Chapter 60

A/n: ***Hey Guys, before I start this chapter let me just thank you all for your tremendous support. I appreciate every single one of your reads and comments. I just wanted to give you a bit of a heads up that updates may be a bit irregular this month. I don’t have much more chapters to finish the book, however, I have been dealing with my sick dog since January of this year. She has advanced stage of cancer and it appears that there is nothing more modern medicine can do for her. This is a very trying time for me and my family, she has been literally like a child to me for 10 years of my life. While we are grieving and awaiting closure on the situation, I regret that there will be days where I will not be able to write and I want to make her feel as loved as possible in her final days. I am so sorry and I will try my hardest to keep with my usual chapter a day, but this is just to let you guys understand why I may be irregular. ***

**Chapter 60**

“You can head back to your room whenever you like,” Gabriel had lowered himself down to whisper in her ear as Mia smiled at the woman occupying a chair directly in front of her. The woman had been eyeing Mia boldly from the time she took up occupation of the seat. “I will be attending a secret business meeting with a few lads.” Gabriel finished. Mia nodded, not bothering to gaze after him as he walked away.
Whether he told her the truth or whether he was really planning to spend the time with another woman, Mia hadn’t the slightest care in the world. Now that he was no longer in her presence she found that she was able to breathe without consequence. Mia refused to strike up conversation with the middle aged vampire glaring at her with bloodshot eyes. She was content to give her a warm smile and avert her gaze, regardless of the woman batting her eyes at her furiously, a permanent scowl on her face.

Mia gazed around the room as a means of distraction. Perhaps it was time to retire to her room. It had only been two hours since she’d come down and all she did was sneak glances at Harvey. Right now, she was stealthily scanning the room for him again under the guise of enjoying the festivities. In truth, there wasn’t much to enjoy. Almost everyone here was part of a group and while Mia knew some people it wasn’t to the extent that she felt comfortable joining their circles.
*Found him* Lady Evil-Hour has squealed in delight. She was growing bored of the night. “Calm yourself.” Mia muttered turning away before she was caught, not realising the admonishment was vocal. The vampiress seated beside her gawked in disapproval.

“Were you speaking to me?” Her words were a sluggish drawl, which Mia presumed was a seductive trait for this woman back in her day.

“Sorry?” Mia cocked her head forward and questioned politely as if she hadn’t the vaguest idea of that the woman was enquiring after. Her eyes flickering back to Harvey. He was leaned against one of the huge stone pillars erected proudly in the centre if the room, his arms crossed as he peered unseeingly at the men in front of him talking animatedly.

“I thought I heard you say something.” The lady drawled again, casting her disapproving eyes upon Mia. Mia instantly wondered if her breasts were hanging out or whether she was naked sitting next the woman. She didn’t quite understand the stern glare.

“No, I didn’t” Mia responded spiritedly. She wasn’t one for being rude to older women, especially since she was never to see her again.

“Hmm, could have sworn I heard something.” She’d muttered to herself and removed her eyes from Mia. Uncomfortable and weary Mia twisted her body around to face the happy couple. They’d been swaying together in a circle as if in their own little fairy-tale and for a moment, Mia had forgotten about Harvey.

***
Harvey had chosen this particular spot in the room as it provided a great vantage point for him to see Mia. Gabriel had left her side, scurrying off to make illegal, underhanded deals; of that Harvey was sure just by observing the men he’d gone off with. Such a surprise he hadn’t actually gone off with a different woman.
Mia was seated next to Joffery’s wife. The pair were known to be a part of dastardly schemes, for this reason, Harvey was eyeing Mia like a hawk. He couldn’t believe that Gabriel had left her unattended in such an environment.
Just as he had predicted, Joffery’s wife had opened her clutch and took out a packet, which she was emptying into Mia’s drink as she was staring away in the opposite direction. Harvey pushed off the stone pillar without excusing himself. His eyes locked on their target. He wafted through the crowd, at this point mostly everyone was either drunk or high; he caught the faint smell of marijuana in the air. Boy, did that dredge up memories.
His pace quickened as Mia turned around to take hold of her wine glass. He caught her hand just before the rim of the glass touched her lips and yanked the glass away. It was fortunate that everyone around was too caught up in their own dealings to notice Harvey Regal slumming it with Gabriel Evans wife. Everyone who was everyone knew about the bad blood between both families.

