Page 87 of Benjamin and the Thief

“I hope you’re right.”

Amaury smirked. “I often am.”

38

She’d hidden in a corridor away from the clinic until she heard Benjamin leave. At first, she’d tried to leave the building, but none of the doors had opened. They all required keycard access. So she’d returned to the double doors. They were locked too. She could have knocked, knowing that Maya was inside, but she simply sat down on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.

When she finally heard footsteps coming from the direction of the elevators, she jumped up, ready to run if Benjamin was coming back. Instead, a man who looked like he was in his early to mid-fifties walked toward the double doors.

She knew he was a vampire, but she didn’t know how she knew it. Maybe his scent gave him away?

He stopped a few yards away from her and gave her a kind smile.

“You must be Catalina.”

From behind her, she heard a sound and spun around. Maya opened the doors.

“Catalina, this is Brandon. I called him because I thought you might want to talk to him.”

“Why?”

“Because what happened to you also happened to me,” he said in a calm, soothing voice. “I’ve been where you are now.”

It was an odd feeling to hear his words. There was something about the way he spoke that made her feel safe in his presence.

Still, she hesitated, not knowing what to say or do.

“Why don’t you both come to the waiting room in the clinic?” Maya asked. “It’s empty. You can talk there.”

When Brandon approached, Catalina finally moved.

“Okay,” she said and followed Maya, who led her to the room she’d suggested.

There were several comfortable armchairs and a muted TV in the corner. The door had a glass panel, and the lighting wasn’t as harsh as inside the treatment area of the clinic.

She chose a chair near the door and sat down. Brandon entered and sat down opposite her.

“Thank you, Maya,” he said, and Maya closed the door.

For a moment, there was silence between them.

“When I saw you in the corridor,” she said in a quiet voice, “I knew you were a vampire, but I don’t know how I knew that.”

He smiled. “You perceived my aura. Almost every creature has one, but only supernatural beings can see or sense it.”

“I didn’t see anything.”

“Your mind is filtering it out. That’s normal. But your instinct tells you what I am.”

“Maya said you’ve been through what I’m going through…”

“Yes. Like you, I was turned when I lay dying. My wife and her lover drugged me and set my house on fire with me in it. If Ryder and his father hadn’t pulled me out in time, I would be charcoal now.”

He gave a mirthless chuckle.

“Ryder? I think I met him at a birthday party for Benjamin and his twin brother. How did he know you?”

“He dated my daughter at the time. Scarlet and Ryder figured out that my wife was cheating on me and wanted to get rid of me so she would get all my money. Ryder and his father, Gabriel, ran back into the burning house when they realized that I was still inside. They risked their own lives for me.”