“Becca?” I called out again, noting the panic edging into my voice.
I moved into the apartment, stepping over the mess as I heard Dana and Marco do the same behind me.
Marco whistled low. “Oh, honey, someone has done a number on this place.”
No kidding.
The living room was small, roughly the size of my closet, with an equally doll-house sized kitchen attached at one end. A stove, refrigerator and oven took up the entire kitchen, looking rusted and worse for the wear above more ripped linoleum to match the lobby. Beyond the living space sat a doorway leading to what I guessed was a bedroom. I gingerly stepped over a couple of broken picture frames and sofa cushions toward it.
“Becca?” I called out again. “Are you here?” Though, honestly, I didn’t expect an answer. If she was here, she clearly would have heard us in the shoebox apartment by now. But I found myself holding my breath anyway as I peeked my head around the doorframe.
As expected it was a bedroom, holding a twin bed and a scarred wooden dresser. Only the bed had been stripped of its linens, the contents left in a heap on the floor along with a couple of pillows that were molting down feathers from their busted seams. The dresser drawers were open, clothes spilling onto the floor.
“She in here?” Dana called, coming into the room behind me.
I shook my head. “No. It’s empty.” And so was, I noticed, her closet. The tiny cubby hole held a single wooden bar where only a couple of wire hangers sat. Someone had cleaned out Becca’s belongings in a hurry.
“The bathroom is empty,” Marco called, his head popping into the doorway. “And her make-up is gone, too.”
Which all added up to one thing, I realized with a sinking sensation in my stomach: our number one suspect was MIA.
I arrived home to a note on the kitchen table saying Ramirez would be out late (bummer), but that his mother had brought over some enchiladas that were in the fridge. (yay!) I immediately pulled out a casserole dish that smelled like chilies, cumin, and cilantro and popped it into the microwave to reheat. A little sour cream and a mashed up avocado later, and I was in heaven. I was just going into a food orgasm when the doorbell trilled.
I reluctantly left my feast and opened the door to find my mom and step-dad on the other side.
“How’s my grandbaby doing?” Mom asked my belly, immediately putting two hands on The Bump.
“I’m doing great. Thanks for asking.”
Mom’s eyes shot up to mine. “Oh. Sorry. I’m just so excited to meet him,” she said, making little cutsie faces at my belly.
“How’s our preggo princess feeling, dahling?” my step-dad asked from behind her. Ralph, or Faux Dad, as I’d affectingly dubbed him, was the owner of Fernando’s Salon, believed unwaveringly in the uses of spray tans and Botox, and had shocked the entire world when he’d married my mom, dispelling everyone’s beliefs that he was gay (mine included). While Faux Dad was what is generally referred to as a “character” in Beverly Hills, he was a sweet guy, made my mom happy, and gave me all the free pedicures I wanted. So I had to love the guy.
“I’m doing fine, Ralph, thanks,” I answered.
“I’m so glad she’s cooperating for you. Any morning sickness? How’s the nausea? The cravings getting bad yet?” he asked all in one breath.
“Some. Good. No. What are you guys doing here?” I asked as they pushed into the room.
“We brought you a pre-sent,” Mom said in a sing-songy voice, holding up a pastel yellow bag with little duckies printed on the side.
Well, presents weren’t all bad.
“What is it?” I asked, peeking in over the tissue paper.
“Open it.” She thrust it proudly toward me.
So, I did, tearing the tissue out and digging my hands inside.
I came out with a soft, vinyl doll in a little yellow onesie covered in more ducks.
I blinked. “What is this?”
“It’s Baby-So-Lifelike.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “You do know I’m having a real baby soon, right?”
Faux Dad nodded beside her. “Yes, and that’s why you need practice with Baby-So-Lifelike.”
Mental forehead smack. “Guys, I’m not twelve. I don’t need to play mommy with a doll.”
“Practice, not play, dear,” Mom corrected. “And, yes, you do. Honey, you have no idea what it’s like to have a child.”
“I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
“It’s my fault,” she continued, running right over me. “I should have given you a little sibling, someone to look after.”
“Mom, I think we’ll manage-”
“Or at least a dog! I’ve left you completely unprepared for parenthood.”
“No one is prepared for parenthood,” I told her, repeating the reassuring words of my Lamaze teacher.
“Oh, I know, honey,” Mom said. She cocked her head to the side and did a frown-slash-smile oozing with sympathy. “But you are particularly unprepared.”
I rolled my eyes. “Gee, thanks.”
“No, no, like I said, it’s not your fault. And I don’t mean to be unkind, but it’s just… well, remember your ficus?”
I put my hand on my recently-ample hips. “Yes, I had a plant. Yes, it died. Plants die. That’s not the same as a baby.”
“And remember the replacement ficus I brought you?”
I paused. “Yes.”
“And then remember the plastic ficus I brought you after the replacement ficus died?”
“Vaguely,” I mumbled.
“What happened to that one?” she prompted.
I threw my hands up. “Okay, fine. I left it too close to the stove, and the plastic one melted. I can’t even keep a plastic plant alive.”
Mom handed Baby-So-Lifelike to me. “Keep him away from the stove, honey.”
