Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
The waitress gasps and looks at Marcus, who awkwardly laughs. “What a jokester, this one. Have whatever you like.”
“Hot water with lemon then,” I say and look down. “I don’t want to spend another night in the basement if the scale goes up.”
“Shame on you,” the waitress hisses at Marcus as she walks away.
“Happy with yourself?” Marcus chides.
“Yeah. I am.” I let out a sigh. “Now I’m getting bored. Pray tell, what was so important to talk about?”
He takes a bite of pie and leans back. “I want to talk about you.”
I just roll my eyes and shrug. “Okay. I mean, I am awesome.”
“You’ve been through a lot, Wren, in the last few weeks. We’ve been informed of everything along the way.”
“Great. I should start a vlog and save you the leg work.”
Ignoring me, he goes on. “And I’m aware you are one of the best hunters we’ve seen in a very long time.”
“Because I’m a witch.”
“Because you are good.” He pauses and looks at me, as if he’s waiting for me to thank him. “You are skilled. Talented. And yes, having magic gives you an advantage we mere humans don’t have.”
I continue to stare, aware of the tricks he’s trying. Insult himself, compliment me. He can keep trying. It’s not going to work.
“We’ve watched you, Wren,” he goes on. “You should have risen through the ranks, not been held back in fear. A promotion to a higher position inside the Order would have made the others think twice before they chastised you for being who you were born to be.”
“Well, I’m not in the Order anymore, so it doesn’t matter.”
“But you could be again. That’s why I’m here, Florence.”
I raise an eyebrow, arms crossed over my chest. “What do you mean?”
“We can get you out of this whole mess,” he says and takes another slow bite of his pie. “Get you away from the Malus vampires and send you home.”
“Home?” My heart picks up speed, and if Xavier were here, he would notice. Marcus, thankfully, can only see what I want him to see.
He picks up his phone from the table and shows me a photo of a woman who, for a half second, I think is me.
“This is your biological second-cousin. She married a British man and currently lives in Manchester. The Order has a chapter in the area. We can help you fake your death here, a death so convincing even the vampires will believe it, and then offer protection after you get settled in the UK.”
The Order has the resources to make anyone disappear, and I’ve heard of them slowly taking blood until there’s enough to dump around a fake crime scene to make it look like someone lost too much blood to survive. If it’s my blood, vampires would be able to smell it.
But I don’t believe Marcus, not for a fucking second. Besides, he’s not offering this out of the kindness of his heart.
“What do you want in return?” I lean forward, putting my hands on the table as energy crackles between my fingers. Marcus tenses and then looks around, afraid someone is going to see.
“I want to know everything there is to know about the Malus vampires. You’ve been on the inside. If we work together, we can stop them, once and for all.”
“Stop them from what?” My brows furrow and I shake my head.
“Don’t play dumb with me here, Florence. The Malus family is very connected and has a lot of control over not just this city but many others.”
“Right, the whole mafia thing.” I wave my hand in the air, intentionally sending a spark of energy out from my fingers. “All I know are the same rumors you’ve heard.”
Marcus’s eyes narrow and the fake charm disappears from his face. “I’m offering you a chance to get out of a burning building, Florence. If the flames don’t get you, the smoke will.”
“I guess that’s a chance I’m going to take. I’m not accepting your deal.”
“Think about this. Think about who’s side you’re on.”
“Oh, I am thinking and I know exactly where I stand. My side. I’m looking out for my own best interest from now on because you certainly aren’t.”
Marcus’s face darkens, letting me know he really thought it would be that easy. He could waltz in here and offer me some bullshit arrangement, making me betray the only people who have been honest with me.
“If you do this, everyone will hail you the hero you and I both know you are.”
“And if I don’t?” I shrug and shake my head. “I don’t care.”
“You do, and you and I both know how much you’ve wanted to be anything other than the villain in the eyes of the Order. Get out of the burning building, Florence. Before you go down with it. We can smooth this all over. Say you had no choice in rescuing the vampires. You hurt humans. You stood back and allowed your vampire husband to murder innocent people. This kind of stuff gets around. What will your little sister, Gia, think when she knows you attacked Larissa in order to save a killer-vampire? You’ll always be the villain.”