“Not in my flesh.” James' voice boomed around the room. His body shook as if electrocuted, and he crashed into the wall, releasing his throat.
“Stop fighting me,” Milo snarled and grabbed his left hand with his right, peeling the fingers away from his throat. James' eyes rolled, the color oscillating between obsidian and chocolate.
“Help me.” James reached his left hand toward Lara, his eyes pleading.
Before she could react, James flung himself toward the wall again, diving headfirst through the attic window. He exploded through the glass, somersaulted once, and flipped off the edge of the roof. A sickening crunch reverberated through the house.
Lara screamed and ran to the window. Peering down, she gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Beneath the window, just to the left of the mailbox, was James' body, impaled twice on the wooden fence surrounding the property.
“That's a shame.” Milo appeared beside her and snapped off a piece of the broken glass. He studied it, turning it over in his hands, then tossed it out the window. “Next time, we board up the exits.”
“What do we do now?” Lara turned to Milo, numbness flooding her body.
“You give your statement to the police.” Milo jerked his head toward the window as the sounds of faint sirens reached them. “I suspect you have about five minutes before they get here.”
“I hate you.” She shoved the nearest stack of cardboard boxes, knocking them into the tower beside it. Both the stacks toppled over, scattering the boxes into a haphazard arrangement. “If I get arrested—”
“Then, you didn’t do your job correctly.”
“And what is my job?” Lara arched an eyebrow.
“To lie.”
CHAPTER 2
The slamming of files against the cold, plastic table resonated in the empty room. Empty, save for the chairs surrounding it. Jerking at the sound, Cassius tossed piping hot black coffee he was holding on himself.
“Fuck,” he whispered, mumbling under his breath, rising to his feet, attempting to wipe himself.
Cassius’ eyes lifted to meet with the man responsible for making him spill his morning delight all over his freshly pressed white cotton shirt. Shame on him, whoever he was, for messing with a man’s coffee. How else was he supposed to function so early after staying up until two in the morning? He tossed and turned in bed for hours; for some reason unknown to him, he just could not fall asleep.
But he hadn’t a choice. He was told it was an urgent matter and to be on time.
And that’s what brought him in right after the sun came up. The pounding ache in his head was a constant reminder that he hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
The man who had just entered the room looked oddly familiar, but Cassius was sure he had never seen him before.
Unless...
Unless, of course, he had paid him a visit at the paranormal underground club that had forcibly been shut down months ago.
Damn. Disconcerting memories flooded his brain as one image after the next flashed in the front of his mind. All he’d ever wanted to do was to be successful. Successful at something more than just being a regular business owner, like his twin brother, Darius, owner of Sinfully Yours, the paradise retreat dedicated for long term married couples, looking to explore their promiscuity by finding a third person to join their party.
And even though he owned such a scandalous place, Darius was still seen as the normal one, the one his parents were proud of. Cassius was the disappointment. Hell, someone in the family had to be. Lord knew his mother and father adored his twin brother.
Fuck them. He knew he needed a change from what he was used to growing up. He knew he needed to break free and be the black sheep of the family.
Sure, Sinfully Yours was great. Business was booming, and why wouldn’t it be? It gave couples the okay to cheat... because it wasn’t cheating if both partners were involved. It was just risqué fun.
But Cassius wanted something more. He had always been different. Tall, dark, and handsome, with a dash of mystery thrown into the mix. A mystery which kept him extremely popular with the ladies.
But that was something else.
That was something that right now didn’t matter.
All he knew was that he had been called by the precinct at the last possible moment and asked to come in.
Why?
He hadn’t a clue. But he was miffed and pissed off. This was not how he had been hoping to spend his Friday morning.
His eyes once again roamed over the fucker who had just walked into the room. Hopefully, he would have some answers for him soon.
Cassius watched the man place his own paper cup full of coffee onto the table before taking a seat. He rummaged with the files and fidgeted in his chair.
Cassius then sat back down, cautiously, so as to not spill any more of his coffee. If he were going to get through this day, he would need as much caffeine as heavenly possible.
“Cassius Broxsby?” the man asked, getting comfortable in the seat across from him, never bothering to gaze back at him.
Cassius nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”
Finally, the man peered over at Cassius, studying him with careful eyes.
What was it about this guy? Cassius could almost sense his judgmental demeanor.
Fucking guy... doesn’t know shit about me and already making assumptions. Why the fuck am I even here right now? And why hasn’t anyone told me shit yet? All they do is shut people up with coffee, sticking them in interrogation rooms, letting the day go to waste. Fuck!
Cassius scowled, growing impatient by the second. At that, the man pulled more of the files over in front of him and began reading over the first one in the pile. He then pulled out a pen from the inside pocket of his jacket and scribbled some notes on the inside of the papers in the file.
Cassius let out an audible sigh then leaned closer to the table, trying to see what the man was writing. He had to know what the hell was going on. He had spent too much time in the past with cops. But to be brought back to the Mendsville Police Department? That meant this had something to do with the paranormal. Something he was all too familiar with.
Finally, a small smile pulled at the corners of the man’s lips. He placed his pen down and once again looked over at Cassius. “Mr. Broxsby, I’m special agent Detective Dane Carter.”
Carter? Where did he know that name from? He thought for a second before dismissing his thoughts.
The detective continued talking. “We’ve brought you in this morning to discuss some odd occurrences that have been taking place over at the Angelov residence. You have heard of it, haven’t you?” He raised an eyebrow.
Heard of it? Who hadn’t? The Angelov widow, Laura—or was it Lara—had been all over the news lately. First a dead husband, then two dead fiancés followed suit. It sounded suspicious even to him. And Cassius was all about suspicion.
Cassius nodded. “I have.”
Detective Carter nodded in return. “Good. Then this makes my job a hell of a lot easier.”
Sure, it does. Because your job is so difficult to begin with.
Stupid cops, always looking at him funny because of what he practiced and what he believed in. So what if he believed in the paranormal and followed some of their activities. Being a vampire had always intrigued him, until one day he tried it and never looked back. It helped that so many people shared his love of the undead.