Harris answered on the first ring. “Another vampire attack,” he said without preamble. “You need to get here immediately.”
The note of genuine fear in his words was alarming. Had I ever heard Harris sound afraid?
“Detective, what is it?” After all, a vampire attack certainly wasn’t good, but it was a sunny Los Angeles morning, and the culprit was likely long gone. What could explain the strange quaver in his voice?
Then, a moment later, Harris said, “There was a note on the bodies. It’s addressed to you.”
* * *
Thierry and I drove to the address Harris had given me. Though the late-afternoon sun was warm and vaguely irritating to my senses, I felt colder and colder as we neared the crime scene.
“This all seems terribly public,” Thierry said quietly once I pulled into the lot.
I followed his gaze. We had arrived at the outdoor recreation center in Sherman Oaks, about a mile from where Eli and his sister lived. That couldn’t have been a coincidence. And yes—it was the opposite of secluded. But that made sense; Magnus had wanted the bodies found. Assuming, of course, that Godric, Thierry, and Jeremy were correct.
There were a dozen cop cars and several more unmarked police vehicles in the lot. A few of the officers waved as I drove past, causing Thierry to shoot me a sharp look. “Friends of yours?”
“In a manner of speaking,” I replied, leaving it at that. I didn’t especially want to explain to my brother that I had hypnotized most of the Los Angeles Police Department into doing my bidding.
I parked in the spot next to Harris’s car. He was standing beside it, waiting for me.
“It’s about time,” he said when I got out of my vehicle. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”
“And miss the party?” I fought to sound calm, but I was toosomethingto truly pull it off. My voice wobbled ever so slightly. “I couldn’t possibly.”
I was going for cool and aloof, but the surprise that flashed across Harris’s face told me he’d caught that I was off-kilter.
“Of course not,” he agreed, still giving me the strangest look. Then his eyes widened when Thierry climbed out of the vehicle. “Wait, why are there two of you now?”
“Harris, meet my twin brother, Thierry.”
“Are you—” He broke off, flustered, and shot me a searching look. “Is he…?”
It wasn’t hard to put together what was on the other side of that hesitation.
“Yes,” Thierry replied, arching a brow at him. “I am.”
“Do you also go after murderers?” Harris demanded, his hand drifting closer to the gun holstered at his side. “Or do you not care?”
“Hmmm. Your friend is rather judgy,” Thierry remarked, frowning at me. “You didn’t mind-control him into submission?”
“I mean, I can’t lie to Cole. So there’s that.” His eyes narrowed at my twin. “But listen—are we going to have a problem?”
“Thierry doesn’t kill,” I assured him.
Harris’s eyes widened. “Wait—at all? I just assumed that all vampires—”
Thierry startled, looking around at the other police officers in earshot, none of whom were paying any attention to us—even though we were discussing vampires and murder. His wide-eyed gaze met mine. “Nicolas, what did you do to all of these nice people? Did you mind-control the entire LAPD?”
I ignored both of their questions in favor of fixing Harris with a hard look. “Where are the bodies?”
“What, no witty banter first? Usually there’s a bit of foreplay before we dive in.”
“Hmmm. Perhaps I misjudged you,” Thierry mused, giving Harris an appraising look. “It’s possible I might come to tolerate your presence. In the fullness of time, of course.”
Harris snorted. “Well, fuck you very much.”
I shot my brother an annoyed look before turning back to Harris. “Sorry, Detective. The back and forth will need to wait. We’re in a hurry.”
