The Firstborn. Dani Sinclair

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      Bram set the flashlight on the table and relit the candles. “Wait here while I have a look around.”

      “No! There’s someone else in here. What if they’re armed?”

      “I don’t think that’s likely.”

      His skeptical tone struck a nerve. “You don’t believe me.”

      “I didn’t say that.”

      “You’re thinking it. I can tell from your tone.”

      “Hayley—”

      “There were two voices,” she said firmly. “You were one of them, weren’t you? You must have been. Why are you lying to me? Who else is in here?”

      “Calm down.”

      Furious, Hayley came around the couch to ram a finger against his chest. “Don’t tell me to calm down! I want to know what’s going on.”

      Bram lifted her hand from the rock-hard wall of his chest and reached for his shirt, which he’d draped across the back of the other couch.

      “I don’t know what’s going on, but I intend to find out.”

      He didn’t raise his voice, but there was a reassuring core of steel in his tone. She watched him slip the shirt over his head.

      “I’d offer to leave,” he said quietly, “but I can’t walk away under the circumstances.”

      “I did hear voices,” she insisted.

      Bram scraped a hand over the dark stubble on his jaw. “Hayley, have you ever had a dream where you knew you were dreaming, but couldn’t wake up? Then, when you did, the dream stayed with you like a fog, making you feel disoriented?”

      “I was not dreaming!” She couldn’t have been. “If I was dreaming, how do you explain the candles going out? Do you think I blew them out in my dreams?”

      Bram regarded her solemnly. “They were lit when I went down the hall. When I came out of the bathroom, I had to keep my hand on the wall to find my way back here. I heard you moving in the other room so I went to investigate.”

      Hayley shivered. He sounded so sincere. Could she have dreamed the whispers?

      A muffled sound from the hall stopped his words and her heart. Bram spun around. In a flow of motion almost too fast to follow, he glided into the foyer. The sounds of a struggle came almost immediately. Hayley snatched up the flashlight and tore after him. The weak beam trapped two figures locked together near the front door.

      “Jacob?”

      Bram had the younger man pinned against the wall. The dragon on Bram’s arm looked ready to breathe fire as it pressed against Jacob’s throat, holding him in place.

      “You know him, Hayley?” Bram demanded softly.

      “That’s Eden’s son, Jacob. Let him go, Bram.”

      Bram gave the man a hard stare before stepping back. He looked perfectly ready to resume his attack at the least provocation. Jacob rubbed his throat, swallowing hard.

      “Hayley?” he croaked, peering into the light.

      She lowered the beam so it wasn’t shining directly in his eyes.

      “What’s going on? Who is this guy?”

      “Jacob Voxx, meet Bram Myers. Marcus hired him.”

      “As what? An attack dog?” He gave Bram a resentful glare.

      “Bram’s been creating and installing the wrought iron around the house.”

      “Yeah? I noticed the gate. What was wrong with the lions?”

      Hayley darted an I-told-you-so look in Bram’s direction, but his attention remained focused on Jacob. Bram reminded her of some large, fierce predator ready to spring. It was all too easy to envision Jacob as his rabbit of choice.

      “Why were you sneaking in here at this hour of the morning?” Bram demanded softly.

      “I live here. Or at least, my mother does.” Jacob appealed to Hayley. “What’s going on? Where is everyone? What happened to the lights?”

      Quickly, Hayley explained.

      “You weren’t expected,” Bram said.

      “Uh, no. I wanted to surprise everyone.” Jacob looked from Bram to Hayley. “Surprise?”

      “Oh, Jacob, I’m sorry. It’s just that we’ve had a scare. I think someone is hiding in the house.”

      “You’re kidding!”

      It annoyed her when he looked to Bram for confirmation.

      “Hayley heard voices,” Bram said neutrally.

      “Did you call the cops?”

      “No,” Hayley told him.

      “Big place to search in the dark,” Bram added, rocking back on his heels. His gaze never left the younger man.

      “Well, yeah, but the cops have powerful flashlights. I mean, if someone’s in here, we ought to call them, right?”

      “Up to Hayley,” Bram told him.

      Thoroughly annoyed, she glared at both of them. “There isn’t much point calling them for help. You know that, Jacob.”

      “Uh, look, Hayley, I know you don’t like the local cops, but if someone’s in here, we should do something.”

      She sensed Bram’s interest, but she wasn’t about to start explaining her relationship with the local police right now.

      “We are going to do something. We’re going back to the library and to wait for the power to come back on or daylight, whichever comes first,” Hayley said firmly. “With all this commotion, any sane burglar is long gone by now.”

      Jacob looked at Bram, who shrugged. “You heard the lady.”

      Hayley wanted to stamp her foot in frustration. Instead, she pivoted and returned to the library. Plopping down on the couch, she fumed until Bram came in and sank down beside her, so close their legs brushed. His action was as deliberately challenging as the look he directed at Jacob.

      Jacob stared from one to the other. “Uh, do you two know each other?”

      “Not really.”

      “Yes,” Bram said firmly at the same time. “We were spending a quiet evening together when all hell broke loose.”

      “Oh.” Jacob seemed to have no idea what do to with the conflicting information. “Where, uh, where’s your sister?”

      Hayley СКАЧАТЬ