Page 57 of Destined for Shadows
He cleared his throat to hide his amusement. “I understand, though I should warn you that a bullet would not hurt me much.”
Perhaps if she discovered he was supernatural, she would like him less and not see him as a candidate for her daughter’s affections. Most humans would certainly not be happy about it.
Joy was silent for a moment. “What are you?”
“A nephilim.”
“What is that exactly?”
He stared up at the ceiling, tempted to pray for patience even though he wanted nothing from God. “It means one of my parents was human and the other an angel.”
“Oh, well in that case, I give you permission to date my daughter,” Joy said, sounding elated. “It would be nice to have an angel in the family and far better than a horrible man like Griff.”
“I’m half angel, and the full angels don’t like my kind very much.”
She made a dismissive noise. “Oh, I’m sure they’re a bit stuffy living up there in Heaven where they don’t get out often. That’s what my daughter has told me, anyway.”
A knock sounded at the door. Bartol peeked out the front window and found Melena’s Jeep in the drive. She’d said she would be stopping by in the late afternoon. He’d lost track of time and not realized that much of the day had passed already. Cori’s mother was still rambling about angels and the things her daughter had told her about them when Bartol pulled the front door open.
Melena smiled at him. “Hey!”
“Here,” he said, shoving the handset at her. “Talk to her.”
The sensor frowned, giving the phone a dubious look. “Who is it?”
“Joy—Cori’s mother.”
“Oh.” A look of pleasure crossed her face, and she took the phone. “Hey, Joy. How are you?”
Bartol spun on his heels and went to sit on the couch. Melena followed him, taking a seat in the chair across from him. He bowed his head and did his best to block out their conversation, but it wasn’t easy since Melena spoke far more loudly than necessary. Surely the people in Russia could hear her.
“Why, yes, I do believe Bartol would be great for Cori.” She paused for a minute while the other woman talked and then a devilish glint came over the sensor’s eyes. “And yes, he has been taking such good care of your daughter while she’s…sick. Truly, he’s a kind and gentle soul.”
Bartol couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed a pillow from the couch, throwing it at Melena. She ducked in time to avoid it and smothered a laugh. The cursed woman was having far too much fun at his expense. He was half tempted to call her husband and tell him to come collect her.
As Melena continued to regale Joy with tales of what a great man Bartol was, including how he kept his home clean and how protective he’d become of Cori, he left to check on the sleeping woman. She lay in her bed covered with a thick quilt that appeared handmade—possibly by her mother if he had to guess. Cori’s black hair billowed out around her on the pillow, allowing him a full view of her prominent cheekbones, pert nose, and long eyelashes. She had such smooth skin that he was tempted to caress her cheek, but he resisted the urge. Instead, he pulled the quilt aside to check her wounds. Her camisole had ridden up her stomach, giving him a good view of the reddened wound that ran the length of her right side. He examined her left shoulder as well. The stab injury had closed up nicely, but when he grazed his fingers over it, he sensed that inside it still had some knitting to do. Hopefully by tomorrow morning when he woke her up it would be as good as new like he and Micah had promised.
Bartol took a final scan of her body in case there were any other injuries he and Micah might have missed, but then something hit him. Cori did tattoos for a living, yet he couldn’t find a single one on her front side. There was just clear, smooth skin. The only one he knew about was on her back, but she always kept that one covered up. He’d only seen it when he caught her coming out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her. It was rather unusual for one in her profession to have so few tattoos. He was sorely tempted to turn her over and look at it, but he wouldn’t invade her privacy that way while she lay unconscious.
Melena entered the room and came to stand beside him. She no longer held the phone in her hand. “Joy told me she hopes to talk to you again soon. She says you seem like a nice young man, and she wishes the best for you and Cori.”
Bartol grunted but refused to reply.
“How is she?” Melena asked, her tone softening.
“Still healing, but much better than before.” He pulled the quilt back over Cori. She’d given him permission to check on her, but no one else. He doubted she’d be offended about Melena, but he still preferred to preserve the woman’s dignity while she lay there vulnerable.
“I wish I could sleep my wounds off like that,” the sensor said.
He glanced at her. “We all have prices to pay for what we are.”
“No kidding.” Melena hugged herself. “But I hate to see one of my friends down like this. Most everyone we know is either immortal or at least has some sort of supernatural defenses. She doesn’t have anything.”
Similar thoughts had crossed his mind in recent days. “That is why we must protect her.”
“Except she hates it, and I totally understand her reasons. Most independent women don’t want to become damsels in distress and would rather protect themselves.” Melena shook her head. “A gun isn’t going to be enough for her this time, though.”
Yesterday’s events had proven that. He was proud that Cori won her fight in the end, but it came at a great cost. All he had to do was look down at her sleeping form to see that. “This vampire is too unpredictable to leave her alone for even a few minutes anymore.”
