Bad Blood - Blood Tied, Book 1(#Wattys2015)

N I G H T M A R E_E L E V E N

N I G H T M A R E_E L E V E N

"Before I give you the results of my analysis, I only ask that you tell me what you're involved in this time. You gave me two pieces of wood that were sharpened into and probably used as deadly weapons, if the amount of blood on them is any indication."

"It's just some pro bono work. A personal investigation." I waved off her suspicions. "Besides, I told you to not to worry about anything except for the fingerprints. Now tell me what you got."

She sighed, dropping the matter. "Between the two objects, there were two sets of unidentifiable prints. One set was on both objects. Does that help?"

I grimaced. I was afraid that was the case. "Yeah. Thanks, Flynn."

I wrote a couple notes in my notepad and turned to leave. She stopped me, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me back.

"Braxton. Ace. I think you're caught up in something really dangerous. Please be careful."

I smiled at her to reassure her. "I'm always careful."

"No you're not." Alexia frowned, but she let me go. "You're always doing pro bono work for some stray you've taken in. You should stop before you get into trouble you can't handle."

"I'll be fine." I said that with more harshness than I intended. "Don't worry."

News from the television in the break room down the fall floated in, making my stomach turn.

"In Winchester County, the body of an adolescent was discovered two days ago in a secluded area of the surrounding forest. It is believed to be the work of the East Coast Collector, though authorities have refused to comment as of yet. In other news, the president..."

The door to the break room closed, cutting off the rest of the broadcast.

"He's getting closer." She shivered. "Sorry. I know you'll be careful. I've just been really jumpy lately, and what I've heard on the news lately isn't helping."

"I'm concerned about the East Coast Collector, too. Don't worry about it." I gathered the stakes are shoved them in my inside jacket pocket. "I need to go home. Thanks for doing this."

She nodded. "Just watch yourself, will you?"

"I will."

-

I drove home as quickly as possible; I needed to inform Eleanora of my findings. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the dark figure until it rushed out and stopped dead in the middle of the road.

In attempt to avoid hitting it straight on, I swerved to the right, running my car into the ditch and clipping the figure with the back end of my car. The airbag exploded outwards when the front bumper made impact with the far side of the ditch. My vision swam as my head bounced harshly off the inflated airbag.

What in the world did I hit?

I stumbled out of the car, haphazardly shoving the slowly deflating airbag out of the way.

Using my phone as a flashlight, I looked over to the road with horror to see a young man laying face-down on the pavement.

I walked over to him the best I could, falling a couple times due to the slippery incline.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I searched for a pulse. When I couldn't find one, I started to panic. I'm going to have to call this in. This is really bad.

My phone rang loudly, startling me. I checked the caller ID, then answered it.

"Eleanora, I'm sorry, but this is a really bad time. Can we talk later?"