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Authors: Nina Pierce

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BOOK: Shadows of Fire
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Agony
ripped through Reese as the memories tumbled over themselves. “They came one
night. A group of vamps who believed we were eroding the true bloodlines.
Without warning, they slaughtered the vampires in the bunkhouse. They staked me
to the ground and tortured her. In front of me, when I could do nothing for
her, they raped her over and over, slicing away small pieces of her and—”

“Reese
don’t.” Alex pressed her fingers to his lips. “I get it. You don’t need to
relive that part.” Reese saw his pain reflected in Alex’s eyes. She stretched
out next to him, comforting him in her embrace. They held each other through
the wash of grief.

“Is
she the reason you joined RISEN?”

He
nodded and lifted her hand to his lips. “I didn’t want anyone else to suffer
that kind of senseless loss.”

“And
yet, here we are. It’s still happening.” She brushed away her tears and pressed
a gentle kiss to his heart. “Why do we have to be so judgmental of one
another?”

“The
nature of the beast.” He squeezed her tight, letting go of his past, embracing
his future.

“It’s
like with the blood wine. Some want to live on it. Others—”

“Wait,
what?” Reese sat up slowly, bringing her with him. “What did you say?”

“We’re
all too judgmental.”

“That’s
true. Especially when it comes to the blood wine.”

Confusion
furrowed her brow and thinned her lips.

“You’re
right, it’s still happening.” He kissed her full on the lips. “You’re
brilliant!” He rolled from the bed, shoving his feet into his jeans. “I don’t
know why we didn’t see it before.”

“What
are you talking about?”

“The
reason why someone is trying to frame you.”

 

The map Hope had first marked up
was now spread out in front them. Reese had gone over each murder again,
scribbling in the margins of the notes he’d taken earlier. “There it is, in
black and white or Technicolor. Whatever.”

In bed with Reese, Alex had been
able to ignore the pain throbbing in her head. But the concentration it took to
follow Reese’s logic, blurred the edges of her vision. “All of this because of
the blood wine?”

“It’s one theory. I’ll put Ronan
on it tomorrow when we meet.”

“But we’ve been so careful who’s
been let into the cellars.”

“Might not be someone who knows
about the cellars.”

A nugget of hope blossomed in her
chest. What Reese was saying made so much sense. Alex would like to think she
could leave South Kenton without dragging around the suspicions everyone seemed
to be laying at her feet—or the guilt that she may have been the murderer’s
motivation.

The door opened and Josh slogged in
with the cool autumn breeze. He froze in the doorway, an orange tabby sneaking
in around him, hissing as it passed.

“What the hell is she doing
here?” he asked.

It took all of Alex’s willpower
not to cower from the hatred she saw in his eyes. Not that she could blame him,
but, after all their months of friendship, it still hurt.

Reese jumped from the chair,
putting his hand on Josh’s chest. “Slow down, cowboy. I’ve got more information
that may just change your perspective.”

His brow furrowed. “About Hope?”

Reese shook his head.

“Then anything you have to tell
me I can hear when we bring Alex in front of the tribunal.”

“She didn’t do it, Josh.”

“To hell she didn’t.” He pushed
past Reese, sweeping everything off the table in one swift movement. Alex held
her ground as he continued his verbal assault. “She was your friend, damn it.
She trusted you!”

“I didn’t know she was in
trouble. How could I—”

Josh let out a howl that sent the
cat skittering down the hall. “You know we found the car you ditched? Her
purse? Her cell phone? But no Hope. Just tell me where she is and I’ll let you
live long enough to stand before the tribunal.”

“What the hell are you talking
about, Josh?” The question Alex wanted to ask came from Reese’s mouth.

He turned back to Reese. “She
didn’t confess that she’d driven Hope’s yellow bug into the lake?”

“When would I have done that? I
was at the fire all night. And your friend Ronan babysat me until I showed up
here this morning.”

“Josh, stop. Alex didn’t do it. Not
the fires. Not Hope’s car. None of it.”

