“Yes,” he replied immediately. “I fear it is the only way. This rebellion cannot be allowed to flourish. It must be repressed. But in order to do that, I must first earn their loyalty. Then I will squash them.”
I was quiet for a few seconds as I studied him, wondering if he were still being honest with me. Trying to read Bram’s true motives was like trying to read hieroglyphics. His poker face was flawless. ’Course, he’d had over three hundred years to perfect it.
“So, my job would be helping you take control of the portals; and then what?” I asked, assuming the role of Devil’s Advocate again. Not that I was swayed by his argument, because I wasn’t. Not in the least bit. But it was better to understand the full scope of the situation before I made any quick judgements.
“The ANC would be fully aware of our moves,” Bram announced, his eyes now riveted to mine. “They would authorize every step before we could take it.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. After you control the portals, then what?”
“Patience, my Sweet,” he answered with a fangy smile that caused a shiver of unease to shutter through me. “Once we seize the portals, we would pretend to begin infiltrating the Netherworld. To those not in the know, it would appear as if we were assuming control of the government by going through the back door.”
“And then what?”
“And that would be precisely when the ANC would step in to ensure that would never happen. There would be enough exporters involved in this heist that the ANC could arrest all of them and take them into custody. That would naturally deplete the numbers in the potions organizations and, thus, debilitate and annihilate them,” he finished.
“Which would mean the balance between the ANC and the potions rings would be back to how it was before my father ever took office,” I summarized after I considered everything Bram said.
“Yes, the balance would be again restored.” He eyed me with another winning smile and offered me his hand. I wasn’t sure why I allowed him to take mine, but once he did, he pulled me against him and held me tightly.
“What?” I started to protest, but he interrupted me.
“You must ensure that we prevail in our attack for the portals, Sweet. I need you to guarantee our victory.”
“And why should I trust you?” I asked. My eyes narrowed as I brought both of my palms against his chest and pushed away from him.
“You should trust me because that is what our relationship has always relied on, or am I mistaken?” He gripped both of my upper arms, ostensibly to keep me in place, and I couldn’t help noticing his fangs were now completely elongated and … sharp.
“I don’t know,” I said with obvious uncertainty. “You tell me.”
He didn’t respond as he stared at me, and his eyes appeared bluer than usual. Suddenly, I remembered to immediately close my eyes. I was afraid he would try to bewitch me again. I heard the sound of his deep, resonant chuckling and felt the pad of his thumb touching my left cheek.
“Sweet, please open your lovely emerald eyes,” he whispered.
“Why? So you can magick me into doing whatever evil plans you have up your sleeve?” I answered, keeping my eyes sealed tightly.
“You should know me better than that,” he said while exhaling deeply, and his cold breath chilled my face.
“I refuse to take any chances where you’re concerned, Bram,” I admitted. “The day I fully trust the serpent is the day it sinks its fangs into me.”
“Were we not just having this conversation, except in reverse? You said, and I quote, ‘the only way this rocky relationship will work is by maintaining trust,’” he finished. I eventually opened my eyes, figuring I could close them again if he tried to overpower me. I didn’t have a comment because he’d caught me between a rock and a very hard place. Having someone using your own words against you was beyond irksome.
“I give you my word, as a gentleman, that I will not make any attempt to overpower you,” he said in a soft voice.
I hoped my gut instincts weren’t off, but his expression seemed earnest. I studied him for another few seconds, poised to slam my eyelids shut if I received even the slightest inkling that he was bluffing. But I didn’t.
“You have my word,” he repeated, slightly easing his hold on my upper arms. My palms were still flattened against his chest, and I was standing way too close to him, so I cleared my throat and stepped back.
“Everything I have told you is the truth,” he stated solemnly. “You were correct; you and I must be honest and straightforward with one another. A truer sentiment was never spoken, especially now. You and I need each other now more than we ever did before.”
Neither one of us said anything for a few seconds. We just stared at each other, as if we were trying to assess the truth from each other. For my own part, I wasn’t sure how far I could trust Bram. He’d mostly done the right thing in the past, but I still wondered if all of it was just a farce. Maybe he’d been warming me up just to earn my trust. Maybe all of that had just been leading up to this very moment.
