the building.
    Having developed the mysterious habit of suddenly appearing whenever Niall’s mood turned dark, Shep came tearing down the road and jumped in the truck the moment Niall opened the door. “We’re off to save our pretty neighbor,” he said as he climbed in behind the wheel. “And if we can find a reason to arrest Ike Vaughn and throw him in the jail we now
have
,” he continued as he checked for traffic and pulled a U-turn in the middle of the main road,