Marina's Awakening (Seduced By Shadows Book 2)

Chapter Two

There’s a certain thrill in the unexpected, like a woman with a storm in her eyes, tumbling into my otherwise ordinary day. As I kneel on the pavement with this strange woman in my arms, I can hardly believe what I just witnessed. The ambulance was right around the corner, and as I hold her, they’re checking her vitals and getting ready to move her onto the stretcher. I can”t stand the sight of blood, so I look away when some starts to ooze from some of the road rash on her shoulder.

As I watch the paramedics work, I run through the situation in my head again. This beautiful woman who looks like she walked out of a painting, covered in blood, running down the street and straight into traffic. I rushed over to her side without thinking twice about it. Morbid curiosity gets the better of me, and I glance down at my hands. They”re stained red, covered with both fresh and dried blood from holding her against me, but I try to offer what comfort I can.

When I look up, a man is racing toward us. He shouts something in Spanish—his words quick and angry—and he rushes over to the ambulance. For a brief second, our eyes meet, and I recognize the symbol he has tattooed on his right forearm as one of many different markings associated with some occult underground gang I read about that has convinced themselves that their mission on earth is to rid the world of vampires.

I’m a historian, and I tend to deal in facts. But when I kept coming across that symbol during research, I decided to look into it a bit more. It led me down a rabbit hole that fascinated me, so I kept looking into the subject in my free time. They’re fascinating, these people who believe in the occult, and while I don’t buy into it, the information is a good introduction into the psyche of those who need to believe they’re special. So special, in fact, that they”re the chosen ones who must hunt down the blood suckers. Pfft. Vampires. What a laughable concept.

Although, everything I”ve read about them is far from comical. Supposedly, once they set their sights on someone who they believe is a member of the undead, they enact unspeakable rituals to try to bring them back into the realm of the living.

”Marina,” the man shouts from across the street.

It sounds like he knows her, which explains why he”s so frantic. But then a dark thought crosses my mind. Maybe this woman, Marina, was trying to get away from this guy. He must have been following her or something, maybe even hurt her. After all, she was covered in blood and marks before the car even hit her. Oh, God. What if he thinks she”s a vampire and was trying to exorcise her?

I follow after him, picking up my pace to reach the paramedics before he can. Although I may not know this girl, I need to make sure she”s safe. There”s a crowd starting to gather, curious as to what happened to cause the traffic jam on the quiet street. I move past them all until I reach the ambulance. One of the medics is putting her into it, while the other prepares for their departure.

”Excuse me!” The one still standing outside the back door glances at me. ”I”m with her,” I say, gesturing toward the pale woman asleep on the stretcher. Her black hair is splayed out across the white sheets, making her look like some kind of goddess or angel. Her features are delicate yet striking. She has a small nose and full lips, her skin flawless and creamy—but her cheeks are flushed pink from being moved so quickly. And those eyes, closed now in sleep, are slightly puffy as though she had been crying.

The paramedic”s brows knit together. ”You”re with her? Who is she?” he asks, suspicion evident in his tone.

”My girlfriend,” I lie. ”I need to go with her.”

He perks up at the comment. ”Oh, good. Can you tell me her name? Her medical history? Anything that might be useful.”

I shake my head, feeling suddenly self-conscious. ”No. I mean, uh...” My mind races. What can I say to him without outing myself? It isn”t like I know anything about this girl. ”Well, her name is Marina, but as far as her medical information... I”m sorry, we”re kind of a new couple. We haven”t really gotten to talking about stuff like that yet.”

”Do you have her parents” phone numbers?”

Again, I shake my head. ”No, I”m afraid I don”t.”

The man sighs, looking impatiently at the ambulance driver, who is waiting for his partner to get inside first so they can close up the back door. He raises his eyebrows at me, imploring me to give him more information, but there”s nothing else I can tell him that wouldn”t sound suspicious.

”Okay,” says the guy standing outside the back of the ambulance as he glances down at the clipboard in his hand. ”Hop in. We”re taking her to Tampa General.”

I nod and then climb inside. The metal smell of antiseptic assaults my nostrils, and I scrunch up my nose in distaste. As I settle into the seat beside Marina, I take a moment to study her face. Despite the pallor of her skin and the bruises marring her features, there”s a fragile beauty to her that captures my attention. Her chest rises and falls in steady rhythm, a reassuring sign that she”s still breathing. At least she isn”t bleeding too badly—it looks like someone cleaned her up already.

As soon as we start moving again, she shifts position, opening her eyes, and they”re the most striking shade of blue I”ve ever seen. It takes her a minute to focus, but once she does, she spots me staring at her. She recoils slightly, confusion written all over her face. I want to tell her it”s going to be okay, that I”m not going to hurt her, but no words come out. I guess they really should come up with a way to prepare people for this kind of thing.

