Heart of Fury by Sarah Piper

Author:Sarah Piper [Piper, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Two Gnomes Media

Chapter Fifteen

“Sapphire and tonic,” the woman at the end of the bar called out, “and a word with the head bartender, if she can spare a minute.”

Her tone was sharp and severe, sending goosebumps across Jaci’s arms.

She made the drink in record time, then turned to face her customer, her stomach twisting. Cole and Colin had just left, Gabriel was checking in with his security guys, and Maritza was busy helping the cocktail servers at the other end of the bar.

If shit went south, Jaci was on her own.

“Charley,” she said cautiously, handing over the drink. “Good to see you again. Love the jacket.”

It wasn’t a lie—the dark-green velvet looked amazing with her auburn hair—but Charley clearly wasn’t in the mood for compliments.

She sat on the barstool, sucked down the entire drink in one fell swoop, then slammed the glass onto the bar, a murderous rage glinting in her eyes. “I warned you not to hurt him, Jaci. I fucking warned you.”

“Great.” Jaci let out a deep sigh. “I take it Dorian gave you the scoop?”

“Scoop? Scoop?” Charley glanced around the bar to make sure no one was listening too closely, then leaned in, dropping her voice to a harsh whisper. “You’re a fucking demon. Your evil, curse-binding sister is out there sexing up the whole city. Dark mages want you dead. You lied to Gabriel about all of it, putting him right smack in the middle of your fucked-up family drama—drama that could get him killed. And you call that a scoop?”

Jaci made Charley a fresh drink, then set the glass down hard in front of her, refusing to be cowed. “Half demon, vampire queen. If you’re picking this fight, you’d better know who you’re up against.”

Jaci let her eyes turn demon-black, just for a second. She wanted to send a spark of hellfire into Charley’s lungs—just a few embers to put her in her place—but thought better of harming the vampire king’s future bride.

Plus, Charley had a point. She had warned Jaci, and Jaci fucked it all up.

“Don’t you give me those black eyes!” Charley shout-whispered. “I should tear your throat out for that.”

“Are we taking this outside, bloodsucker? Or are you going to tear my throat out in front of all these customers?”

“Outside was the plan.” Charley took another healthy swig of the drink, the rage in her eyes lowering from a boil to a simmer. A soft curse escaped, quickly turning into a snicker. “The thing is, Jaci, I really fucking like you.”

Jaci’s chest flared with an unfamiliar warmth. She liked Charley, too. In another life, she imagined they’d probably be pretty good friends.

She let her eyes return to their usual blue, the hellfire cooling inside.

“Also,” Charley continued, “my future brother-in-law would stake me if I laid a finger on you—even a finger laid in his defense—which would make Christmas dinner super awkward. I mean, the Redthornes just started talking again after half a damn century. The last thing they need is a catfight tearing them apart for another fifty years.

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