Dangerous Misery (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 3)

by Kelley, Morgan

  Jacques drummed his fingers on the table. “Do you realize you’re empathic?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Yes, you are, and I believe that had you not been tortured by Delina, you might have been trained to be a guardian.”

  He started laughing. “Me?”

  Neither man joined in with him. This was a very serious conversation.

  “I think you’re wrong. I’m not strong enough to be a guardian.”

  Now it was their turn to be confused. “Why not?”

  Mathew sat back against the bench and closed his eyes. “I'm damaged goods. When you’re a guardian, you have to be big, strong, and fearless. Look at you two. How can I protect someone when I can’t even function around two alphas?”

  “We don’t buy that, and that’s why we would like to train you to be a guardian,” said Flynn.

  Mathew looked like someone had just slapped him. “Why, and who would I guard?” He almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

  Then it hit him.

  “You want to send me away! Is it because I’m drawn to Jolie?”

  Flynn glanced over at his mate. Without saying a word, he held out his hand. Jacques handed him twenty dollars.

  Jacques continued, “Jolie needs a guardian. It can’t be one of us, well, not full time. We need someone who can drive her to work, sit in her office, and read magazines all day. She wouldn’t be alone and would have another set of eyes on her.”

  He stared at them. “You think that’s me?”

  “Yeah, and more importantly, so does Jolie,” said Flynn. He tried to swallow the words, but they were caught in his craw.

  He really hated this with all his heart.

  Mathew couldn’t believe it. Not only were they reassuring him that he had ability and potential, but they wanted him to guard the most treasured vampyre in the house--Jolie--their mate.

  He didn’t know what to say.

  “I’ll train you in the correct ways to fight, and then Flynn will teach you about firearms. You may never need one, but in case you pick one up, we’d prefer you not kill an innocent bystander.”

  “Yeah, or one of us.”

  Mathew didn't speak at first. It was like it was still sinking in. “You want to train me?”

  This day was getting more bizarre by the minute.

  What the hell happened while he was with death?

  Flynn got his attention. “You have the opportunity to put your past behind you and take charge of your future. If you feel at any time that you don’t want to be her guardian, I’ll go on with the job.”

  “What if I can’t protect her?”

  Flynn glanced over. “Why don’t you take this one, Jacques?” He threw it at him because nothing he had to say would be positive. In fact, he was betting the vampyre couldn’t do the job.

  Honestly, if Mathew got her killed, he’d have to die.

  It was clear cut for Flynn.

  “You have the instincts to do the job. It’s not a ‘what if’ I fail situation, Mathew. You simply can’t. Being a guardian is the hardest job ever. There are no perks.”

  He looked up. “None?”

  Flynn went to speak, but Jacques dropped his hand on his leg, stopping him. He already knew where Flynn would take it, and really, there was no point in getting angry.

  “It’s brutal training and a very hard job. You need to decide if you want to do this, or not.”

  Mathew glanced back and forth between the two men and thought about his life.

  Was this what he wanted?

  By taking the challenge on, despite his fears, he’d be ensured a family for the rest of his life. He’d never have to leave, and that made him happy.

  Then again, if he failed, there was no doubt he’d die. Mathew could tell by the way Flynn was staring at him.

  But, if Jolie died, he’d want to anyway, so what did it matter.

  Yeah, this was a no brainer.

  “Well?”

  “When do we begin?”

  * * * H a r c o u r t e * * *

  Monday Evening

  As their time was coming to an end in Paris, Jolie had mixed emotions. While she wanted to have fond memories of them returning, their time there was tainted with the pain of death. It damaged her family, but it made Jolie, Flynn, and Jacques stronger.

  So, she was torn.

  Glancing around, there was a feeling of heaviness weighing over them. Something was coming. She could feel it. While she wanted to panic, Jolie knew that the family was relying on her to stay calm.

  Jacques was gone, and she really wished he was there. When all three of them were together, Jolie knew nothing bad would happen to her.

  They were her comfort zone, and now she was off balance.

  “Let me help,” offered Jolie, trying to assist Mina and Chloe in packing up their things.

  The women stared at her in horror.

  “Mistress, no! This isn’t your job. It’s mine,” stated Mina. “Besides, there isn’t too much to do.”

  Jolie knew what she meant. Trina had been the clothes hog, and now they were waiting on Clariel to tell them what to do with them. She doubted the woman could handle seeing them at home.

  But who knew?

  “Jolie?”

  The sound of her name drew her attention to the men entering the room. It pleased her that Mathew looked relaxed as he flanked the detective. “Yes, Flynn?”

  “Are you okay, baby?” he asked, before handing her a glass of wine. When he took his spot beside her on the couch, Jolie moved into his frame.

  “Yes, I’m just feeling wary.” She took a sip.

  “Want to cuddle?”

  His fingers snaked under the loose shirt she was wearing. When they found her flesh, she giggled.

  “Flynn!”

  “What?” he asked.

  Jolie put her glass down and lounged across his body. She could feel Mathew’s eyes tracking them.

  “He’s taking this seriously, isn’t he?” Jolie asked.

