Page 67 of Be Still My Unbeating Heart

“Please,” Bastian said, stepping between the inspector and the council. “The inspector has nothing to do with this. If you want to charge me, charge me. I won’t resist.”

“Howgallant!” Jared hooted a laugh. Ling and Emmeline chuckled, too, and the sound crept like spiders over Bastian’s skin.

“I’m afraid it is time to depart,” Ling said. “Bastian Emerson, step forward.”

She removed a long, shimmering strand of silver from her blazer. It looked like rope, but thinner, more elegant. The tips of her fingers hissed at contact with the precious metal, but it didn’t appear to bother her the way silver bothered most vampires.

“No!” Whitby said, her voice solid as stone. She sat on the kitchen table, between Bastian and the council. “You cannot trust a word the commissario has told you. He’s setting Bastian up.”

As one, the council turned to look at Zappa, whose face turned purple.

“Outrageous! I have done nothing but protect this town.”

“Commissario,” De Luca said. “When you took Kerstin Grönberg’s statement, did she say that she saw Bastian kill Emilio?”

“I am not the one on trial here!”

“Not yet,” Bastian said.

De Luca remained focused on Zappa. “Are you sure you didn’t embellish Kerstin’s statement in order to convict Bastian?”

“I’ll have your badge!” Zappa screamed, slamming a fist against the counter.

“You will not harm the inspector!” Whitby spat. “Speak the truth, oaf!”

“Now, now,” Ling said.

“Yes,” agreed Emmeline, “let us remain—”

“—civil,” Jared finished for them.

“Commissario?” De Luca asked.

Zappa’s lips were flecked with spittle; his face was creased with revulsion.

“You shame your father—” he began, but Bastian broke in, voice cold.

“Who died a long time ago, dear. It’s De Luca’s time now.”

De Luca gave him an appreciative look, but Zappa whirled on the council.

“What are you waiting for?” he demanded. “Get him out of my town!”

“I’ve had enough of this,” Whitby muttered, and leapt at Zappa’s face. She sank her claws into his cheeks, and the commissario screamed, flailing as he tried to free himself.

“Stop this,” Jared said coolly.

Zappa knocked crockery from the counter, sending it crashing to the floor, but Whitby didn’t release him, cackling as she clung to his face.

Bastian offered the council an apologetic shrug. “What can I say? She’s a monster.”

Ling moved toward Zappa, pale fingers reaching for the cat, and Bastian straightened.

“Touch her and die, darling.”

The council member ignored him, her fingers grazing Whitby’s fur, and fury burst in Bastian’s chest. He threw himself at Ling, seizing hold of her shoulders and wrestling her to the floor. No, not the floor. Even though he had knocked her down and lay atop her, she still floated above the tiles, moving no closer to the floor. Her chemical scent flooded his nostrils, making his eyes water.

A cool sigh brushed Bastian’s neck, and Jared tutted in his ear.