Page 85 of Benjamin and the Thief

Drake was a psychiatrist and a vampire, and several Scanguards employees and its owner had, at one point, been his patients.

“No. Drake has his strong sides, and I’m grateful for what he did for me, but bedside manners aren’t it. He’s not the right person to help Catalina.”

“Then who is?”

Because it clearly wasn’t him. By the looks of it, Catalina didn’t want to speak to him. And why would she? Whenever she looked at him, she was reminded of what he’d done to her: turned her into a creature she didn’t want to be.

“I’m gonna call Brandon.”

“Ryder’s father-in-law,” he said to himself. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

He could only hope that Brandon would highlight the positive aspects of being a vampire. He too had been turned when he lay dying. And he’d adjusted well to his new life.

Maya was already pulling her cell phone from her pocket and navigated to a number.

“Brandon, hey, sorry if I’m waking you. But I need your help.”

While Maya laid out what she wanted him to do, Benjamin went to the sink and looked into the mirror, inspecting the puncture wounds on his neck. The mirror was, in fact, a monitor that reflected what a camera in its frame recorded, so a full-blooded vampire like Maya could see her reflection too. A real mirror wouldn’t show a vampire’s reflection.

With a wet towel, he wiped away the excess blood. The wound had already stopped bleeding, but it hadn’t closed yet. Had Catalina licked over it after she’d bitten him, the incisions would already be closed, but she didn’t know how any of this worked. She had no idea that a vampire’s saliva could heal wounds.

He spit onto his fingers and rubbed his saliva over the puncture wounds. When he looked back in the mirror, they were already closing. In a few minutes, there would be no evidence of the bite. But the memory of it would stay with him. And he hoped with all his heart that this wouldn’t be the last time that Catalina drank his blood.

Catalina’s transformation had taken longer than expected. For nearly forty-eight hours, she’d been in limbo. He’d barely left her side during that time and had left it to his colleagues to deal with presenting the evidence to free Santiago and with faking Catalina’s death. He could trust them to do what needed to be done, so that he could be with Catalina.

And now, somehow, he had to work on winning her forgiveness, because his love for her was as strong as ever, if not stronger. She carried his blood now. She was part of him. And he was prepared to do anything to win back her love. No matter how long it took. He would wait an eternity. Because she was worth it.

He turned away from the sink when his cell phone rang. He looked at the display before answering it.

“Anita?”

“Can you come up to Amaury’s office?”

“Be there in a minute.”

When he entered his father’s office after changing into a fresh shirt, since Catalina had shredded his with her claws, Anita and Amaury weren’t the only ones waiting for him. To his surprise, Delilah was there as well.

“Hey! What’s going on?” he asked.

“We have news about the necklace,” Anita started.

“You found it in their safe?” he asked, hopeful.

Because with the necklace in hand, there wouldn’t even have to be a new trial for Santiago. The verdict could simply be reversed.

“Yes and no,” Anita said cryptically.

“What’s that mean? Don’t keep me on tenterhooks.”

“The necklace that Santiago supposedly stole was in a safe in the bank. But when we had an expert look at it to authenticate it, he told us that it’s a fake. A very good one, but nevertheless a fake.”

“What the⁠—”

Delilah cleared her throat. “Remember when you told me that Catalina was wondering why they didn’t sell the necklace but framed Santiago for the theft so they could claim the insurance money?”

Benjamin nodded.

“They didn’t have the real necklace,” Delilah continued.