Page 74 of Vanessa’s Bravery

Before she knew what he wanted to do, his lips were on hers, and he kissed her with the same passion as he’d showered her with when they’d made love earlier.

35

Vanessa sat behind the steering wheel of a Scanguards blackout van, while Patrick perused the information of their target again. She was glad that Cole hadn’t fought her about wanting to ride along with them. In fact, it had even surprised her a little that he had given in rather quickly. Maybe the knowledge of how strong she was as a vampire hybrid had finally sunk in.

“We’re almost there,” Patrick confirmed.

They were in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, the center of Flower Power in the 1960s, a neighborhood with lots of Victorian single and multi-family homes as well as large apartment buildings built in the same style. The buildings butted up to each other, leaving very little to no space between them, other than perhaps a slim corridor that served as a space where the garbage bins were kept. The house where their suspect lived together with his parents was a single-family home and boasted a two-car garage, which was practically unheard of in this area where parking was a contact sport. In front of the house was a fire hydrant, which now provided a convenient parking spot since nobody else dared park in the red zone.

Vanessa parked in front of the fire hydrant and switched off the engine. “Let’s get this bastard.”

Patrick nodded in agreement, and they both exited the car. Vanessa walked around the car and caught up with him on the sidewalk. She glanced up and down the street. People were on their way to work, carrying coffee cups as they hurried to the bus stop or the MUNI stop. Nobody took any notice of them. Very few cars passed them, since most San Franciscans used public transport to get to work.

They walked up the few stairs to the entrance door. The plan was simple. They would ring the doorbell. The file had indicated that the incel’s mother worked from home, and should therefore be home. The father worked at a bakery and would be at work already. They would claim that they were friends of Jeff, and ask to speak to him. If the human gave them any trouble, they would use mind control to gain access to the house. The rest would be easy. They’d grab the incel and cuff him with silver handcuffs, then Vanessa would go out to the van to get a heavy black tarp with which to cover the incel so they could get him into the van without turning him into dust. To finish their assignment, they would wipe his mother’s memory, and leave with their suspect in the back of the van.

“Ready?” Patrick asked.

Vanessa nodded and pressed the doorbell. She heard the sound echoing from inside the house. She listened closely, but for a few seconds she heard nothing. No footsteps, no doors opening or closing, nothing at all. Had this incel also killed his parents like the one Patrick and Ethan had found the night before? Was that why nobody was coming to the door?

She exchanged a look with Patrick, who was already reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out his lockpicks, when there was a sound coming from inside the house. The shuffling of feet. Somebody was coming to the door.

A moment later, the door lock disengaged, and the door opened inwards by only a few inches, just enough for somebody to stick their head out. A human woman in her fifties held the door and gave them an indifferent look.

“Yes?”

“Mrs. Cramer. We’re friends of Jeff’s. Is he home?”

Her expression didn’t change. “Yes, he’s home.” She made no effort to open the door wider to let them enter.

“Could we come in to talk to him, please?” Vanessa added, pasting a smile on her face.

Mrs. Cramer opened the door wider. “Yes, you can come in.” Her voice was expressionless just like her face.

“Thank you,” Vanessa said and entered the dark hallway.

Patrick entered the house behind her, and a moment later, Vanessa heard the door shut behind her.

“He’s expecting you,” Mrs. Cramer said from her spot at the door.

Vanessa looked over her shoulder, alerted by her odd words, when she caught a glimpse of the woman’s wrists. They had abrasions that she recognized instantly: ligature marks. The woman had recently been tied up.

“It’s a trap!” Vanessa yelled, alerting Patrick.

But it was too late. From the three open doors in the hallway, vampires emerged, two black men, and one Caucasian, charging at them with guns. Vanessa realized instantly that resistance was futile. It would take her longer to pull her own gun than it would take any of the three vampires to shoot her or Patrick. Her colleague had obviously come to the same conclusion, and lifted his hands just like Vanessa.

“Fuck,” Patrick hissed, his gaze snapping to the white man. Vanessa recognized him too: Milo. Dressed in all black with garish dark-purple cowboy boots, he looked like the villain he was.

As two of the vampires approached, Milo remained standing with his gun pointed at them, it was clear what had happened. Mrs. Cramer had been tied up somewhere in the house, and the vampires had to untie her so she could open the door. In order to make her comply, they used mind control on her, which explained why she’d been so expressionless.

Vanessa cursed. She should have noticed this earlier.

The two black men disarmed her and Patrick, taking their guns, stakes, knives, and cell phones, before shoving them into a dark room.

“You’re not gonna get away with this,” Patrick threatened, glaring at Milo. “We know who you are.” He made a dramatic pause. “Milo.”

Milo laughed, and the cold sound slithered down her spine like a deadly snake. If only she’d acted faster, and recognized more quickly that something about Mrs. Cramer wasn’t right, they could have realized that this was a trap and acted accordingly.

“Of course, you know who I am. That’s all part of the plan,” Milo claimed.