Page 7 of Midnight Queen

Della’s wrinkled lips purse as she considers this. Her head tilts back so she can make eye contact with me as she points out, “You saidrelyon. Not trust. Do you not trust this man?”

Lor chuckles, a wide smile breaking across his face. “Don’t you know the golden rule? You should never trust a vampire.”

Truer words have never been spoken. It doesn’t matter how old they are, or how in control they may appear. Beneath the perfected surface is a bloodthirsty monster who is always hungry and lustfully thinking about their next kill.

Della jerks back and her eyes dart to the hospital room door to assure no one is lurking about that may have overheard Lorcan. The word vampire is something that is used very sparingly in my household. Those who are privy to my secret rarely use the term. It’s something we all know to be true, but seldomly speak of it. I can see how Lorcan’s blatant use of it would catch Della off guard.

“We are in public,” Della scolds him like a petulant child. “Mind your mouth.”

What she doesn’t understand is Lorcan has never seen any shame in being what he is. He would shout it from the rooftops and tell every person he meets in a crowded bar if he knew he could get away with it.

Lorcan’s eyes drift to where I stand. “Does your entire staff act like this?”

“No,” I grit out just as there’s a raised voice coming from outside the hospital room. As if we’d rehearsed it like choreography, all three of our heads snap in the direction of the open door at the same time, each of us on high alert.

When the irate voice cuts through the silent intensive care unit, I relax.

“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but if you don’t let me go, I’m going to claw your eyes out of your big, dumb heads!” Rory threatens.

Lorcan’s brow raises. “Are you sure about that?”

Two men wearing matching black suits come into view. I recognize them immediately as some of my hired security. Off the top of my head, I couldn’t tell you what their names are but I know they’ve worked closely with Duke and for the time being I can trust them enough with smaller tasks. Such as collecting someone for me.

Their faces are completely impassive despite the thrashing woman they carry between them. They hold her just far enough off the ground that her feet can’t touch, meaning her legs kick all about as she tries to get free of the grip they have on her arms. Her lilac hair is wild, covering her face and eyes.

One of the men addresses me. “She wasn’t at her apartment like we’d originally thought. It took us a minute to find her location and well, when we did find her, she didn’t make it easy—”

Scoffing under her breath, she cuts him off, “You dense motherfucker.Of course, I wasn’t going to make iteasyfor you. You showed up and ordered me into some random car. I’m sorry for not wanting to be one of those poor girls onDateline.”

She still thrashes in their arms, not yet staying still long enough to discover I’m in the room. I’m subtly aware of the amused look on Lor’s face and the completely unimpressed one Della wears as they watch on.

The guard’s remains stern, despite the girl’s outburst. “As I was saying, I’m sorry for our tardiness, sir.”

“Sir?” she repeats as she shakes the purple hair out of her face and finally looks at me. In an instant, all the fight leaves her body, and she relaxes in their hold. Her hazel eyes widen in alarm and her face blanches just a fraction. “Mr. Laurent.”

“Rory,” I greet. Aurora ‘Rory’ Amos is barely old enough to order a drink legally, but she’s smarter and more talented than most of the people I’ve met on my time on earth. You would never assume that the young girl standing before us, dressed in the shortest black leather skirt I’ve ever seen and revealing cropped shirt, is the same girl who was capable of hacking into my state-of-the-art tech company. She’s a prime example of why we can’t judge solely on appearances. You never know what someone is capable of doing when no one is looking. “I do wish I could tell you that I’m sorry for pulling you away from your weekend plans, but something has happened that I need your assistance with—”

“Emphasis onweekend,” she tersely interjects. “I am anemployeeof yours. Nine to five. Monday through Friday.Thoseare the hours I work for you. My time outside of those hours needs to be respected. You have no right to order me around when I’m not on the clock.”

She couldn’t be more wrong.

My face hardens, my head cocking to the side at the courageous human. “There appears to be a misunderstanding between us. When you hacked into my servers and put my billion-dollar corporation at risk, I had a choice. I could either hire you and put your skills to use or I could eliminate you completely. Ultimately, I decided that a talent like yours is valuable and it would be such a waste to not use it to my benefit. That being said, I’m not opposed to the other option. Especially if you become more trouble than you’re worth.” I take a slow step forward and instantly she attempts to shrink back, but the hold the guards have on her keeps her in place. “As an employee of mine, you work when I need you. Day or night. Weekends or not, you are at my mercy. Your time belongs to me. Do I make myself clear, Rory?”

The room falls eerily silent, everyone holding their breath as they wait for her answer.

The internal battle she’s having with herself is clearly written across her face. She doesn’t want to back down, but just like everyone else, the threat against her life keeps her in line. “Crystal clear,” Rory bites out between clenched teeth.

The room takes a collective breath, and the tension dissipates..

At my subtle nod, the guards drop the hacker to her knee-high boot–clad feet and take a step back.

Rory glares when she finds Lorcan staring at her exposed, tattooed skin. Much like himself, Rory is covered in various black and gray tattoos. Hers are done in a style I can only describe as Gothic, many of the images are dark in nature. “Who the hell are you and what are you staring at?” she questions, sounding completely unimpressed with the blond vampire.

Lorcan’s lips pull in an amused smirk while his eyes flicker with interest. “I like you.” His light-brown eyes swing in my direction. “I like her.”

“No,” I warn with a tight, terse shake of my head.

Straightening her rumpled clothes—or lack of clothes—Rory’s inquisitive gaze darts between the people in the room. “So, what am I doing at a hospital? I know I’ve done some questionable things in the past but hacking into a hospital’s system is low even for me…” For the first time since she’s entered the room, she finally looks behind the three of us. I know the second she recognizes who currently lies unconscious in the bed. Her face falls, lips parting in a silent gasp, and she staggers back on her heels. “Duke?” she utters softly, her focus locked on the man. Blinking slowly, like she’s in a daze, she slips between Della and me to stand at the base of the bed. “What happened?” she asks, her voice sounding stronger. “What thehellhappened? I talked to him on the phone before I left the office for the night, and he wasfine.” Her hands, various rings on each finger, wrap around the footboard of the hospital bed.

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