Read Online Embracing Midnight by Devyn Quinn - Free Book Online Page A

back of her mind, she measured the man she’d have to stand up against. If he wanted to play it that way, she’d have to brush him off and give him the cold shoulder. Indulging herself with him had almost ruined her personally. Letting it destroy her professionally would be the last nail in her coffin. That couldn’t happen. It would be a test of her mettle to go on as if nothing had ever happened between them.
    Nothing at all, would be her mantra.
    She swallowed, attempting to banish her fear and discomfort. The morning’s coffee curdled in her stomach. Fear was an emotion for the weak. Fear would make her too afraid to go on with her life. Fear would destroy her, shred her like a small animal under the claws of a larger, hungrier beast. She had to be intense, focused, relentless.
    Clearing her mind of thoughts related to their affair, Callie refocused her attention. “What happened?”
    Without missing a beat, Reinke answered. “We’ve got another victim.” In the span of a few seconds his gaze had changed, to cold, flat, and impersonal. “Take a look for yourself.”
    Callie looked. Tension returned. Damn. She hated looking at dead people, especially murder victims.
    Under the glare of probing lights, the naked victim was female, young, and, once, very pretty. Hair the color of pure corn silk straggled around her face and shoulders, strangely bright against the unhealthy pallor of her skin. A simple gold cross on a chain circled her neck.
    The jolt of recognition struck powerfully.
    Callie felt the blood drain from her face. Just a day before, the girl had been alive and, seemingly, well. Though not a particularly religious person, Callie hoped the cross offered a comfort to the woman before she died. In the back of her mind she doubted the thought.
    Squelching her rising emotion, she clenched a hand at her side. If she cried, it would ruin the illusion she was desperate to create, one of control and distance.
    Callie blinked.
    The victim didn’t. Brown eyes stared up with an opaque gaze. Her complexion was pale, as if God had cast her in wax instead of flesh. Dried blood crusted both nostrils. The trail had rounded her mouth to track down her chin and neck. Colorless lips were drawn back in a rictal grimace. She’d resisted death.
    And lost.
    The medical examiner caught the look on her face. “First one you’ve seen like this?”
    Callie nodded. “Yes.”
    Reinke watched her every reaction like a hawk. “Know who she is?”
    Mouth all of a sudden desert dry, Callie swallowed, reminding herself to breathe. Still, the invisible fingers refused to lessen their grip. Trying to clear her mind, she felt both sick and shaky, like someone suffering a nerve-shattering shock. Her head felt as though it had been squeezed in a vise.
    She swayed slightly, then shook her head as if to regain her inner balance. The twinge in her shoulders was turning into relentless knots. “I don’t know her name, but I saw her at the bar last night with Drake. They seemed on good terms.”
    Reinke’s lips formed a cruel line across his face. “Apparently things changed.” His voice was barely restrained fury.
    Stay calm. “So it seems.”
    Leveling an unflinching gaze, Reinke angrily pointed to the body. His expression was so intense it seemed the pressure from his clenched jaw would shatter his face. “That’s what Drake does when he tosses them back.”
    His words flooded her mind. Fighting the clench of nerves, Callie drew in a breath, striving to keep her own expression neutral. “How long has she been dead?”
    The coroner raised his head. “Not long. From the liver temperature, I’d guess it was sometime late last night.”
    Feeling a sudden pressure behind her eyes, Callie lifted a hand to massage her temple. A queasy sensation was slithering into her bowels. This case had taken a turn down a complicated path. She knew for a fact Drake had slipped out of Hell-Bound Train around two AM —taking the woman with him. It