Free A Midsummer Night's Scream (The Dulcie O'Neil Series Book 7) by H.P. Mallory

chances of getting Jax to open up were far better than Knight’s. When it came to questioning men, women always seemed to have the upper hand. And Knight being the absolute alpha male that he was would only rub Jax the wrong way. Jax not only shared Knight’s ancestry as a Loki, but also his competitive instinct and masculinity. And two alpha males in the same room could only result in butting heads and horn-locking.
    “He’s trying to reveal only a little bit of information at a time because he says he wants me to continue visiting him,” I said with a frown.
    “Of course he does,” Knight replied, sounding more frustrated than I did. “He has eyes, doesn’t he? Of course he sees how gorgeous you are.”
    “I’m not sure that’s it,” I said and sounded uncomfortable because I was uncomfortable. I definitely wasn’t good at handling compliments.
    “That’s it for sure,” Knight said, no amount of hesitation in his tone. “He’s going to try to manipulate you into seeing him as much as possible.” He was quiet for a second or so. “And I don’t like the sound of that one bit.”
    “Well, if that means I can actually get something more out of him, isn’t it worth it?”
    “No,” he responded immediately. “I would much prefer it if you would just leave Jax to me.”
    “I’m not going to do that,” I said, figuring it was best to just come out with it. No use in beating around the bush.
    I heard Knight sigh and I imagined he was wearing his angry face. “Dulcie, don’t let him catch you off guard; and most of all, don’t let him get under your skin.”
    “As if I’d let a potions smuggler get under my skin!”
    “I’m just saying, be careful around him, Dulce,” Knight repeated, his tone somewhat sterner. “My preference is for you to avoid him at all costs, and not imperil yourself at all. If I had it my way, he wouldn’t be there in the first place. But, seeing as how he is, I’d really appreciate it if you left him the hell alone.”
    “Hmm, you almost sound like you’re jealous,” I announced with a laugh.
    “Damn right I am!” he answered emphatically. “Why should that asshole get to spend his time with you while I’m stuck up here? Dealing with this clusterfuck?!”
    “Ditto,” I said, sighing deeply. “Ditt-freaking-o.” Then, figuring the last thing I needed to do was focus on our crappy circumstances, I pulled my attention back to the main topic. “Can you at least cross-reference the stuff he’s given us so far, and see if the stories match up?”
    There was another lengthy pause and more shuffling papers. Knight then put the phone down on his desk to yell at someone, or so it sounded. He picked it back up a few seconds later, and continued. “We haven’t gotten very much out of him yet,” he admitted, sounding disappointed but still distracted. “Right now, unfortunately, I’m in the middle of extinguishing a series of more urgent fires.”
    “Isn’t interrogating the second-in-command for one of the biggest potion-smuggling rings a big and urgent fire to put out?”
    “Yes, Dulce, it is an important subject, no doubt, but Jax is not my priority at the moment,” Knight breathed out, sounding irritated. “And, FYI, we still aren’t sure if he really is the second-in-command.”
    “Point taken,” I mumbled. “So?”
    “So I still haven’t figure out what to do with him,” Knight admitted. “As soon as we knew about the death threats, I had to get him somewhere safe. Plan B is still being devised.”
    “Why don’t you just leave Plan B to me?” I replied, even as I realized my chances of getting him to agree with me were probably nil.
    “Dulce,” he started, his tone of voice warning me not to argue with him.
    But argue I would. “I can help you, Knight. It’s not like I have a hell of a lot going on here anyway right now. Why don’t you let me interrogate him?”
    “Because it’s a lot to take on,” Knight answered immediately. “Jax