Page 16 of Vanessa’s Bravery

At the familiar voice, he whirled his head toward the door to his bedroom. Vanessa, dressed in a leather jacket, tight jeans, and long black boots walked toward him, a towel in her hand. The top she wore beneath the open jacket was blood-stained.

“Vanessa, oh my God, you’re hurt,” he said, shooting up from the couch way too fast.

He swayed, the room moving beneath his feet as if he were in the middle of an earthquake this city was famous for. Vanessa rushed toward him and steadied him, putting an arm around him.

“I’m not hurt, but you are. Let me see to your wounds,” she said, while she eased him back on the couch.

She sat down next to him and wiped the damp towel over his torso in gentle movements.

“You came to my rescue.” He shook his head, not understanding exactly how she’d fought off the attacker. All he remembered was a cloud of dust or ash, and then Vanessa’s face right in front of him. “How did you…” He furrowed his forehead, another memory surfacing now. “When you ran toward me, I saw something in your hand.”

“It was a scary situation. You’re in shock.”

Of course he was in shock, but that didn’t change what he’d experienced. “I was attacked by a vampire. I felt his fangs in my neck.” It sounded ridiculous in his own ears, but just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, he touched the neck wound the vampire had left.

For a few seconds, it looked like Vanessa wanted to deny it, but then she seemed to decide against it and nodded.

“There’s so much blood.” He pointed to his shirt and then to her top. “Are you sure you’re not injured?”

“I’m sure.”

“Then whose blood is that?”

“Yours. It transferred to me when I helped you get home.”

“I don’t remember how I got home.”

“You were in and out.”

His forehead furrowed. “You could have never gotten me home if I was out. I’m too heavy for you.”

“You were on your feet, it wasn’t that hard. You just don’t remember because you were in shock.”

That didn’t make any sense, but he didn’t press the issue any further. He had other questions.

“You killed him, and he just turned to dust.”

“Is that a complaint?” Vanessa asked, still dabbing the damp towel at his wounds to clean them, before she proceeded to his forearm that he’d used to fend off the attacker. With little success.

Cole took Vanessa’s wrist, stopping her from tending to him. “Tell me what happened. Why were you there? And how did you know what to do?”

Vanessa dropped the towel on the coffee table and turned back to him.

“I was on my way to work when I heard a scream. So I ran to investigate. I realized it was you. So, of course, I helped you.”

What she was telling him sounded like a very sanitized version of the event that had scared the hell out of him. “You put yourself in danger. For me? You should have run away.”

“Then you’d be dead now.”

Hearing the words made the whole situation truly sink in. He’d escaped death tonight. And no other than a beautiful prostitute was his savior.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be ungrateful. I am… immensely grateful for what you’ve done. But I just don’t understand how. I mean, I’m much stronger than you, and I couldn’t fight that monster off. And you managed to kill him.” He ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. The more he thought about it, the crazier it all sounded.

Vanessa made a dismissive gesture. “I had the right weapon.”

“Wooden stake?” he guessed.

“Just like in the movies.” Then she pointed to his injuries. “How’s the pain?”