Page 64 of Enchant the Dawn

Cursing the fate that had brought him to such a precarious decision, Jasper got in his car. Keeping a safe distance between them, he followed the pair to the woman’s house and drove on past.

He parked his car three blocks away, concealed his presence, and walked back to the female’s residence, hoping to take the vampire unaware after he told the woman good night.

Hunkered down in the shadows, he waited for the vampire.

* * *

Dominic sat on the sofa, his legs outstretched. Maddy slept beside him, her head pillowed in his lap. He had hoped going out for dinner and a movie might cheer her up a little. It hadn’t. He knew she was worried about the sudden change in her life, frightened by what it might mean. Hell, he was worried, too. Which was why he planned to spend the night.

As far as he knew, Ava hadn’t yet figured out a way to dispel the darkness he still felt inside Maddy. Was the darkness linked to her magic?

Lifting her into his arms, he carried her into her bedroom. She stirred when he removed her shoes and tucked her into bed, but didn’t wake.

He stood beside her for a long moment before returning to the living room. He paced the floor for a few minutes, then stepped outside to reinforce the wards he had set on the house.

He had just turned to go back inside when pain exploded through the back of his skull, dropping him into a well of blackness.

* * *

Dominic woke slowly, his head throbbing. Groaning softly, one hand pressed against the back of his head, he sat up. Where the hell was he? The room was pitch-black. Small. Empty. It took him a moment to realize he was inside a cage.

Frowning, he stood, wondering who the hell had whacked him as he reached for the door. Pain lanced through his hand. Silver, he thought dully. The bars were coated with silver.

Light filtered into the room as someone opened a door and stepped inside.

“Claret,” he muttered. “I should have known.”

Her smug laughter filled the air.

Dominic glared at her as a little voice in the back of his mind whispered that history was repeating itself, only this time it wasn’t his father inside the cage.

The vampire sashayed toward him. As always, she wore a long gown. This one—bright yellow—revealed her slender figure and lots of cleavage.

Her eyes gleamed red, and her fangs flashed when she grinned at him. A pair of heavy gloves protected her hands. Beckoning with one finger, she said, “Come here.”

“Go to hell.”

“Now, Dominic,” she purred, “you might want to rethink your attitude.”

“Yeah? Why would I do that?”

“Possibly because your girlfriend’s life depends on it.”

Dominic stared at her, even as fear for Maddy’s life congealed in the pit of his stomach. “Where is she? What have you done with her?”

“I’ve done nothing to her. Yet. But her future health depends entirely on you.”

“Where is she?” he asked again.

“I have someone looking after her. She’s quite safe. For now.”

Shit! “Who the hell hit me?”

“Jasper. He’s been following you for days, waiting to take you by surprise.”

Dominic grunted. “Working both sides of the street, huh? He must have decided the Elder Knight was the lesser of two evils.”

She glowered at him. And then she laughed. “I fear the consequences would be the same if he had picked the Knight.”

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