The bummer of the whole situation was that there was no way I could know for sure whether Bram was genuine or whether this was all an amazingly well-conceived sham.
“I would never subject you to any precarious situation,” he promised, his eyes boring into mine. I had yet to feel his power behind them, though. “Your health and well-being take priority over my own,” he claimed.
“Such a heartwarming scene!”
The sound of Jax’s voice coincided with him clapping. My heartbeat started to race and I felt light-headed. Looking in the direction of Jax’s voice, I saw him standing in the doorway. His enormous physique nearly obscured the entire space. He was glaring at us, his large arms crossed over his substantially broad chest.
Time seemed to stand still as my attention shifted from Jax to Bram. I watched the vampire’s entire expression change. His eyes narrowed and his fangs grew longer while his jaw tightened. I could almost feel the sudden rigidity of his body. And then I felt him twitch.
“I wouldn’t think about materializing anywhere if I were you, boss,” Jax warned him, shaking his head as three more large men suddenly appeared behind him. One of them handed Jax a gun, which I supposed was probably loaded with dragon blood bullets.
At the sound of a door opening, I glanced behind me and saw four men standing at the far end of the room. They were in front of a door I hadn’t noticed earlier. The sweat started to bead along my forehead as I strove to catch my breath. Bram took a step in front of me and reached around me, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer to him. He seemed to be shielding me with his own body.
“I’m sure it will please the others when they learn that you consider us nothing more than your puppets,” Jax hissed as he walked into the room with the three thugs trailing him.
“Whatever grievances you have with me,” Bram started, although his tone of voice was surprisingly unconcerned, “leave Dulcie out of it.”
Jax chuckled. “Wow, boss, you really must have it bad, don’t you?”
Being protected by Bram’s body, I couldn’t see what was going on. But I heard the sound of heavy footsteps, which were coming closer. Seconds later, Jax stood right in front of me. He held the barrel of what looked like an Op 9 to Bram’s temple. Reaching out, he gripped my upper arm, and none-too-gently. Then he yanked me forward, closer to him, holding me in place by draping his heavy arm across me.
“I mean,” Jax continued as he glanced down at me and smirked. “I get it. She’s hot. I had a hell of a time persuading myself not to touch her.”
“I would sooner die a thousand deaths,” I ground out, glaring up at him.
He shrugged. “And it might very well come to that.”
“I prefer not to repeat myself,” Bram said. His eyes looked icy and his jaw was so tight, I half wondered if he might snap his fangs in half. “Leave her alone!”
“Then save your voice,” Jax answered, his jaw just as determined. “Beca
use I need her.” Glancing back down at me, he narrowed his eyes. “This little prized possession is going to come in very handy.”
To Be Continued…
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H. P. Mallory is the author of the Jolie Wilkins series as well as the Dulcie O’Neil series.
She began her writing career as a self-published author and after reaching a tremendous amount of success, decided to become a traditionally published author and hasn’t looked back since.
H. P. Mallory lives in Southern California with her son and her giant dog, where she is at work on her next book.
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THE JOLIE WILKINS SERIES:
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble
Toil and Trouble
Be Witched (Novella)
Witchful Thinking
The Witch Is Back
Something Witchy This Way Comes
THE DULCIE O’NEIL SERIES:
To Kill A Warlock
A Tale Of Two Goblins
Great Hexpectations
Wuthering Frights
Malice In Wonderland
For Whom The Spell Tolls
Eleven Snipers Sniping (Short Story)
A Midsummer Night’s Scream
THE LILY HARPER SERIES:
Better Off Dead
The Underground City
To Hell And Back
THE PEYTON CLARK SERIES:
Ghouls Rush In
Once Haunted, Twice Shy
THE BRYN AND SINJIN SERIES:
Sinjin
The Scent
H.P. Mallory, A Midsummer Night's Scream (The Dulcie O'Neil Series Book 7)
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