  “I had to stop him from following me in to pee, so yes.”

  She laughed. “Awesome. You two are going to have fun training him.”

  “I’m going back to work,” he stated.

  “Wait, weren’t you wearing white,” she said, playing with his collar.

  “I was, until Mathew attacked me and got blood all over my shirt.”

  “What?” she asked, sitting up.

  “Long story.”

  Jolie knew he wasn’t going to give her any more details, not while everyone was there.

  “I want out of France,” she said, lovingly kissing his neck. “I wish we were already in the air.”

  “Me too,” said the voice from the doorway.

  They all stopped moving.

  In the doorway stood Clariel, and she looked like hell. Her eyes were red, her cheeks were tearstained, and her clothes were mismatched and rumpled.

  The woman approached, taking the offered chair from Mathew. She dropped into it, like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

  “Do you need to feed, Clariel?” asked Jolie.

  “I’m not in the mood,” she said, closing her eyes. Her heart just wouldn’t let her continue on. Feeding meant life, and life wasn’t what she wanted anymore.

  Jolie nodded. “Okay. Let me know if you change your mind,” she replied.

  “If I ask a favor, Mistress, would you grant it?” she asked, keeping her eyes closed. In all honesty, she was embarrassed by her earlier behavior.

  Mathew had been right.

  “I guess that would depend on what you wanted from me, and if it was in my power to do it for you.”

  “I want you to end my life. I’m too much of a coward to do it myself.”

  Everyone stared, including Mathew. In Delina’s household, they once watched a weaker vampyre beg for the same end.

  Needless to say, Delina did it.

  And she loved every second of it.

  “I can’t do it myself,
and I don’t want to go on without Trina,” she said softly, as the tears rolled down her face.

  “I won’t do it, Clariel. No, let me rephrase that--I can’t do it.” Jolie sat up, freeing her body from Flynn’s embrace. “What you’re asking me to do isn’t going to happen. I’m sorry.”

  “I have nothing left to exist for, since my heart is gone,” she admitted before breaking down in tears.

  When she slid from the chair, Mathew tried to move toward her, but Jolie stopped him.

  “I won’t do it for purely selfish reasons, Clariel. I understand why you wish to die, and I can even say that I would likely feel the same way, but I’m not granting that request.” Jolie sat beside her on the floor and held her hand.

  “Why?” she sobbed.

  “Because I love you and losing you would crush me. I know you believe me to be as cold as Delina, but trust me when I say that I’m heartbroken over losing Trina. I don’t believe I can lose another loved one, and certainly not by my own hand.”

  Clariel looked at her through tear filled eyes. “I said such horrible things to you, Mistress, and I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me.” The woman sobbed uncontrollably as big, wet tears fell onto their joined hands.

  Jolie pulled her against her body and held her. “I understand, Clariel, because I’m everything you said. I know that I failed you and Trina, and I’ll carry that forever.”

  “No! I was trying to hurt someone for losing Trina, and you were right there,” she admitted.

  Jolie kissed the on the top of her head. “It’s my job to protect everyone in this house, and I failed. I lost one of our loved ones. Every time I look at you, I’m going to be reminded of that. Whenever I enter my closet, I’ll know that she’s gone. I have to face Flynn, knowing that she had a special place in his heart for Trina, and I couldn’t keep her with us.”

  He moved to the floor to sit beside Jolie and Clariel. He didn’t have the words to help, but being close to them might offer some peace.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Mistress,” she said, crying on Jolie’s lap. When Flynn took her hand, she wept even more.

  “You didn’t hurt me, Clariel, but killing yourself will. We all hurt because we lost Trina, so please don’t hurt us more by sacrificing yourself. It’s not enjoyable to be dead. In fact, it’s not something you can change your mind about.”

  Clariel wiped her face on her sleeve.

  “I have something for you. Give me a minute.”

  Clariel watched her leave. “I don’t understand,” she said.

  “You will,” Flynn offered. “She meant what she said. We love you very much.”

  She sniffled, feeling the same about them.

  When Jolie came back, Clariel had climbed into Flynn’s lap, clinging like a small child.

  Jolie was touched by the scene.

  Clariel and Trina had been horribly abused by Delina and her guardians, and here the young vampyre had found solace in the lap of her mate. It was very fatherly. She wanted to weep with the beauty of it.

  Flynn held out his large hand for the present, so Clariel could study it.

  “What is it?” she asked, touching it gently with her fingertips.

  “It is a music box. It has been in our family for almost three hundred years. Jacques gave it to me for my birthday one year.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Jolie took it from Flynn’s hand to turn the key. It played a sweet little waltz. “If you turn this,” she said, twisting the one rose, “a secret drawer opens.”

  “What’s in there?” she asked, moving closer.

  “That’s a vial of Trina’s ashes. You’ll be able to take her with you wherever you choose to go. Now you carry her with you in your heart, and if you wish, your hand.”

  Jolie placed it in her palm.

  Clariel began crying again.

  She was so ashamed.

  This woman was nothing like Delina, and she was horrified that she’d accused her of something so horrible.