”Hi,” I say, cringing inwardly at the awkward greeting. It”s lame and sounds stupid, but what else am I supposed to say? ”We”re on the way to the hospital. We”ll be there soon, okay? Just stay as still as you can.”

Her eyes grow wider, like she”s trying to make sense of what”s happening to her, and then close again. She gives a slight nod, looking so much smaller than she did before. My gaze travels back over to her shoulder where the bandage is just visible under her shirt. There are dark red spots soaking through.

When we arrive at the hospital, I follow the paramedics as they wheel Marina into the emergency room. The medical staff swarm around her, taking vital signs and asking questions, and after about ten minutes or so, they assure me that she”s stable and should wake up soon.

The tension drains from my shoulders, leaving me feeling drained and exhausted.

As I sit beside Marina”s bedside, waiting for her to wake up, I find myself lost in thought. Who is she? What happened to her out there on the street to make her run right into traffic? Whatever she was afraid of must have been terrifying to make her react like that. There”s something intriguing about this woman—something magical. A woman of mystery. It”d be cliché if it didn”t sound so romantic.

She finally starts to stir, making me jump slightly in my seat. I clear my throat before saying hello to let her know that I”m here and trying to be as nonthreatening as possible. Her eyes flutter open and then focus on me. She stares at me for a long moment before attempting to speak. ”What...?” Her voice is hoarse, like she hasn”t used it in ages.

”How are you feeling?” I ask.

She makes a move to sit up, but grabs her stomach and winces.

I jump forward to help her. ”Here, let me—”

She shakes her head sharply, eyeing me warily. ”I can do it.” Then she gives an embarrassed half-smile. ”Thanks.”

Slowly, she props herself up on her elbows until she”s sitting straight and then uses her hands to push herself upright. Her face twists up in pain for a split second as she adjusts her position, but when it passes, she glances around the room like she has no idea how she ended up there.

”Do you remember what happened?” I ask.

”Yes,” she says quietly, staring down at the floor, still seeming dazed. ”I mean, kind of.”

She looks so vulnerable like that—small and scared—and there”s this strange urge inside me to comfort her. To take care of her, if I could. When she finally meets my gaze again, I smile softly at her. It”s all I can do, given our situation. This isn”t something I was expecting to deal with when I got out of bed this morning.

”I”m Gabriel, by the way. I hope you don”t mind, but I saw some rough guy chasing after you, so I told the EMT that I was your boyfriend. I didn”t want whoever that was following you into the ambulance. Something... Something just didn”t feel right about him.”

She frowns for a second before her face lights up with sudden understanding. ”You mean the man in black?” She lets out a breath of air in what sounds like relief and then nods slowly. ”Oh, God. Yeah, you”re right.” Her shoulders slump as she takes a deep breath. ”Thank you. For telling them all of that and for, um—” She waves one hand toward me, gesturing to my whole body. ”For helping me.”

”No problem,” I say, glancing down at my hands. They”ve stopped shaking from the adrenaline rush, but it”s still a shock to think back to how scared I was—the fear for her well-being taking over my thoughts. ”I”m glad you”re okay.”

”Yeah. Me too. Can I ask you where we are? I mean, last I remember, before I got hit by that car, I mean, I was in Italy. That”s where I was visiting...” She looks around the room again, blinking slowly, like she can”t believe it”s real.

My eyes dart between her and the window on the other side of the room. The sky outside is gray, the clouds rolling overhead. Rain pelts against the glass pane. If she”s really telling me the truth, then something very bad must have happened to her somewhere overseas.

”We”re in Tampa, Florida,” I answer hesitantly. ”In the United States. Do you... Do you have any idea why you ended up here? Do you remember anything about what led up to this?”

She bites down hard on her lip, making her features contort. For a second, I think she”s going to start crying again, but instead, she just shakes her head. ”I”ve never even been to Florida before. I live in Chicago. Well, I mean, I lived there when I was a vampire.”

I stare at her, unsure of how to respond to that comment. Vampires aren”t real—at least not as far as I know. If they were, someone would have documented them long before now.

”Sorry,” she says quickly, like she thinks she said something wrong. She glances around the room again and then back out the window, searching for landmarks. ”I think I hit my head too hard. I”m not making sense, am I?”

”It”s okay,” I tell her. ”Take your time. Is there someone I can call for you? Someone who can come pick you up? Your parents?”

She shakes her head again. ”No, I mean... No, I don”t have parents. Well, I guess technically I do, but they passed years ago.” Her eyes are wide with alarm as she turns to face me. ”I don”t have anything. Oh, God. My wallet with my money and my credit cards. How am I going to get home? Or...” She looks down at the hospital gown she”s wearing and then up to her shoulder. ”How will I pay for this?”

