Dark Souls

Heart Thief

Ilaria

I found you. Now it’s my turn to hide. Come and find me, Snow. H x

I reread the elegant handwriting scrawled across the white napkin as my legs bounced impatiently from where I sat in the waiting room of the SIA HQ. The pristine white floors were so well polished that I could almost see my reflection as I leaned forward and placed the folded napkin in the front pocket of my rucksack. What did he think this was? A game of hide and seek? Well, that had always been my favourite pastime growing up, so game on.

I chewed my bottom lip between my teeth, allowing one of my naturally longer incisors to dig into the flesh. That f*cking pretty boy. The one who tried to warn me about my drink after Eddie had spiked it. How did I overlook him? Even when I’d spoken to him at the bar, I sensed there was something off about him. Something in his eyes didn’t mesh with his youthful, pompous appearance. Yes, he was attractive in a perfect Disney prince, floppy hair and would charm himself into your panties, but that was so far from my type I had barely given him a second glance. It was only his eyes that spoke to me. Dark, brooding, dangerous. The moment I found him across the room last night, all the hair on the back of my neck had stood on end. I knew it was him instantly. My stalker. His crooked smile and the destructive lust present in those damning eyes clashed so harshly with his pretty boy image that it was chilling.

“They are ready for you now,” Archer’s assistant, Dawn, said as she gestured for me to head on up to his office. I nodded, grabbing my rucksack and taking the elevator up to the top floor. I hadn't rung ahead or told anyone about my stalker yet, and I still wasn’t sure I would. H had dealt the cards, but I was still undecided about how to play my hand. All I knew was that I had to figure out who he was and using the SIA resources was the quickest way to do that.

“Ilaria.” Archer's tight smile did nothing to ease his clear tension at me turning up unannounced and demanding to see him. He stood from his desk, holding his hand out to gesture to the chair opposite so I could take a seat.

“Sorry for just showing up like this, but I have remembered something that I think is extremely important in finding the heart thief.”

“Heart thief?” The skin around his eyes crinkled slightly with amusement at the nickname as he sat back down. It made me suddenly wonder if he would decide to have Amelie turn him into a vampire at some point before he aged too much, or perhaps she had a thing for older men. “I like that code name. It has a ring to it.”

“Well, I say call it what it is. He steals hearts. Or Heart Eater could work too, I guess.”

He nodded morbidly even though it was meant as a joke. Clearly, my dry sense of humour was lost on him. The door to his office opened and my uncle stepped in with an irritated expression. I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. Of course, Archer would send for back-up. He was probably so terrified that I would somehow manipulate him into making me an agent if I had him alone.

“How many times have I told you? You cannot just show up at my place of work and demand—”

I held my hand up to stop him, turning my head to meet his hard glare with my own. “Do you really think I have nothing better to do than come here to harass you?”

Raiden's face softened. He stood broadly, shifting from one foot to another as he studied me. “Then what’s this about?”

“I have some information that may help the case. I remembered something that I think could be crucial.”

“Go on.” Archer leaned forward on his desk.

I shuffled in my seat, straightening my spine. “The night I had Eddie arrested, there was a man. At the bar. He spoke to me. Warned me not to drink what Eddie had spiked, as if he had been watching the whole scenario. He came out of nowhere and I thought he was harmless, but now, I’m not so sure.” I paused, glancing between their dubious expressions before I continued. “I think he was supernatural.”

“You think?” Raiden frowned.

“He didn’t give off any tell-tale signs and his scent was human, but there was just something about his eyes. Call it a gut feeling, but there was something seriously odd about this man. And I…I couldn’t read his mind. It was as if he was blocking me. All I could hear was white noise. Only a supernatural could do that.”

They both remained quiet for a few moments as I let them digest that information. I wasn’t going to tell them that I had only tried to read his mind last night after he’d left a bloody heart in my room and followed me on a night out. Not until I was sure I knew who I was dealing with. Because this killer was extremely unpredictable and could potentially lead me down a dead end. I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of my future employers.

