A Midsummer Night's Scream (The Dulcie O'Neil Series Book 7) (23 page)

“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. “Because 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