Page 40 of Crimson Bond

I laughed out loud, and we hugged. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything. But first, what areyoudoing here? This is Reece by the way.”

“Hi Reece. Larkin Spurling.” She shook his hand then turned back to me. “I’ve been working here since the bombing at the VHC. Some people helped me and Sadie get out of the country, and we came up here to continue our work. She set me up in a lab in LA working on a special project, but after the explosion, we didn’t think it was safe to keep using it. I would have told you, but I haven’t been able to reach you.”

“I was in prison—the Safety Center in Merced. I escaped and went to your apartment in San Francisco, which is why I’m wearing your clothes, and then to the Bastion and—well like I said, it’s a long story. So Sadieishere then? We came here looking for her.”

Larkin’s smile crumpled. “Shewashere. Abbi... Sadie’s dead.”

21

Masterpiece

Abbi

It was like a bear trap snapped closed around my heart. The spasm of pain was so intense I nearly doubled over.

“Dead?”

Though Larkin had spoken clearly, the word made no sense to me. Sadie Aldritch couldn’t be dead. It was impossible.

Reece reached out to steady me as I swayed on my feet. My brain felt like a shaken snow globe, the thoughts and feelings a dizzying whirl.

Unable to manage a full sentence, I whispered, “How?”

“She was killed two days ago,” Larkin said. “House fire. I’m so sorry.”

“Do they know if it was arson?” Reece demanded.

“Are you sure she was in the house?” I asked, hanging on to a sliver of hope.

Larkin nodded her head sadly. “The fire department found the body. It was a lake house on Lake Wanapitei—the owners didn’t use it in the winter and let Sadie stay there rent-free. The fire investigator said it might have been caused by a faulty wood stove, but I don’t think so. Earlier this week, Sadie said she thought she was being followed. Two nights ago when she didn’t answer her phone, I was worried about her. I drove out there to check on her and saw the firetrucks. The place was an inferno.”

The mental image was too much for me. I broke down in sobs and turned toward Reece, who wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest.

Larkin’s hand rested on my back. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated. “I know you two were close. I’m devastated, too. She was looking for you, you know? She was very worried about you when you stopped coming into work at the VHC. I wish she could see that you’re okay. She’d be so relieved.”

“I just can’t believe it. She was so good, so kind. What are we going to do without her?” I said.

Larkin’s voice quavered. “I honestly don’t know. I haven’t been able to think of anything else, but I came in to work tonight because I know that’s what Sadie would have wanted me to do. We’re so close to a cure. I can’t stop now. I want to finish the work—for her.”

Reece’s voice rumbled against my cheek as he spoke to Larkin over my head. “A cure? For what?”

“For vampirism,” she said as if it should have been obvious. “That’s what Sadie had me working on in LA and then continuing at the lab here.”

“Wow,” he said. “A vampirism cure. I never thought it was possible.”

“As it turns out, it’s more possible than creating artificial human blood,” Larkin said. “Or, at least, it’s a bit easier. They’ve been trying to create a viable blood substitute since the 1970s, and still, scientists can’t come up with one that really works. But the cure... we’ve actually got a formula ready for testing on live vampires.”

We all went to the laboratory’s lounge and took seats, Reece and I sitting together on a low vinyl couch and Larkin selecting the club chair opposite it. I tried to focus on the conversation, though snippets of memories about Sadie and conversations we’d shared kept stealing into my brain and pulling me out of the moment.

“We listened to news radio just yesterday and heard no mention of her death,” Reece was saying when I tuned back in.

“There are some pretty high-ranking vampires in the government here. They agreed to help keep it quiet for a few more days until it’s determined whether the fire was truly accidental or if it was intentionally set,” Larkin explained.

“Sadie was a hero to many vampires here as well as in America,” she said. “When word gets out there will be a lot of grieving. But if it’s learned she was murdered, there could be uprisings, violence. Vampires could get killed. We have to make sure we have all the facts and put together a plan for how the information is released.”

“Yes,” Reece said in a thoughtful voice. “If someone wanted to spark a revolt, the assassination of a beloved vampire leader would be one way to go about it. The VHC bombing didn’t get the job done, so maybe they decided to try again.”

I lifted my head to look at his face. “You think Imogen is behind it? You think she sent someone else here to kill Sadie?”

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