Page 66 of Benjamin and the Thief

“Maybe she got into a cab.”

“That’s it! Thanks, Delilah. She’s probably going home. I’ll go there.”

“Don’t!” Delilah’s voice was firm.

“Why not? She needs me now.”

“No. Take it from a human. Right now, she needs to be alone. She’s scared of you, of all of us. Give her some time. Let her sleep on it.”

“But—”

“Trust me on this. When I found out about Samson being a vampire, I needed time to process it too.”

Benjamin sighed. Delilah was probably right. “But she’s injured. I can heal her.”

“It’s just a bite. You can always heal her tomorrow. That way you can show her the good you can do.”

Slowly, he nodded. “Alright, I’m coming back.”

His car was parked outside Samson’s house anyway, and with the revelation about the Prestons’ financial situation, he had some phone calls to make. But first, he had to do something else. He scrolled to a number on his cell phone and tapped on it.

“Hey,” Vanessa answered. “What’s up?”

“Can you please do me a favor? You’re patrolling in the Tenderloin tonight, right?”

“Yep, as usual.”

Vanessa’s job as a Community Service Manager at Scanguards was to patrol the areas where prostitutes, the homeless, and drug addicts roamed at night. She made sure that if anybody needed help, they would get it. She was good at it, and the people who lived and worked on the streets respected her.

“Can you please keep a lookout for Catalina?”

“Your girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“We were at Samson’s house, and Ross bit her. Now she knows we’re vampires, and she fled. She’s injured. I ran after her, but I lost her. And I’m afraid right now, she probably doesn’t want to talk to me. I think she may have gotten into a taxi to get home.”

“Wow, that sucks. I’ll go by her place. Text me her address.”

“Just check whether she’s home. And then maybe keep an eye out? I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“You’ve got it.”

“Thanks, I owe you one.”

After sending Catalina’s address to Vanessa, he returned to Samson’s house. To his surprise, Samson had come home in the meantime. He and Delilah were in the living room, with Samson rocking Ross on his knees. The boy had finally stopped crying.

“Evening, Samson, didn’t know you’d be coming home,” Benjamin said upon entering the room.

“I was in the area when Delilah told me what chaos this little rascal caused,” he answered, then gave his grandson a stern look. “What did we discuss? You don’t bite humans. It’s not polite.”

Ross scrunched up his face, and it was clear that he didn’t appreciate Samson’s reprimand and was ready to cry again. When the first sob tore from his throat, Delilah reached for him.

“Give him to me. I’ll try to get him back to bed.”

Ross willingly stretched his arms out to her, while Samson set him on his feet and Delilah took his hand.