Page 21 of Christmas Embrace

The doctor looked to Tony. “Is it ‘bring a friend to work’ day?”

“Dr. Guillot, this is my friend, Detective Anthony Salucci. We used to work together.”

“Nice to meet you detective. Where y’all from?”

“Philly.” Tony set the lab report down on the counter.

“Eagles, huh?” He donned a pair of gloves while approaching the corpse.

“You know it.” Tony smiled, pumping a fist in the air. “Fly Eagles Fly.”

“Easy there, son. Y’all know I’m a die-hard Saints fan. Who dat?” Dr. Guillot adjusted his thick-lensed glasses and switched on the overhead lights. “Hard to believe she was packing all that powder.”

“Suppose she thought she’d get away with it because she’s wolf,” Sydney replied. “Even if it ruptured, she’d shift and survive.”

“That didn’t work out so well did it,” Tony said.

The doctor pointed to the victim’s arms. “Check out the bruising here. It’s pretty unusual because wolves generally heal from injuries. I mean unless it’s a serious injury.”

“Like having all your entrails explode out of your body?” Tony asked, his voice laden with sarcasm.

“Something about it is bothering me. Doesn’t seem quite right.”

“Silver?” she asked.

“It’s possible. Burns turned bruised? Maybe she was shifting to heal but didn’t get there so only partially regenerated,” the doctor theorized.

“Someone could have used it on her. Injected it,” Sydney suggested.

“It’s possible she was abused as a pup. The scars of childhood sometimes stay with a wolf.”

“Her clothes,” Sydney observed as she moved to a side table where he’d placed what was left of her belongings. The dried blood had stiffened the printed silk shirt. “Valentino. This blouse alone would run her a couple of thousand.”

“Drug money?” Tony offered.

Sydney reached for a boot and inspected it. “Lucchese. Two. Three grand.”

“She look like this when she came for the kid?” Tony asked.

“No. Something here’s changed. She must have found herself a new boyfriend.”

“Sugar daddy? Pimp? Maybe a new business partner.”

“She was eviscerated throat to pelvis with a sharp object,” Dr. Guillot continued.

“What kind of object?” she asked.

“Under these circumstances, with shifters involved, I’d usually say a claw of some kind, but I’ve never seen a wolf make a tear like this. Something about this case, the way they were all murdered…it’s off. This was a clean slice. I know it may not have looked that way at the scene, with all the fluids everywhere, but it was. No, something with precision did this. Not sure what yet. As far as DNA, there’s only hers.”

“Any fang puncture wounds? From vampires?” Sydney asked, still studying the clothing.

“No. I’m thinking this may have been a weapon of some kind but…”

“I smelled sulfur at the scene. I swore I sensed demonic…” Her words faded as she felt Kade’s presence. Although it had been months since he’d turned her, the sensation still took her off guard.

“Hello, love,” he greeted, his smooth voice rolling over her.

No matter how many times she heard him, even in the presence of death, Sydney’s heart caught in her chest. Like a force of nature unto itself, Kade’s power emanated from him, commanding Sydney and every supernatural around him.