Page 108 of You Only Love Twice
The dartgun tracked him instantly.
"If you shoot me," he mocked, "then your chances of getting her back slim dramatically."
"Damn it." Malloryn jerked his finger off the trigger. "Where are you going? Where is she? Tell me where they'd take her—"
"I don't follow your orders."
"If we don't work together—"
"I'll get her back," he promised, as he slipped over the sill. "Just stay out of my way. You're not my ally, Malloryn."
"No?" Malloryn shot him one last dangerous smile. "Just how do you think this ends? There's no hope you'll turn her—your side wants her dead. And Gemma believes in what we're doing here. This is not merely a game for her. Perhaps she loves you, but I know her heart. She will never betray her cause, not even for you. Not even for love."
His eyes narrowed, the truth ringing in the duke's voice.
Malloryn offered him a faint nod, man to man. "And she won't run. Gemma's sense of loyalty is one of her greatest assets. So it seems you are left with a dilemma. There's a part of me that will never forgive you for what you did to her in Saint Petersburg. I don't even know if I trust you. But the only chance you ever have of being with her is to form an alliance with me. And I might be prepared to overlook certain past indiscretions in exchange for everything you know about the enemy's operation."
Their eyes met.
The duke still didn't know who he was facing.
And it was somewhat telling that he was planning on letting Obsidian go to save Gemma's life, rather than keeping him here to ferret out every little secret he might know.
"Think about it," Malloryn said softly as he lowered the dartgun. "Now go and get her back before it’s too late."
Obsidian said nothing as he leaped down into the street.
He would deal with Malloryn's offer later.
Chapter 22
Gemma blinked awake, her head pounding as though she'd been into Byrnes's blud-wein. The entire cabinet of it. The world seemed to split into two, her vision pitching sideways before she righted herself.
Forcing herself to straighten, she closed her eyes and breathed through her nose until she'd regained her balance. This time, the world didn't sway when she opened her eyes. Hoorah for the craving virus.
She forced herself to take stock of her situation.
Bound to a rickety chair in the middle of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. Pigeons cooing in the rafters. Dust motes swirling in the patches of light that streamed through the barely boarded-up windows. Across the room, a guard slumped in a chair.
Somehow she was still alive.
The last thing she remembered was—
Isabella's eyes widening. Thedhampir. He'd hit her from behind, and now...
Now she was here.
She'd been expecting a ditch, if she were honest. Or to not wake at all. Were they seeking to prolong her death? Or was her attacker fetching this Ghost that Obsidian spoke about?
Or was it a trap? She could vaguely recall Isabella babbling about Malloryn thinking of her as a little sister.
They'd failed to kill his fiancée.
Perhaps she was next?
I have a suggestion, Gemma, old girl, how about we consider these questions when we're as far away from here as possible?
She was fairly certain she had a concussion.
