Rogue Heart
Page 25
I grin beneath my mask, long used to the way it pulls at the scars on both my cheeks, making it feel more like a grimace. "Excellent," I say, then motion toward the door. "Let's take it up to the house."
I walk to the door with Harlow close behind, briefly stopping to remove my protective gear and place it carefully in the trash bin, before collecting my jacket and heading outside. The chilly autumn air feels good after spending time in the warm greenhouse, and I enjoy the crisp breeze as we walk across the lawn past the large pond on our way to the old stone farmhouse I call home. It's a historic building built on this five-acre property well over two hundred years ago with all the original charm that entails. However, I've made sure to give it enough modern amenities to make it comfortable for me.
I circle around to the front of the house and go up the steps to enter the enclosed covered porch. I have no intention of taking the package any farther into the house, let alone opening it inside. I point at the small outdoor sitting area nearby, and Harlow walks over to set the box on the little table between two wrought-iron chairs. Then she flops down on one of them with her characteristic and delusory nonchalance. I approach the box, and Harlow leans over to pull a large scary-looking knife from her boot. She hands it to me handle first. I take it, still in wonderment that this terrifying and formidable woman trusts me, even if it's not quite genuine. If she knew what was really going on between us, what I'd done to her, she'd no doubt kill me. Physically, I didn't stand a chance against her.
I focus back on the package, noting the PO box as the return address, even though I already know where it most likely came from. I drag the insanely sharp blade carefully down the strip of tape holding the box closed, then return it to Harlow. I open it up to find a sealed up plastic bag with something dark and cylindrical in shape inside. I smile in anticipation, then give Harlow an expectant glance. She grins and gracefully rises to her feet, before reaching over to slice through the bag. I instinctively take a step back at the vile stench of death that begins emanating from the bag. It only grows stronger as she moves the plastic aside to reveal its contents, a severed head. Harlow reaches in to grab it, and I hold my breath as she lifts it out of the box by its hair. I expect to see a familiar face attached to it despite the decomposition, only to still when I see the long dark hair and pale face of someone else entirely. Harlow immediately barks out a hearty laugh.
"Well, hot damn," Harlow says with a smirk as she eyes the head. "Looks like Nash has a few tricks up his furry sleeve."
"Who the fuck is that?" I ask, scowling furiously as I point at the disgusting thing.
"It's Scáth."
My eyes widen in shock. "What?" That couldn't be right. Scáth was the most terrifying and renowned killer that Harlow could find to send after Ronan Nash, and Rett Weylin too, if Nash botched the hit. As far as I knew the dark fae had never failed, ever...until now.
"Holy fuck," Harlow says with an almost giddy glint in her eyes. "Nash killed a dark fae assassin." She throws her head back and starts laughing her ass off, dripping ichor onto the wooden floorboards of the porch. It pisses me off even more than I already am.
"Stop fucking laughing and put that disgusting thing back in the goddamn box," I say without thinking.
She instantly grows silent, her face hardening into a scary emotionless mask with dead icy blue eyes fixed on me. I feel a sharp tug on the delicate magical restraints that I've painstakingly made sure she isn't aware that I've placed on her, and go into damage control mode. I suck in a calming breath and speak again more carefully.
"Please, Harlow," I say evenly. "Mind the original floors."
Her face softens and returns to normal once again as she glances at the gooey black spots she dripped on the porch.
"Sorry, boss," she says with an apologetic grimace and steps forward to place the head carefully back in the plastic bag. She pauses and stares into the box for a second before reaching between the bag and the cardboard to pull out a small piece of paper. After taking a moment to look at it, she holds it out to me with an infuriating smirk.
I snatch it from her, unable to completely hide my irritation with her irreverence today. Then I glance down at the paper with its brief message written in crisp and precise lines of black ink.
Thanks for sending one of our own back to us.
Better luck next time.
We'll be ready and waiting...
R.W.
