Page 85 of Wounded Soul
Jesse let himself relax the tiniest amount. “He can, and he’s waiting for your call.”
Cate scoffed. Pressing against his hold on her. “Well I can’t exactly use my phone while you’ve got me immobilised like this.”
She had a point. “So you believe me?”
“That you’re a vampire?” He didn’t miss the tremor in her voice as she said the word. “Yes. No one moves so fast that they fucking blur.” She sucked in a breath as though mentioning it terrified her all over again. “But about Ian...? I don’t know.” She sighed again, her body losing some of its rigidity. “I don’t want to. But why would you be here telling me this if it wasn’t true?”
He didn’t answer, figuring it was a rhetorical question.
“Just let me see him,” she whispered.
Keeping his back to the door, Jesse set her down and let go of her. She immediately bolted to the opposite wall, plastering herself against it. “Please stay over there.”
Jesse nodded. “Of course.”
With visibly trembling hands, Cate pulled her phone out and scrolled through to FaceTime Ian. It took her two attempts and lots of cursing before Jesse heard Ian’s voice. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting it wash over him.
“Hey, Cate.” He sounded tentative, wary, as well he should be. The look on Cate’s face was murderous.
“Don’t you fucking ‘Hey, Cate’ me!”
“Sorry, I guess I—”
“You know how terrified I am by the mere idea that there are vampires out there, yet you thought it a good idea to fucking send one to talk to me? Jesus Christ, Ian.” She let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “Do you have any idea how frightened I am right now? Do you? I’d like to think the answer’s no, because I’m hoping my best friend wouldn’t have sent a vampire to terrorise me if he knew I’m seconds away from having a nervous breakdown.”
“Cate—”
“I almost wet myself when he scooped me up like I weighed nothing.” Her breathing turned ragged as she gulped in great lungful’s of air, heart pounding so fast, Jesse half expected to see it burst out of her chest any second. He quashed the urge to go over and put his arm around her. He doubted any comfort from him would be welcome.
“I know you’re scared, and fuck, I’m sorry to have to do this to you, but we were out of options.” He spoke to her in hushed tones, retelling some of what Jesse had said, and reassuring her that he was okay, wasn’t being held hostage, and that Jesse wasn’t just biding his time until he could drink her blood.
Finally she slumped to the floor, phone in hand, a heavy sigh escaping her. “I need you to show me.”
“Will you believe me then?”
“I don’t know.”
Ian must have shown her his fangs, because Cate gasped, hand flying to her mouth. “Fucking hell, Ian.”
“I know.”
They stared at each other in silence, and Jesse forced himself to stay still and keep quiet. They needed Cate to be fully on board with this, and if that meant she needed time to let this sink in, then so be it. He watched as she traced a finger over the phone screen, tears spilling over and down her cheeks.
“Cate,” Ian tried, voice soft, soothing. “It’s okay.”
“No it’s not,” she sniffed. “Nothing’s going to be okay ever again because you’re fucking dead, Ian.”
“I’m sat here talking to you, Cate.”
“But you’re not you!” she cried, voice breaking. “You’re a... a...”
“Vampire,” Ian whispered.
She shook her head, obviously not wanting to believe it, but the evidence was staring her in the face. “No.”
“Cate,” Ian tried again. “I wish there was time for this to sink in more, to let you get used to everything, but there isn’t. I’m still me,” he said, and Jesse wished he were in the room with them telling her this. “Just a different version.”
She scoffed. “An undead, blood-drinking, supernatural version you mean?” Her tears had stopped, but Jesse couldn’t gauge if she was any closer to accepting all of this.