Josh walked up to him, his eyes
malevolent orbs of ice. He scented the air, his lips thinning with
understanding. “And you believe in her innocence because you fucked her?”

Reese cold-cocked his roommate,
taking him down with a solid uppercut to the jaw. “Watch where you’re going
with this, Joshua. I understand you’re in pain, but I need you to shut up and
listen.”

Josh cradled his jaw in his palm,
but stayed where he’d landed on the floor. “I’m just saying your girlfriend
here seems to know an awful lot of the people dying.”

“Of course she does. It seems
someone has been targeting her vamps drinking blood wine.” Reese’s voice held
no emotion.

“What about the humans? What
about Hope?”

“I’m still working on that one.”

Josh picked himself up and dusted
off his jeans. “Well, the firefighters hauling the VW out of the lake happened
to mention the fire marshal is now working to link all of the fires and deaths
to Glenn.”

“How
the hell could they think that?” Alex asked. “He died in that fire or has the
fire marshal discounted that fact?”

Josh
shrugged absently. “He’s figuring Glenn finally made a mistake and got caught
in his own fire. John Sampson? The pentagram? The bite marks? It seems a good
portion of the recent victims have the same injury and it hasn’t gone unnoticed
by the coroner.” He pointed to Reese’s scarf Alex had wrapped around her neck. “You
might want to lose the accessories or they’ll throw you in with the whole
vampire conspiracy.” His mouth curved in a malicious smile. “Oh wait, you
already are. I just haven’t told them.”

“Drop
it, Josh.”

“You’re
thinking with the wrong head, Colton. You’re theory’s weak and you know it. But
let her lead you around by your dick. I’ve got Nason out there looking for Hope
and pulling the last of the evidence together.” He leaned in close to Reese. “You’ve
got less than twenty-four hours. We’re taking her to the tribunal tomorrow.
Right now, I’m getting ready for work.” Josh strode down the hall. The poor cat
yowled and skittered around the corner.

“I’m
taking Alex to her car. I’ll meet you there,” Reese hollered down the hall.

“If
they find you burned in a ditch, I’ll know where to send the fire marshal.” A
door slammed.

Alex
absently scooped up the frightened tabby. Now she’d caused a rift between
friends. Would her good deeds never end? “You don’t need to defend me to Josh.
I didn’t kill anyone, but I don’t think anything you say will convince him of
that.” The fat tabby leaned into her caresses, purring loudly. “I can’t even
imagine how he’s managing through all of this. He needs you.”

“Circumstances
can warp the facts when viewed from the wrong angle.” He tipped his mouth in a
sad attempt at a smile. “He’ll come around.”

Alex
doubted that was true.

“We
rescued the cat from Professor Morgan’s mansion. He’s been miserable with us. I
thought it was all vamps, but it seems he’s taken a shine to you.”

Alex
was thrown by his sudden change in topics. “Paul had dinner parties at the
mansion for his colleagues. Zeus and I are old friends.” Heat rose in Alex’s
cheeks. There was so much more to the cat’s affections. She’d been lying for so
long she couldn’t remember the truth anymore. Guilt stung the back of her eyes
and burned hot in her throat.

“Maybe
you should take him home with you.”

“He’s
definitely better off here.” She kissed the cat’s head and set him on the
floor. “How about that ride to … the farm.”

“Yeah,
it’s getting late.” Reese bundled her into the Buick and they headed up the
road, both of them lost in their thoughts.

They’d
barely acknowledged the death of the man they both loved. Alex wasn’t sure how
she was going to handle seeing the destruction that had taken Glenn’s life.
When she’d left last night with Ronan, the fire had still been raging. She’d
snuck out of the bathroom window at the tavern intending to go to the farm,
collect her car and leave South Kenton in her rear view mirror. But one turn
and a slight detour and she’d found herself at Reese’s cabin. Her heart had a
destination even if it hadn’t informed her head.

