Free Immortal Revenge by Mary Abshire Page B

other side.”
    Katie turned, rolling her eyes. She stepped up close to one of the min-refrigerators and pulled on the handle. The top of a head covered with dark hair and a strong rotting smell greeted her. Overcome by the stench, she held her breath and quickly closed the door.
    “I sense you still love him even though he no longer exists.”
    She moved to the next holding cube and paused while she considered his questions. Did the vamp think she could just forget about Kyle and move on? Did he think she could drop all her feelings because Kyle wasn’t around for her?
    She opened the square door and found a woman lying within the locker. “I can’t stop loving him. He’ll always be in my heart and mind.” Another foul odor invaded her nose and her gut twisted with disgust. She slammed the door shut.
    Behind her, she heard click, swish and a soft thump. Click, swish, thump continued while she checked the two units at the bottom.
    “Emotions are destructive, Ms. Dillinger. One of two things will happen to you. You will either be hurt and wish you were dead, or you will end up dead.”
    Katie stopped in front of the next cooler and checked inside. “I’m human. What am I supposed to do? Just…be?”
    “Welcome to the world.”
    She tugged the lever of the next square locker. The cold emptiness of the storage unit oddly reminded her of Riker. She didn’t know much about him other than he was older than Kyle, worked with him, knew how to fight and was smart. He managed to survive far longer than Kyle had. Was the key to his survival avoiding emotions? And if she followed his advice, would she too end up cold and desolate?
    On the flipside, would suppressing feelings allow her to win when facing the extreme, when facing death? His logic made sense. Focus on the task and nothing else. In the heat of battle, fight to claim your prize. Kyle had repeated the words to her multiple times. The prize could be life or a simple goal, whatever the person fighting wanted. Kyle had never said the words Riker had, yet the meanings were damn close, if not dead on. But Kyle was not like Riker or the empty cooler in front of her.
    Riker came to stand beside her. “Take my advice, ditch them.” He strode away, heading for the double doors they’d entered.
    Katie shut the hatch, then strode out of the morgue. She reached the record room and found Riker studying the file cabinets.
    “My goal is simple,” she said, stepping closer to him. “Find and destroy the vampire responsible for Kyle’s demise. Yes, I will always love Kyle, but when I face the enemy and it comes down to only one of us walking away, I’m going to fight like hell to make sure it’s me.”
    While revenge motivated her, it wouldn’t lead to her downfall. Emotion didn’t drive Katie. It never did when she fought with Kyle, or she would’ve lost every time. She liked the challenge. She yearned to win and understood the effort needed to succeed. Hard work and unrelenting determination were two of her strongest qualities she possessed. When it came time for her to face the rogue who ended Kyle’s existence, she’d beat him and claim her revenge. She had no doubt about it.
    Riker made no response to her statement. His gaze continued to slide over the filing cabinets. He stepped closer to one, then tugged on the handle. The drawer clanked from the inside and remained closed.
    He twisted and glanced past her. “Check for keys in the desk.”
    Katie strode to the desk wedged between file cabinets. She switched on the desk lamp, then started rummaging through the side drawers. Finding only typical office supplies, she rolled the chair back and pulled the thin drawer from underneath the desk. The jingle of keys brought a smile to her face.
    “Got them.” She snatched the keys, twisted and tossed them.
    Riker caught the keys and immediately searched the set.
    “What are you looking for in the cabinets?” Katie asked as she walked toward him.
    He slid a key into