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which she recognized as Dale Overton.
Are you questioning me?
Yeah. I am. Considering what happened today, I d say you re the one that screwed up. You pissed
off Kaspan and now we all have to pay for it.
The blank spots in her memory filled in like points connected on an Etch A Sketch. Magic baby.
Kidnapped. Stupid escape plan. Flying across the room. She must have hit her head and, while she was
unconscious, someone had moved her to the bed.
Listen to me, Overton hissed. The child this woman carries may be our downfall, but it may be the
key to everything. I m not about to destroy something so potentially valuable, not if I can use it instead. If
later the kid proves to be a problem rather than an asset, then I ll eliminate him.
Akila was already plenty on edge, but his casual dismissal of a human life her potential child s
life sent a fresh wave of horror through her. The futility of her escape attempt convinced her there was no
way she could get out of this prison except perhaps by ingratiating herself to Overton, who seemed
determined to keep her alive for now.
She pushed herself to a sitting position, holding her throbbing head. There was a knot on her scalp in
back where she d banged it on the coffee table.
Miss Massri, you re awake. Overton approached the bed, and Akila forced herself not to shrink
away. May I call you Akila? And you must call me Dale. We re going to be together for quite some time.
No need to be so formal.
Certainly, Dale. She forced a small smile and nodded a mistake as it sent her head spinning.
I understand you ve been a nuisance while I was gone. You made quite a mess for someone else to
clean up.
After I saw what happened on the news, I was afraid. I thought with your political campaign in
jeopardy, you might have no further use for me, she admitted.
On the contrary, I think you may be more important than ever. He sat on the edge of the bed. I ve
got cleanup work of my own to do, thanks to this mess Kaspan created. He may have ruined my chance at a
seat in the House, but I ll call a press conference soon and try to salvage the situation. There s no denying
what people saw, so I ll try to convince them vampires pose no threat to humans and we can all live in
harmony. He smiled his politician s smile. I can be very persuasive.
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Bonnie Dee
I believe that. She searched for the right words to convince him she was harmless. I won t pretend
I m happy about being kidnapped, but I accept I m here for the long haul. I won t give your staff trouble
again, I promise.
Hm. That remains to be seen. He regarded her with a cool gaze, then rose from the bed. Right now
there s a little matter I should ve taken care of earlier. It s been pointed out to me that you might not be
pregnant. Something I must admit I didn t consider.
Because you re an idiot. Who wouldn t have checked that first thing?
Snyder has placed a pregnancy test kit in the bathroom. You should take it now. I ll wait.
Akila s heart went into freefall. Her ass was cooked if the test didn t prove positive. Slowly she
swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
Are you dizzy? I m sorry about that. Snyder was overzealous. Overton reached out to take her arm
and help her from the bed.
She gritted her teeth but accepted his aid, a baby step in gaining his faith in her. Of course, it might
not matter in a few more minutes, depending on how the test went.
Don t be frightened, Akila. Overton stared at her with a mesmerizing gaze like Valarian s and she
found her fears seeping away. If it s a negative, that doesn t necessarily mean your value to me is finished.
As a daughter of Ra with the potential to produce valuable offspring, I m not inclined to dispose of you just
yet.
Good to know, was all she managed to murmur before limping off to the bathroom.
But no more experiments with electricity, he warned.
She closed the door and leaned against it, squeezing her eyes shut. Valarian, Jacob, where the hell are
you? Do you even know where I am? Hurry and come for me!
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Chapter Seventeen
Valarian s face and hands were tacky with blood. He wiped it off as best he could using the tail of his
shirt, then stepped over the dead woman at his feet. Counting the guard he d killed outside, that made seven
down and a few dozen to go. He hoped Jacob was faring as well, but he couldn t let himself worry about
how his thrall might be holding up in a fight against vampires. Worry right now would weaken him.
Valarian grabbed the woman s arms and dragged the body to a corner of the room where it would be
less noticeable. Then he ripped a piece off the woman s blouse and bound the gash in his arm where she d
torn him open. She d been a fierce fighter and hadn t gone down without inflicting some damage.
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