This
day had turned out just as she’d hoped. Alex couldn’t have asked for more
tender memories to take with her. But it had been selfish of her involving
Reese Colton. She wondered if he’d ever forgive her when he learned her secrets.
And she had no doubt, despite the death of the professor—or perhaps because of
it— everything about their experiments would come to light.

Josh
was right in one aspect—Reese was blinded. But it wasn’t his groin blocking his
vision. She suspected it was his heart. She’d felt it in every tender caress
and heard it in every quiet whisper.

Reese
pulled into Glenn’s driveway. Alex sat in stunned silence staring at the burnt
remains of the barn. One side lay crumpled in on itself, a defeated warrior
unable to stand against its hellish foe. Half-moons of soot marred the red
siding above the windows. Rain dripped from the charred roof, making the barn
look as if it were weeping over Glenn’s passing.

“We’re
going to find the person who started this fire and make everything right,”
Reese said.

She
couldn’t do this to him, not after the man had admitted he hadn’t loved since
losing his wife. He deserved so much more than what she could give him. “You
need to go.” The words clawed their way out of her throat.

“And
you need your keys.” He flipped down his visor, catching them in his hand. “I
grabbed them from your ignition last night.”

“Thank
you.” She leaned in and accepted the gentle brush of his lips. He didn’t try to
stop her when she rushed to her car without a backward glance. Tires squealed
and gravel pinged off rocker panels as Reese backed out of the driveway,
leaving Alex utterly alone.

Details
and events had become shuffled and confused over the last twenty-four hours as
her body had begun to shut down. But one thing was certain … her Honda had been
parked beside the barn when she’d followed John into the woods last night—not parked
in the driveway behind Glenn’s truck.

* * * *

Clouds
shrouded the moon as he moved through the abandoned field. Some caring neighbor
had probably come in today and no doubt sheltered the wayward animals. Just as
well. After tonight, pig blood would no longer be needed for that heinous
concoction that passed as vampire sustenance. Glenn’s death was another step in
solidifying that.

Vampires
were nocturnal creatures. Born of blood, they lived by blood. To hell with
modern views to the contrary. Ridding South Kenton of the contemptuous vampires
who had weakened themselves with that chemical concoction had been necessary. Though
Glenn’s death should have been the end, the realization that one more fire
would be needed to complete the purification spurred the monster forward.

Under
the cloak of darkness, he’d searched Glenn’s house but found nothing. Either
Glenn hadn’t discovered anything of consequence at the professor’s office at
the university or he’d hidden it well. Had there been more time last evening,
it would have been a pleasure to coax the information from the vampires’s
bloody lips.

But
misdirection required precision. The setup left in the barn fire could not have
been more perfect. Killing the crazed vamp who’d stumbled upon Glenn’s demise
had been an added pleasure. Staking the body to the pentagram was nothing short
of pure genius. Already gossip of Glenn’s occult practices had begun to spread.
Small towns survived on grist from the rumor mill. The lies about his satanic
practices had been whispered in the man’s own tavern tonight, for chrissake.

Getting
rid of the nosy reporter and her car after Glenn had resurrected her—sublime.

It
filled him with great pleasure that he’d coordinated every ruse to the smallest
detail. It was all falling into place so much easier than he’d imagined.

Now,
he needed to cleanup any lingering proof that implicated him instead of Alex.
He couldn’t believe how easy it had been to frame the insipient vampire. Alexandra
Flanagan was a fool and an idealist who needed to be held up as an example of
misguided vampire morality. Once he located and destroyed every scrap of the
professor’s work, including details of the fires he’d set, there would be no
way the tribunal would overlook her transgressions.

If
Glenn had stolen evidence from the professor’s office—information that would no
doubt spur others to follow in his footsteps—it was imperative he locate it and
be sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. He’d worked too hard at stopping
the foolish professor’s experiments to be thwarted by another confused
enthusiast who didn’t understand the true place of vampires in human evolution.

BOOK: Shadows of Fire
13.12Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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