”Hey, hey,” I say quickly. ”Relax. We can worry about all that stuff later, okay? For now, let”s just get you back on your feet and figure things out from there.”

She gives a small nod, her lips pressing into a thin line. Then she reaches up to touch the bandage over her shoulder, wincing. ”My clothes... Where did they go?” She looks around frantically like she might be able to spot them lying on the floor somewhere, but there”s no evidence of anything that personal anywhere in the room.

”Oh.” I feel my cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. ”They cut them off you when you got here. I didn”t see anything, I swear. I stayed out of the room until they gave me the all-clear. I just didn”t want you to wake up alone.” I gesture toward the door. ”I could go get you something from the gift shop. Would that help?”

”I couldn”t ask you to do that,” she mumbles. ”You”ve done too much for a stranger as it is. How can I ever repay you?” Her brows knit together, and she bites down on her bottom lip. There”s a hint of an accent—not quite Italian but definitely European. She takes a deep breath like she”s going to say something else but stops herself.

”I don”t mind,” I assure her before I force a chuckle. ”This is the most excitement I”ve had in a while.”

She starts to smile, really, truly smile, but then there”s a knock at the door and she flinches.

”Knock, knock,” a nurse calls from the other side. ”Oh, good. You”re awake.”

The nurse walks inside and approaches the bedside, assessing Marina”s condition. Then she takes out a pen light and shines it into Marina”s eyes. Marina winces, letting out a hiss, which makes my jaw tense up. After checking her vitals, the nurse lets Marina know that the doctor should be in for a quick check, but that she should be discharged in a few hours since nothing is broken. The nurse says something else about follow-ups and possibly a scan, but I barely hear her, too caught up in watching how Marina reacts. She listens intently to the nurse”s instructions, looking terrified, like the whole world is coming down around her. I can”t blame her. The poor girl has been through hell.

”Well, at least I”m getting out of here,” she says when the nurse leaves. ”I sure wish Drake had social media. I”d just log on and send him a message or something.”

”Drake?” I question. ”Your husband or boyfriend?”

She shakes her head. ”No, no. My... Well, he”s like my brother. He”s something of a troglodyte. Not much for technology.”

I lean forward slightly in my seat, trying to figure out how I can help her. It sounds like this Drake person is the closest thing to family that she has. I can”t let her just wander the streets and get caught up again with that ”man in black” as she called him. Something tells me that would end badly for her.

”Do you have a phone?”

She shakes her head again. ”I think that guy who was chasing me has it. Along with my wallet.”

”Shit.”

We sit in silence for a long moment before she speaks again, looking down at her hands folded in her lap. ”So... What now?”

My thoughts jump around, trying to formulate some kind of plan that could work—some way we can get her back home safely. I have no idea if what she”s told me about herself is true or not, but it feels genuine and makes too much sense to dismiss completely.

”We could go to the police,” I offer.

Her mouth drops open in shock, and then she starts laughing hysterically. I stare at her, unsure how to respond, until she finally stops and apologizes. ”Sorry,” she says. ”It”s just that that... Well, that”s just not a great idea. There”s a lot of stuff at play here that they won”t understand. Honestly, I”m pretty sure they won”t believe me anyway.”

I tilt my head to the side slightly, curious as to what she means. ”What do you mean?”

She sighs and leans back against the bed. ”Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

There”s something she”s not telling me, and that”s absolutely her right. She doesn”t know me. Why should she trust me at all? Still, I have this unnatural need to look after her. There”s something about her that”s pulling at the corners of my heart, drawing me in. It might be too soon for such a thing, but the way it feels deep in my chest is undeniable.

”Why don”t you come stay with me?” The thought is out of my mouth before I can stop it, and then there”s nothing I can do except roll with it. ”You know, until you figure out what to do next.”

Her expression grows incredulous. ”Are you serious?”

I shrug sheepishly. ”Yes, I guess. You”ll have a roof over your head, and no one will think to look for you at my place. I swear it”s clean enough.”

”That”s not the point,” she says. ”I can”t let you do that. I already owe you too much as it is.” She hesitates before adding, ”I mean, we only just met...”

”I mean, come on. Just stay for a couple of days or however long you need. What else are you going to do? Sleep on a park bench and hope that guy doesn”t find you?”

She blinks hard, like she knows I”m right but she”s still reluctant. ”But I don”t want to impose—”

”You won”t be. Really. I live alone and work from home anyway.”

Her shoulders slump, and then she sighs, defeated. ”Okay. I guess. If you really think it”s okay. Thank you so much for everything you”ve done for me.”

”Of course,” I say. ”It”s no problem at all.”

It”s a convincing show, but deep down, I”m acutely aware of the fact that I have no idea what I”ve just gotten myself involved in.