Dangerous Influence (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 5)

by Morgan Kelley

  “We should head in, but first,” Jolie said, turning to place her hands on their chests. Then she shared the absconded energy.

  It hummed around them, filling their bodies.

  “Tasty,” Flynn said, the sizzle of energy across their bodies.

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  All three moved into the main room.

  It wasn’t shocking as they scanned the area. There were stages with couples writhing and crawling all over them. Some were dressed in leather from head to foot, and some were decorated with only leather pants and a collar.

  Jolie didn't bat an eyelash.

  Neither did Flynn.

  They were comfortable in the surroundings. In fact, Jolie was more than curious.

  ‘We need a playroom,’ she whispered into his mind.

  It was returned with nothing but laughter.

  “This is something,” Jacques offered.

  He was right.

  The room was crammed full of devices to inflict pain. Most were being occupied individuals willing to be placed on them. Women were hanging from crosses and being whipped. There were men chained to the floor as other tortures were being inflicted on them.

  “Wow,” said Flynn.

  Jolie was distracted by it all, and it was going to be their downfall. As she turned to say something to her mates, she saw the flash of silver, and then the dagger being held at his throat.

  Flynn hissed as the mercury kissed his throat, burning it. It was then that one of his guns was pulled from the back of his pants and pressed to his skull.

  Jolie couldn’t move.

  If she did, Flynn was dead.

  He’d never survive either method. Jacques didn't move even though his fangs descended into his mouth. They were surrounded, and the vampyres around them knew who to target.

  They’d definitely been watched.

  Flynn had been right. Someone had been watching that crime scene, and they’d recognized him.

  Oh, this was a huge screw-up on their behalf.

  “Mistress, our Master wishes to meet with you. If you’ll follow Lenny, he’ll take you to him.”

  “Mulduk?” she asked, trying to figure out how to stop them. If she unleased Death, oh, she’d stop them. Only, Flynn would be caught in the crossfire.

  Yeah, this was bad.

  “Yes.”

  Jolie took in the vampyre guardians surrounding them. “And if I decline his invitation?”

  “Then I am under the orders to slice his throat and put a bullet in his head right in front of you and your mate.”

  She couldn’t let that happen.

  So, she had no choice.

  Jolie stepped forward and Jacques moved with her, refusing to let her leave alone. Flynn was screaming in his head to keep her safe.

  The vampyre bared his fangs. “No, we’re to bring her alone, so you will come with us,” said the male.

  “If you hurt them, I’ll kill you all,” she said softly. “If either of my mates has even a scratch or ounce of missing blood, someone will pay.”

  The guardian grinned. “Mulduk awaits, Mistress. It’s best not to keep him waiting, or their blood is the least of your worries.”

  Jolie turned and touched Jacques’s face.

  She knew what she had to do.

  “Please stay with Flynn. I’ll be safe.”

  “Jolie,” Flynn hissed. “Don’t do it,” he warned. Flynn could feel the intent coming off the vampyres. The second she left, they were dead.

  He knew he had to keep her with them.

  “Please.”

  She didn't have a choice. They thought they were going to have the upper hand, but it appeared Mulduk did.

  ‘I love you both,’ she whispered.

  ‘Don’t do this!’ Flynn begged.

  Jacques moved toward his mate and the two vampyres holding a weapon on him. ‘I’ll keep us safe. Get back to us soon.’

  ‘I’ll return.’

  God!

  They both hoped so.

  Jolie followed the guardians, watching them cautiously. She was prepared to call death if need be. She wanted to keep her little gift a surprise for whoever waited behind the doors.

  Mulduk was screwed.

  He’d threatened her mates.

  Oh, he’d pay.

  As she was escorted into a lavishly decorated room, it reminded her of the room Death favored.

  It was garish.

  Blood red.

  And in really bad taste.

  When the curtain was drawn back, there were women dressed in nothing but so many chains. They were tethered to the walls, as if waiting to be chosen.

  Jolie flashed back to her past.

  Yeah, she hated this place. This was like nothing she and Flynn did. There was love there.

  Here…there was brutality.

  She could see it in all their faces.

  Behind a table sat a large vampyre. When she was led toward him, he glanced up with bicolored eyes.

  “Ah, Mistress, please sit. Be welcome at my table,” he said, checking her out.

  Jolie knew leering when she saw it. This was definitely bordering on it.

  “You’re Mulduk.”

  He grinned. “So you’ve heard of me?”

  She didn't dignify his response.

  “Cat got your tongue?” he asked, sticking out his. It was forked and studded.

  How he pulled that off, she didn't know.

  Screw it!

  She didn’t want to know.

  “What of my mates?” she asked. “You have no right to harm them.”

  “They are being… detained in a private room. If they play nice, no one will hurt them. One of my women is currently making them comfortable,” he said chuckling. “Bella likes her work. She’s an artist.”

  That made her sick.

  Jolie didn't like the way that sounded.

  “If they are hurt, no one in here will live. I’ll make sure of that.”

