here, and he’s been here for the last sixteen years, since he appeared to me when I was only ten years old.
Fuck you, Memory Lane. I’m exhausted from revisiting you tonight.
“Then let’s go to bed,” Lucas says.
“I’ll be here,” Julian assures me. “I’ll keep watch.”
“Thank you,” I tell him as I take off my shoes. Lucas and I had plans for this evening, didn’t we? Or was that yesterday? Fuck. Everything is blurring together. I let out a deep sigh and go upstairs, stripping out of my clothes as soon as I’m on the second-story landing. I hear Julian open the back door, letting Scarlet out.
“Are you okay?” Lucas asks, pausing in the bathroom doorway.
“Yeah,” I say without thinking. “I’m fine.”
“Really?”
I tear my eyes from the mirror to my husband, and my heart melts. “Yeah. I will be. My life is complicated, and I’m just tired. But I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” he asks slowly.
“Hold me until I fall asleep and I will be.”
“I can do that,” Lucas promises.
And he does. It took me a good hour or two to actually fall asleep, but Lucas’s arms never faltered. I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like him, someone who loves me unconditionally when my life puts a lot of fucking conditions on everyone around them.
Yet, I have Lucas and his unfaltering hold on me.
“Morning,” he grumbles when I slowly break out of his grasp.
“Good morning,” I whisper. “I have to pee, but I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” he says sleepily and rolls over. Keeping my eyes halfway shut so I don’t lose that tiredness, I pad my way into the bathroom and use the toilet. The TV is on downstairs, reminding me Julian is here, keeping watch and making sure we’re safe. I hold out my hands and close my eyes, more than ready to collapse back into bed, nuzzled up with the love of my life.
I fall asleep right away, comforted by Lucas’s strong arms around me and all three of my familiars in bed with us. I sleep soundly for another three hours, waking to Julian’s voice coming from the hall.
“Callie,” he repeats, and I sit up. Lucas isn’t in bed with me anymore. Scarlet has taken his spot—and twice as much room— and grunts as she opens her eyes, looking annoyed at being woken up.
“What’s going on?” I ask, lazily rubbing my face.
“Your friend Easton called,” Julian tells me. “He said there was another murder.”
Chapter 32
“I can’t figure it out.” I close my eyes and rub my forehead.
“It’s okay,” Lucas says, but his eagerness to calm me just pisses me off.
“No, it’s not,” I snap. The sun is setting, and it’s been nearly twelve hours since Easton called, letting us know there was another body found. This one was in Paradise Valley, and Renee Franklin was only missing for a few hours before she was reported missing. Once she didn’t show up to her shift as a nurse in the local ICU, the phone calls started.
Then a farmer found her covered in frost—and missing a heart—in his field.
“How is she related to the others?” I slam my laptop closed and toss my head back in frustration. “She has to be connected.”
“There might not be an obvious connection,” Lucas says patiently, somehow putting up with me. We’re in the kitchen of the little brick house, surrounded by boxes. I spent the day obsessing over Renee, and Lucas spent it packing up more of our stuff. Another moving truck should be here any minute now, and I let out a breath.
“You’re right. The demons are taking hearts, and it could be anything from an exact pattern, like these women’s birthdays, to them just being easy picking.”
Lucas’s brows furrow and he nods. “Unfortunately, yes. Sitting here obsessing isn’t going to help,” he says gently.
“What else am I supposed to do?”
“Live your life.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Renee can’t live hers.”
“Callie,” he says sternly, getting up and going to the back door. Maybe I’m being dramatic…but then again, maybe I’m not being dramatic enough. Another body was found, bringing our heartless body count up.
We’ve found zero similarities between the victims, other than they have all been women so far. I run my hands over my face, letting out a deep breath. Gravel crunches under the tires of the moving truck, causing Scarlet to bark. Rubbing my eyes, I look up and call her over, slipping my fingers under her collar. The basement is empty now, with only my washer