Conquer the Highland Beast: The Vampire Dylan Macgregor (Hearts of Darkness) Read Online Free Page A

perused the area. “Doing him here may have saved us a lot of work, but by not moving him somewhere else, she must have wanted to send a message. Maybe to someone who frequents this area?”
    “You’d know who they are better than I do.” After examining the body, Dylan began to believe the killer had other motives. This crime was about more than a simple somebody-done-somebody-wrong. “Where’s his heart?”
    “We didn’t find it.”
    “Just his heart is missing,” Max confirmed. “Nothing else has been touched…well, except the obvious. And I think that happened while he was alive…” He shuddered. “…before she cut out his heart. And we should note, she didn’t chew it out or rip it out. She sliced through his chest and broke his sternum. Would take a lot of strength with his muscled chest. Couldn’t have been easy, especially on a man his size.”
    “ Then, she neatly carved his heart out of his chest cavity.” Dylan bent over to examine the amount of blood everywhere. “Too much blood for a typical demon attack. Demons don’t usually attack their own. They start by draining their blood and then move on to other vital organs. They usually eat their victims. This doesn’t fit the usual pattern. Looks like she is following the Golden Rule and doing-unto-others.”
    “Or she just ran out of time.”
    “No.” Dylan shook his head when he sensed the female demon’s anguish. The perpetrator was in pain. She’d been hurt by this demon or whatever he was, and her loss had been personal. She’d sliced him open and stolen his heart. This act of violence reminded him of the retribution he once sought for the deaths of his family members. The revenge he eventually achieved never provided the gratification he expected. Instead, it did lead to the destruction of his life almost at the expense of his soul.
    Dylan shook the memories off—avoiding them to maintain his sanity. The demon ess had evidently lost hers. Her reasons were no longer his concern. All that mattered was keeping the details from the FBI, or covering up the details. He had to find the woman who did this and prevent her from killing again. If the victim did something to deserve this kind of death sentence, Dylan had a feeling he hadn’t done it alone.
    “Garr , you and Max see what you can find before our friends from the FBI show up.”
    “I stalled as long as I could, but it won’t be long now. The location works to our advantage. You have time, but when they show up—” Ramon checked his watch and pointed to them, and then to several spots surrounding them. Remember there’s plenty of cover, there and there, behind the mausoleums. Get me? Do not risk being seen.”
    Garr nodded and Max said, “Clear.”
    “The FBI can’t discover what the victim was. We have to stop the autopsy. Dylan you search the profiler’s mind, find out where they’re gonna transport him, and I’ll bring a team in to take the body, dispose of it, and make it look like a voodoo ritual.”
    Max wandered to the back side of the headstone, moving more quickly. “Uh oh! I’m picking up the irresistible fragrance of eau de brimstone.” His body seemed to bulk up right before Dylan’s eyes as he shouted, “This way.” He moved to the path leading out the back gate. “Hey, over here. It gets stronger the closer I get to the street. You catch that, Garr?”
    “No, but she’s covered in his blood, and I’m overwhelmed by the scent. Point me in the right direction, and I’ll take it from there.”
    The big guy got naked and handed Max a pile of his clothing. “Take care of this. I’m gonna need them later.” He shifted, growled, and then took off in the direction Max suggested.
    Dylan picked up on Max’s sudden interest in this demoness when he noted his eyes had changed color. His fangs had begun to drop into place, visibly extending beyond his lips. From his reaction, he suspected her scent had turned Max on. Not sure what to make of his sudden