Page 83 of Vanessa’s Bravery

She lifted her hand, showing him the wooden stake. She could see Cole’s displeasure.

“Damn it. You’ll have to get too close to him to use that.”

“Distract him.” Without waiting for his reply, she peered around the corner of the van Milo had just left. The passenger door was still open, but Milo was nowhere to be seen. “Fuck!”

Her eyes shot to the front of the van, when she saw movement there. She saw the muzzle of a handgun, and ducked, when she heard a sound to her left. The side door of the van slid open loudly. In her crouching position, she took a split second too long to whirl around and rise. Milo jumped onto her, the impact making her lose her stake, her back slamming against the other van. A shot rang out, and the window of the van shattered into a thousand pieces, but Cole’s bullet had missed its target.

She caught Cole’s horrified look as he aimed again, but didn’t shoot. She knew why: she and Milo were moving too fast, trading blows and punches. One hard strike sent her reeling, while Milo’s gun went off, before it dropped to the ground. She blinked, and realized that Cole wasn’t at the front of the van anymore. Had the bullet hit him? Panic surged through her as she lost her balance. Before she could crash to the ground, and Milo could pick up his gun, somebody pushed her out of the way.

In the next instant, she saw Cole. He pulled her back toward the protection of the other van, while a Kevlar-clad vampire squeezed past her, his UV-ray gun pointed at Milo. She saw him pull the trigger, but no UV-light ray fired at Milo.

“Fuck!” He tossed the UV-ray gun to the ground, and reached into a pocket.

Milo fired his gun, and while he hit his Kevlar-clad opponent, the bullet didn’t penetrate the suit. Vanessa saw the wooden stake in her colleague’s hand. Milo fired again, and shrank back, but the open passenger door prevented his escape.

“I should have killed you thirty-seven years ago.” She recognized Thomas’s voice now. “Better late than never.” He lifted his arm and plunged the stake into Milo’s heart.

A second later, ash rained onto the ground, and Milo’s gun and several metal items hit the floor. Thomas turned around and lifted his visor. At the same time, Vanessa realized that it had gotten quiet in the building.

“It’s over,” Thomas said, his voice flat.

“You saved my life, Thomas. Thank you.” Vanessa let out a sigh of relief, and turned to look at Cole, who was crouching on the floor with her. She squeezed him. “Are you hurt?”

He shrugged. “Just a few bruises. Nothing your blood won’t heal.”

For the first time in hours, Vanessa smiled. “You scared me. You should have stayed at HQ.”

“That’s what your father said too. And I wasn’t afraid of displeasing him either,” Cole claimed. “So, guess what. I’m not afraid of you punishing me for disobeying your orders.” He smirked. “In fact, I’m looking forward to it.”

She boxed him gently in his shoulder. “You’re such an idiot.”

“Yeah, but you love me nevertheless.”

“Can’t argue with that.” She brought her lips to his and kissed him. “Let’s go home.”

40

Cole looked at the couples on the dance floor in the V lounge, a large room in the Scanguards headquarters building that was reserved for vampires and their families. The reason for it was what the bar served here: blood on tap. And not just one type of human blood but all of them, and it was free. However, not all vampires and hybrids partook of it, because the vampires who were blood-bonded to humans could only drink their mates’ blood.

The assembled vampires, hybrids, and their families looked relaxed and carefree as if the ordeal they’d all been through earlier in the day had simply washed off them like rain cleared the air. It had been a little harder for him to rid himself of the fear and the worry he’d felt when he’d found out that Vanessa had been captured. He never wanted to feel those feelings again, but he knew somehow that putting themselves in danger was par for the course for any Scanguards employee. He knew that he had a snowball’s chance in hell of convincing Vanessa to quit her job. What she did was a part of her, and she wouldn’t be the woman he loved if he tried to change her.

Since the rescue earlier in the day, he and Vanessa hadn’t had any time alone. They’d been surrounded by her colleagues, friends, and family. Vanessa had introduced him to everyone he hadn’t met yet, and he felt at home among the preternatural creatures who seemed so human in their interactions. He felt at home for the first time in the many years since he’d lost his father. At the thought of him, he felt pain in his heart. His father would have been accepted by these people. They could have been his family. And he could have found love among them. He knew this pain would always be within him, though he also knew that the rest of his heart would be filled with love. The love of a good woman. The love of a family. The love of this preternatural community.

Gabriel approached and put a hand on his shoulder. “You all right, Cole? Still a little shaken?”

“I’m calmer now. But I’ve been thinking about my dad.” He gestured to the happy crowd. “He would have been at home here.”

“And we would have welcomed him with open arms,” Gabriel replied. There was a moment’s pause, then he added, “Cole, wanna join me and Samson for a quick word?”

“Sure.” Cole set his glass of whiskey on a nearby table and followed him, as they made their way to the fireplace, where Samson stood.

“Samson.” Cole extended his hand.

Samson shook it. “Cole, it’s good to see you.”

“Likewise.”

Samson and Gabriel exchanged a look, before Samson began, “I wanted to speak to you because you turned out to be an integral part of the rescue operation today—”