Day In Court

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

Everything had started off as usual. Maddie was working at the bar, talking with the patrons while Doug watched over her. A woman he'd introduced as Harmony, the Wolf Alpha, had walked in a little after Maddie's shift started, and that had perked Doug up significantly. The two were chatting over drinks and having a great time. Maddie noticed that when Doug smiled, his entire face changed and became softer. Harmony seemed to make him smile a lot.

Alexis Reyes was singing and dancing, captivating the patrons of the bar as usual. Her sultry voice and seductive movements always sucked everyone in. Alexis had worked at the bar for two years before Maddie had even come to New York, and the two of them got along pretty well. Maddie had come to consider her a good friend.

As Alexis took a break from singing, Brandon approached her. "Can you mind the bar for a bit, Alexis?" He asked. "I need to speak to Maddie in private."

Alexis shrugged. "Sure," she replied, "but I better still get my break."

"We won't be long," Brandon promised. He took Maddie's arm and guided her to his office.

"What's going on, Brandon?" Maddie asked as he closed the door.

She was startled as he shoved her up against the wall and put a knife to her throat. Maddie started to panic as a very unwelcome flashback of the night she was turned played in her mind.

Somehow, Maddie focused enough to stomp on his foot. He pulled back, and she ran toward the door, but he grabbed her and flung her toward his desk.

"Brandon, stop! Why are you doing this?" Maddie demanded. He'd always been such a nice guy before. Maddie couldn't understand what had come over him.

His eyes were cold and dead. The lights were on, but no one was home. As Brandon pressed his blade against her throat again, he said, "I'm tying up loose ends."

Maddie wasn't much of a fighter, and her pepper spray was in her purse, which was in the other room. She didn't want to hurt Brandon. Whatever was going on, this wasn't him. Still, she knew she had to get out of this somehow.

My bodyguard is a few feet away, she thought. I just wish I had a way to signal him.

"What do you mean by that?" Maddie asked. Maybe if she could get Brandon talking, she could snap him out of this.

"You were supposed to die that night. I drank you dry. There was no blood left in you," Brandon said. "There is no way you should have woken back up."

Maddie stared at him. She understood that she was speaking to her Sire, but Brandon wasn't a vampire. She was sure of that. He frequently traveled to Long Island to enjoy going to the beach on sunny days. She'd seen pictures, so unless he'd gone to extreme lengths to create a cover story, he did not have fangs. Besides, she knew Brandon before she was attacked. She would have recognized him.

Somehow, her Sire was controlling Brandon and speaking through him. Poor, human Brandon was going to murder his employee and friend, and there was nothing he could do to stop himself.

"Let Brandon go," Maddie said bravely. "He isn't part of this."

"He is a means to an end," Brandon replied. "His mind was incredibly easy to slip into. He's terribly mortal."

"Please don't make him do this... I'll leave the bar. I'll come to you. Just don't hurt Brandon anymore."

"Your muscle will follow you."

"I'll slip out the back. Doug will never know I left."

Brandon paused as his puppet master considered this. "Do it quickly," he hissed. "If anyone follows you, I'll slaughter them while I force you to watch."