The Devil's Heart by Cathy Maxwell

Author:Cathy Maxwell [Maxwell, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780062070241
Amazon: 1410460169
Barnesnoble: 1410460169
Goodreads: 16064518
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2013-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Heath couldn’t believe Margaret had jumped out of the boat. He swore furiously. The water was freezing. She would not survive. He shouted for her, but she ignored him, of course.

Why should she behave any differently when her life was in jeopardy than she had from the moment they’d met?

“Bring the boat around,” he shouted to Gibson.

“I’m trying, Laird. The current is too heavy. I’ve never seen the like.”

Indeed, white-capped waves now pressed against the boat. In less time than it took to say one’s name, thick clouds had begun churning over their heads and the wind had picked up speed.

“It’s as if the world has gone mad,” Gibson declared.

And he was right.

Heath saw Margaret reach shore. She was soaked to the skin, but at least she’d made it. Her wet hair clung to her shoulders and she was shivering.

She started to her feet but tripped over wet skirts. Again, she tried.

“Margaret, stay right there.”

Either the rising wind whisked his words away from her hearing or she chose to ignore him, because she lurched to her feet, gathered her skirts and, with a hobbling gait, ran into the forest.

“Row,” he ordered Gibson, digging deep into the water with his oars. “Take me back there.”

“We aren’t going anywhere,” Gibson answered. “I’ve never seen the loch like this.” He was pulling back against the water as he spoke and there was the sound of a crack. His oar broke. The wood snapped as if it had been a twig. The boat was adrift and began spinning.

Highland storms could be sudden and cruel, but Heath had never seen one such as this before.

He didn’t understand what has happening, but a fear for Margaret gripped him. They were being carried farther away from Innis Craggah. The boat was thirty feet from shore and moving rapidly. He could not waste time. He pulled off his boots.

“What are you doing—” Gibson shouted just as Heath climbed on the bench and dived into the water.

The cold bite of it robbed him of breath. For a second he floundered. Great waves rolled over his head. He fought panic.

He’d heard sailors tell of being in the Northern Sea, of how quickly the water could freeze a man to death. He knew to keep blowing bubbles. The sailors had said that would stop his lungs from freezing.

Heath had been swimming in these waters all his life, but he’d never felt such a strong, threatening current. It was as if there was something trying to pull him under and away from the shore all at once.

And yet, he had to reach Margaret.

His feet touched bottom. Hope surged within him. At some point, he’d lost a stocking but it didn’t matter. He had no feeling in his feet as it was. He charged forward, pushing his way through the current until he fell facedown upon the rocky shore. Nothing had ever felt so good to him.

For a long moment, he couldn’t move.

And then the hail started.

Hail the size of man’s fist rained down from the heavens.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.