“The police are coming,” Caleb told me in a shaky voice. The waver of fear in his voice infuriated me even further. Howdarethis man threaten Caleb? I wasn’t a violent vampire, but right now it took everything I had not to kill this scum on the spot.
“Good,” I growled.
I parted my lips so that my sharp fangs were clearly visible and said, “I’ll hold on to him until they arrive.”
Behind the mask, the man paled, as if he’d seen a ghost.
* * *
Lewis arrivedat the store just as the cops were leaving. They had taken the attempted robber into custody.
“Jesus, Caleb, are you okay?” Lewis yelled when he saw us standing on the front curb.
Caleb shivered, both from the chilly air and the sudden drop in his own temperature as the adrenaline wore off. Even if I couldn’t offer as much warmth as a human, I put my arm around him anyway.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Caleb said. “Just a little freaked out.”
“Well, no shit!” Lewis exclaimed in sympathy.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if Adriel wasn’t here,” Caleb mumbled.
Lewis turned to me with that same awed expression he had the first time we met. “Oh, yes, Mr. Tenebrae. What brings you to our establishment again?”
“Have you already forgotten?” I said. “I am Caleb’s bodyguard. It’s a necessity of his medical condition, and other personal reasons you do not need to know about.”
Evidently, hehadforgotten. Lewis’s eyes went wide. He shook his head. “Well, uh, yes. Of course.”
It was obvious he had a million questions he wanted to ask, but didn’t dare bother me with them. In any case, even he sensed that now was not the right time.
“Anyways, Caleb, nothing got stolen, right?” Lewis asked.
“No,” Caleb replied. “Again, only because Adriel was here. Otherwise…” He shuddered again.
“Right, right,” Lewis said. He seemed like he wanted to take my hands and shake them, but was too afraid. “Thank you so much, Mr. Tenebrae. You’ve saved my store and my employee tonight. You’re just incredible. We owe you so much.”
“Only doing my duty,” I replied.
“Yes, of course,” Lewis said, nodding along with everything I said. “Well, I had a chat with one of the cops right before they took off and he said it’s probably best to close up the store for the night.” He sighed. “Don’t want nosy neighbors causing a scene or anything, you know?”
“Yes, that would be for the best,” I added.
More than anything else, all I wanted was to take him home to safety. My arm tightened around Caleb. Caleb didn’t struggle. To my surprise, he leaned in to me.
Something inside me sparked and lit up, like a newly kindled flame. I didn’t want to let go of him. I couldn’t let anything like this happen ever again. But it wasn’t just the overwhelming desire to protect him - it was a deeper, more intense sensation that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
And I had the feeling it wouldn’t go away so easily.
After Lewis wandered off to chat with a few straggling cops, I murmured to Caleb, “Come. Let’s go home.”
