Page 16 of Be Still My Unbeating Heart

This time, De Luca really did blush.

7

“You think Luna was a vampire ally?” Bastian asked as they ambled down the cobbled street. He examined the infinity pin, which was now in a clear baggy that De Luca had provided.

A certain kind of person wore pins like that. VAs.

While some people saw a vampire and screamedmurderer!, a growing minority of vampire allies saw oppression. Prejudice. Struggle—citing the often barbaric way vampires were treated by the general human public. People threw bricks and glass bottles. Some carried handheld UV lamps to torment them, while others had taken tohuntingvampires, exploiting new laws that stated, where the undead were concerned, blood sport was entirely legal. Often the vampires slain were more docile by nature; they were the ones who didn’t fight back.

VAs argued that vampires were essential members of society who had their own thoughts, feelings, and unique perspectives on the world. They weren’t innatelyevil, justdifferent.Many vampires had adapted to life out of the shadows, curbing their thirst or engaging in consensual bloodletting with willing donors.

Bastian had heard of nightclubs that hosted “Bite Me” parties, called so because humans in attendance wore badges stating “Bite Me” if they didn’t mind vampires feeding on them. Apparently, it was a mutually beneficial system. Vampires got to eat without fearing the stake, while humans attained a euphoric high from the blood loss—and there was the added bonus of vampire saliva being a powerful aphrodisiac. So long as nobody fed to the point of death, it was a win-win situation.

Bastian had never been tempted by such gatherings. He approached allies with caution. Some had pure intentions, holding marches, setting up petitions, and rolling out social media campaigns in order to fight for vampire rights. But others objectified vampires in strange and self-serving ways. Most troubling were the fetishizing hook-up seekers who would do anything to attract a vampire under cover of dark and then kick them into the nuclear sunshine come dawn.

“No, Luna wasn’t involved in vampirism,” De Luca said in answer to Bastian’s question. “She was quiet. An artist in her spare time. She wouldn’t have associated with anything vampire related.”

“You make it sound sordid,” Bastian commented.

“I just meant—”

“I know what you meant,” Bastian said, unfazed. “If the girl wasn’t an ally, that means the killer dropped the pin. Maybe herkillerwas an ally.”

“Perhaps.”

De Luca walked stiffly. His gaze rarely met Bastian’s and he spoke in clipped sentences. His mood hadn’t improved. He glowered at their surroundings—and he kept looking over his shoulder, as if expecting Commissario Zappa to lunge from the shadows and tear the badge from his shirt. He was taking a risk allowingBastian to leave the apartment, and Bastian got the sense that De Luca was a law abider to the core. He wasn’t accustomed to putting a single toe out of line.

“You said that the dead girl worked in a café?” Bastian asked.

De Luca nodded.

“And it’s called…?”

“Micio Micio.”

Bastian looked at him. “What an unusual name.”

De Luca sniffed. “It’s a cat café.”

A smile played on Bastian’s lips. “Hear that, Whitby? A café for cats!”

“This bad idea just got ten times worse,” the cat grumbled, nearly tripping Bastian as she wove between his legs. She had looked panicked at the mere suggestion she leave her cat bed, but apparently the thought of being alone in the apartment was enough to have her brave the outside world.

“Who’s to say the dead girl’s colleagues know anything about her death?” the cat said. “I’m telling you, we should leave town while we have the chance.”

“You know we can’t do that, love. If nothing else, the inspector will rugby tackle me, and nobody needs to see that. Can you imagine the scandal?”

Bastian smiled at De Luca, who scowled and checked over his shoulder again. So serious, Bastian wanted to shake him. They wereoutside.Sightseeing! Sure, they were also attempting to clear his name, catch a killer, and save the town from certain destruction, but still. This was a hundred times better than house arrest. The feel of the breeze across his skin was divine.

“Why don’t you try a protection enchantment?” he told Whitby. “See if you can’t keep us from harm or bad luck or both?”

The cat leveled a long stare at him, seeming uncertain if hewas teasing her. Then she started reciting words under her breath, and he realized she had taken his advice. If nothing else, it was a good distraction for her.

Bastian noticed that De Luca was squinting at him with a sharp kind of curiosity in his eyes.

“Yes, Inspector?”

The poliziotto looked away. He glared at the cobbles, jaw clenched.