Chapter 22
22
G abriel turned to her as soon as the door fell shut behind him. “He was attacked?”
Vanessa nodded. “Last night. It was pure luck that I heard him scream. I was on my way to work.”
“So, Cole’s the victim you protected? Whose attacker you killed.”
She braced her hands at her hips. “What should I have done otherwise? The bastard would have killed him! With Ginger I reacted too slowly, and thought I could capture him, and Ginger nearly died because of it. And if you think—”
“Hey, sweetheart,” Gabriel interrupted, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not reprimanding you. You did good. I would have done exactly the same as you, if the victim had been somebody I love. ‘Cause you love him, right?”
“He’s an amazing man. When I’m with him, everything is perfect.” She felt as if she was overflowing with emotions. “But I have no idea how to tell him what I am, what we are. Not after he got attacked last night. Now all he’ll be able to see is that vampires are brutal, evil, vile…” She lifted her lashes to meet her father’s gaze. “What am I gonna do, Dad?”
Gabriel embraced her, and she felt tears well up in her eyes. He stroked over her long hair, soothing her like he’d done when she was a little child. Sometimes, she still felt like that child.
“You’ll find a way. He adores you. Even when he thought you were a prostitute, he wanted you.”
“What if he’s disgusted when he finds out what I really am?” She peeled herself out of his arms.
“He’ll get over it. Look at all our friends. They all managed somehow for the human they love to accept them for what they are.”
“But I’m physically stronger than him. What will that do to his male ego? A man like him won’t like a woman like me.”
“Says who?” Gabriel shook his head. “Look at Yvette and Haven. When they met, he was human. And she was way stronger than him; I mean she was a formidable fighter. That didn’t stop Haven from falling in love with her. So trust me, Cole’s ego will survive it. Besides, once he experiences what the bite does to him, he’ll count himself lucky.”
“What if we don’t even get that far?” She pressed her hands to her temples. “I should have followed procedure and wiped his memory of the attack.”
“It’s too late for that now. Besides, you must have had a reason for why you didn’t.”
Her father wasn’t wrong. “I wanted him to be prepared. To know that there are dangers out there. Because I can’t protect him every minute of every day.” A thought pierced her mind. “We need to train him. He should go through the bodyguard training at Scanguards. At least then he can defend himself.”
Gabriel put a hand on her forearm. “That’s for later, and only if that’s what he wants too. For now, you need to help him understand that not all vampires are bad. And you need to do it fast. With these rogues terrorizing the city, it’s only a matter of time until you expose yourself in front of him. That’s not how he should find out.”
She knew that. “What if I’m not brave enough?”
Gabriel smiled. “We’ve all had to overcome the same obstacle, and we all muddled through it.”
Vanessa tilted her head to the side. “It was a little different with you and Mom.”
“Yes, but not less traumatic. She had to deal with being a newly turned vampire. That’s no walk in the park. At least Cole now knows that he’s a satyr, that’s a step in the right direction. He’s a preternatural creature even if it’s not that obvious to anybody—other than to you, of course.”
She decided not to comment on the physical sign that identified Cole as a satyr. She bit her lip.
“You can do this, Nessie.”
She forced a smile. “And what are we gonna tell him about going patrolling tonight?”
“It’s your choice, but as your boss, I don’t think I need to tell you that we need everybody we can spare to be on the lookout for those rogues.”
“He’ll insist on going with me.”
Gabriel shrugged. “Let him. Who were you supposed to patrol with tonight?”
“Adam.”
“I’ll call Quinn to use him somewhere else. You stick with Cole, it’ll be good for him to see what you do. But you have to protect him. When did you last feed?”
“This morning.” And she was craving blood after her marathon sex session with Cole. “Thanks for the reminder.” She walked to the small fridge in her living area, opened it and took a bottle of human blood out of it.
“Good. You need your strength.”
Vanessa gulped down the cold liquid and disposed of the empty bottle in a closed recycle bin.
“I’m ready.”
Together they left her room. Vanessa heard voices from downstairs. Her mother was making small talk with Cole in the living room. When Vanessa and Gabriel came down the stairs, Cole looked in their direction, falling silent.
“I’m afraid, Cole,” Gabriel said with a shrug, “my daughter is a stubborn one. She’ll do her job tonight, no matter what. But I can assure you that she’s trained for it. She underwent the bodyguard training at Scanguards, just like my sons and I have. She’s an excellent bodyguard. She can handle herself.”
Cole’s head whipped to her. “You work for the same company as your father? I thought you’re a social worker for the city.”
“I am,” Vanessa said quickly. “The city hires Scanguards for certain things, including taking care of the sex workers and the homeless. That’s my job, and since I’m out and about at night, we thought it would be best if I’m trained in self-defense, personal security, and a few other things.”
Cole already opened his mouth to respond, when Maya interrupted, looking at Gabriel. “Babe, it’s time to go. I’ve got patients to see.” She smiled at Cole. “We’ll see you again soon, Cole. It’s been a pleasure.”
“Thank you, Maya, you too.”
When her parents left, and silence descended on the house, Vanessa crossed the distance between her and Cole and put her hands on his chest.
“We should get going too,” she said.
“So you’re a bodyguard, huh?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Is there anything else I should know?”
She pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. “My dad is also my boss? And my brothers are my colleagues?”
“And you all work for this company, Scanguards?”
“That’s about it.” Except for one other thing, but she wasn’t ready to reveal her last secret yet.
Cole pressed a kiss to her lips, and pulled her into an embrace. “All right, then let’s go patrolling, or whatever you call it.”
He released her.
“Just one rule: if we encounter a vampire, please let me handle him,” she demanded.
Cole simply grunted, and it wasn’t hard to guess that he wasn’t going to stick to that rule.