by Gina LaManna
“Hence the badge.” While I got all worked up, Matthew remained calm and collected. “With that, you have regular access to the department. There’s a light Spell Splash on it as basic protection—standard procedure, obviously. You don’t have access to any secure areas. Chief’s orders.”
“I’ll take it.”
“You’ll report to me.” Matthew raised an eyebrow, and though he’d let go of my hand when he’d given me the badge, his meaning was clear. “Will that be a problem?”
“Nope,” I said. “Fine by me.”
“Fine by me.”
“Great.”
“Perfect,” he said, though there was a dryness to his voice.
“That means no kissing me,” I told him. “Understood?”
“Have a little faith in me.” Matthew’s eyes glittered a dangerous black. “I came over here to hire you.”
I frowned. “Is it awkward for you?”
Matthew thought about it. “No.”
“Well, it’s a little awkward for me,” I admitted. I nodded for us to walk onward, further away from my parents’ house. Who knew what sort of eavesdropping enchantment my mother had cooked up in the bathtub. “We’re good, right?”
He hesitated. “I’m good.”
“Great.” My chest constricted. I didn’t know what I’d wanted Matthew to say. I didn’t want Matthew to replace me—in work or in his personal life—but I wasn’t ready to be his yet. What does that mean for us?
“Are you and Grey...” Matthew glanced over at me. “Are you attached to someone?”
“No,” I said shortly. I didn’t feel the need to dive into my relationship with the white wolf who’d recently saved my life. “I’m single and happy about it.”
“Detective, I have one more question.” Matthew strolled forward, so lost in his thoughts he lapsed in his attention and reverted to his vampire nature. He moved so quickly that I couldn’t keep up. When that happened, I stubbornly stopped and stood still, toeing the dirt, until he returned. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, at my side again. “Distracted.”
“Apparently,” I said. “And I think I know why. You’re wondering what I thought about The Hex Files.”
He looked up, surprised by the hard edge to my voice. “Yes, as a matter of fact. You haven’t mentioned them once since you returned them.”
“Funny. I had a little question about them, too.” I studied the marble cut of his face, striving to find the truth there. “Where’s the rest of them?”
“The rest of what?”
“The files were—sparse.”
“I gave you the lockbox. I didn’t look inside,” Matthew said tersely. “I wish you hadn’t either.”
“Then why do I feel like some of them are missing?”
“I don’t know, Danielle.” Matthew studied me carefully. “I gave you everything in the file—I swear it. I made you a promise, and I would never break a promise to you.”
Somewhere in his gaze, I saw that he was telling the truth. I expelled a large breath. “I know.”
“It’s a blessing if the files are incomplete.” Matthew pulled me to him, his arms striking out like lightning bolts and sizzling me to his chest. His thumb came up to stroke my cheek and, though his perfect lips hovered just above mine, he didn’t make the connection complete. “I’m sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for in them. But people have died over those files, and I’m not going to lose you to them. Please, leave it be.”
I sighed, leaned my head against his chest. The truth was, I trusted him. I knew he’d pulled serious strings to get me those files for a day’s time, and if he said he hadn’t doctored their contents, I believed him. Yet somehow, I felt more lost than ever before.
“I should get going,” I said. “Dessert’s about to be served, and I have been eyeing that cake for hours.”
Matthew didn’t respond, distracted by a beep from his wrist. “Excuse me,” he said, and stepped away to take the Comm. However, for Matthew, ‘stepping away’ was the equivalent of swimming the Bering Strait.
I hadn’t even had time to see where he’d gone before he flashed back to my side. Once he returned, I studied his downcast expression. “Bad news?”
“A body,” he said grimly. “Unfortunately, Nash won’t be getting his cake tonight.”
“I’ll come with you,” I volunteered. “Maybe I’ll be able to spot some Residuals.”
