With Visions of Red (Broken Bonds#2) by Trisha Wolfe

enough for him to break against.
    Truth is the most brutal punishment. It forces us to learn who we are.
    “Avery, I need your help.”
    The M.E. spins around, a scalpel in her hand. “Jesus, Sadie. Try not to creep up on people when they’re holding objects of death.” She sets down the instrument and begins to pull a sheet over the body.
    “Wait. Is that the riverbank vic?” I start toward her, but she holds up a hand.
    “I’ve had a long night, Sadie. I just started the autopsy after finally getting the mother’s approval. I’m not ready to answer anything just yet.” She rolls off her gloves and combs her fingers through her long blond hair.
    “I’m not here to harass. I know you’re working as hard as you can.” I lean against the table next to her. “The victim’s mother lives here?”
    She cuts her eyes at me. “You can’t help it, can you?” I suppress a smile, and she sighs. “No. In New York, and I know it’s painful, but the autopsy is needed.”
    With a soft groan, Avery turns around and pushes up the sheet to reveal the vic’s legs. “The bruising around her ankles is worse than around her wrists or any other part of her body. And when Quinn let me in on the decorative blood at the scene, I had a theory… But I need to finish my examination first.”
    I allow my gaze to take in the dark, battered skin. The color is nearly black compared to the rest of her pale flesh. “She’s so white. She looks like a ghost.”
    Avery’s eyebrows pull together. “Are you all right?”
    I nod, waving her off. “Just tired. So you’re thinking she was exsanguinated.”
    “Actually, yes.” She points to the marks again. “Probably strung upside down by her ankles, then the offender sliced her carotid. Her heart did all the work. She’s completely drained of blood.”
    “Would that be enough to cover the grass at the crime scene?”
    “I’m running tests on the samples brought in on the reeds, determining if it’s all the same blood type and a match to the victim’s. It’s possible he diluted her blood to make it stretch…or—”
    “Or he drained more than one person to get his desired effect,” I finish.
    She grimaces. “Go home, Sadie. Open up a bottle of wine, watch stupid reality TV, and get some rest.”
    I glance at the time on my phone. “Almost nine. You going to take your own advice?”
    She looks down at the body, then at me. “I have been feeling a little under the weather, but maybe I’ll just sleep in. I need to finish here.” She smiles, and it’s comforting. Proof that, in this world surrounded by death, I surround myself with the people who easily fit in to this dark realm. “What did you need?”
    Peeking at my phone again, I glimpse Colton’s missed call. We’re supposed to meet in less than ten minutes, and I’m here—at the place I tried so hard not to go.
    With a determined breath, I fill my lungs. Then I put my phone away and roll back my sleeve. Avery watches me with guarded wonder, but she doesn’t question as I grab a pair of scissors from her table and snip a thread from the rope.
    I hand it to her, finally looking up to meet her curious eyes. “Please keep this between us. Quinn, and especially Carson, have no business knowing. This doesn’t concern them.”
    She nods as she accepts the thread. “Okay, but just what am I looking for?”
    I lick my lips, my mouth suddenly dry. “I need to know what kind of material it is. And I need to know its origin.”
    “Shit, Sadie…”
    “It may be nothing,” I assure her. “But, I need it compared with the ropes from every crime scene. If you can somehow make that happen soon—”
    “I will,” she says, taking my hand in hers. “And whatever you’ve gotten yourself involved in, get out of it. I refuse to have you lying on my table. I will figure out a way to bring you back just so I can kill you if that happens.”
    Her concern brings a smile to my face. “I’m beyond careful. I promise. I’m