Chapter 37
Benjamin still felt the pleasure that had pulsed through his body when Catalina had sunk her fangs into him and taken his blood.
He’d never felt such a high, which was also the reason why he’d been too dazed to stop her from running off.
When she’d looked at him just before she’d hightailed it out of the room, he’d seen the disgust in her face.
She hated being a vampire. Hated what it did to her. And hated him for it.
He charged out of the room and nearly collided with Maya. “I need to catch her. I need to explain…”
Maya shook her head. “Give her time. She can’t get off this floor without an access card.” Her gaze veered to the wound on his neck. “At least she drank blood.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, and she hated it. She hates me for what I did to her.”
“No, she doesn’t. The first time can be traumatic. You wouldn’t know, because you were born into it.”
Whereas to him, it was natural. “There’s so much I haven’t had a chance to tell her about.”
“She needs to speak to somebody who understands what she’s going through.”
“You’re not suggesting she speak to Dr. Drake?”
Drake was a psychiatrist and a vampire, and several Scanguards employees and its owner had, at one point, been his patients.
“No. Drake has his strong sides, and I’m grateful for what he did for me, but bedside manners aren’t it. He’s not the right person to help Catalina.”
“Then who is?”
Because it clearly wasn’t him. By the looks of it, Catalina didn’t want to speak to him. And why would she? Whenever she looked at him, she was reminded of what he’d done to her: turned her into a creature she didn’t want to be.
“I’m gonna call Brandon.”
“Ryder’s father-in-law,” he said to himself. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
He could only hope that Brandon would highlight the positive aspects of being a vampire. He too had been turned when he lay dying. And he’d adjusted well to his new life.
Maya was already pulling her cell phone from her pocket and navigated to a number.
“Brandon, hey, sorry if I’m waking you. But I need your help.”
While Maya laid out what she wanted him to do, Benjamin went to the sink and looked into the mirror, inspecting the puncture wounds on his neck.
The mirror was, in fact, a monitor that reflected what a camera in its frame recorded, so a full-blooded vampire like Maya could see her reflection too.
A real mirror wouldn’t show a vampire’s reflection.
With a wet towel, he wiped away the excess blood.
The wound had already stopped bleeding, but it hadn’t closed yet.
Had Catalina licked over it after she’d bitten him, the incisions would already be closed, but she didn’t know how any of this worked.
She had no idea that a vampire’s saliva could heal wounds.
He spit onto his fingers and rubbed his saliva over the puncture wounds.
When he looked back in the mirror, they were already closing.
In a few minutes, there would be no evidence of the bite.
But the memory of it would stay with him.
And he hoped with all his heart that this wouldn’t be the last time that Catalina drank his blood.
Catalina’s transformation had taken longer than expected.
For nearly forty-eight hours, she’d been in limbo.
He’d barely left her side during that time and had left it to his colleagues to deal with presenting the evidence to free Santiago and with faking Catalina’s death.
He could trust them to do what needed to be done, so that he could be with Catalina.
And now, somehow, he had to work on winning her forgiveness, because his love for her was as strong as ever, if not stronger.
She carried his blood now. She was part of him.
And he was prepared to do anything to win back her love.
No matter how long it took. He would wait an eternity. Because she was worth it.
He turned away from the sink when his cell phone rang. He looked at the display before answering it.
“Anita?”
“Can you come up to Amaury’s office?”
“Be there in a minute.”
When he entered his father’s office after changing into a fresh shirt, since Catalina had shredded his with her claws, Anita and Amaury weren’t the only ones waiting for him. To his surprise, Delilah was there as well.
“Hey! What’s going on?” he asked.
“We have news about the necklace,” Anita started.
“You found it in their safe?” he asked, hopeful.
Because with the necklace in hand, there wouldn’t even have to be a new trial for Santiago. The verdict could simply be reversed.
“Yes and no,” Anita said cryptically.
“What’s that mean? Don’t keep me on tenterhooks.”
