Abandoned to the Night (The Brotherhood Series, Book 3) Read Online Free

events of the night over and over in your mind?” she asked incredulously. “Have you not examined them in the hope of stumbling upon your mistake, your error of judgement?”
    Leo gave a disdainful snort. “I have lived the nightmare over and over again for the last three years. I have dissected every word spoken, every deed and action. But still it makes no sense to me. My mind is like a dark, empty cavern whenever I think of what happened to me that night.”
    She shook her head and cast him a look that spoke of contempt. But another emotion flashed briefly in her eyes: compassion, perhaps pity. “Then I cannot help you. You must kill me, or you must leave here. You do not—”
    “Frau Lockwood. Frau Lockwood.”
    Suddenly her gaze shot beyond his shoulder, and she muttered a curse. “Now look what your dithering has done.”
    His dithering? She made it sound as though she wanted him to put an end to her life.
    “Do not say anything to him,” she continued through gritted teeth. “He has no idea what we are. He would be frightened, confused. He would not understand.”
    Leo glanced behind at the old man tottering along the street, holding a coat above his head to protect him from the rain. “If I abide by your request, what will you do for me in return?”
    Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “You would blackmail me for my desire to protect an elderly man’s feelings? Good Lord, you really are a monster.”
    The words were like barbed arrows piercing his heart. He knew what he was. He did not need the woman responsible for his depraved condition to remind him. Dismissing his irritation, he decided to use the situation to his advantage.
    “Tell me what I want to know about the night you sunk your filthy fangs into my neck and I will keep your secret.” Leo gave a satisfied smirk as it felt good to have the upper hand. “I would hate to reveal the true nature of my affliction. And I doubt his heart would take the shock.”
    She sucked in her cheeks as she glared at him. “Is that the price of a man’s sanity? Do you have no shame?” She shook her head and sighed. “Very well. What choice do I have?”
    “None. But I will have your word.”
    “Then you have it.” She barged past him and rushed towards the old man. “Herr Bruhn, you must go back inside. You’ll catch a chill out here in this dreadful weather.”
    The old man squinted and blinked rapidly. “Is everything alright? You’re soaked through. What has happened to your cape? Why have you not gone home?” He tried to use his coat to shield her from the rain as his concerned gaze fell to Leo’s sword. “What … what is going on here?”
    “All is well, Herr Bruhn.” She put her hand on his back and steered him away. “There is a problem with my carriage. The road is impassable, and I must walk home. This gentleman has been instructed to ensure I reach there safely.”
    The man glanced back over his shoulder. “But who is he? I have never seen him here before.”
    With some difficulty, Leo placed his sword back in the harness. “Herr Bruhn.” He inclined his head to the old man. It suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t know her name. In the years when he had cursed her and wished for her demise, he knew her only as the golden-haired devil. “I have been instructed to protect the lady,” Leo said, struggling to form the only polite word he knew of to describe the woman standing in front of him. “But you must go inside. If we do not leave now, I fear we will struggle to make it back, even on foot.”
    “Herr Bruhn, I cannot afford for you to be ill too,” she implored.
    Leo wondered why she did not use her skill for persuasion to force the man back into his home. Well, if she wouldn’t do it, he would.
    “You must go inside, Herr Bruhn. You must go inside now.” Leo’s tone was firm, commanding and the golden-haired devil shot him an irritated glare.
    “I must get inside,” he said shuffling towards a house on