I looked down at its plastic blue eyes staring up at me, its chubby limbs outstretched.
God help me.
It was warm. So warm I was sweating, my clothes clinging to me like Saran Wrap. I wiggled, turning from one side to the other, sure I was melting from the inside out. But I couldn’t get out of the tight clothes. I was going to suffocate in my own outfit.
Then suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, cool breath on my neck.
“Let me help,” a soft male voice whispered in my ear. And he did, his hands on my arms, sliding the sleeves of my shirt low until my right shoulder was bare. It felt wonderful. Heavenly, as a cool breeze wafted over me, creating goosebumps.
Then he dipped his head low, his lips kissing their way across my exposed skin. A shiver snaked down my spine despite the heat still searing into me. Heat that was moving, changing, traveling south and ending just below my waist. Intensifying until a moan escaped me, and I wriggled closed to him. His body was solid, cool, his hands commanding, but it was his lips that I craved. His lips were so soft, so smooth, so feather light on my skin. Not warm, like you might imagine, but cool. Cold. Ice-cold and so welcomed against my over-heated skin. I was dying to feel those lips everywhere – my neck, my earlobes, my mouth. And then, as if he could read my thoughts, his kisses traveled higher, his breath dipping at the small of my neck as his lips whispered across my jugular. I moaned again, unable to help myself.
I turned my head to get a look at my husband.
But it wasn’t Ramirez’s face I saw.
The pale blue eyes staring back at me were Sebastian’s, framed in impossibly long lashes below spiky black hair that clung to his head looking wild and dangerous. He grinned at me, slowly, wickedly, showing off a pair of gleaming white fangs, then swiftly dipped his lips to my neck…
I sat up with a gasp, my breath coming hard as I fought with the sweaty sheets tangled around my legs. I blinked in the darkness, trying to get my bearings. Slowly, familiar shapes came into focus. My cherry dresser, my mirrored nightstand, my closet, doors open and overflowing with shoeboxes.
I was in my own bed, in my own bedroom. It was just a dream. I let out a long breath, slowing my heart rate down. Just a dream.
Just a little, nothing to worry about, sex dream about a vampire.
I glanced over at the blinking numbers on the alarm clock. 1:13 AM. And, I noticed, no husband lying in the empty spot on the other side of the bed. I flipped on the bedside lamp and shoved my feet into a pair of fuzzy pink slippers, going in search of said husband.
A single light was on in the living room, next to the sofa where I could see Ramirez reading in the shadows. I had no idea when he’d gotten home, but a cup of coffee beside him told me he hadn’t yet entertained the idea of sleep. He had a sheaf of papers in his hands, flipping through the pages. His face was in shadow, his cheeks dusted with stubble, his features softened by exhaustion just enough to give him a warm, inviting look. I felt a remaining tingle from my erotic dream hinting as I sat down beside him.
“Hey,” I said softy.
He looked up, a grin quickly spreading across his face. “Hey, yourself. I didn’t wake you, did I?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Me neither,” he sighed, staring down at the papers in his hands again.
I leaned in close, my head resting on his shoulder. I inhaled deeply the woodsy scent of his morning aftershave, still clinging faintly to his collar. And felt that tingle kick up a notch. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the paperwork.
“Just work,” he responded, throwing an arm around me.
I snuggled closer. “Work? The Alexa Weston case by any chance?” I asked.
He nodded. “Background reports.”
I squinted down at the small type. “What’s it say?”
“Not much, unfortunately. She grew up in San Diego, then moved north about three years ago to start an acting career.”
“Family?” I asked.
“Parents are dead. She has one sister in Corona Del Mar.”
“And?”
“And the local PD talked with her yesterday. She hasn’t seen Alexa in months. Apparently Alexa was a bit of the family back sheep.”
Imagine that.
“You get the medical examiner’s report back yet?” I asked.
I felt Ramirez shift beside me. “No. And even if I had, I’m not sure I’d be sharing it as bedtime reading with my wife.”
“Hey, I found her body,” I protested.
“So what else is new?” he mumbled.
I gave him a playful elbow to the ribs.
“Ouch. Watch it,” he said, but I felt his torso bob up and down with a suppressed chuckle.
“I’m just feeling a little guilty about it all,” I confessed.
“Why? You kill her?” he teased
I gave him a less playful elbow this time.
“No. But I did wish her dead right before she turned up dead.”
“Which had nothing to do with her actual death,” Ramirez pointed out.
I nodded. “I know. But, well, I just feel bad. Had I known it was her last night on Earth, I might not have called her a bitch.”
Ramirez hugged me tighter and planted a kiss on the top of my head. “I’m sure she’s not holding it against you.”
The kiss was nice. Comforting. And if it was a little lower and a little slower, it might turn into something else. “You coming to bed?” I asked, getting up.
Ramirez shook his head, picking up the papers again. “Soon. I just want to go over a couple more things here.”
“Oh.” I tried not to let my disappointment show. “Okay, ‘night.”
“’Night, Maddie. And, hey, don’t worry,” he added. “We’ll catch whoever did this to Alexa.”
I nodded. “I know,” I said before shuffling back to the bedroom. Which was the truth.
I just didn’t know which one of us would catch that person first.