  He smirked and leaned forward. “Mistress, idle threats mean nothing to me, you are here in my place, at my mercy, now I’ll start with the questions. Why are you here?”

  She stared at him.

  “You handled my bouncer. Did you think I wouldn’t know? As you drained him, his first call was to me. That was very sloppy, Jolie.”

  He knew who she was. Jolie didn't doubt that he had wanted her there. Flynn had been right. This whole thing reeked, and she’d walked them into it.

  Well, hell!

  “You’re very beautiful, Jolie.”

  She desperately wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. “I’m here to aid the police in the serial killing of three victims they believe had frequented your club.”

  “Oh, I am aware of them and why you’re here.”

  Jolie said nothing more.

  “How am I connected to this?” he asked calmly.

  “It’s a vampyre draining them of all their energy. This is where they hung out, so here is where my mate is starting.”

  “You’re not a cop. Why are you with him?”

  “He’s human. I’m his intermediary. I didn't want him coming here alone and offending you.”

  Bullshit.

  She didn't want what happened to go down.

  Unfortunately, it did.

  Jolie realized that she’d underestimated him. That wouldn’t be happening again.

  “It is a vampyre,” he admitted. “That’s as much as I can tell you. Anything else, you’ll have to earn.”

  “Earn?”

  “Yes, Jolie, earn. You didn’t think I would allow you to walk into my establishment, rip it apart, and then report me to the council without getting something from you first, did you?”

  Jolie reached for her mates and there was pain and fear. Her heart began pounding in her chest.

  “What do you want?”

  “Good. Let’s work out a deal.”

  He grinned ferally.

  “Here I thought this would be so much harder. I’d hear
d about you. I guess the rumors were wrong.”

  Oh, he had no idea.

  * * * H a r c o u r t e * * *

  Flynn didn't like this at all.

  The silver blade to his artery was making him twitchy. What was even worse was the gun pointed to the back of his head. The second Jolie left, he really believed they were dead.

  Only, they were still alive.

  To him, that signaled they were the evening’s floor show. That didn’t make him any calmer.

  “Let us go,” Jacques ordered, putting compulsion into his voice. If he wanted to save his mate and get the hell out of there, he had to do something.

  The two women who approached didn't even bat an eyelash. They seemed to be immune.

  “You can stop trying,” the one guardian offered. “See the necklaces? They’re warded.”

  Shit!

  Voodoo.

  This was going south, and fast.

  “Just let my mate go,” Jacques offered. If he could get the gun and knife off Flynn, they could fight their way out.

  The room they were in was filled with torturous devices, and he feared the worst. Bondage wasn’t his thing, and he couldn’t imagine Flynn wanted to spend the night being played with by some sick vampyre.

  “First, head over to that barrel,” the one guardian said.

  “Don’t do it, Jacques,” Flynn ordered. “Let them kill me. Then you can burn this place to the ground.”

  He couldn’t risk Flynn.

  Jolie had made her point crystal clear. If they went, she would follow.

  Then he would too.

  “Fine, but don’t hurt him.”

  There was laughter and then Flynn hissed as the blade nicked him. His blood mixed with the mercury, and it burned like hell.

  “Shit!”

  Jacques glanced back at his mate, and then he made the choice. The smaller woman locked his arms in the silver manacles. He was now leaning over a barrel.

  “You’re next,” the guardian said to Flynn.

  “That’s not happening.”

  The second woman approached. “I’m Bella, and I’m going to make you scream.”

  He went to open his mouth, but nothing came out. In fact, air wasn’t getting in. This wasn’t the first time someone had tried to suffocate him.

  Jolie had done it once to show her power.

  Apparently, the little vampyre wanted to do the same.

  Flynn dropped to his knees as his face went first red, and then blue.

  Jacques watched his mate dying, and he began fighting to get free.

  “Flynn!” he shouted, before his fangs appeared.

  The woman laughed when the man on his knees passed out. “Take him to the rack. I’ll be working on him. Daphne can have the vampyre. I love humans. They scream like girls.”

  Jacques began fighting for their lives.

  “Strip them,” she said, motioning to their shirts.

  The guardians obeyed.

  As soon as Flynn was locked into place, she rubbed against him. “Wake for me,” she offered, pushing energy into his body. When his eyes flickered, she licked a line up his chest.

  “Are you ready for some pain?” she asked, stripping his belt from the loops of his pants.

  He was disorientated.

  “I want you to scream,” she ordered, slamming his belt buckle across his chest. It ripped into his skin, tearing his flesh.

  Flynn was caught off guard.

  He did what she asked.

  ∞ Chapter Ten ∞

  Jolie knew that time was of the essence. She could feel the ticks of the clock as they matched with the beating of her heart.

  She was worried.

  Not for her.

  No, for her mates.

  “Mulduk, you’re wasting my time.”

  He laughed. “I’ve heard about you, Mistress Jolie. You’re supposed to be ruthless and dangerous. Why is it all the vampyres in New Orleans fear you?”

  Jolie wanted to laugh. “The reports are grossly exaggerated, I assure you. As to why they fear me, it must all be rumors.” She wasn’t going to confirm anything. If he’d heard about her, then why was he fishing for details?