“Look, it might be nothing, but we know the killer was in that area still when Eddie was arrested because he targeted him next. Don’t you think it’s worth pulling up some CCTV from the club or something to see if we can get an ID?”

Archer huffed, leaning back in his chair as his blue eyes darted to Raiden. My uncle shrugged as if to say what was the harm in trying, and I smiled.

“And you’d be confident in identifying him?” Archer asked.

“100%.”

“Okay. Give me a few hours to get a hold of the footage from that night and I’ll call you back in. See if we can find your heart thief.”

My own heart did a weird little somersault. Your heart thief. Archer couldn’t have known the meaning behind his words. The fact that this killer had latched on to me for some unknown reason and was now initiating some kind of thrilling, deadly game between us. Did that make him mine? Did the fact I was keeping him a secret give me some kind of claim over him? Does that mean he has the same claim over me? This was either the most brilliant plan I’d ever had or the most idiotic. But I just couldn’t care less. Because it was exciting. It was consuming. It was all I could think about.

***

The three of us huddled around Archer’s computer screens as he clicked on the links for the CCTV feeds from the club that night. First, we focused on the entrance, trying to catch what time he entered and left.

“He was wearing a black hoodie and jeans,” I added as we all watched the footage of various club-goers entering the graffitied door throughout the night. At 12.43am, a figure with a black hood covering his head came into view. “There!”

Archer paused the footage just as the man lifted his hands to the hood and pulled it down. He walked up to the bouncer at the door. I squinted my eyes to focus on the grainy image but could make out his blonde floppy hair and chiselled jaw. “That’s him.”

“Okay. So we know what time he arrived,” Archer said, flicking to the inside footage of the bar area and fast forwarding to the same time. We watched as the man ordered a drink and moved to sit in a far corner booth, completely inconspicuous. “I suppose the fact that he’s alone is a red flag.”

“Hey! Don’t knock it. I used to go to clubs alone all the time before Sienna. Just to blow off some steam.” Raiden chuckled, a devilish look on his face.

“Yeah and that never caused trouble.” Archer scoffed sarcastically.

I ignored their conversation, solely focused on watching the mysterious man as he sat alone and studied everyone around him with a cold detachment. Archer fast forwarded again until he stood up from his booth and made his way back to the bar, standing right beside me. His face remained expressionless. Blank of any emotion but his eyes were trained on the criminal beside me as if his glare alone could put him six feet under. My stomach fluttered. Contained rage. Without a shadow of a doubt, this was my killer.

I watched our interaction play out, remembering how I put him in his place and told him to stay out of it. A flicker of something that closely resembled surprise mixed with pride appeared on his face before I moved my attention back to Eddie and then we left together. My fingers started to tap against my thigh as I studied his reaction. His jaw tensed. His eyes narrowed as he stared down at his drink. He seemed to be having some kind of inner battle with himself. Then he lifted his glass, downing the remainder of alcohol and slamming it back on the bar before leaving. My heart thundered.

“Looks like you were on to something,” Archer said, taking screenshots of the footage and time-lapse. I tried not to get too excited and let the praise get my hopes up. Returning to the outside CCTV, he was seen looking in both directions down the street, clearly searching for something or someone, then lifted his hood once more and stalked off in the same direction of the alleyway, where I was acting out my scene with Eddie Hughes.

I stood up straight as Archer swivelled in his chair to face Raiden and me with an arched eyebrow. “Well, it doesn’t incriminate him, but it’s worth digging into and bringing him in for questioning.”

“And how soon can you do that?”

“Few hours, depending on his location. Hopefully, he is local to New York, so it shouldn’t be difficult. Thanks, Ilaria. Leave it with us.”

My eyebrows pulled in tightly as I moved my gaze to Raiden. “I want to be here when you question him.”

Raiden lifted his hand to rub his jaw, but his eyes held mine with understanding. He knew I was too involved in this to let it go now. “Fine. But you stay behind the glass. Archer will question him, and I’ll be there as muscle in case he is supernatural and dangerous.”

“Deal,” I nodded.