I'm already crumpling the paper in my fists as I finish reading, my irritation now full-blown rage. Before I even know what I'm doing, I'm bellowing and lashing out at the little table with a booted foot, toppling it over, along with the cardboard box, as Harlow leaps out of the way. The dark fae's head spills out to roll across the floor, leaving a trail of disgusting black liquid in its wake until it comes to a stop at the bottom of the white shiplap wall. I stand there for several minutes, mindlessly seething and fuming as I tear Rett Weylin's note to shreds, not giving a shit about the mess on the fucking floor anymore. My power rises up along with my fury, crackling in the air around me and poised to strike at the slightest provocation.
"Boss?" Harlow finally asks with a wary expression.
Her question is enough to pull me away from the brink of losing control completely. I take in a deep calming breath and loosen my grip on the shreds of paper still in my hands as my magic eases back down inside me. With it comes a moment of raw clarity and an idea that begins to form in my head.
I motion toward the still oozing head. "Get someone to clean this up, then bring the car around."
She nods, her wariness morphing into her usual mildly amused expression as she walks away to follow my orders. I move sedately into the house and briefly go upstairs to change clothes before walking back out the front door. I find Harlow already in the driveway, dressed in all black now and standing next to the open passenger door of my car. I climb in and continue plotting and scheming in silence as Harlow closes my door, rounds the vehicle, and gets in. She drives us to the end of the winding gravel driveway, then comes to a stop and turns her head to cast a questioning look my way.
"Where to, boss?"
"The compound," I say. Our destination is where I house the few wild blood breeding stock that I've managed to collect over the last couple of years.
"And the plan?" she asks as she pulls out onto the narrow country road.
"A simple, yet subtle one," I say with a slow predatory smile that has Harlow's eyes glittering eagerly. "A weapon hidden in a seemingly harmless package."
"Ah, like the Trojan horse?"
"Exactly," I reply. My grin widens. "If Weylin loves taking in strays so much, then we'll just give him one."
Look for Beck and Keira's story in the next book of this series, Torn Spirit: The Trueborn Saga Book 3, coming out in the Fall 2019.
Thanks for reading my book. If you loved this book or any of my others, please leave a review on my Amazon author page, HERE. I'd really appreciate it.
Subscribe to my newsletter here!
Website:
www.samanthawolfeauthor.com
Find me on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/SamanthaWolfeAuthor/
Samantha Wolfe's Amazon Author Page:
www.amazon.com/Samantha-Wolfe/e/B0172GSQGY
Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/author/show/14553364.Samantha_Wolfe
Bookbub:
www.bookbub.com/authors/samantha-wolfe
Books by Samantha Wolfe
Beautifully Broken Trilogy
(Jensen and Sydney's story)
Let Me Love You:Beautifully Broken Book 1
Let Me Save You:Beautifully Broken Book 2
Let Me Heal You:Beautifully Broken Book 3
Breathless Trilogy
(David and Natalie's story)
You Are My Air: Breathless Book 1
You Are My Love: Breathless Book 2
You Are My Life: Breathless Book 3
Order & Chaos Trilogy
(Ford and Jen
ny's story)
An Act of Restraint: Order & Chaos Book 1
An Act of Release: Order & Chaos Book 2
An Act of Redemption: Order & Chaos Book 3
Dangerous Desire Duet
(Gareth and Malory's story)
Dark Dominion: Dangerous Desire Book 1
Dark Devotion: Dangerous Desire Book 2
Blood Brothers Standalones
Taming Rough Waters (Calder and Ella's story)
Tempting Calm Waters (Scott and Lu's story)
The True Born Saga
Wild Blood: The True Born Saga Book 1
(Emmett and Raven's story)
Rogue Heart: The True Born Saga Book 2
(Lyric and Ronan's story)
Torn Spirit: The Trueborn Saga Book 3
(Beck and Keira's story) Fall 2019
About the Author
Samantha is a self-professed nerd from the Midwest, who loves anything with a good plot. She'll watch anything with werewolves, vampires, or zombies in it. She is a voracious reader and loves smutty romance novels and contemporary fantasy. Samantha started writing her first erotic romance in February of 2015, and now she can't stop. It's a passion that she can't shut off, nor would she want to. She loves animals, especially dogs, and if her husband let her, she'd have a dozen, but two are his limit. She's looking forward to sharing more of her books with the world.