  He was full of shit.

  This was a test. She was sure of it.

  “I doubt that. I can feel your hate brewing right now as you wonder what I’m doing to your precious mates.”

  Jolie wanted to rip his throat out. The fact that she was separated from her mates was making Jolie edgy.

  She couldn’t feel them.

  There had been fear, but now the room was warded. Someone was screwing with black magic and Voodoo.

  That pissed her off.

  If that was what they were working against, she was going to have to fight fire with fire. Luckily for her, they had a voodoo priestess on speed dial.

  “What do you wish of me Mulduk?” Jolie was almost afraid to hear his response. It wasn’t going to be good.

  “I wish to find the killers myself.”

  Jolie was speechless. “Why?”

  “The council has it in for me, and they would like to get me out of their city. By finding the killers, this will clear my name. That’s my goal. To them, I’m a blemish on their fair strong hold. For years, they’ve wanted me out of their city. I happen to like it here.”

  She didn't say a word at first.

  Jolie was too busy checking out her opposition.

  Finally, she had her strategy in place.

  “So why am I here in your room, and why did you separate me from my mates?”

  “It’s simple, Mistress Jolie. I was informed that you’ve repeatedly gone head to head with the council and won. I don’t understand how, but I know you can be trusted to help me do the same.”

  “And exactly what do I get for helping you?”

  “I can offer you answers to a few questions that you will soon need to know, and I can help you track the killers by giving you access to everyone in my club.”

  She was suspicious.

  He was offering her full access.

  That didn't seem right.

  “So I find the killer, and clear your name with the council, and then you want me to hand them over to you?”

  He nodded. “This person is tainting my reputation. It’s my right to destroy them. It’s my vindication.”

  She stared at him.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but it’s the truth. I will destroy them if you haven’t already done it. It’s really a simple deal. You get free passage.”

  “That’s not enough for me.”

  He knew he needed to lure her in.

  “So you don’t want to know why the Tueur is watching you?”

  Jolie’s stomach dropped.

  What was this?

  Last she knew, they had killed a couple of the Tueur’s guardians, but she had hoped it was an isolated incident. “Why are they?”

  “Tsk tsk, Mistress, but first we make a deal.”

  Jolie never looked away from his bicolored eyes. “If I agree to your conditions, I get safe passage for myself and any who come with me?”

  “Yes,” he said nodding. “No one will touch you here. You’ll be marked as my guest.”

  “I find the killer, and you give me answers?”

  Mulduk nodded again and steeple his fingers about to see her in action. He gave the silent call to Bella to see what the vampyre in front of him was capable of doing. He’d heard of her power, but he wanted to see it up close and personal.

  In their world, you tested your adversaries.

  Here came her test.

  “Okay, I’ll aid you, and then, Mulduk, you will spill your guts one way or another,” she said, implying what she would joyfully do to him.

  “We aren’t finished, Mistress,” he added.

  “What now, Mulduk? You’re beginning to bore me.”

  “I need a sign of good faith from you,” he said, thinking of her body standing above his in his playroom.

  “What do I
need to do?”

  “I ask for proof of your word of honor, nothing more. It will be painless,” he said grinning.

  “Fine. What is it, Mulduk?”

  “In exchange for my hosting you here, I ask that you will return here tomorrow and dominate someone.”

  “Pardon?” she had obviously heard him incorrectly.

  “You will perform a show for me, privately of course. You may bring your own slave or one will be provided for you.”

  Jolie stared at him. The way he was salivating said one thing. Someone liked to watch. Now she got why the council wanted him out of their city.

  Mulduk was a deviant.

  To their kind, it was dangerous. It drew attention that they didn’t need.

  “You want me to hurt someone?”

  “Oh yes, Mistress. I wish to watch. I admit that I long to see the creativity that emanates from a mind referred to as deadly and cruel. You have a reputation, and you’re going to have to show me what you have in your arsenal.”

  Shit!

  Jolie didn't like this at all.

  While she didn't mind killing in a fight, she wasn’t one to hurt someone for shits and giggles.

  “If I return, you will then point me in the direction of the killer and tell me about the Tueur?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who will be my so called slave if I don’t bring my own?” she inquired, weighing her options. Would it be easier to abuse someone she didn't know?

  “Me,” he said lecherously. “I will love having your hands all over me, I’m sure. I’ll be your plaything for the evening.”

  That made her want to vomit.

  There was no way she’d want to even be that close to him, let alone try to touch him. The fact that he’d like it was appalling, and Jolie would do anything to get out of that option.

  She was backed into a corner and knew it.

  She needed information, and there was only one way to get it. Flynn and Jacques were going to shit themselves over this.

  Jolie was sure of it.

  She knew she would if the situation was reversed.

  “Fine. Agreed. I’ll do what you asked, but if you don’t follow through, Mulduk, I’ll help the council bury you.”

  He looked angry.

  “I’ll take your beloved club apart one wall at a time. You won’t be able tie yourself up, let alone a patron. We both know you’re sick and need it.”