“How preposterous, touching another man’s wife!” Jeffory’s wife cleared her throat and straightened her back haughtily. Mia’s eyes were a sea of mysterious foam. He couldn’t read the lines in them.

“I bet you’d feel that way.” Harvey turned his attention to the woman, his fangs bared for her to see. “Almost as preposterous as drugging other women for your husband to touch.” He shot back, his breath hot and fast. Mia gasped, gazing back and forth between them. What the hell was happening? She peered at the glass in Harvey’s hand and back at the vampire, realisation dawning upon her and her eyes widening further.

“You did what?” Mia piped in but the woman didn’t so much as look at her. She kept her focus on Harvey, he was a feral dog who could snap at any time.

“What do you care, she’s Gabriel’s wife? She’s accustomed to having dirty men scour her body.” She hissed, Mia pushed back on her chair instantly and stood, glaring at the devilish woman. She was about to make haste to her room, when Harvey caught her hand and held her in place.
He didn’t trust letting her out of his sight again.

“Funny, I have the same thought about you.” Harvey said emptying the contents of the wine glass in her lap, her creamy light blue dress stained red. He didn’t wait for any further response as he dragged Mia out of the room and towards the living quarters. There was a long expanse of hallway that was unoccupied and quiet. Only a slight buzz of music was heard from the main hall.

“Thank you, for—” Mia had swallowed hard, the realisation that she was no face to face with Harvey and alone was dawning on her pretty quickly.

“Are you usually this dense?” His voice rose higher and his eyes were searing hot. Mia winced at his tone.

“Excuse me?” Her heart was racing and her cheeks were flushed. Her head was dizzying the more she inhaled his heady scent.

“ Why on earth would you take your eye off your drink at an event of this calibre?” He was still holding onto her hand, his grip tightening on her. He noted the twisting muscle in her jaw from the pain and calmed himself.

“I didn’t intend to, I usually am really careful I just hadn’t expected her to—” Mia’s voice and train of thought trailed off. The reality of ‘what if’ slammed into her chest like a bullet. So many things could have happened if Harvey hadn’t been there to help her, she wished she was able to erase the ghastly possibilities away from her head, but the more she thought of it the more she felt sick.

“Talk to me,” Harvey had noticed the change in her skin colour, his hands circling around her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

“That could have gone so many different ways, I-I..” He pulled her into his arms without thinking about the consequences for them both. He felt her tension drain away and her breath steadied against him.

“Not your fault, I thought your husband would have warned you about some of the characters here.” He spat the word ‘husband’ as if it had laced with battery acid.

“How did you know she spiked my drink?” Mia arched back slightly to gaze up into his face.

“Jeffory and his wife have been drugging women for years. The wife is a bitter old woman who preferred to find the women for her husband to violate.” He explained, his blood boiling. He’d never had any dealings with them but he was certain that couple secured an invite courtesy of Tristan’s further father-in-law.

“No, I mean. How did you know for certain she spiked it?” She repeated the question, she knew what she was hoping to hear and somehow he saw it in her face.

“You know how.” He whispered against her nose. “I have been keeping an eye on you all night and I know you have been doing the same.” He lowered his lips to her’s as they parted to welcome him. “And it’s a good thing I did, because if anything had happened to you I wouldn’t have forgiven myself.” Their lips were brushing against eachother’s now. Mia shuddered and a shaky breath escaped her.

“Wait,” she stopped him, pushing away and out of his grasp. Her body crying out for his touch. Harvey didn’t fight her, he let her do as she pleased.

“We can’t, you’re seeing someone new, it would be wrong.” She stammered, not looking into his eyes.

“Raya?” he said incredulously, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back into his arms.

“She’d my best friend’s lesbian cousin, she’s more interested in you than she is me.” He laughed.