Page 46 of Vanessa’s Bravery

“Where are you patrolling?” Gabriel asked.

“Tenderloin.”

“Yeah, about that,” Cole interrupted, addressing Gabriel. “Could you please talk Vanessa out of going out there at night, putting herself at risk?”

Gabriel looked at his daughter, then back at him. “That’s Vanessa’s job. I’m sure she’s told you that.”

“She has. But now I know who she’s up against: vampires, vile bloodsuckers. I can’t let her go out there. Please talk some sense into her, because she sure isn’t listening to me.”

Gabriel and Maya exchanged a quick glance. “Vampires? You know about vampires?”

“I do. Don’t you?”

Gabriel stared at Vanessa. “You told him?”

“Vanessa didn’t have to tell me,” Cole said quickly. “I was attacked by one last night.”

“Oh.” Gabriel motioned to Vanessa. “A quick word in private.” He gave a curt nod. “Excuse us.”

Vanessa and Gabriel disappeared in Vanessa’s room, and Cole was left with Maya. Given the surprised, almost shocked look on Gabriel’s face, there was a good chance that Vanessa’s father would make her see reason.

“Cole, why don’t we wait downstairs for them?” Maya asked with a pleasant smile.

“Of course.”

22

Gabriel 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.”