Free Immortal Revenge by Mary Abshire

she probably wouldn’t have to see Kyle’s remains. The bad news was the memory of him lingered in her mind and only a few others. Such a kind and loving man deserved remembrance, not erased or treated as if he never existed.
    Her heart ached as she thought about Kyle. She missed him and would never forget him and their happy times together. No vampire could ever wipe her memory clean of him.
    “Will you help me catch the vampire who destroyed Kyle?” She asked as calmly and politely as she could, hoping he’d reached a decision by now.
    He stared at the front window. “Revenge turns a heart cold.”
    She eyed him curiously. “You’re familiar with it.”
    He veered his gaze to meet hers. “Very.”
    She gave him a slight grin. “Thanks.”
    He turned his gaze back to the road. Although he wouldn’t say his answer, it was clear enough to her. Maybe they did have a chance to become friends after all.
     

 
    6
     
    “The hospital?” Katie asked as Riker turned into one of the less used entrances on the side of the facility. “I thought we were going to visit the coroner’s office.”
    He steered around to the back of the building with the headlights still dimmed. “Your coroner performs his work at this facility. The bodies are kept here until someone decides what to do with them.”
    “How do you know all this?”
    “I called during my flight and acted like a reporter.”
    Clever.
    He parked in a spot at the end of the three-story building, which resembled an office complex instead of a busy hospital. The emergency entrance on the opposite side had far more idle cars near it. Lights from within the entire facility shined brightly through many windows.
    Riker took the keys from the ignition. “Coming or staying?”
    “Coming.” She shoved open her door and headed toward the nearest entrance.
    “Have you ever seen a dead body before, Ms. Dillinger?” Riker asked as he strolled up beside her.
    “No, I haven’t.” She never considered Kyle part of the dead even though he was immortal and most literature considered vampires the living dead. His heart beat as much as a human one. Therefore, she considered him living. The small amount of blood he took from her and ordered from blood banks sustained his immortality. Could he have died if his heart stopped or he ran out of blood? She asked and he’d told her anything that prevented the heart from working would only turn them into savage beasts. As for loss of blood, well they needed it to survive, so any great loss would intensify their thirst. Their predator instinct would take over until they could return to normal. Fictional vampires were totally different from the ones in real life.
    “I suggest you wait in the waiting room.” Riker’s blondish-brown strands fanned slightly as he walked.
    The doors swished open and to the side. Side by side, they strode into the hospital.
    “I’m coming with you.”
    Lips pursed, he shifted his gaze to her as they passed by a check in desk.
    “I can handle it,” she said.
    Riker said nothing more and led the way down a long hall. When he reached a section of elevators, he stopped and hit the button with the arrow pointing down.
    Katie waited a few feet from the stiff vampire and eyed him curiously. How did he know where to go in the hospital? “Did the person you spoke with give you directions?”
    “No, I read the signs.” He pointed behind her.
    She turned and spotted a sign stating where to find the morgue. Biting her lip, she silently cursed. Maybe she needed to be more observant.
    “Kyle met you when you were eighteen.”
    She twisted to face him. “How do you know?”
    The elevator dinged, then the doors slid open.
    “He told me.”
    Riker walked into the silver box and she followed him. A mildew scent made her wrinkle her nose. He punched the button for the lower level.
    “You look different. Stronger.” He grazed her body with his eyes. “More defined.”
    She crossed her arms. “I’m pretty