This is the third book in the series, A Fiancé Has Flatlined.
For the introduction novella, read the first chapter of A Student Has Drowned.
For Book 1, read the first chapter of A Rockstar Has Exploded.
For Book 2, read the first chapter of An Actress is Missing.
Chapter One
Luce
Screams rent the air. People attempted to flee, but the muddy grounds of the Sharp estate mired them like flies trapped in a spiderweb.
A frantic yell drew Luce’s attention, and she turned in time to see a police officer swinging a baton against the shoulder of one of her engagement party guests.
“Police brutality!” Luce shouted as she ran towards the victim. She was determined to get involved, but the throng of bodies pulled her sideways.
At least nobody could accuse her of throwing a boring party.
Fingernails dug into her forearm. Claudia Whyte appeared next to her.
“Why do they have riot shields?” Claudia’s eyes were wide, her pupils dilated. “Where’s Tom? Where’s Jordan?”
The last time Luce had seen Tom Hunt—Claudia’s boyfriend and captain of the Silverbridge Arrows—he’d been licking salt off of Claudia’s friend Bex’s stomach before doing a tequila shot. As for Jordan Lazenby, Luce’s fiancé…
“I haven’t seen Jordan since the speeches,” Luce said, suddenly worried. “Jordan!”
Luce led the way, trudging over her parents’ ruined lawn. The panicking crowd had churned it into a bog, and her high heels sank into the dirt. They passed the patio furniture, which lay scattered around, and trod over broken glass glittering on the cobblestones. Her parents had only just started talking to her again a couple of months ago, and now this….
“Claudia! Luce!”
Tom Hunt appeared, jaw set. “These pigs are crazy!” He looked at Claudia. “They’re searching everyone for drugs, babe—look out!”
A bottle shot through the air and exploded against the side of the house.
“I gotta find the Seen team,” Luce told Claudia.
“What? What about Jordan?”
But Luce’s focus had shifted. She had to find her best friend, Huds, her shy bridesmaid, Faven, and their curmudgeonly older colleague, Rodney.
She pushed against the crowd, her ears ringing with the cries of frightened guests and the barking of police officers. She saw Ari Harrison, a forward from Jordan’s football team, the Silverbridge Arrows, leaping off a table onto a police officer.
“Get off him!” Ari yelled at the officer, who had been midway through arresting Zak Babich, another of the Arrows.
“Show me a warrant, copper!” Zak Babich yelled. Ari pulled him free of the officer’s grip, and the two boys ran away together. As Zak scarpered, Luce saw baggies containing pills and powders falling from his pockets onto the muddy pavers.
“Luce!” A familiar voice rang out behind her.
Faven was waving from a stone balcony, pressed against the balustrade by a throng of guests. “Come to the stairs!”
Luce ran to Faven, grateful that her red dress made her easy to spot. But halfway across the courtyard, her shoe skidded out from under her. She felt suddenly weightless as she fell—
A hand closed around her arm, catching her.
“Gotcha.” It was Rodney Holliday, her beloved older colleague, his salt and pepper stubble glinting in the festooned lights.
“Where’s Huds?” Luce asked as Rodney helped her to her feet.
“He’s getting Ruby home.” Rodney muscled his way through the people, pulling Luce behind him. Faint jealousy flared in Luce’s stomach. Ruby Holliday, Rodney’s nineteen-year-old daughter, had harboured an obvious crush on Huds for the past year.
“Luce, your pupils are gigantic,” Rodney said. “Are you okay?”
Luce nodded, although as she did so, she noticed that the skin over her entire body was tingling. Her heart was racing due to the adrenaline of the unexpected riot, but it also had an edge to it, as if chemically induced…
“Get Faven home,” Luce said. “I need to find Jordan.”
“Luce—”
“I need to find my fiancé!”
Luce pulled away from Rodney and turned back toward her parents’ garden. Her limbs felt light, hollow. She needed to find Huds … no, Huds was with Ruby, Huds was fine … she needed to find Jordan. Yes, that’s right: Jordan, the man she would marry in two months.
A shrill wail cut through the party and Luce’s blood froze. A woman’s scream—deep and guttural. Something serious had happened. Luce pushed through the crowd. Everybody was standing still, facing the garden, staring at something.
“Stand back! Everyone get back!” an officer yelled from the garden’s entrance.
Someone tugged at the back of Luce’s dress.
“Luce, don’t…” Katie Thorne’s pretty face was twisted in fear. “Seriously.”
Luce ignored her and pushed forward, elbowing guests to make room. A line of police officers was standing guard, blocking people from moving further. Behind them, lying on the grass, were two figures: A woman in a green dress, Harriet Winters, the Arrows’ physiotherapist, and…
Luce’s throat constricted. She stepped forward, needing to get to him.
The officer lifted his baton. “Stay back, I said!”
Luce pushed past the officer and ran toward Harriet and the unconscious man. The officer grabbed at her.
“Luce, stop,” a Spanish-accented voice urged. Luis Murcielago, another Arrows player. “It’s okay. An ambulance is on its way.”
Her vision was shaking, her heart pounding. She needed to get to Jordan, but as she tried to move, the officer tightened his grip.
“Ma’am, I warned you…”
Luce stamped on the officer’s foot, but he didn’t let her go, so she thrust forward, shooting her forehead at his nose.
The officer let out a strangled ‘oof’ as she head-butted him, and his hand dropped. Luce ran to Jordan. She collapsed on the grass and pushed the blond hair away from his forehead, her vision blinded by tears.
“There’s no heartbeat,” Harriet said between sobs. “He’s got no heartbeat.”
“Jordan, talk to me,” Luce said, tears still blurring her eyes. For a second, the face of the limp body came into focus and Luce’s breath caught in her throat. What the—?
Before she could open her mouth to cry out, the officer tackled her onto the grass, and she felt the cold metal of handcuffs against her wrists.
