Page 35 of Discovery of the Vampire
Marcus had the decency to look slightly chagrined, but it was fleeting. "Yes, well, these things happen. It's too late to do anything about that, and again, I do apologize, butyoucan still save yourself." He paused, catching my eyes with his.
I forced the word from my throat. “How?”
He smiled, happy I was playing his game. “You, Esme, have the ability to find it for me." He pointed at the middle of my chest. “Right in there. Somewhere.” He made a tsking sound and waved his hand in the air between us dismissively. “I know you don’t like to use your magic because you have some strange sense of right and wrong, but I really think you can make an exception this time.” He smiled again. “For me.”
I stared at him in disbelief. "Dios mío. You think I'm going to help you? After what you did?"
His smiled turned into a cruel twist of his lips. "Yes. I think you will."
"No, I won't." I practically spit the words at him. Let him do what he would. I wasn't his puppet.
"You will," he insisted. "Because if you don't, I'll make sure that everyone you care about in this city suffers the same fate as your family."
"There is no one in this city I care about," I bluffed. "I only just arrived."
His eyes narrowed, and a knowing smirk played around the corners of his mouth. "Hmm. Funny. Because I could've sworn I saw you locking lips with a certain someone outside The Purple Fang the other night. Brogan, isn't it? Thevampire. You two seemed quite...intimate."
He'd seen us? The thought made my skin crawl and my blood run cold as I wondered how long he'd been watching with neither of us sensing his presence. Not until he wanted us to know.
I tried to keep my face impassive, but I knew he could see the fear in my eyes. "That was nothing. Just a momentary lapse in judgment with a handsome male I met in a club. I'm only visiting this city."
He barked out a laugh. "Ah yes, I'm sure—despite your frequent visits to his club—it meant nothing at all," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just like your little job at that witch's shop is…nothing.” He made a show of looking around my small apartment. “For someone who claims to just be passing through, you've certainly made yourself at home.”
I clenched my jaw, hating how easily he could read me. "What do you want me to do, Marcus?"
He stepped closer. So close I could smell the strangely clean scent of his breath. Could feel the heat radiating off his body, the dark energy that swirled around us both like a suffocating cloak. "I want you to help me, Esme. I want you to use yourbrujapowers to locate the book, and bring it to me. And in return, I'll spare your new friends. For now."
"Why can't you find it yourself if you know it’s here?”
He shoved his hands into his front pockets, and a flash of frustration crossed his features. "Because, due to the nature of the book, it's been hidden from me. Magically." His attention returned to me. "This is why I need you."
I was surprised he’d answered me honestly. "Then how do you know it's here at all? It could be anywhere!"
"It's here," he insisted.
"Why do you need this book?" I blurted.
He smiled again. "I was wondering how long it would take you to ask."
I lifted my chin. "And are you going to answer my question?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because it'll be much more fun to surprise you all."
Oh, God. I shook my head vehemently. "No. I won't help you. I don't care what you do to me, but I won't be part of whatever the hell you’re planning."
His hand shot out, gripping my jaw so hard, I thought he was going to break the bones, and I couldn't stop the small sound of pain that escaped me. His eyes flashed with anger, the brown irises flickering with an inhuman red glow.
"Youwillhelp me, littlebruja. Or I will make you watch as I rip out your vampire lover's heart. Then I'll move on to the rest of them, one by one, until you're all alone again. Just like before. And all their deaths will be on you. Because you wouldn't help me find a simplebook."
Tears stung my eyes as his words penetrated through the pain. The thought of Brogan, of any of them, suffering because of me was unbearable. But I couldn't give in to Marcus's demands. I couldn't betray everything I believed in, everything my family had died for.
"Go to hell," I spat, wrenching my face out of his grasp, knowing I’d have bruises tomorrow.
He laughed then, a cold, mirthless sound that chilled me to the bone. "Oh, my dear Esme. I've already been there. And trust me, it's nothing compared to what I have in store for you if you don't help me."
