18. Rip My Heart Out
Rip My Heart Out
As the gates close silently behind us, Micah’s hand still engulfing mine, a sense of rightness sweeps over me, taking me by surprise.
The massive complex is soundproofed, making it as silent as the grave to anyone outside its walls. A twisted metal art installation doubles as a fountain, water cascading into the bowl below.
Micah stops and turns to me, taking my face in his hands.
‘Evangeline. Eve. I know you have a job to do. But I wanted you to see her first. To be prepared.’ His words are soft, but his eyes are carefully blank. Here, he’s not the man I loved; he’s the Coven leader.
‘Who found the body? And where?’ Detective Sinclair finally takes over. If it’s been moved, Ruby will be pissed. And it must have, if it’s here, inside the estate. The paperwork involved will be a bitch.
‘I did,’ Micah says, his hands sliding down my arms. ‘Here. On the steps.’
Surprise has me taking an involuntary step back. But my mind is racing ahead.
I know two things from this info. One: Micah is living at the Coven again.
Two: the killers are arrogant. Even if they committed the murder elsewhere, to bring the body here and leave it in plain sight in the heart of Vampire territory, on Micah’s front doorstep…
they either have balls to not be afraid of him, or they’re incredibly stupid.
Getting in the gates is easy; anyone can access them, even a human.
There is no tech to activate- no retinal scanner or bio-lock.
Not even a holo-cam. We know this Vamp and their accomplice can hide their Signatures, so either they placed her on the steps to make a statement, or because that’s as far as they were willing to go.
The doors to the vast complex are where security begins.
I turn and walk slowly toward the main entrance to the Vampire Coven, Micah a step behind.
Watery sun is beginning to glint off the UV-protectant glass, and as we get closer, the body on the steps leading to the front doors comes into focus.
He left her here for me to see first, and then call in whoever I choose.
He’s showing respect for both my position and understanding of my friendship with Lila.
Two Vamps stand in the overhang of the doors, shaded from the fast-approaching sun.
They’re clearly on guard, ensuring no Vamps come out and see what’s waiting mere feet from where I stand.
Soon, they will need to retreat inside, along with Micah…
and the body. I don’t have time for pain or grief, anger or rage, sorrow or loss.
Sending an urgent flicker to dispatch, I arrange for tech bots to make a sweep of the crime scene.
Then I tap my wrist to holo Tim and Ruby at the same time.
They both answer immediately, and I don’t bother to register if they were awake or what they’re wearing as their images flare in the space in front of me.
‘There’s been another murder,’ my holo tells them, aware they can see Micah standing at my shoulder. ‘I’m at the Coven. You both need to get here now.’ I don’t wait for an answer before I swipe the call off.
Finally, I walk up to the vic. I cannot think of her as Lila, as someone I knew and counted as a friend. Who I laughed and cried with, drank and danced and sang karaoke with. Who, along with Ruby, helped me to pick up the pieces of my broken heart.
But I am not prepared for what I see. Her body is bent backwards over three steps, wine-red hair spilled out around her.
It’s hard to tell where it ends, and the blood begins.
And there is so much blood. It stains the stairs, her moon-white arms, her dress.
Her green eyes are open, staring sightlessly at the sky.
Contrary to past popular Vampire lore, they do not turn to ash when they die.
That only happens if they’re killed by the sun.
They light up like the Fourth of July, burning until there’s nothing but ash on the wind.
It takes a lot to kill them- wood through the heart and then cutting off the head- but once done, they desiccate.
Lila’s skin is tight against her bones, paler than usual, and run through with blue and purple veins. She could be brought back, if not for the gaping hole in her chest where her heart was. Nausea roils through me. There was no need to cut off her head.
I need to take a closer look, but I don’t have any crime scene gear with me. When I look up again, the two Vamps standing guard have melted away.
Less than a week ago, I had never investigated a murder.
I had seen bodies before, starting with my parents.
But the point of the Paranormal Police Squad was to stop Vamps and Werewolves from killing, in line with the World Treaty laws that are in place to hold them to the same accountability as humans.
But no training could have prepared me for this.
I’m aware of Micah standing close behind me.
