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Detective Luca Forge stood at the doorway of what was sure to be the interrogation room, a hesitant faux smile spread across his face.

“What brings you here?”

36

MERCY

“Well aren’tyou chipper this morning?” I crooned, smiling more genuinely as I approached him. He held out a hand to shake and I ignored him, instead gesturing inside the interrogation room. He followed me in.

It was white and clean, with nothing but a metal table chained to one of the walls. The silver chairs were an ominous greeting, and as I glanced up toward the corners, I smiled when I saw two cameras pointing at us, their red lights threatening.

Luca looked up in the same direction, shrugging his shoulders meekly when I pinched my nose.

“We can’t be too careful,” he reminded me. Our last encounter had him pinned against the side of his vehicle and my nails dangerously close to the artery in his neck. So instead of fighting it, I laughed at him instead. He seemed to relax at my obvious non-offense.

“Fair. I wondered when the LVPD would understand just how on alert they needed to be when in the presence of the Known. I suppose that also extends to me, as well.” I snickered as I leaned back nonchalantly against the white brick wall.

Luca coughed. He still sat in one of the chairs, even knowing that I wouldn’t be following suit.

“I have to be honest, I’m surprised to see you here…at this hour.”

“The sun isn’t enough to stop me.”

“It caught us off guard. Known usually don’t prowl around during the day. I thought the sun was too dangerous for you.”

“There is very little you actually know,” I said softly. Despite the quiet in my voice, it still caught him off guard. I could see him running a hand through his hair in frustration. “I am a God, Detective. I am more powerful than the sun.”

He wanted to ignore me, but the comment rattled him. Deciding on the faux bravado again, Forge looked at me with a steely gaze, “Mercy, you know as well as I do that your presence means very little good for me. Why are you here?”

“Fine. I’ll skip right to the point,” I lifted the black box high enough so that he caught notice of it. His face went from mildly confused, to increased dread. Warily, he sighed, “This box. I have a hunch and I wanted to make sure I was right.”

“You’re usually right,” he conceded, but made no move to take the box from my hands, “but I’ll bite. Do I even want to know what’s in the box?”

“I doubt it.” I said honestly. Luca made a pained face, but then resigned as he stood from the chair and walked to grab it from my hands. Careful not to touch me, he plucked the box from my grip and opened it.

His answering groan made me smile.

“Is…is this what I think it is?”

“I suppose that depends on what you think it is.”

“I swear to fucking God Mercy. Is this a heart?”

“Something like that. It looks a bit worse for wear.”

Luca threw the box onto the table and I watched as it slid into the wall, the heart rattling inside of it.

“Mercy,” Luca said my name as if it were a burden, raising his hands to wipe away something from his face. He sighed again.

“Before you say anything,” I interrupted, “I just needed to know if you knew who this belongs to.”

“Me personally? No, I don’t. Not every day you see a heart separated from its body.” He looked over towards the box again. Hopefully, he asked, “Unless this is the heart of one of yours?”

“Vampire hearts are usually burned. You know that Forge.”

“Yeah,” resigned, Luca put both hands on his knees and hung over them, “I just hoped for the best.”

“I think I know who it belongs to. I just wanted to confirm. Have you received any complaints about mutilated bodies from the morgue?”