Highland Thirst Read Online Free PDF Page A

smiled faintly as she
scratched Thor’s ears and softly commanded him to lie back down. She left Havoc
where he was, rather liking the warmth of the cat’s big body on her back. Brona
just wished they could help her make some decision about what to do.
    Recalling
Hervey’s plan to take blood from Sir Heming, she decided that was all that
should rule her decision, that and the fact that Hervey was brutally torturing
a man who had never done him any harm. What the man was did not matter. What
Hervey was doing was wrong and what he planned to do was even worse. On the one
hand, Hervey condemned MacNachton for drinking blood and on the other, Hervey
planned to do just that if he discovered that Sir Heming’s blood held the
secret of a long life.
    Brona
realized she had already made her decision about Sir Heming. She was going to
try to save his life. Whatever manner of man he was, he did not deserve what
Hervey and Angus were doing to him. He certainly did not deserve being used by
her cousin and his first as a source for whatever magical quality might lurk in
his blood.
    A
shiver went through her as she recalled her cousin and Angus discussing how they
would use the man, taking his blood every day in order to see if they could
gain the man’s strength and longevity. She had always known that her cousin and
Angus were hard, cruel men, but their plan to keep Sir Heming caged so that
they could feed off him was beyond cruel. Brona had to wonder if the two men
were mad, or at least edging very close to madness. Even if one believed all
the tales about the MacNachtons—and she had probably only heard a few of them
in the last sennight—what her cousin planned was still madness.
    She
would take Sir Heming away from them. Brona intended to free Peter, if he still
lived, as well as Colin and Fergus. The moment she opened the door to Sir
Heming’s cage she would not be able to stay at Rosscurrach, so she may as well
help every man in the dungeons flee her mad cousin’s rule. None of these men
had done any harm to their laird or anyone else at Rosscurrach. She also had no
doubt the men would stay free once their wounds healed. Brona just hoped she
would be able to save herself as well.
    Thoughts
of the threat hanging over her own head started to creep into her mind, but she
pushed them away. If she thought about how Hervey wanted her to marry Angus, of
how that man lusted after her, she would never sleep or, if she did, she would
be plagued by nightmares. She was fleeing Rosscurrach and that was all she
would think about.
    Closing
her eyes, she tried to calm herself, knowing she needed her rest. There was a
lot she had to do before she could help the men in the dungeons and herself.
She would need to find a place for them to hide and gather some supplies. She
would need all her wits clear to prepare for her escape and she needed sleep
for that. The sooner she, Fergus, Colin, Peter—if he still lived—and Sir Heming
got out of Hervey’s reach the better.
     
    Heming
rocked slightly, struggling to fight the waves of pain washing over him. The
laird of Rosscurrach had a true skill at torturing a man. Worse, Heming got the
feeling the man actually enjoyed it. By the time the torture had stopped, Sir
Hervey Kerr had been so enraged at Heming’s refusal to tell him anything about
the MacNachtons that Heming was a little surprised he still had all his parts.
    Not
sure why he was fighting unconsciousness and thinking about just giving into it,
Heming had his attention suddenly caught by the sound of voices. He wondered
why he felt such a keen sense of disappointment when he did not hear the woman’s
low husky voice. The two men Mistress Brona had been talking to before leaving
were talking to each other now that they were all alone. He doubted they would
say anything of any importance, but Heming eagerly grasped the chance to think
about anything except the pain wracking his body.
    “Do
ye think she will come back and set us