Life Sentence (Paranormal Detectives Series Book 3) Read online

  Life Sentence

  Paranormal Detectives Series

  Book Three

  By

  Lily Luchesi

  The right of Lily Luchesi to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him/her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it was published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, items, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design by:

  Rue Volley

  Edited by:

  Elizabeth A. Lance

  Of EAL Editing Services

  Copyright© Lily Luchesi

  All rights reserved.

  V A M P T A S Y P U B L I S H I N G

  WWW.VAMPTASY.COM

  Praise for the Paranormal Detectives Series

  StakeOut

  “The story kept you guessing and was full of action and angst!” —Nerd Girl (starred review)

  “A quick, satisfying paranormal read…! …Luchesi has won two fans today, and we eagerly anticipate the sequel!” —Knightingale Reviews (starred review)

  “StakeOut is more than just another vampire story.” —Bestselling author Mary Fan (starred review)

  “The next Stephen King.” —author Jen Winters (starred review)

  “I really think STAKEOUT is an auspicious start to a promising career.” —bestselling author Stephen Kozeniewski (starred review)

  “I grew bored of wine goblet swilling vamps in gorgeous, dark mansions. It seemed each vampire story had been done a thousand times. This one feels much different. It’s not just a vampire story.”—bestselling author Katie Keller-Neiman (starred review)

  “The engrossing storyline has plenty of twists and turns that will keep you guessing.” —bestselling author Dr. John Benedict (starred review)

  “Fast paced, action packed, entertaining and emotional.”—Adventures of Sacakat (starred review)

  Miranda’s Rights

  There were numerous times in this book that I was going “No way, did that just happen.” That is why this is a great paranormal book. … As I read [each] chapter I kept holding my breath to see who would come out alive.”—Nerd Girl (starred review)

  “Luchesi proudly presents a character devoid of the common female tropes found too often in literature today. Angelica is everything we could ask for in a character … and more!”—Knightingale Reviews (starred review)

  “Once again the author’s descriptive writing and attention to detail draws you into the story.” — Books All Things Paranormal And Romance (starred review)

  “Be prepared to lose a chunk of your life, because once you start reading this book, there is no way you’ll be able to put it down. … Lily Luchesi is staking her claim to this genre and I predict she will soon be dominating it.” —bestselling author Dr. John Benedict

  “Just like the 1st installment, StakeOut, Miranda’s Rights is a quick and entertaining read.” —Adventures Of Sacakat (starred review)

  Playlist

  As with both books that came before Life Sentence, I listened to a myriad of music while writing and editing this, and wanted to share that playlist with you all to hopefully enhance your reading experience. Enjoy! xoxo

  “Together” by Matt Lande

  “Half Breed” by Cher

  “The End” by My Chemical Romance

  “Change” by Blind Melon

  “Night of the Vampire” by Roky Erickson

  “Beautiful Loser” by Bob Seger

  “Cosmic Dancer” by T.Rex

  “Every Day is Exactly the Same” by Nine Inch Nails

  “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed

  “Animal I Have Become” by Three Days Grace

  “Dead Memories” by Slipknot

  “I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You” by Savage Garden

  “Demonoid Phenomenon” by Rob Zombie

  “Wind of Change” by The Scorpions

  “Night of the Hunter” by 30 Seconds To Mars

  “Second Chance” by Shinedown

  Dedication:

  To everyone who has ever been made to feel discriminated against, bullied, or second best. You’re all rock stars.

  Prologue

  May 2011

  “Hello, Hollywood, my old friend.”

  For the most part, Detective Angelica Cross stayed in Chicago to conduct all of her Paranormal Investigative business with the FBI. Occasionally, she would travel to London (the second biggest office and where she had been born) to see that everything was running smoothly there. Only if a situation truly demanded the boss’ attention would she ever leave Illinois at all.

  A year before her father, rogue vampire Vincent Cross, made Danny realize that there was “more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in his philosophy,” there was a big dust up in a PID sanctioned club in Los Angeles, and it required personal attention from Angelica.

  The club was a great place for the paranormal community to gather safely with mortals who knew about their existence. Vampires could feed safely from living donors, witches could sell their wares and perform minor, innocuous spells for a fee, and shifters could order beef hearts (and other creatures’ hearts if the donor organization was having a good week).

  Unfortunately, there had been rumor that a nest of vampires had come into town from New York and were not following noted vampire rules: no killing, no turning without permission from PID headquarters, and no using humans as assistants. Human assistants to vampires had been talked about in literature for centuries. They’d been called many things, “ghoul” being the absolute worst of them— ghouls are entirely separate entities from vampires and the term should never be used to talk about a human tool for a vamp— and there was really no official term for them. Familiars and tools were the ones used most in Angelica’s circle.