“No, Dani, I forbid it,” he said. “I brought you on as a Special Consultant—we need a Reserve to track a Reserve. You’re on Lucia’s case—and that’s the end of it. We’ll handle the rest on our own. Goodnight.”
Matthew leaned forward and, despite our promises, gave me a brush of a kiss against the lips. It was enough to bring back a fiery surge of emotions. When Matthew’s teeth gritted in pain and frustration, I knew he felt it, too.
“Goodnight,” I said, and let myself inside my parents’ house. Louder, I called to my brother, “Nash, get your cake to-go. Matthew needs you.”
“Homicide?” Nash appeared around the corner, shrugging into his jacket while simultaneously balancing a huge slab of cake. “Damn, it’s been a busy week.”
Rose DeMarco swung into the room at that moment, freshly scented like her namesake and wearing a bright pink robe. “Give me that cake, Lieutenant,” she demanded of her son. “Nobody leaves my house mid-meal and gets dessert.”
“But, mom!” Nash said. “I’ve got work to do.”
“Then come over and say hello to your mother tomorrow, and I’ll give you your cake.” She rose on her tiptoes and kissed Nash on the cheek. “Be safe out there. Love you.” Then she sighed as he opened the door. “Fine, take the cake. But no seconds until you come back.”
With a grateful grin, Nash nabbed the plate, nodded to his boss, and then closed the door behind him. Their night was just beginning.
And so, I thought as I rubbed the badge in my pocket, was mine.
Chapter 2
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Nash said to Matthew as they pushed through the borough at a fast clip. “Family drama.”
Matthew frowned. It was the second time that evening a DeMarco had said something about family that irked him. However, as he was on duty and en route to a homicide with one of his lieutenants, he bit back a retort. “I understand.”
The truth was, he didn’t understand. He might have once understood, a long, long time ago, but like most things, memories faded with time. Every single one of his immediate family members had been dead for centuries. He could hardly remember their faces. Living forever was as much of a curse as it was a blessing, if not more.
Nash’s eyes flicked toward Matthew, registering that he’d said the wrong thing, but neither of them bothered to correct it. Nash refrained from apologizing, and Matthew was grateful to drop the subject. Families were not something Matthew wanted to discuss with anyone except Dani.
Family is what he’d pictured when Dani stepped into his life.
Family had gone out the window the day she’d stepped out of it.
As an eternal vampire, Matthew knew he’d never have a ‘normal’ family life. However, he also knew that the way he felt for Dani was the sort of love that could make a family. However long or short it might have lasted, it would have been enough—even just the two of them. But it was difficult to be a family when they couldn’t manage to stay dating.
Matthew scowled, his mood already sour due to the impending crime scene, and worse still because of the way his evening had gone with Dani. A dead body and a frustrated ex-girlfriend wasn’t exactly the Friday night he’d planned. Then again, a night alone with a bag of synthetic blood wasn’t much of a party either, but Matthew preferred the solitude.
“Did my sister say something to you?” Nash broke the silence. “She was in a bad mood tonight, and—”
“You don’t say,” Matthew drawled with a light smile. “Don’t worry, Nash, our personal business is none of your concern.”
Nash exhaled in reli
ef, and Matthew shook himself from the personal side of his foul mood. He’d promised himself he’d never take out his emotions due to Dani on his fellow officers, yet here he was, brooding up a thundercloud in front of her brother.
“The vic at the crime scene.” Matthew changed topics, thinking of how to word his next statement. “From what I gathered, the body is there. A wizard is dead, but he shouldn’t be.”
“Isn’t that true for all homicides?” Nash asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not like most bodies we find deserve to be there.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Matthew reconsidered. “This wizard shouldn’t be dead. His body is perfectly intact and there are no signs of foul play.”
“Poison?” Nash suggested. “Undetectable?”
“Sienna’s there investigating,” Matthew said. “We’ll find out from her soon enough.”
Nash shot him a knowing look. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“We had a similar case last week,” Matthew said. “The vic simply shouldn’t have been dead. That case is still outstanding.”
