Free Downbeat (Biting Love) by Mary Hughes

moving—he was breathing.
    Zajicek seized one of the attendants’ heads and looked deep, and I mean stabbing-out-the-other-side deep, into his eyes. “What happened?”
    “Heart attack,” the man said.
    I squeezed Kevin’s cold hand. “I can’t believe it.” I never thought he’d really have a coronary, not as young as he was. “How?”
    “Where?” Zajicek overrode me.
    “EMTs responded to a 911 from Redfox Village. Faith Presbyterian Church.”
    I met Zajicek’s eyes. That was where CSUCS rehearsed.
    The man continued, “Church personnel heard a scream. He’d wedged himself under the altar like he was hiding. Poor guy was nearly scared to death.”
    The elevator came to a stop. The doors opened and I saw the sign “Emergency” above a nurses’ station. The attendants wheeled the gurney out and disappeared through a pair of automatic doors.
    “I wonder why was he there?” Zajicek watched them go. “Checking into something for tomorrow night’s rehearsal?”
    It was the only thing that made sense, yet it made no sense. We musicians never went into the sanctuary.
    I clamped my cold hands under my arms and searched Zajicek’s eyes. “Our music director has a stroke. You take his place, and a day later Kevin has a heart attack in the sanctuary. Coincidence?”
    “I don’t know yet.” Zajicek gently peeled my hands away from my body and cupped them in his, strong and warm. “But I have my suspicions. I’ll find out.”
    Something glittered in his eyes. Something dangerous that made me pull my hands from his. “I need to get back to Meiers Corners. To talk to Nixie.”
    “First I must arrange protection for Hugo and Mr. Hutt.”
    “You do know something.”
    “Not here. It’s too public. In the car.”
    He guided me to the parking structure, scanning the area like a raptor the whole way. At his car he seated me and shut my door. I managed my seat belt as he slid into the driver’s side and scissored the door closed.
    He didn’t start the engine. His face was grim and his jaw muscles jumped like he was gritting his teeth—or was trying to keep some of them from getting fangy. “You may be in danger.”
    “Me? Oh, you mean the orchestra. Because you took the CSUCS podium to spy on someone dangerous, and he’s spying back at you.”
    A brief, pained smile flashed across his austere features. “You are quite smart, aren’t you?”
    “Even I can put two and two together.”
    “Yes, Hugo stepped aside so that I might be in this area without attracting undue attention. But while I am investigating someone potentially dangerous, I have no reason to believe he’s ‘spying back’ as you say. However, I do have enemies.”
    “I thought attacking innocent bystanders wasn’t allowed.”
    He looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time. Before he could ask the question I could see in his eyes, Do you know about vampires? I added, “In the spy game, I mean.”
    His gaze narrowed; I wasn’t fooling him. “There’s an unspoken covenant that noncombatants are left alone. But after what’s happened to Kevin? I don’t want to take any chances. I’m responsible for the orchestra and I take that responsibility seriously. Which means you will come with me.”
    “Where are we going?”
    “Steel’s household.”
    “Oh. Ohhhh.” Actually, this was good news. Logan Steel, Luke’s twin, was on the good-guy vampire side. Better yet, I was friends with his wife, Liese. I could tell her about Triana’s bigger-than-big and badder-than-bad vampire rumor. “I won’t need to talk to Nixie then.”
    “Excellent,” Zajicek said with a relish I didn’t get, until he added, “Afterward, you can go to dinner with me.”
     
     
    Logan was Luke’s identical twin, complete with blond hair, golden eyes and stunning bod. The only difference was the length of Logan’s hair, shoulder instead of butt, and the twinkle in his eyes, a sparkle that had gotten noticeably brighter since he’d married