Her Dark Nemesis (The Gates of Fortorus #3) - Felicity Brandon Page 0,2
mine a whiskey. I’d kill for a bourbon right about now.”
“Funny you should say that.” I laughed quietly at her shrewd assessment, my thoughts returning to the empty decanter which had once been filled with Harper’s favorite spirit. If it hadn’t been for that solid crystal, I would never have been here in the first place—never have gotten away, never have met up with Fern, never have felt the flicker of a hopeful flame again. I owed that whiskey decanter a lot. “You should know, drinking can be seriously bad for your health. Sometimes, it even kills.”
“Is that right?” I could hear the amusement in her voice. “Well, I guess I’ll have to take my chances. Reckon we’ll find someone on the outside who’ll be willing to sell us some?”
I lifted my chin into the cold night air. Who knew what we’d find beyond the limits of this hellhole, but if whiskey was what Fern needed to keep her going, then I could go with that.
“Sure,” I told her. “We’ll find a whole fucking barrel.”
Chapter One
Adam Harper
Armitage’s brow furrowed as he glanced over his spectacles at me. The good doctor had already been here for an age, run every onsite test he could think of, and given me some pain relief, yet he was still insisting I go to the hospital wing for a scan.
“We should double-check your brain function, Commander General.” His tone was admonishing. “You were potentially unconscious for some time. We should be sure everything is healthy.”
I blew out a breath. He was right, and I knew he was right. That little bitch, Caroline, had done this to me. She’d whacked me on the head with my own bloody decanter, rendering me comatose before she escaped. My heart rate accelerated at her bullish audacity. Fuck, how dare she do this to me, after all the luxury and decadence I’d bestowed upon her? How could she have been so stupid, and more importantly, how had she just slipped out of my unit unnoticed? Fury rose in me as the questions lingered, but I had no time for this shit now. Ian was arriving in a matter of hours—the first Presidential visit since the inception of Fortorus—and there was still the matter of damage control to consider. I needed every man who’d witnessed me in this state—found me, called Armitage, and got me this far—to swear what had happened this morning would stay between us. I needed to trust them implicitly, and I needed them to know what I would do to them if I found out they’d breached that trust.
“Okay, but later,” I told him. “After the president has arrived and initial introductions are complete. I can go for the MRI while the commanders take him to the parade ground, so long as I’m back within the hour.”
Armitage tilted his head at my answer. “I’ll book you in for around noon, Sir, and do the scan myself. I’ll come back tonight with the results and talk through any issues.”
“Thank you.” I closed my eyes as the busy morning schedule ran through my mind. It was the most frenetic and salient few hours since Fortorus had opened its gates in the spring, and now, this had happened. Now she had happened. My fingers tightened around the glass of brandy in my hands. Caroline. Caroline fucking Craness. She was out there somewhere, and I would find her, and when I did, she was going to regret every second of what she was putting me through. Exhaling once more, my eyes flickered open, and I glanced down at my watch. It was almost seven, only two hours before the beginning of the presidential visit.
“May I suggest a hot shower and some breakfast, Sir?”
I lifted my head to find Armitage’s smirk as he typed something into his phone.
“We all enjoy a drink, but it’s a little early for my taste.”
“Yes.” I glanced down at the remaining liquor. “It’s been something of a night, but you’re right…” It wasn’t like me to take advice, let alone chastisement, but it seemed some of my fight had slipped away with the impact of the decanter, and suddenly, I was second-guessing myself. What if I’d brought this on myself? What if the affection I’d conjured for the girl had led directly to my injury and her escape? That’s what everyone would think if they found out… That’s why they could never know.
“One other thing.”
Armitage’s focus was back on me again. “Yes, Sir.”