  What vampires did was promise the human sex, eternal life by eventual turning, and power from feeding them their Undead blood. The “tools”, as Angelica preferred to call them, believed every word the vamps fed them. The reality was this: a tool would be used for as many as ten years before the vampire they served ate them like a beautiful, rare prime rib. Because of this, vampires keeping familiars was illegal.

  Angelica hadn’t been sure about the murder, but the vampire who led the nest was accused of turning without clearance and using humans as servants. The workers at the club were PID agents or affiliates, and they kept Angelica in the loop about the paranormal goings-on.

  So she left her comfortable apartment in Chicago and flew to LA, staying in the haunted Roosevelt Hotel that was down the street from the club and got herself all dolled up for the first time in a long time. She was usually too busy working, reading, or watching bad TV to go out and party.

  Curling her black hair, vamping up her makeup more than usual (she was guilty of using far too much black eyeliner and mascara), and wearing a strapless, black leather dress that cost more than the hotel room she was renting with platform heels that had real silver spikes on the heel and at the toes, she went incognito into the club.

  The music pulsed around her and she let the beat calm her down. She had never liked big crowds, and her club brought in quite the
clientele. It was always crowded with people and creatures packed in like sardines.

  She got appreciative looks from patrons as she pushed her way to the bar near the dancefloor, ordering a “genuine” Bloody Mary. She turned to face the dancefloor and the hallway that led to this part of the club, hoping the nest would come tonight. She also hoped that the rumors would turn out to be false and she wouldn’t have to perform any executions that trip. Despite how she came across, she was not a coldblooded killer, and definitely did not like killing her own kin.

  The nest did show up, but not with the exact members originally described. Only two were the same as described: the leader and another man. Unlike popular media would have you believe, not all vampires are good looking. Some would make Gollum from The Lord of the Rings look like a catch! Remember, most of them were once humans, and being Undead didn’t automatically make you sexy. This nest leader was the epitome of vampiric fiction heroes and villains. He was tall, dark, and deadly, with a wolfish smile and perfectly styled black hair.

  Taking a quick inventory on her tablet, she realized she did not have three of those vampires in the PID registry, meaning that there had been unauthorized turning happening. She also saw a human that truly fit the bill for what vamps looked for in their tools: overly made up with false eyelashes and tattoos that made her look a bit like a cartoon, Kool Aid red hair that was styled according to Alternative Press guidelines, and clad in clothes that would be considered scandalous for a porn shoot. A tool in every sense of the word.

  That’s two strikes, assclown. I’m not letting you get to take a third swing, she thought.

  She let them get to the bar and order drinks. She needed to figure out if only the leader had committed the crimes, or if the other vamp in his group whom she had in her registry had assisted. She highly doubted it. It looked like the leader had complete control over his nest, and would not allow anyone else to make big decisions for the group.

  Angelica, as a vamplet, was not very good at glamour, and it was impossible to glamour another vampire, but she could send off certain waves of energy that would get her noticed. She knew she was considered pretty for these times, if a little too curvy, and it was only a matter of time before men came up to her, all of whose offers to dance were declined.

  She eventually attracted the attention of the real life, paranormal romance novel cover boy. He sauntered over to her, all black leather and eyeliner, sure that he would not be turned down.

  “Hey, I haven’t seen you around here before,” he commented.

  While everyone knew Angelica Cross existed, very few had actually met her. Out of the ones who had, most of them didn’t live long enough to tell the tale. The others were usually her employees.

  “I’m not from around here,” she commented, smiling and flashing her fangs while she used her native English accent. He would smell that she had been drinking blood, so best to pretend to be a full vamp as long as she could.

  “I’m Theo,” he said, holding his hand out.

  She shook it. “Veronica,” she replied, using her mother’s first name.

  He struck up a mundane conversation with her, about life as a vampire in LA, how stupid humans were (not a sentiment she agreed with— she found every species to have many idiotic peoples in its numbers), and then…he told her about how drunk girls were so easy to kill.

  “I thought there were laws in place to keep us from killing mortals?” she asked.

  He scoffed. “Please. I’ve been killing for years and nobody noticed so far! That Cross woman probably isn’t even alive anymore. Just a fairytale to keep us in line.”

  She nodded, getting angrier and angrier as he kept bragging about his kills and conquests. He invited her to come to one of his nest’s parties, where they killed unsuspecting humans. Angelica bit her lip, wondering how on Earth her species could be so cruel. Humans were more than food!

  No matter the species, if you have a personality like Theo, you are predictable. He invited Angelica back to his place, telling her he was parked down the street in the public lot. He drove, he said, in case he brought a human girl home with him.

  A creature like him would not wait. While ingesting another vampire’s blood gave them no nutrition, it allowed them to absorb said vampire’s powers. It was how Vincent Cross, Angelica’s father, had gotten so strong. She knew that Theo could sense power coming off of her in waves, and he would rather kill her than sleep with her. If he got his way, he’d do both at once.

