Read Online Her Guardian's Heart by Crymsyn Hart - Free Book Online

ring on the finger was Melissa’s.
    “This is my shop. What happened to Melissa? Was this a robbery gone bad? What happened?”
    The officer looked at me. “Oh, shit,” he muttered. “Please stay here. I’ll get the detective.”
    What had happened to the shop? This shouldn’t have been happening. Nothing should have happened to her. She was an innocent in all of this. I stood against the wall and waited while they took her body and put it in a body bag and then wheeled her out the back.
    “You’re the owner of this place?”
    The detective stood next to me. It took me a moment, but he seemed familiar. “Yeah. Can you tell me what happened?”
    He stuck out his hand. “I’m Detective Crace.”
    Once I took his hand, I felt a connection with him. He seemed familiar. A mixture of the Guardian and someone from the coven. I wasn’t sure which one it was. “Have we met before?”
    “You’re Melina. I wasn’t able to go to the party the other night. I’m your cousin. We can talk about this later. It appears there was a robbery attempt and your clerk was in the way. There was a scuffle. Then he killed her. It happened sometime this morning. I’m sorry to tell you about it.”
    “Thanks. She was my friend.”
    “Can you tell me where you were this morning?” Detective Crace asked.
    “I was at home. I woke up and then came here.”
    “Do you know of anyone that would try to harm you or that would to do any damage to your property?”
    I ran my hand through my hair. “Not that I’m aware of. I’ve always been pretty well-liked in the community, and we live quietly at home.”
    “And who is it that you live with?” I heard the interest in his voice. He took notes while I spoke. Questions tumbled through my mind that I wanted to ask him about being a Guardian. However, I held my tongue.
    “My, ahhh…boyfriend. Landon Wallace.”
    “The artist?”
    “You know him?”
    He nodded. “Yeah. I have several pieces of his. He’s having an art show tonight. You going to be there?”
    “Yeah. Is there anything else that you need? I really need to get inside and check on my stock. The flowers. See what was stolen.”
    “You can’t go in right now. Not until our investigation is over.” He glanced around and then leaned in closer. “Look, I can give you a heads-up on when you can get back inside in case you need to check on anything. Maybe look over the scene with a fresh set of eyes and see if we missed anything.”
    “Isn’t that against the rules?”
    “Not for family.” He squeezed my arm. “Here’s my card in case you need to get in touch with me. It’s nice to finally meet you, Melina.”
    “You too.” I glanced at the broken storefront and felt the echo of Melissa’s spirit. A cold brush against my aura told me she was still there. I took the detective’s card and was surprised to find that he was from the same clan that I was. I wiped my tears away and wasn’t exactly sure what my next move was going to be. I had plans tonight, but seeing the destruction made me wonder if there was something else behind the motive for the attack.
    The cops escorted me behind the crime scene tape. I stood with the other onlookers and watched the paramedics. They loaded the body into the ambulance and shut the doors. My jaw hardened to think about how her life had been ripped away. I closed my eyes and tried to quell my rage. There was something I could do to avenge her. I could use magic to find her killer and then make sure he paid for taking her life. The magic rippled inside of me. My inner Guardian agreed with me. The power was stifling. The burn raced along my nerves. The energy crackled around my fingers.
    “That might not be such a good idea.”
    I turned and met Tannin’s intense gaze. His eyes peered deep into my soul. He might try to stare me down, but I wouldn’t bend to the angel’s will. He was dashing in the long black coat and charcoal suit.
    “What isn’t a good idea? Trying to find out