“Sienna?”
“Even she doesn’t have a theory. For all intents and purposes,” Matthew said, “the victim appeared perfectly healthy up until the moment of death.”
“And then she died.” Nash finished. “Well, then. We might have a pattern on our hands.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Nash processed the news as the pair hopped aboard a magical trolley and cruised across town. They exited at the intersection between the Goblin Grid and the Golden District and continued south on foot to their final destination in the Sorcerer’s Square. Neither officer spoke as they hurtled down a treelined street toward the flashing Signal Spells that burned bright on the pavement and shot sparks into the air, preventing all broomstick traffic from getting close to the crime scene.
Matthew arrived a step ahead of Nash. While Nash flashed his badge, is wasn’t necessary for Matthew to do the same. Matthew wasn’t sure if he was famous or infamous, but he suspected it was the latter. After all, he was the only vampire left in Wicked after the rest had scattered into damp, secluded corners of the world. If nothing else, he was seen as a dark and dangerous, mysterious sort of novelty.
“Where are we headed?” Matthew asked, holding his hands out for a crime scene tech to run a Fingerprint Eraser over his skin. “Additional information?”
“All done, sir.” The tech lowered his hands, shook his head. “Nothing new since you were Commed, Captain. The victim is upstairs.”
Matthew weaved his way through the front lawn, heading toward a neat little apartment building on a neat little street in a neat little cul-de-sac. There shouldn’t be a murder here, Matthew found himself thinking. Everything was too neat and too normal.
Upstairs, a group of techs consoled a sobbing woman in the hallway. This was the part he hated the most—meeting those loved ones left behind. It was also the part he understood. After all, Matthew had been left behind by just about everyone he held dear. Except Dani. He pushed away the notion that someday she, too, might leave him behind on earth. Because there was no future without her.
“He wasn’t even sick!” The crying woman sniffled. “There was no reason for him to die!”
Matthew couldn’t deal with the emotions of others yet, so he nodded for the tech to open the door slathered in crime scene tape. He showed his hands to confirm he wouldn’t contaminate the scene, and then stepped through the doorway.
“Huh,” Nash said. “The vic barely smells dead.”
Matthew knew the scent of death well. He could practically taste it. Then again, his senses operated at about a thousand percent of what humans and magic-based supernaturals could discern, so he kept quiet.
“Not for you.” Nash hesitated, looked at his superior. “You can smell it.”
Matthew gave a single nod. The pair stood still, scanning the room and recording their first impressions for later review. Outside, the quiet, tree-lined street seemed otherwise untouched by disaster. The apartment in which the dead body had been found was on the second floor, in a room as bland and frill-free as the outside of the building. The body had been found in bed and, to everyone in the room but Matthew, looked to be peacefully sleeping.
Matthew knew the difference between sleep and death. He could hear the silent cavern where the man’s heart should beat, and he could sense the empty lungs that should be pumping air. Blood no longer coursed through the man’s body in a healthy, natural way, and there was the unmistakable smell of death that clung to his skin.
“There’s no blood,” Matthew said, glancing around. “He wasn’t killed from a wound of any sort.”
“Gee, aren’t you one sharp whippersnapper.” The peppy female voice drew a grudging smile from Matthew. “No wonder they pay you the big bucks, vamp.”
“Sienna.” Matthew turned to face the aggressive little medical examiner. “What a pleasure.”
“Shove it, Captain.” Sienna grinned broadly. Her hair was fashioned into a brilliant lavender mohawk today, and she wore her typical uniform of ripped jeans, combat boots, and a shirt with some sort of expletive on it. “Howdy, Nash.”
“That’s the most pleasant greeting I’ve ever heard from you,” Nash said. “You might want to stop, Doc, or people are going to think you have a thing for me.”
If Sienna were one to blush, she might have, Matthew thought. Curious. The smartass medical examiner had no retort for Nash, and instead covered up her slip with a scowl as she faced the body.
