Scorched Heart (The Firebrand Series Book 4), Helen Harper [free ereaders .txt] 📗

responsible for all this trouble? I barely slept at all last night for thinking about it. And this morning, I hardly had any appetite for my breakfast. Usually I eat a huge breakfast. I’m a fan of Shreddies, but sometimes I go crazy and have Coco Pops.’

Something about the hour or perhaps the situation seemed to have endowed Rothsay with the desperate need to chatter. I eyed him as I took another sip of the coffee. My tongue felt furry and unpleasant. I frowned while Rothsay continued to chatter.

‘It’s quite nice here. Peaceful. And I suppose fire is rather cleansing. When I die, I’d like to be cremated too. Both my parents were buried, but I hate the thought of being shoved in a coffin underground. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. That’s the way to go, right?’

I put my hand up to my forehead. I was more tired than I thought and I was starting to feel rather woozy. I grimaced. I’d have to find time for a catnap so I could clear my head and deal with Boateng’s latest revelations.

Then I paused and looked at Rothsay. Wait. What was it he’d said? He smiled at me with benign concern. My stomach turned over as I stared at him. ‘Your parents are dead?’ I asked.

Rothsay’s smile vanished but, other than that, he didn’t move. It was as if he’d turned to stone.

My whole body felt shaky. I swallowed and tried to focus. ‘You told me a few days ago that you were planning to ask your mum if you could borrow some silver jewellery.’ I blinked. My vision was growing blurry around the edges. ‘You wanted to guard yourself against supes.’ Rothsay didn’t twitch. My voice sounded as if it were coming from a long way off. ‘You … you … tried to send us to Miranda James last night. You told me that she’d been in a relationship with Patrick Lacey. You wanted me to go and talk to her.’

I felt myself sway. My gaze drifted down to his feet. He was wearing boots. Large boots. ‘Julie Mackintosh wouldn’t have run away from a police officer,’ I whispered, ‘even if he was lurking in the bushes at Roselands. She wouldn’t have seen someone in uniform as a threat. And you’ve been very careful to keep yourself at a distance from Lukas. He’s a vampire. His senses are more acute than those of a human. There’s a chance that he’d be able to tell if he got too close to someone who was hosting a bugbear.’

Unblinking, PC Rothsay continued to watch me. Then, unbelievably, he shrugged. ‘Pops,’ he said, jerking his thumb towards the crematorium doors, ‘always told me that the devil was in the detail and the less I said, the better off I’d be. I guess the old man was right. Unfortunately for you, it’s come a little too late.’

The coffee cup slipped from my fingers, hitting the ground and splattering dark liquid in an arc around me. Several droplets landed on my crossbow. I stretched my fingers down but I already knew I wouldn’t reach it. ‘You … you…’ I pitched forward as my knees buckled. Rothsay caught me. ‘You poisoned me.’

His mouth curved into a smile; his expression was almost kind. ‘Well, I had to abduct you somehow, right? Sweet dreams, Little Em.’

I opened my mouth to scream but no words came out. Rothsay, I thought. It was Rothsay.

And then everything went black.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It felt like someone had taken a hammer to my skull; in fact, it felt as if they were still at it, smashing into my head over and over and over again.

I licked my lips and tried to open my eyes, before belatedly realising I had been blindfolded. I didn’t know where I was. And I didn’t know where Rothsay was, either.

My hands were behind my back, bound by something that was cutting painfully into my skin. Plastic ties, the same plastic ties the police used. That shouldn’t have been surprising.

I was sitting on what felt like a wooden chair. I sniffed the air cautiously. There was no obvious smell of either fire or brimstone, so I hadn’t died. I didn’t know how long I’d been out for, but whatever shit Rothsay had put into that coffee hadn’t killed me.

‘Ah,’ said a familiar voice from somewhere above my head. ‘You’re awake. That’s good. I wasn’t sure if I’d overdone it with the poison.’ He chuckled. ‘Not that it would have mattered.’

I licked my lips and tried to speak. My words were little more than a croak. ‘You … you…’ I started to cough.

‘Oh dear. That won’t do.’ There was a rustle. ‘Here. Have some water.’

I twisted my head to the left. He wouldn’t poison me again. No fucking way.

‘Oh, Little Em.’ Rothsay chortled. There was no other way to describe it – that was a fucking chortle. ‘You don’t mind if I call you that, right? I won’t poison you again. I have much more interesting plans for you. The water will help – I want you in tip-top condition. Why else do you think you’re here?’

He thrust a bottle into my mouth and forced me to drink. It was only water and it tasted clean. ‘Good girl,’ he murmured. He stroked my head. ‘Good girl.’

I flinched. His fingers brushed my cheek and my skin crawled. He lifted the blindfold and tossed it aside. A moment later, his face loomed towards mine. I blinked several times to clear my vision. He was still smiling.

‘Rothsay,’ I muttered, finding my voice, ‘what the fuck have you done?’

He patted my cheek. ‘Now, now. We can be on first name terms now, can’t we? Call me Bobby.’ He smirked. ‘Bobby the bobby. That’s me.’

I dragged my eyes away from him to check my surroundings. Where had he taken me? There was a bright light shining in my face and it was difficult to see beyond it. Rough stone walls, maybe? I glanced down. The floor