Free Lost Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans #6.5) by Kym Grosso

that Sydney had been at Embo. It was likely the informant was alive and well, assisting Pat, and looking to lure Sydney into a trap with Mya.

    It wasn’t as if Sydney hadn’t been to a crime scene before, but this was personal. Mya was missing because of her. She studied the décor and took note of the perfectly straightened books that sat on a dusted bookshelf. A small trail of destruction led from the foyer into the bedroom, everything in its path strewn onto the floor. She spied an overturned picture frame on the carpet and bent over to retrieve it. Sydney ran her finger over the edge of the cold metal frame and picked away the broken glass. Underneath, Mya kissed a fluffy white lap dog, a pink diamond collar around its neck. Every detail about the apartment told a story of an innocent young woman, one who appeared to be in college. Her psychology book lay open on a small kitchen table, and Sydney wondered how the fresh-faced coed had found herself employment as a siphon donor.
    Kade waved to her, gesturing to the bedroom. She entered, scenting the blood, but concealed her reaction to the scene. A torn shirt lay on the floor. A set of bra and panties were tied around one of the poles of the white four-poster bed. Dark brown bloodstains were splattered across the pink sheets.
    “Are you sure you wanna stay?” Luca asked Sydney. When she nodded, he leaned over and sniffed the linens. “There’s semen. It’s fresh. It’s possible she was raped.”
    “It would be in line with Pat’s M.O.,” Anthony interjected.
    “Yeah, it is.” Sydney turned her head, sickened by the sight. She made her way into the tiny bathroom and what she saw took her breath away.
    “Wait a minute, Syd,” Luca said. “I didn’t have a chance to tell you…”
    “Kade.” Sydney’s heart caught in her chest as she saw the folded note taped to the mirror. Kade went to reach for it but she blocked his hand. “No, he left this for me.”
    Her hands shook as she tugged at the smooth paper, careful not to tear it. Pat Scurlock. He attacked Mya because of me. Carefully, she opened it, a gasp choking in her throat as she read it. You took my girls. Now I’m taking yours.
    “He’s not going to get to you,” Kade assured her.
    “He’s going to kill her,” Sydney whispered. Dizzy, she gripped the sink.
    “Syd. You know him. He never kills right away,” Anthony said
    “No, he’ll play with her, torture her. I don’t get it, though. Who is the vampire helping him? What could Pat possibly have that he’d be worth causing this kind of trouble in New Orleans? Maybe he’s not from here.”
    “It could be a ‘she’,” Luca commented.
    “A woman?” Sydney asked with surprise.
    “They had on masks. But who knows? It all went down fast and Gil didn’t see much from behind the bar.”
    “Gil never mentioned he scented or suspected it was a woman,” she countered.
    “It’s unlikely but still possible,” Luca continued.
    “I guess.”
    “Back to your other question; why does a vampire involve himself with miscreants?” Luca took the note from Sydney’s hands and studied it.
    “Power would be the obvious answer, but if there was one strong enough to challenge me, why would he wait for the help of a human? It makes no sense,” Kade said.
    The conversation faded as Sydney spied the red spray on the flowered shower curtain. Bile rose in her stomach and she fought the pangs of hunger that arose out of nowhere. She closed her eyes briefly, and attempted to gather strength. Something was happening to her. The rush of Mya’s blood waned. She’d need to feed, find another donor. Yet curiosity drove her as she put one foot in front of the other. Her fingers curled into the nylon fabric. As she pulled it across, a thick trail of caked blood clung to the textured fiberglass tub. A tunnel of black engulfed her vision as she pointed to her name, which was written across the white tiles.

Chapter Nine
    Kade gently laid Sydney onto the