Read Online Her Dark Heart by Vivi Anna - Free Book Online

Chapter 1
    Trevor Blackstone rode shotgun in the ambulance as it raced toward the 911 call. It was three in the morning and the streets of Nouveau Monde were still hopping. That was what happened in a city where at least one third of the residents were vampires.
    The call came in from Sinsational, a vampire cabaret club that entertained all the other denizens of the European city—lycans, witches, vampires and humans. For the most part it was just some fun, but sometimes it could get out of hand. Hence, 911 had been called. But instead of a blood bite gone too far, they had a 901-- a shooting.
    When Kostas, Trevor’s partner, pulled the ambulance up to the curb in front of the club, there were a couple of police cars blocking off the street. Two constables stood outside the front doors. Trevor got up, went into the back, and opened up the main doors. He jumped down, medical kit in hand, and waited for Kostas so they could lift out the stretcher and take it in.
    â€œHey, Blackstone,” one of the constables said as Trevor and Kostas passed him to go into the club. Trevor nodded to him and continued on.
    The club was large, could easily hold three hundred people and usually did most nights. The owner, Mistress Guinevere, was a popular attraction. An eight-hundred-year-old vampiress who could sing like a nightingale. She had a voice like no other. Her songs could move most people to tears, and sometimes into the throes of passion.
    Trevor had experienced both.
    He’d come to the club a couple of times during his nights off. He’d heard so many things about it, and the proprietor, that his curiosity had gotten the best of him. Both nights had been impossible to forget.
    Inspector Gabriel Bellmonte met them about halfway across the floor.
    Trevor greeted his friend. “Hey Gabe. What’s the situation?”
    Gabriel looked at his notebook. “Multiple gunshot wounds. The victim is vampire, no more than seventy-five years old.”
    â€œSilver bullets?”
    â€œYeah.”
    Trevor and Kostas followed Gabriel down the back stairs to the basement where other more decadent activities took place. At the bottom of the stairs, they stepped into a large room. Trevor could think of only one thing when he searched the room, French boudoir.
    The room was decorated in deep rich colors, reds and gold. Each wall was adorned with a nude painting and candelabra flickering with low light. Lounge sofas were set against two walls. On each were three or more loungers. He counted four women and two men. Each was dressed elegantly, lavishly even, as if they were in a Shakespearean stage production. It was totally for show. Vampires didn’t dress like this in their usual day-to-day or night-to-night activities.
    On the thick white shag carpet lay the victim—a female vampire dressed in a sheer black gown that left nothing to the imagination. Another vampire, a constable, was down on his knees pressing a blood-soaked cloth to the victim’s chest and to her stomach.
    Trevor crouched beside her, to take her vitals. He nodded to the constable. “What’s her status?”
    â€œGunshot wounds to her chest and stomach. Happened about ten minutes ago. She’s been lucid until now.”
    Trevor examined her pupils, shining a light in them. They still responded, which was good. He then listened to her heart with his stethoscope. Her heartbeat was still strong, considering. Most people thought vampires were the undead, that they didn’t have heartbeats or breathe air, but the truth was they were as alive as the rest of humanity. Vampirism was a genetic quirk that could be passed on by blood transfusion—although it was rare for that to happen.
    Nudging the constable aside, Trevor looked at the bullet wounds. If he could extract the silver, she’d live. If he couldn’t eventually it would kill her. Like poisoning, the silver would eventually dissolve into her bloodstream and stop her