  “We’ve collected the remaining ashes in a box, and if you choose to remain with us, you can bury them on the property.”

  She looked up. “I can?”

  Jolie nodded. “I don’t know if you ventured out to the lower garden, but Flynn and Jacques had a memorial built. I lost someone I loved once too. I go there sometimes to think. I’ll share with you, if you like.”

  “I said all those horrible things to you, and still you’re kind to me. Why?”

  “I told you, Clariel, I love you, and when you love someone, you forgive them.”

  It was Flynn’s very wise advice.

  “I forgive you too, Mistress,” said Clariel, resting her head on Jolie’s shoulder. “I love you.”

  She held her vampyre.

  “Then we’re going to be okay.”

  * * * H a r c o u r t e * * *

  Jacques sat in the SUV with William as they drove toward the house. He was feeling edgy, and it was likely because he was exhausted from not going to death.

  Well, that and missing his mates.

  The need to be home with them overwhelmed him. He knew he wouldn’t feel safe until the airplane taxied down the runway, and they were in the air.

  Granted, he hated leaving unfinished business, since in his experience, it always came back to haunt you. Genevieve was an example of that. She haunted Flynn until they finally did her in.

  “Are you okay?” asked Bevier.

  “Yes. I want to get this over and get back to my mates. Being apart is difficult.”

  Up ahead, he saw a big building.

  “Is that it?” he asked, surveying the surroundings.

  “Yeah, he lived here. His wife owned the house before they were married. She’s from money.”

  That was enough chitchat for him.

  “Let’s get this done. I want to get home.”

  They grabbed the corpse from the trunk and carried her toward the house. Once there, Jacques used his mind to pop the locks.

  “You’re going to have to let me in,” he stated.

  William did what he asked before closing the door. “Shit! I should have brought a flashlight,” he stated.

  “Sorry, I forgot you can’t see like we can,” Jacques said, carrying the body to the living room.

  “I’m going to be able to?” he asked, a little surprised.

  “Once you share blood and fully mate, you’ll pick up some gifts.”

  “I’ll see in the dark?”

  “Yes, you will. It’s the most common thing that humans pick up during mating.”

  That might come in helpful as a cop.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I want to check this place out,” stated Jacques.

  He didn't see any harm in that.

  At a locked door, Jacques used his mind to get in. Once the door was open, he was horrified. “I’m glad he’s dead.”

  “What’s wrong?” asked William, rushing over. When he hit the lights and looked inside, he totally got it.

  “Holy shit! That’s scary. I knew he was obsessed, but this is beyond that.”

  The room was wall to wall photos of Jolie. Some were of her walking down the street, a few of her on her cell phone, and then the ones of her making out with Flynn.

  Those had angry red x’s through them and the words ‘die’.

  “He was stalking her,” said William. “He must have known what she was toward the end,” he said softly.

  “Arian must have planted the truth in his mind. If we didn’t kill him at council, he would have struck. Jenna Montclair must have seen this room.”

  “This is bad.”

  “I’m not sorry that she lit him up like the Eiffel tower on New Year’s Eve,” said Jacques, as he began pulling the photos down from the wall. “These have to be destroyed!”

  “Yeah, tear them down, and I’ll look for the negatives,” he offered, as he began pulling on his rubber gloves to join the search.

  “Now I really want to get home.”
<
br />   William couldn’t blame him.

  It had taken the men two hours, but they finally had everything they needed. All that was left was to set the scene for the cops to find at a later date.

  Once she was unwrapped, Jacques shoved a knife into her hand, and one in her chest.

  It didn't do her justice. He wanted to peel the flesh from her bones, but somehow, he didn't think William could stomach it. After all, he was still human.

  “Are we set?” asked his soon to be brother-in-law.

  “Yeah, let’s go. We’ve done all we can here.”

  Once outside, they were just loading the photos into the trunk when he heard it.

  It was his mate.

  The whispered warning touched his mind and sent chills down his spine.

  “Get me home. Something’s happened.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Monday Late Evening

  The family room was chaotic. Everyone was helping Mina and Chloe pack up all their acquired possessions from their rooms, despite the women’s protests. The quicker they got it done, the sooner they could get out of there. In the end, that was the ultimate goal.

  They wanted out.

  Jolie and Flynn took a break on the couch, watching the rest of the family. He was whispering suggestive things in her ear as she ran her fingers through his black, silky hair.

  Jolie was about to kiss him silly when she felt the change in energy.

  “Mistress,” said Chloe, standing quickly.

  It was the only advanced notice they were going to get.

  She put her body in front of Flynn, trying to shield him.

  “Well, isn’t this cozy? I’m so glad I decided to stop in tonight because it looks like you’d have been gone by tomorrow evening.”

  Jolie reached for her mate’s mind, hoping he heard the message. ‘Jacques, hurry!’

  The two males moved to her side, flanking Jolie, but still ready to defend Chloe.

  Jolie didn't ask how she got into the house, it was obvious. Belladonna brought a human with her.

  Oh, and four guardians.

  It was official. They were screwed.