On The Run With A Vampire

18. Lucien

CHAPTER 18

LUCIEN

The one good thing about being accused of committing seven heinous murders is that solving said murders and clearing your name provides a handy distraction.

And a distraction is very much needed—for me, at least. Raven, on the other hand, seems completely unaffected by the obvious shift that occurred between us last night.

In fact, she seems so unbothered that I can’t help but wonder if the events of last night were all just a figment of my imagination.

That I fabricated the taste of her on my lips.

That I dreamt up the warmth coursing through my dried veins as she curled up beside me.

That I imagined the all-encompassing feeling of peace I felt as she drifted off to sleep, soft snores spilling from her lips.

“Earth to Lucien?”

I blink. Raven is sitting beside me, buckled into the passenger seat, a curious expression twisting her features. “Excuse me?”

She lifts a clearly unimpressed brow. “Did you hear any of what I just said?”

“Of course I did,” I lie and fumble around in my brain for a response that seems likely to convince her I have been listening. “And I 100% agree.”

Raven’s expression clears. “Oh. Well. That’s good then. I was worried I’d have to spend more time convincing you, but since we’re on the same page…” She trails off and shrugs. “Where to?”

Some part of me recognises that she’s just asked me a question, and I try to focus on her words. Desperately.

It’s futile.

My gaze keeps drifting back to her lips. They’re impossibly full, and I’m suddenly desperate to feel them against mine again.

Focus, Lucien.

Right.

Yes.

Focus .

She’s still talking. Something about ‘ …best plan of action ’ and ‘ might be tricky, but I’m sure we can… ’

My eyes wander lower, tracing the graceful curve of her neck. The delicate line from her jaw to her collarbone is simply mesmerising.

“Lucien!” Raven’s voice cuts through the fog, sharp and urgent. She snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Are you alright?”

“Of course I am,” I say with a tight smile. Keep your eyes off her neck. Eyes off her neck. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you’ve been zoned out all morning,” Raven says with a frown. “Is something wrong?”

Only that I’m having feelings I haven’t had in—well, at least a century. But I sense that’s not the answer Raven is looking for.

“I can assure you, Raven, everything is fine.”

She looks thoroughly unconvinced.

I don’t blame her. With my powers of persuasion, lying isn’t exactly a skill I’ve had to hone over the years. It seems I’ve gotten rusty.

I clear my throat and start the car. “Let’s go through your plan one last time.”

“Because you weren’t paying attention the first time?”

“No,” I say, pretending to be offended that she’s doubting me. “I just want to make sure there aren’t any holes in it.”

Raven rolls her eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“I very rarely sleep at night,” I remind her.

“That’s the point.”

Ah.

“Like I said earlier,” she says with a pointed look in my direction. “I don’t think we can trust Cordelia. Not entirely, anyway. She clearly hates you?—”

“She hates Mother,” I interject. “I’m just collateral damage.”

“My point is: Cordelia owes us nothing. She’ll say whatever she needs to say to get us to draw the S.B.E.F. out, but we can’t rely on her to get us out of this mess.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Figuring out who’s heading up the S.B.E.F. is her priority, not ours.”

“I would quite like to know who is responsible for impaling me not once, but twice,” I grumble. “But I see your point. What are you suggesting?”

Raven’s beautiful lips split into a sheepish grin. “We need to check out the scene of the crime.”

“And you’re sure this is where she was found?” I ask. The clearing we’re currently standing in is secluded, at least a thirty- minute walk from the nearest main trail. “How did they even find her all the way out here?”

“No idea,” Raven says with a shrug. She climbs over a fallen tree trunk and a pile of rotting leaves and surveys the area with her hands on her hips. “I guess someone came across her and called it in? Maybe a hiker or a bird-watcher?”

“I’m not so sure about that,” I murmur. Aside from the tattered police tape stuck to the nearby trees, creating a half-hearted kind of cordon, and the flurry of large police boot footprints circling the clearing, there’s very little sign of any human activity here at all. “We’re at least two miles away from the main trail, and do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Exactly.” I gesture around the clearing. “It’s silent. There’s not a single bird in the vicinity, and there isn’t much of a view. I can’t see any reason for a hiker or a bird-watcher to deviate from the route to come here.”

Raven frowns. “So, who found her? Who called the police?”

“I have to assume it was our killer.”

Raven shakes her head. “Why would a murderer call the police to let them know where the body is? It’s like practically begging to get caught.” She sits down on the fallen trunk and frowns. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Doesn’t it?” I drop down on the trunk beside her. “It’s quite common for serial killers to contact the authorities and brag about their actions.”

“That’s insane,” Raven murmurs.

I shrug. “We’re dealing with someone who has the capacity to kill without reason, Raven. Trying to ascribe logic to their actions won’t do you any good.”

Raven’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t argue. “Okay, let’s say you’re right and the murderer did contact the police. Why leave her here? Why not bring her somewhere easier to find if calling the police was always going to be the end goal?”

I’m about to respond when my eyes catch something on the ground—a dark red splotch partially hidden under the pile of leaves. I take a tentative sniff.

Blood.

It’s faint—at least a week old—but the unmistakable scent of blood fills my senses.

I lean in closer and brush the leaves aside to reveal a large, congealed bloodstain.

Raven gasps. “What the hell?”

“I believe that is the answer to your question. Our killer anticipated a mess, which is why he did the deed out here.”

“But there’s—there’s so much,” Raven reels away from the stain. “Why would someone do this?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “But this is further proof that a vampire wasn’t responsible for Ms. Corrigan’s unfortunate demise.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.” I feel my lips curl upwards in disgust. “A vampire would never leave this much blood. No. Ms. Corrigan was murdered and her blood was drained.”

It’s not an appropriate moment to brag, but my feeds are always spotless.

“But why?” Raven asks. “And what about the bite marks on her neck?”

“Those weren’t bite marks, Raven.” Slowly but surely, the puzzle starts to piece together in my mind. “They were just meant to look like bite marks. Whoever did this wanted people to think a vampire was responsible.”

Raven is silent for a moment and then—“Shit.”

“Shit?”

“Don’t you get it? Someone is specifically trying to frame you , Lucien,” she says, eyes wide and frantic. “And who would want to do that? Who would have something to gain by the general public becoming aware of your existence? Who would want to fabricate evidence of a vampire brutally murdering innocent people?”

“I do murder innocent people, Raven.”

She shakes her head. “Not like this you don’t. You’re not out there killing for fun. It’s for survival. I can’t judge you for that. Now think, Lucien. Who would benefit from proving that you’re a genuine threat to public safety?”

The answer jumps into the forefront of my mind without me even having to think about it.

“The S.B.E.F.”

Raven nods. “What was it you said about them? Their funding’s been slashed, they’re down to three people, and the department is on the brink of being shut down. That all changes if they can prove that there’s a dangerous vampire on the loose.”

“So they’re killing people?” Ms. Corrigan’s body, bruised and discarded, appears in my mind. A wave of anger, hot and fiery, crashes over me. “Seven people are dead and your name has been dragged through the mud, and it’s all just been to get a bit of extra funding?”

If I weren’t so furious, I might laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“Looks like it,” Raven says. I’m sure the look of disgust on her face must mirror mine. “What’re we going to do?”

“We’re going to stop them,” I say firmly, giving one last glance at the bloodstain on the forest floor. “And we need to do it before they kill again.”