A Midsummer Night's Scream (The Dulcie O'Neil Series Book 7) by H.P. Mallory Read Free Book Online Page A

started whining and pawing at the slider screen, looking completely depressed and pathetic.
    “Seriously, dude?” I asked as he whined and stared at me, cocking his head to the side. “Come on, Blue, don’t make that face!” After another few seconds, I was jelly. “Ugh!” I said in exasperation, throwing my hands in the air and starting for the slider door. I was no more than a pushover where the yellow Labrador was concerned. “You can come with me to work today, but only if you’re on your best behavior!” I warned him. I opened the door and let him inside the house again. He simply looked up at me with those bright brown eyes before trotting happily to the front door, where he retrieved his leash from the doorknob. I clipped it to his collar and we headed out for the Denali.
    After securing him into his doggie seat belt in the backseat, I rolled the window down so he could poke his head out, and we were off. It took me a little bit longer than ten minutes to make it to Headquarters because I didn’t drive as quickly, or as recklessly, when Blue was in the car. Maybe it was just my maternal instincts coming out … Well, for my dog anyway.
    “Remember our deal, Blue,” I said as I parked the Denali outside Headquarters. “You need to be a good boy today, got it? Otherwise, Mommy can’t bring you back to work with her again.”
    Blue just looked up at me innocently while his tail wreaked havoc on the interior of the car, leaving coarse, yellow hairs all over the black leather upholstery. I frowned and figured I’d have to get the Denali washed sooner rather than later.
    I unbuckled Blue and got him out of the car; then we trotted up to the front doors and allowed ourselves inside. Elsie, the receptionist, nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw us.
    “Blue!” she called out before immediately coming around to the front of her desk. She pushed her thick, black glasses back onto her long, narrow nose, and crouched down on her knees. Enveloping Blue in a huge hug, she didn’t appear to mind at all when he whipped her with his thick, wagging tail. “I missed you, boy!” she said in her unnaturally high-pitched voice. She reached behind her where she kept doggie treats in a jar on top of her desk. Popping off the top and selecting one, she handed it to the very appreciative dog.
    “Good morning to you too, Elsie,” I said, pretending to be offended.
    “Oh, hi, Dulce,” she answered as she glanced up at me for a second or so with a quick smile. “Sorry, I just get very excited whenever I get to see your adorable little boy!” The eardrum-splitting, high pitch of her voice steadily increased. I briefly worried all the glass in the office might shatter and come crashing down around us.
    “Else, if you aren’t busy this morning, would you mind dog sitting?” I asked. I was grateful, for once, that Knight wasn’t around; because this never would have flown with him. Knight wasn’t exactly the sure!-you-can-bring-your-dog-to-work kind of boss. Especially when said dog was given to me by my previous boss who also happened to be my ex love interest.
    “No problem!” Elsie almost sang, reaching for Blue’s leash, which I eagerly handed to her.
    “Thanks, Else,” I called over my shoulder as I started down the hallway. Thoughts of my ex-boss, Quillan, were already occupying my mind.
    Even though Quill and I were now good friends, there was a time in the not-so-distant past when I’d wished he and I could have been something else, something more. And he’d felt the same. Then, a cyclone, who went by the name of Knight Vander, stormed into my life. After him, no other men could compare.
    I later learned that Quill had been serving as my father’s right-hand man all along, unbeknownst to me. In the end, Quill, however, did come clean about all of it. He even sided against my father; but as far as I was concerned, the damage was already done. Even if Knight hadn’t been in the picture, I could never