Archer stuck to his word. Four hours later, I was standing behind the mirrored glass and scrutinising the fear-stricken face of Harry Gould. A twenty-three-year-old New Yorker who came from a wealthy family who had made their millions in the stock markets. Wearing a designer polo and sand coloured chinos with brown loafers, he was dressed much more in keeping with his affluent upbringing than he had been last night. His brown eyes darted around the minimalistic room as he rubbed his clammy hands together in his lap. He was extremely nervous. Which also didn’t fit with the profile of my stalker. Unless this was all an impressive act of innocence.

Archer and Raiden entered the room and the fear in his eyes heightened when he took in the size and threatening nature of my uncle.

“Harry Gould?” Archer asked, pulling out a chair opposite him and giving the man a warm smile. “Thank you for your time. We have a few questions we would like to ask you about the night of 12th of October and your whereabouts.”

Harry’s eyes swept over to Raiden standing protectively behind Archer’s chair as he swallowed thickly a number of times before they returned to the good cop. “Is this about the drugs? Because if it is, it was my first time taking molly and I didn’t even enjoy it. The guy who sold it to us didn’t tell us his name, but I can find out for you from a friend of mine. I’m willing to cooperate. Just please don’t tell my father. I need to keep this out of the media or he’ll f*cking disown me.”

Archer tilted his head slightly and exchanged a look with Raiden. I frowned. That seemed too genuine.

“Well, I am glad you are willing to be transparent with us. But no, this is not about the drugs. This is about Eddie Hughes.”

“Eddie who?” Harry balked, his perfectly sculptured face twisting with confusion.

“Or Slyvester Gaidern?”

Harry started shaking his head, squeezing his hands together. “I don’t know who they are. Am I under arrest? Do I need a lawyer? I think I need a lawyer.” He started trembling uncontrollably. Damn, this guy was good. Or he was innocent. Which meant I was being played.

“That won’t be necessary right now. We just wanted to have a friendly chat. Ask a few questions and you’ll be free to go.”

“Okay…” Harry eyed Archer warily.

“Talk us through that night. Where were you?”

“Umm,” he rubbed his sweaty forehead under his blonde hair. “It was my mate’s birthday so we were out celebrating. We met up at Viper’s, had drinks and danced a bit then left and headed to the strip club, Missy’s. That’s where we got the drugs off some guy that Ned knows. After that, we got cabs down to Lolo’s Club and stayed there until it closed. I got home at about 5am.”

“And you were with your friends the entire night? Did you venture anywhere alone at all?”

He shook his head. He lifted his gaze to the mirrored window behind Archer and I looked deep into his eyes. Eyes that held none of that cruel danger I’d seen last night.

What the hell is this about? I’m going to f*cking kill Ned if he has got us involved in some dodgy sh*t again. Why the hell do I listen to that loser?

My body bristled as I read his mind. This wasn’t the same guy. I knocked on the glass window, gaining Raiden’s attention as Archer continued to pointlessly question the man about the dive bar which he swore he would never be seen dead in. Raiden and Archer excused themselves and came straight to me.

“He is human,” Raiden said with a hint of judgement in his tone. He thought I was wasting his time on something I had gotten completely wrong. “And innocent if you ask me.”

I nodded quickly. “Yeah, I read his mind. This isn’t the same guy that spoke to me that night. This is the original.”

“Original?” Archer folded his arms over his chest. “Explain.”

“The killer is a supernatural shifter. They can take on someone’s appearance and scent. Whoever he is, he stole Harry Gould’s identity that night when he came into the bar.” And again last night.

“Like Sienna can?” Archer asked.

“No. This is more complex. She can change her own features, so she looks different, but this psycho took on a whole person’s identity,” Raiden explained.

So,” Archer turned and glanced at Raiden with a furious expression. “He could be literally anyone? Changing his appearance constantly. How the f*ck are we supposed to find him?”

The corner of my lips tugged upwards. I covered my mouth with my hand before they saw my smile and faked my own frustration. Even though I was disappointed that I hadn’t captured him myself, beneath it all was a twisted sense of relief. I didn’t want it to be that easy. I liked a challenge. And my stalker had just taken Hide and Seek to a whole new level.