  He started making out with her in the alleyway, lips, teeth, and tongue all over her neck. Even as a vamplet, she was insanely aroused just from that, so she could only imagine how easily a human could fall under his thrall.

  She had to respond, lower him into a false sense of security. Shuddering at the thought, she knew she might even have to let him bite her. She had never been bitten before, and she wasn’t sure she wanted him to be her first, but she had no choice.

  His sharp fangs barely nipped her neck, just getting a taste so as not to alarm her. Definitely not a real bite by any means. She dug her nails into his back, tearing the fabric of his leather vest. Vampire bites could be an intoxicating sexual high if used properly, and even she was not immune to the effect, because of her human blood.

  It was that human blood that made what was supposed to be a simple execution turn into a bloody brawl. Theo had obviously tasted the humanity in her bloodstream and he wrenched himself away from her, her blood staining his chin and falling in tiny rivulets down her neck.

  “You’re a fucking halfling?” he practically spat. “I didn’t even know your kind really existed. Why did you tell me you were a real vamp?”

  “I am a real vampire,” she said, wiping her blood off her neck.

  “No, you’re a freak of nature. Your kind should never have existed,” he said. “What do you say I change that?”

  He lunged for her, but she dodged out of the way, and his hand crashed into the brick wall, cracking the brick. He went after her again, and this time his nails cut into her face, but she immediately healed.

  She pulled a blade from her oversized bag and took a swing with it, cutting into his muscular shoulder. The holy water made the wound fester and burn as Theo cried out in pain.

  “You psycho, what are you carrying weapons around for?” he asked stupidly.

  Angelica rolled her eyes. “For deviants like you.” She held the knife in an offensive position and knew she needed to declare herself. Dropping the accent she said, “Detective Angelica Cross, Paranormal Investigative Division. I’m real, Theo, and I’ll easily cut your throat unless you stand down now. Let me take you in for questioning and no one will get hurt.” An utter lie, of course, but she needed information from him before she killed him.

  “This is the great Cross?” Theo started to laugh maniacally. “A half breed brat who doesn’t look a day older than twenty?”

  “I’m one-ninety-eight, thank you,” she replied, taking her gun swiftly in her other hand and shooting at him. Silver bullets don’t kill vampires, but they hurt them viciously. One hit him in the hip and the other went wild as he maneuvered away.

  Theo was filled with fresh blood, which increased his powers exponentially. He could nearly match Angelica, and he fought well. She realized that she needed to end this quickly before she got seriously hurt.

  Cuts and swipes did not come close to doing the trick, even though the holy water made the cuts stop healing and thus made him lose blood. The slippery blood covering his skin made him difficult to get a hold of, and he wound up getting the upper hand: he had Angelica in a choke-hold. She had already dropped her gun somewhere, and was in danger of having her knife wrenched from her, when she remembered her shoes. She used one heel to kick him in the shin, breaking skin, and the other to stomp on his foot so hard she could actually hear the blood squirt out from the wound.

  He screamed and let her go, the pain unbearable.

  She whirled around and sliced down his arm, severing blood
vessels. His arm began to gush blood as he tried to catch his breath.

  “You dirty little bitch,” he hissed. “I will not be beaten by a fucking dhampir!”

  “I am much more than the blood in my veins,” she replied, stabbing into his abdomen.

  He fell to his knees, the fire in his eyes receding. He knew he was about to die. “I might be a murderer, but at least I’m being true to my nature. You’ve made us into leeches, feeding here and there and never killing. Why? So you’ll be the big girl on campus? Forget it. You’ll always be a half-blooded freak of nature to the rest of us.”

  Angelica silenced him permanently as she sent his head flying somewhere down the alleyway. The mission might have been quick, but the things he said would always haunt her.

  She never felt like she belonged, and his words only solidified that train of thought.

  Chapter One

  Chicago 2015

  It was dark.

  So dark. It was the blackness of interment, premature burial. It was the thing that haunted some of Poe’s best writings. For a vamp, however, one third of their lives were spent in coffins, so they didn’t find coffins frightening. Vamplet Angelica Cross did not sleep in a coffin unless she was truly in need of a restorative, Undeath-induced sleep. Her coffin was rarely utilized, so waking up in one was quite unusual and a little alarming.

  Her head felt groggy and heavy, like she’d been asleep for days. Her muscles, too, had that sleepy heaviness in them. She pushed open the coffin lid and languidly sat up, ruffling her ink black hair and then stretching her muscles. She looked about her and realized she was in the PID offices residential area, in a vampire-proofed room: comfortable coffin, fridge filled with blood in a corner, decent sitting area, and iron shingles on the windows, so no light whatsoever could get in.

  How did I get here? she thought, slowly climbing out of the coffin and standing in the middle of the room. She looked down, and realized she was wearing clothes that came from the PID disguise room: baggy black shorts and a black T-shirt with no shoes.