AllFreeNovel
Share Us
So many cryptic notes littered her father’s journals, most of which she didn’t have a chance in hell of interpreting. She supposed it didn’t matter, though. Whatever story he’d intended to write had died with him. But the bottom line was that she’d inherited her father’s love of supernatural lore. She had his books, she thought as she twisted the red ribbon in her hands. And she had her few, fuzzy memories.
But it wasn’t enough. One thing was missing. His killer.
She’d find him. If it took until her dying breath, she would hunt down the bastard who had stolen not only a good man, but her childhood. And once she did, she wouldn’t rest until she’d put the bastard behind bars forever.
Enough with the pity party.She’d done great today. One more bad guy put away. One more stand-in for her father’s murderer.
With a shuddering sigh, she crossed the room, stripping as she did, so that she left a trail of clothes on the path from her desk to the bathroom. She went through her evening ritual, but ignored the oversized tee she usually slept in. Instead, she slid naked between the sheets, the pink bear shoved to the far side of the double bed.
She hadn’t bothered to turn on any lights, but a soft glow from the various downtown high-rises filled the room, the illumination coming in through the sliding glass door. She had no curtain; on the twenty-fifth floor she didn’t need one. And the dim light didn’t bother her. She liked it, this feeling of floating above the city.
Now, she closed her eyes, wishing that Luke had come home with her and wondering if there was any chance in hell that she’d ever see him again.
* * *
The judge’s body lay sprawled on the wet ground, his eyes still open in surprise and terror. He’d known what was to befall him in his last seconds. Known that his betrayals had finally been avenged, his crimes soundly punished.
Without thinking, the vampire licked his lips, still able to taste the bitter flavor of Braddock’s fear. Fear, but no remorse. Of all the monsters that moved in the night, Marcus Braddock had been among the most vile.
He was dead now. Justice delivered. Fate sealed.
It was over.
The vampire took one last look at the Los Angeles police officer, standing stiff in his uniform and talking rapidly into the radio on his shoulder as the lights from his patrol car painted the drizzled night in red and blue. Nearby, a female sobbed, one of the two joggers who’d discovered the body and called 911, setting the wheels in motion.
Soon detectives and crime scene techs would descend. And then the others would come. The ones who would understand what had truly happened here tonight.
The ones who would search for Braddock’s killer.
The vampire needed to be gone before they arrived.
And with that thought, Lucius Dragos took a step backwards, turned, then melted into the rain-soaked night where he belonged.
* * *
Luke’s scent filled Sara’s head, her body tingling from the brush of his fingertips over her skin, his lips on her mouth, her breasts, her thighs….
She moaned as she rolled over and clutched her pillow, trying to fight the need to wake. Trying to ignore the persistent ring of her phone.
Ring! Ring!
And then silence. Blissful silence.
Her entire body relaxed as she said a silent thank you to the genius who invented voicemail, then tried to slide back into her glorious dream.
It didn’t work. The damn thing started ringing again.
She grappled for it, fully intending to throw it across the room, then sat bolt upright when she saw the caller ID.
“Sanchez?”
“I thought about not pinging you,” Detective Renata Sanchez said without preamble. “You’re not the ADA on call, and I figured you’d be off celebrating the Stemmons verdict. But this DB’s got a neck wound. And I know you—”
“It’s mine.” She was already out of bed and stumbling toward her dresser for panties and a bra. “Location?”
“Elysian Park. A couple of late-night joggers found the body. I’ll text you a GPS pin.”
“Got it,” Sara confirmed as the text flashed on her screen. “I’ll be there in fifteen. Less.” She ended the call without bothering to say goodbye, then shimmied into her favorite jeans, slipped her feet into a pair of flats, and pulled on a turtleneck. She grabbed her raincoat from the rack by the door along with her purse, then bolted for the elevator.
