The Claiming

Chapter Twenty-Five

We practically throw ourselves out the door into the hallway. I trip over something—or someone—lying right in front of our doorway. I let out a small scream and nearly face-plant into the opposite wall, but Alec catches me and pulls me forcefully away from the body.

Our neighbors open up their doors to see what the matter is, muttering grouchy things under their breaths until they see my horrified face and the lifeless body at our feet.

"Who is that?"

"What happened?"

"Do you think she did that?"

"No, look at her face."

Suddenly, everyone is pushed aside by none other than Leonard Vain. Why he was in the apartments, I don't know. I don't recall him residing here, but who knows. At least someone with authority is here to take care of the matter.

Alec and I step back and press ourselves against our apartment door. Vain kneels down to examine the body. It's a woman, probably in her mid-twenties, with a knife wound prominently displayed through her chest, right over her heart.

I stare wide-eyed at the scene, and Alec doesn't know whether to cover my eyes, escort me back inside, or just stand there and stare with me. He fidgets anxiously.

"This is Nancy Corrin. She lives upstairs, I believe. Everyone clear the hallway. Head back to your rooms and do not leave the premises. You will be questioned, each and every one of you." Vain gives Alec and I a dagger-like glare. How fitting.

Alec opens the door for me, and we stumble back inside. I can't let go of him for even a moment.

"That person was dead," I say, breathless.

"Yep," Alec says blankly.

"Just there. In front of our door."

"Uh-huh."

I start to shake my head to get myself out of this state of shock. It was such a gory scene, and I feel as if the image will never exit my memory. I've seen some weird stuff, but this was downright horrible. I cling to Alec as if he's the only real thing I have left.

"It's going to be okay," he says. "We don't know who that was, and it wasn't our fault. I'm sure this will blow over."

"That poor lady," I say. I feel empathy for her and her family. I don't know why, but I do. How awful they must feel to find out that someone they love is gone. That's how I felt when I was dragged from Alec, convinced that I'd never see him again. Except in her case, she's dead.

Alec takes me by the shoulders and looks at me straight in the eyes. "You're strong, love. You've gotten through much, much worse."

"Worse than death?"

"Listen to me. You have gone through the Facility, the Claiming, the prince's craziness, and you've gone through being on the run with us. And I have no doubt you're going to have to face more terrible things in life. This thing right here? We had nothing to do with. We don't know who she is, and you know what? She's in a better place."

"We hope," I say under my breath.

Alec pulls me into a strong hug. "You're strong, Belle."

I don't move. I've never been next to death. Literally. I feel stupid more than anything. Ever since I can remember I've been a coward, always hiding under Alec's wing and letting him protect me. But the truth is, I love feeling a sense of protection from the one I love. Is there anything wrong with that? According to every novel I've ever read with a female lead, apparently.

I swallow a deep breath and stand up straighter.

"They're going to question us," I say. "We're probably the prime suspects since we're literally right in front of where the murder happened. What do we do?"

Alec leads me to the sofa in our living room. We sit down and face our beautifully lit Christmas tree.

"We're going to tell them the truth. That we were just sitting here when we heard the scream. There's no way they could arrest us based on us just living in front of the murder scene."

I nod. "You're right. You're right..."

"I'm going to call Mom and Dad and tell them what's going on." Alec stands and walks to the phone hanging on the wall in the kitchen.

I lie down on the couch and cover my face with my arms.

This will blow over.

This will blow over.

Someone just got murdered outside my door.

Just now.

This will blow over.

This will blow over.

Her poor family.

This will blow over.

Did it hurt?

This will—

What if we're next?

I sit up straight on the couch and look at Alec, innocently speaking on the phone with his mother.

***

Thirty minutes later Vain and a couple of his coworkers arrive at our door for questioning. We invite them inside, and I find that the woman's body had been removed and taken away.

"We must inform you that a couple minutes prior to the murder, the security cameras in the hallways were breached and shut down. So it could be anyone in this building," Vain says.

Alec and I sit close to each other. I have an iron grip on his hand as Vain's buddies stare us down, probably evaluating every action we take. I guess my nervousness doesn't help us much. I'm only nervous because I don't want us to somehow be found falsely guilty.

"What were you doing at the time of the murder?"

Alec takes this. "We had just finished decorating for Christmas, and we sat down here and took a short nap when we heard a scream from right outside the door. That's all that happened."

Vain looks at us skeptically for a moment, and then his tense face relaxes. "All right. We'll call you if we have any more questions. Do you have any for us?"

Both of us shake our heads. We just want them to leave.

"Let's go, then." Vain and his men stand and we show them to the door.

Once they leave, Alec and I look at each other with wide eyes. We're probably thinking the same thing, too.

Things just keep getting weirder and weirder for us.