Page 10 of Vas

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

Vas raised a brow. “Take you home or fix your car?”

“Either. You’ve already helped enough.”

“Let me worry about what I can and can’t do. Right now, I need to get you home so you can get some rest.”

The earlier surge of adrenaline had left her feeling drained and Anna didn’t have the strength to argue with him further. She’d let him drive her home and fight with him about her car in the morning.

Vas slammed the hood shut and she went to collect her purse from the ground where she’d dropped it. “Do you think we should call the police?” she asked, securing the strap of her purse over her shoulder and tucking her hands into the pockets of her coat.

For the first time she noticed Vas wasn’t wearing a jacket, but he didn’t seem cold. Maybe the chill running through her had more to do with the events of the night and not the temperature.

“The guy got away. There’s not much they can do.”

“But maybe if we gave them a description, they could put out an APB and patrol the area or something.”

He raised a brow at her terminology and she might have even seen his lip twitch. Whatever, that didn’t matter, the guy couldn’t get away with what he’d done.

“They don’t have the resources for anything like that. Sadly, real life isn’t like on TV.”

She knew that was true. A few weeks ago one of her neighbors had been robbed and it took over eight hours for the police to show up. But still… “I’d hate to think about him getting away and doing this to someone else.” Not to mention maybe coming back and finishing what he started with her. The chill from earlier made a reappearance and she shivered.

“I’ll keep an eye on the area for the next few days, and if I see him again, I’ll call the police.” He took a step toward her, reaching out a hand as though to touch her, but dropped it at the last minute. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

She grudgingly followed Vas, her steps slow as she came to terms with the validity of his statement. She supposed she could keep an eye out, as well, and warn her coworkers.

A cool wind hit her cheeks and whipped her bangs into her eyes as they trekked across the greenbelt to Vas’s complex. The night was eerily silent. The kind of hush one only hears in the dead of night when most people are sound asleep in their beds. The kind that makes one’s brain work overtime to fill the silence, and she couldn’t stop the intrusion of all the bad that had happened that night even if she wanted to.

It really was lucky that Vas had been there to help but a thought niggled at her. Something she hadn’t pondered much about at the time, but now, after reflection, it seemed rather miraculous. “You took that guy down really fast.” Her eyes traveled over his bare arms. “You don’t even have a scratch on you.”

He seemed a little unnerved by her observation. His body language changed—became guarded. He stuck his hands into his front pockets. “Don’t be too impressed. I caught the guy by surprise. Got the drop on him.”

No, it had been more than that. “It was over before it even started. You moved so fast.”

He shrugged. “I got lucky.”

She wanted to press further but something in the way he held himself, as if bracing for a blow, stopped her and she dropped the subject. Soon they veered off the grass to a sidewalk that led to a parking lot. Vas pulled a set of keys from the front pocket of his jeans and unlocked the gate to gain entrance, steering her toward a sporty, black SUV.

“This is really nice,” she said once they got in. The car even still had its new leather smell. “What is it?”

“Porsche Cayenne.” He pushed the starter ignition and the whole dashboard lit up.

“Sure has a lot of bells and whistles,” she laughed nervously, their vastly different income brackets smacking her in the face and making her feel small.

As if sensing her discomfort, he turned to look at her, wearing a soft expression. “A wise man once said, ‘The real measure of wealth is how much a person would be worth if they lost all their money’. So, in that respect, between the two of us, you’re far richer than I am.”

Was he implying he wasn’t a good man? “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. You, quite possibly, saved my life tonight. At the very least, you saved me from a lifetime of heartache.”

“There’s not enough good deeds to cancel out the life I’ve led.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe that.”

“You should.” He put the car in reverse and backed out of his parking space, essentially ending the conversation.

Well, that was one way to warn her away. Did he think a few good deeds would make her fall head over heels for him? While she appreciated all he’d done, it would take more than that to gain her affection. She silently rolled her eyes. Like a conversation that consisted of more than a few syllables.

“You know, you don’t need to worry.”

---