Scorched Heart (The Firebrand Series Book 4), Helen Harper [free ereaders .txt] 📗

was replaced by cold, vicious clarity. This. This was the man who’d murdered my parents. ‘I’m going to get you,’ I promised his photo. ‘And soon.’

Boateng wasn’t answering his phone. I bit out a curse. ‘He’s probably still at the cottage. It’ll take us ten minutes to get back there. Less.’ I pulled back my shoulders. ‘There are loads of police officers there. One of them is bound to have seen the old man somewhere. One of them will have interviewed him and will know where he’s staying.’ Another thought occurred to me. ‘He might even have dropped in for a drink at the bar downstairs.’

Lukas’s black eyes glittered with barely suppressed rage. ‘Before or after he hid in your wardrobe and strangled you?’

My mouth tightened. ‘I didn’t see him on the CCTV footage, but we already know how smart he thinks he is.’

‘Not smart enough,’ Lukas said,

‘We don’t know his real name,’ I cautioned. ‘And he’s not in custody.’

‘He will be.’

I reached for my crossbow, checking it was loaded and ready. ‘Either that,’ I said calmly, ‘or he’ll be dead. He’s some kind of supe.’ I held up my weapon. ‘That means I’m legally permitted to use this against him.’

Something flickered in Lukas’s expression. ‘Be careful,’ he said.

‘You can’t tell me he doesn’t deserve to die.’

‘He killed your parents. He killed you. He’s definitely killed at least two others, if not more. This man, supe or not, is pure evil.’ Lukas brushed a loose curl away from my face. ‘But don’t forget who you are, either. He can’t kill you in the physical sense – not permanently, anyway.’ He dropped his hand to my chest. ‘Don’t let him kill who you are inside. I know you, Emma, and you are not a killer.’

I spoke quietly. ‘I’ve killed before.’

‘Only when you had to, and there was no other choice.’

I lifted my chin. ‘There’s a first time for everything.’

‘Emma.’ Lukas removed his hand. ‘D’Artagnan.’ He sighed. ‘You’re a better woman than I am a man. You walked away from Samuel Beswick.’

‘That was different,’ I said quietly. ‘He was in prison. It was easier to walk away.’

Lukas didn’t look away. ‘No, it wasn’t.’

My thumb lightly stroked the shaft of the crossbow. ‘Miranda James told me not to waste what I have or to waste what I am. I won’t shoot unless I have to.’

Lukas’s mouth curled up at the edges. ‘I know.’ He took my hand. ‘Let’s find ourselves a murderer.’

Chapter Twenty-Five

We started in the bar of the Bird and Bush. It was busy, although the hum of conversation was far more muted than the last time I’d had a drink in there. The locals were obviously finding it difficult to come to terms with Julie’s killing – after all, she’d been a regular there.

My gaze drifted to the spot by the bar where I’d spoken to her then I looked away again. It was at that point I realised how many sets of eyes were upon us. The bartender had frozen in the act of pouring a beer. The family in the corner, who were eating hearty meals of home-made pie and chips, stared at us with their mouths open. And Bill, who had introduced me to Julie and who was still wearing his flat cap, was glowering.

‘It’s me they’re worried about,’ Lukas said in a low voice. ‘Not you.’

It was difficult to ignore the stares and the rumbles of discontent. I switched my crossbow to my left hand and slid my right hand into Lukas’s, entwining our fingers. Then I cleared my throat. Enough already.

‘My name is Detective Constable Emma Bellamy,’ I said, raising my voice to make sure that everyone heard me. ‘But most of you already know that. I work in Supernatural Squad in the Metropolitan Police. This is Lord Lukas Horvath. He’s my boyfriend and he’s also the leader of the London vampires. Don’t worry – he’s not here to drink your blood.’

Lukas smiled, making sure to open his mouth wide so nobody could fail to spot his brilliant white, perfectly sharp fangs. ‘But I will if anyone offers themselves up.’ There was more than one audible gasp.

‘I live in London now,’ I said, quickly bringing the focus back to what was important, ‘but I was born here. I spent the first five years of my life in Barchapel. My parents were murdered here and now a killer is stalking these streets again.’ I hesitated. I had to tread carefully here. I couldn’t be seen to outwardly determine someone’s guilt - that was the job of a court of law, not me - and I couldn’t do anything which might encourage any sort of vigilantism. ‘We are urgently seeking a man who we believe can help us with our inquiries. I have a photo of him. We need to urgently find this man, so that the killer can be brought to justice and we can make sure that Barchapel is safe again.’

I dropped Lukas’s hand and held up my phone, displaying the image of Gwynne Evans. ‘This is the man we’re looking for. We believe he has vital information which can help us find Julie and Patrick’s killer.’

I’d been expecting some sort of reaction but nobody moved and nobody said anything. I spoke a little louder and waved my phone. ‘Does anyone know this man?’

Bill slid off his barstool and removed his cap. ‘How long is the vampire staying here?’ he asked with a long look at Lukas.

‘As long as it takes,’ Lukas replied smoothly. ‘I know you’re afraid of me, but it’s not me you should be afraid of. I’m here to help. The killer is a supernatural creature, although we don’t yet know what kind. He’s not a vampire and he’s not a werewolf, but he has powers and he’s more than prepared to kill. He’s already murdered two of your people. As I said, I’m not the person you need to be afraid of.’

From behind the bar, the bartender coughed.