Scorched Heart (The Firebrand Series Book 4) by Helen Harper (top non fiction books of all time .txt) 📗

out there was doing a good job of keeping quiet, but they weren’t quiet enough.

I squinted and took aim. As the door opened wider, I pressed down the trigger and fired.

I heard a muffled grunt. I dropped the crossbow and it fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Then I rushed forward, the blood draining from my face. ‘Lukas, you fucking idiot!’

His pained black eyes glinted at me through the darkness. ‘Well, D’Artagnan,’ he managed, ‘your aim has certainly improved since the last time you tried to shoot me.’

I got him onto the bed and turned on the light so I could see the damage. The bolt was protruding from his chest, less than two inches from his heart. I hissed, ‘You idiot! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming early?’

He smiled crookedly. ‘I wanted to surprise you.’

‘You certainly did that,’ I huffed.

‘I had visions of you waking up in the morning with me beside you. I should have known better.’

He could say that again. ‘How did you get inside the pub at this hour? And how did you get a key to this room?’

He groaned slightly when I undid his shirt so I could examine the wound. ‘I called ahead.’

‘And they gave you a key?’ My voice was rising. ‘At three o’clock in the fucking morning?’

‘Well,’ he demurred, ‘I think they were afraid of what I’d do if they didn’t. I am the Lord of all vampires, after all.’

‘Even more reason not to give you access to my room!’ I unpeeled his shirt from his arms, exposing his skin. Lukas winced.

‘Somebody met me at the front door because of who I am. Then I used my special powers of vampiric persuasion to get a spare key to your room because of what I am.’

‘It shouldn’t be that easy,’ I growled, thinking about the boot prints in the wardrobe in my last room and the strong hands that had encircled my neck.

‘I agree. They really ought to beef up their security. Especially with all these murders.’

I gave him a long look. Lukas shrugged and then grimaced when the action clearly brought him more pain. Good. He damned well deserved it. ‘I could have killed you, Lukas.’

‘Fortunately,’ he managed, ‘you didn’t. Can you take the bolt out?’

‘I don’t know. We should probably go to a hospital.’

‘Not a chance. I have a reputation to uphold.’

I gritted my teeth. ‘This is not the time to worry about your ego.’

‘Take out the bolt, Emma.’

I cursed. ‘Fine.’ I grasped its shaft. ‘Brace yourself. On a count of three.’

Lukas nodded. ‘Three. Got it,’

‘One.’ I yanked on the bolt, pulling it free from his flesh.

‘I knew you were going to do that,’ he muttered. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

Chapter Eighteen

The bedsheets were heavily stained with Lukas’s blood. Between the scorch marks from my resurrection in the first room and the bloodstains in this room, I doubted whether the Bird and Bush would ever welcome me back as a guest.

I gazed out of the window, watching the sun climb. Everything about this trip was a clusterfuck. Everything.

‘I’m sorry.’

I glanced round at Lukas. He was pale but conscious. It was just as well he possessed supernatural healing powers because without them he’d be strapped to a hospital gurney. Or worse. He didn’t seem to have any internal damage, and I’d bound his chest up as best as I could with the materials I had to hand. He was a lucky boy. Things could have been far worse.

‘I didn’t think it through properly. I was so focused on getting my work done quickly and getting to you so I could help that I underestimated how you’d react if I surprised you.’

I had the feeling that Lukas didn’t apologise very often. If ever. That didn’t mean he shouldn’t be grovelling at my feet right now. ‘I don’t like surprises,’ I told him.

‘I get that.’

‘You should have known how I would react.’

‘Yes.’

‘If I’d killed you…’

‘It would have been my own fault.’ He splayed out his hands in a gesture of humility. ‘I won’t do anything like this again. Next time you’re murdered, I’ll keep out of the way.’

‘You’d better.’ I paused. ‘I’m glad you’re here, Lukas, even if I do wish you’d waited a few hours and arrived in daylight.’

The corners of his mouth lifted up slightly. ‘Would this be a good time to ask you to kiss me better?’

I looked at his handsome face, with his inky-black hair falling across his forehead in loose curls and his glittering black eyes, and I knew that, despite the nature of his arrival, I truly was glad that he was here.

‘Later,’ I promised. ‘I’ve got a lot to do this morning and,’ I checked my watch, ‘I have to head to London before two.’ I wagged a finger at him. ‘Another reason why you should have contacted me beforehand.’

Lukas’s brow furrowed. ‘Why do you have to go to London? Are you finished here?’

I let out a mild snort. ‘Not by a long shot. There’s still a killer loose in Barchapel and, if you count me, he’s murdered three people in a week. That’s horrific by any standards. He’s not the only thing I’m dealing with, though. I have to get to HMP Galloway and speak to Samuel Beswick again.’

Lukas stilled. ‘Why do you have to speak to that bastard? Hasn’t he already done enough?’

‘Actually,’ I told him, ‘it turns out he’s not done anything at all.’ I outlined what I’d discovered.

Lukas stared at me. ‘You’re sure?’

I nodded. ‘Pretty much.’

He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Bloody hell,’ he whispered. ‘He’s been in prison for how long?’

‘Twenty-five years. And whoever really did kill my parents is running free.’

‘They didn’t just kill your parents, Emma. They killed you too. The only difference is that you’re the phoenix.’

I met his eyes. ‘I might be getting somewhere with that.’ I told him about Miranda.

Lukas pushed himself up. ‘What are we waiting for? Let’s go speak to