“The necklace that Santiago supposedly stole was in a safe in the bank. But when we had an expert look at it to authenticate it, he told us that it’s a fake. A very good one, but nevertheless a fake.”
“What the—”
Delilah cleared her throat. “Remember when you told me that Catalina was wondering why they didn’t sell the necklace but framed Santiago for the theft so they could claim the insurance money?”
Benjamin nodded.
“They didn’t have the real necklace,” Delilah continued.
“But the insurance company would have never insured it if it was a fake,” he protested.
“True, that’s why I looked back into the Prestons’ finances.
I found a large amount of money coming into their accounts two years ago.
I was able to trace the source, and it turns out it came from a private sale of jewelry to somebody in Europe.
I spoke with the buyer’s agent, and they confirmed that their client purchased the necklace from the Prestons.
The Prestons never canceled the insurance policy, and before they sold it, they obviously had a replica made.
I’m still trying to find out who made the fake.
But the case is clear: they couldn’t sell the necklace a second time.
So, they decided to stage a theft and frame Santiago for it. ”
“Oh my God,” Benjamin exclaimed. “We got them. Santiago is innocent. And we can prove it.”
“Yes,” Amaury said. “We handed all the evidence to the D.A. and the judge this morning. Donnelly is looped in. He got the governor to fast-track his release. Santiago is being released tonight.”
“Catalina will be happy to hear that,” Benjamin said. “I’ll pick him up from San Bruno myself. Is everything set for the funeral tomorrow morning?”
“Yes,” Amaury said. “With Donnelly’s help, we got the death certificate for Catalina signed. So, in the eyes of the world, she’s dead.”
“Does Santiago know yet?” Benjamin asked.
“We believe so. News like that travels fast. Even in jail,” Amaury confirmed.
Benjamin rubbed his neck and sighed. “I wish we could tell him that Catalina isn’t dead. But we can’t. Not before the funeral. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. The press will be there.”
“You sure?” Delilah asked. “That poor boy.”
“I know it’s gonna be hard on him, but we can’t risk anybody suspecting that Catalina didn’t die of the gunshot wound.”
“Because you want the Prestons to go down for murder?” Amaury asked.
Benjamin clenched his jaw. “Anything less wouldn’t be justice. They will rot in prison for what they did to Santiago and Catalina. They took her life. They forced me to turn her into a vampire.”
His chest heaved, and he could feel the anger rising again.
“Anita, Delilah, why don’t you leave us?” Amaury asked.
The two women left the office and closed the door behind them.
Amaury rose from behind his desk and walked around it.
“What’s wrong, son?”
“Everything is wrong! I should have kept her safe! I failed.”
“Are you saying that you can’t accept that your future mate is a vampire and not a human? You wanted a human wife, didn’t you?”
He shook his head. “No, Dad! That’s not it.
You have no idea. Dad, she bit me; she drank my blood just now.
And I can’t even describe what that felt like.
It was better than I’d ever imagined. When she sucked on my vein, I felt complete.
It was more than happiness. More than physical pleasure.
It was everything I ever wanted. I just never knew that I wanted this. Her biting me.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“What if I chose to turn her because, deep down, I wanted her to be a vampire? What if my subconscious tricked me into thinking that it was too late to heal her, and my only choice was to turn her? What if it wasn’t too late to save her human life?”
It was finally out, the thought that had been plaguing him ever since Catalina had been shot.
“Oh, son,” Amaury said and pulled him into a hug. “You didn’t have a choice.”
“How would you know?”
Amaury released him, then cupped his shoulders with his hands.
“Because Ryder was there. She was dying; he saw it too. If you hadn’t turned her, she would be gone forever. This way, she has a chance at a new life. And we’ll do everything to welcome her into our family.”
“What if she can’t adjust to what she is?”
Amaury smiled. “She bit you. She drank your blood. That means she knows what it feels like, how pleasurable a bite can be. She’ll come around. Just be patient. Don’t rush her. It has to be her decision. She loved you before; that love doesn’t disappear just because of what she is now. Trust me.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Amaury smirked. “I often am.”