Page 91 of Benjamin and the Thief

“Fuck!” Benjamin cursed. “This isn’t easy to explain.”

“You’d better, cause now I’m getting worried. What’s wrong with her? Is she paralyzed?”

“Paralyzed?” For a fraction of a second, he didn’t understand what Santiago meant. “No, she’s not. She’s perfect. She’s completely healed. She’s not in pain.”

“Then what the fuck are you talking about? I wanna see her for myself.”

“We’re on our way to her.”

“This is not the way to the flat.”

“She isn’t at the flat. She can’t live there anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Because she would be exposed to sunlight there. And that would turn her into dust.”

There, it was out. He’d finally said it. For a few seconds there was silence.

“Are you trying to tell me that she’s a vampire? What sick joke is that supposed to be? Stop the fucking car! You’re obviously a raving lunatic!”

He yanked at the door, but it was locked.

Benjamin turned into the entrance to the Scanguards underground garage and used his keycard to gain access.

“I assure you I’m not. What I am is a vampire hybrid. I’m half vampire, half human. When your sister was shot by the Prestons, she was bleeding out. The bullet hit an artery close to her heart. She had only seconds left. The injury was too severe for me to simply heal her. I had no choice but to turn her into a vampire. It was the only way for her to survive.”

Benjamin let out a breath. He pulled the car into his assigned spot and switched off the engine.

Santiago stared at him in utter disbelief, but remained silent.

“I know it sounds incredible. But it’s the truth. I love your sister. I couldn’t let her die.”

Santiago shook his head, his mouth gaping open.

“I would never hurt her,” Benjamin assured him. “Nor you. Nor anybody else in your family. You’re a brother to me now. And I’m sorry that I couldn’t tell you right away, but the public has to think that she’s dead. And had I told you before now, you would have behaved differently at the funeral. I couldn’t risk that.”

“If this is true, and I’m not saying that I believe you, why on earth would you have to pretend that she’s dead when she survived? That makes no fucking sense.”

“It’s the only way for the Prestons to pay for what they did to you and to her. They can never be allowed to be free. And with murder, they’ll die in prison.” He sighed. “And they did murder her. Her old life is gone. I had to make this decision for her, and I think she hates me for it.”

He felt tears well up in his eyes and didn’t bother pushing them back. Instead, he looked straight at Santiago.

“I turned her into a creature she fears, because I couldn’t let her die. I wanted her to live because I love her. And even if that means that I’ve lost her, knowing that she has a chance at a new life has to be enough. So, I beg you, don’t turn away from her. She needs you now.”

Santiago stretched his hand toward him. “Your tears. They are red.”

“A vampire’s tears are made of blood.”

Santiago nodded to himself. “I guess I have nothing to lose by believing you. Where is she?”

“I’ll take you to her.”

40

At the sound of the double doors of the clinic opening, Catalina sat up. For her own safety, Maya had locked her in when she’d left shortly before sunrise. It wasn’t safe for her to go back to her own flat. She understood that.

A glance at the digital twenty-four-hour clock confirmed that it was daytime, and it couldn’t be Maya who was coming back. Who was entering the clinic during the day? Light on her feet, she went to the door of the hospital room she’d been sleeping in. She’d left it ajar and now spied through the gap between the door and frame.