“He’s dead,” she said, in an abrupt change of subject. “As you aptly noticed.”
“And?” Matthew prompted.
“I don’t have much on him yet,” she said with a sour expression. “I’ll need to get him on my table for the full workup.”
“But,” Matthew prompted again.
“But...” She leaned into the phrase, holding them captive with her pause. Until her shoulders slumped and she gave a disgruntled shake of her head. “But I got nothing, Captain. It’s bizarre. The only thing I can say for certain is that this guy’s symptoms look ridiculously similar to the body you shipped my way last week. In that—there are no symptoms.”
“So, why is Homicide here?” Nash rubbed his forehead. “We deal with murder. Not medical marvels.”
Sienna’s gaze flicked to Matthew. “Yes, well,” she said. “One mysterious death is bizarre. Two...”
“We need to find out the cause of death,” Matthew said grimly, “before another perfectly healthy person drops dead.”
“You think we’ve got a serial killer on our hands,” Nash said. “Someone who has figured out a way to kill and leave no trace that it was a murder?”
“Unless you have another solution, Lieutenant,” Matthew said. “I’m not waiting for another body to look into it.”
“Have you considered undetectable poison?” Nash frowned.
“No,” Sienna deadpanned. “I haven’t even thought of poison.”
Matthew gave her a death stare.
“Fine,” she snapped. “Of course I’ve considered it. I talked to Narcotics, and they’ve got nothing. No signs of any curses, runes, spells, hexes, enchantments, what have you.”
“So, we have no injuries, no signs of foul play, no magic...” Nash trailed off.
“That’s right.” Sienna raised a thin arm and clapped Nash on the shoulder. “You figure it out, you let me know. I’m going back to the lab to prep. I want to compare the two bodies for any abnormalities that I might have missed looking at just one. Finish up here, will you?”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and stomped her tiny little body out of the room. The necromancer was impossible to deal with, but also...a friend. In an odd sort of way.
“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Nash stared after her just a second too long.
“Something else is right,” Matthew agreed, pretending not to notice. “Come on and help me with the body. We have to keep moving.”
Nash snapped back to attention. “Yes, sir.”
The pair spent the next two hours digging through the room, interviewing the man’s wife and sharing data with the tech team. At the end of it, the only thing they’d all agreed on was that this didn’t appear to be a crime scene at all. No signs of foul play, no reasons the vic should be dead (according to his wife), no trace of magic on the body.
The only thing they’d accomplished at the end of it was to grow tired and irritated at the lack of information. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the situation smelled fishy. This was the second body headed to Sienna’s morgue within a one-week window, and neither had any reason to be there. Matthew didn’t like coincidences.
He briefly wondered if Dani would have picked anything up off the Residuals, or if those, too, would have come up clean. Without a Reserve on the force, the department was severely lacking.
“We can’t keep bringing her back.” Nash didn’t look at Matthew but moved to stand next to him. “We have to find someone to replace her.”
“Detective DeMarco is irreplaceable,” Captain King growled. With an abrupt spin on his heel, he strode out of the room without a backward glance. The techs watched him, appearing to study the expensive lines of his suit, the drawn look on his face, the frustrated gait to his step, as he exited the apartment building without another word. He barely paused outside to bark orders to the techs to clean up the situation and get Sienna her body.
Matthew opted to walk home, keeping to a human pace that gave him time to think. The rest of the world was heading to sleep, tucked cozy in homes and apartments with the doors locked and loved ones near. Matthew didn’t need any of it—the sleep, the family, the safety of locked doors.
And he hated that.
He wanted it.
He wanted Dani back, and he wanted answers to the crime scene. He wanted her to give the Residuals rundown as they teamed up like old times. He wanted to be wrapped around Dani as she slept. He wanted to savor the time in which she slept and he lay next to her in watch, holding her, breathing in her scent, simply being with her.