Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] by Lorie O'Claire Read Free Book Online Page B

one that took me like a dog.” She pointed her finger
    at Andru. “And you held me so he could do it.”
     
    She was too mad to cry right now. She looked from one to the other and both stared
    back at her. The fury on their faces was gone but she couldn’t detect what either one of
    them were thinking.
     

 
    “Is that how you treat all the women the two of you sleep with? You had no
    concern for me whatsoever. I tried to tell you who I was and to keep him away from me
    and you wouldn’t let me talk.” She jabbed her finger into Gilroy’s chest. “If I hadn’t
    been there you would have just done that to some other woman, wouldn’t you?”
     
    Like lightning, Gilroy grabbed the finger that was stabbing his chest and crushed
    her hand in his.
     
    “If we hadn’t been there then two other men would have done that to you,” he
    hissed at her in a rage she’d never seen in him before.
     
    Ana’s expression froze as the impact of what he’d just said hit her. Wide-eyed, she
    looked from him to Andru to Beel.
     
    “Then you did know it was me,” she whispered unbelievably.
     
    “Not until I saw you leave in the middle of the night,” Andru answered quietly. He
    sighed deeply and walked over to lean against the counter. “Ana, neither one of us had
    a clue it was you. We were drugged and you were masked. If our guards weren’t
    standing outside the tent there would have been other men in there as well. Good grief,
    Ana.” Andru shut his eyes tightly and put his fist to his forehead. “You don’t know
    how lucky you were. The next morning they found one of the she-witches dead. She’d
    been beaten so badly her face was unrecognizable. We knew you were one of the she-
    witches and that you’d show up there sooner or later. But that one she-bitch drugged
    the keg of ale and we consumed a fair bit of that opium lust stuff. We saw another she-
    witch carried out of there and the third was still being used when we left. If I hadn’t
    seen you leave with that other one in the middle of the night we wouldn’t have known
    if that dead girl was you or not. Things got incredibly out of hand.”
     
    “That’s right. You’re lucky we didn’t hurt you.” Gilroy reached behind her neck
    and pulled her face into his chest. “You’ve made yourself sick worrying about this, my
    lady, haven’t you?”
     
    He spoke quietly now and she didn’t stop herself from collapsing into his powerful
    chest. Large tears raced down her cheeks and she breathed unevenly.
     
    “You’re right,” she sobbed. “Neither one of you hurt me. It was…I mean…” She
    wouldn’t say it felt good. She couldn’t say how wonderful it felt to wake up tucked in
    and secure in between the two of them. “It was just so wrong.”
     
    “Oh, Ana.” Andru moved around the counter quickly. Just as quickly Gilroy
    backed away from her to make room for her brother. She looked up to see Gilroy back
    out of the way and realized his loyalty to Andru would always surpass any feelings he
    had for her. If he’d known it was her, would he have stopped Andru? She wasn’t sure.
     
    “It was evil—and evil is wrong.” Andru’s hand went behind her neck and he
    grasped her hair and palmed the nape of her neck as he gazed down at her. “The age of
    searching has provided you with knowledge of the rest of Nuworld. The she-witches are
    criminals that dabble in evil and mischievous spells. You’ve had firsthand experience of
    what that kind of ‘magic’ can do. It will be something you’ll never forget but now we’ll
    put it behind us.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I can’t take the pain or
     

 
    humiliation of what I did to you away, my dear sister, but I am sorry it’s upset you so
    much,” he whispered as he rested his forehead against the top of her head.
     
    “Beel, you and I are going to get the gliders and clear as much snow as we can
    before it gets dark. Gilroy, take a look at her shoulder.” He