Without thinking, I turn to wind my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek to his shirt.
He has no heartbeat for me to feel, and the cold seeping from his skin into me tells me he hasn’t fed in a while.
But his arms slide around me, bands of steel as he bends to lay his cheek against my hair, a shudder rippling through him.
Lila was the closest thing Micah Saint James had to a friend in this world. Once, I also filled that space in his life. But she had been with him for over five hundred years, a constant in the rapidly changing world they had traveled across, making new lives as they went.
I wonder what he’s thinking, but he’s a fortress, closed off, impenetrable.
He’s an ancient Vampire who has seen things I cannot imagine, who has endured loss time and again.
It’s why he has his private castle estate, a retreat from the outside world.
Why he holds himself apart, aloof, closed-off from most of the Vampire world.
He leads a Coven, but he is always separate.
We stand like that, immovable statues, until the gates open once more. I gently untangle myself to see Tim and Ruby, along with several tech bots, all programmed for different tasks.
After that, time speeds up. The sun is inching its way steadily up the driveway, over the metal fountain, toward the steps and Lila’s body. The bots collect what they can, taking holos and holo-pics, while Ruby assesses the dead Vampire.
‘I assume I won’t be taking her to the morgue,’ she says to Micah as the sun hits the first step.
‘You won’t be able to autopsy her.’ His face is a blank mask, hands casually in his pockets.
‘That’s what I thought.’ Ruby Blue is fast, efficient, professional, and looks stunning even though I know she just rolled out of bed.
‘We’re going to need to get inside soon.’ I’m looking warily up at the sky. The pinks and oranges of dawn streak across its deep blue expanse. Micah has moved up the stairs past Lila’s body, his shadows wrapped around him.
Tim dismisses the bots to get everything back to the lab, and they hover away, evidence safely stored.
‘Do you have all you need?’ It’s a rhetorical question from an ancient, powerful Vampire. ‘Then let’s continue this inside.’ He carefully picks Lila up and carries her with reverence into his domain.
Tim raises his eyebrows at me, but I only shrug and follow Micah inside. Ruby’s eyes light up. She’s always wanted to see this place.
Lila’s red hair spills over Micah’s black shirt like a cascade of blood. Nausea roils through me as I take a deep, shuddering breath.
He turns around, and his eyes are wholly black, his normally bronze skin pale.
‘Evangeline, take them to my apartment. I’ll meet you there.’ He doesn’t need to say any more. He will take care of Lila. I’m not sure what happens when a Vampire dies. If they have a funeral or a memorial.
‘This is where you lived?’ my best friend whispers, as if every Vamp within shouting distance can’t hear her.
I lead them across an open square of grass between the entrance and the residential building.
I used to enjoy coming here during the day when no Vampire could.
At night, the benches are full, along with the grass.
The view of the stars from here is unrivaled in this city.
Now it’s empty as the sun rises above it.
Most Vamps choose to sleep during the day, so they can take full advantage of the decadence of the night.
‘Maybe I’ll move in.’ Ruby Blue’s rich brown eyes are wide, her deep caramel skin glowing in the early morning light.
My unexpected laugh echoes through the open space. Tim is quiet, taking it all in, but that’s not unusual for him.
A flicker hits my contacts, and it’s from Ruby: maybe I can get a hot Vampire to bang.
The memory of Micah’s onyx eyes on me, his wrist against my mouth, the taste of his blood hits me like a bolt of electricity. Heat instantly floods me, and I’m thankful we’re still partially cast in the lingering shadows from the surrounding buildings.
I bite my lip to keep from laughing aloud.
She doesn’t want Tim to know what she’s thinking.
I know she finds him attractive, but she won’t make the first move.
She wants him to come after her, and I get that.
One thing I love about her is that she also won’t hurt him by talking about being railed by a dangerous immortal with fangs in front of him.
The words of my reply spool out as fast as I think them: Oh, you should. I need to tell you what happened earlier…
Ruby’s head whips to mine, her eyes sparking with curiosity.
The bright hallways of the residential wing seem incongruous with what we’ve just seen, casually scattered with priceless art and statues.