Page 84 of Visions in Blood
I leaned against his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around me.“I’m in shock, I guess.But I don’t think I’m surprised.”
The passenger door opened, but it wasn’t Bella who’d opened it.Sergi stuck his head in.
“We don’t have much time.They want to move the body.The detective is an old friend, and he’s aware of who we are.I told him we were working a case that might have crossed with this.He’s given us ten minutes to review the scene.”
He held out a hand for me.I set the coffee cup in a holder and got out.Devon scooted across the seat and exited behind me, and though he didn’t touch me, he stuck close.Close enough I could feel little flickers of his breath against my temple when he turned his head toward me.
I took in the scene, forcing myself to look at it with dispassionate interest, forgetting for a moment that I knew the victim.
Sergi walked on our right.“How are you holding up?”
Everyone so concerned about the delicate little human.“I’m fine.Just wondering what took so long.”
When he gave me a questioning look, I shrugged.“Even if Christopher hadn’t been involved with Lorenzo, this ending was only a matter of time.He’s worked with questionable business partners for a long time.It wouldn’t surprise me if this had nothing to do with magical creatures.”
I didn’t have to watch the two vamps to know they were making eye contact, wondering how dark Christopher’s past might be.The things they didn’t know or hadn’t yet uncovered.All part of the brutal truth as to why I’d run after graduation, knowing I was leaving April behind.But April was his daughter.I wasn’t.It didn’t get any more complex than that.
Sergi stopped us when we were six feet from the limo.“They don’t have a lot at the moment.The limo was rented from a private party.No one knows where the driver is.There’s no evidence that he was harmed or had anything to do with this, but they’re looking for him.There’s no murder weapon and no sign of robbery.”
“Do they know if anyone else was with him?”Devon had gone still, his nose slightly lifted.He was assessing the scene with all of his senses.Then his gaze pinned on me.“This might not be anything you want to see.”
“She needs to see it.”Sergi didn’t look at either of us.“You’ll see why.And they’re not sure if there was anyone else with him.They’ll need to wait for the crime scene report to determine that.Unless they find the driver alive.”
A chill blew down my spine, but I squared my shoulders.“Let’s just get this over with.”
My first step was faulty, but it could have been from not enough caffeine after a late night.But an early morning with little coffee and even less sleep didn’t explain the raging tremors as I took one step after another.The drips of blood were apparent as I grew closer, and with each step even more of it appeared.
That wasn’t the horrible part.The smell was.The thick coppery scent of blood mixed with the smell of decay already working through the body.When I stepped next to the door, mindful of where I stepped, my hand flew to my mouth.
Blood.So much blood.
It was everywhere—on the cream-colored upholstery, the carpet, the windows, the doors.A deeper smear formed a wide arc as the blood had spurted from his body.It was probably from the killing blow.The rest appeared to be done after, as if in a rage.But what did I know?I wasn’t big on the forensic TV shows.
Christopher was dressed in a somber charcoal suit, the coat unbuttoned, and no tie that I could see.His shirt had also been unbuttoned or ripped apart.A wide gash at his throat was plainly visible even through the splatter of blood that now clotted over his throat, chest, and suit.Other slashes had been carved across his chest and stomach.The seat looked like someone had dumped a bucket of red paint.It was a pool of crimson gore, congealing as if it were blood pudding.
I took a step back, but Devon was there.His hard body pressed to mine, his arm around my middle, holding me up as he provided comfort.Or maybe he needed someone to hold onto as he reviewed the carnage.
“Come around to this other side.You need to see what was left on the seat.”Sergi took my arm and led me around the vehicle, taking a wide berth to keep me away from any possible evidence that might be outside the vehicle.
Devon put an arm around my shoulder as we both stepped close enough to see the piece of paper, no larger than a greeting card.It had been wrinkled as if it had been folded and unfolded dozens of times.Droplets of blood were sprinkled across the page as if someone had used a spray bottle.Splotches of red on a snow-white page.
Any doubt whether this involved vamps evaporated like ash.Which is what I tasted in my mouth, along with the bile that crept up my throat.
The image had been hand drawn, but there was no doubt what it was.
It was the perfect image of my necklace.The one my father had left for me.The one my mother had given back.The one thing that could connect me to this brutality.
I felt nothing as Devon led me away.Not the warmth of his touch, the blowing heat he asked Bella to turn on, nor the rays of sunlight glaring through the window.The tremors only got worse.
Devon positioned me in the middle of the back seat so the heat would blast on me, which put me in direct line of sight with Bella whenever she looked in the rearview mirror.
I only had to glance at her once to see the question in her eyes.Where had I gone last night?
ChapterThirty-Two
Lucas waited nextto the massive oak door as Bella pulled to a stop in front of the steps.Devon got out first and raced around the sedan to open the door, holding a hand out to Cressa.When she didn’t appear, he stuck his head in.
“Cressa?”
