6. VANYA

“Vanya?”

My legs felt like jelly. Any minute now, they were going to give way beneath me and I’d hit the floor. I stepped around the last shelf after blowing out a breath and came to a sudden stop when I spotted the man lingering near my desk.

“Bobby?”

He spun around with a gasp. “V-Vanya, you scared me.”

“What are you doing here?” I questioned him. “I locked the door.”

“Oh, no, the door w-was unlocked.” Bobby glanced in the direction of the door. “I read the sign, but I figured you’d still be in here.”

He swallowed loudly and tugged on the hem of his shirt before he turned back to look at me.

I took note of the way his hands clenched and unclenched at his side, and the sweat that slowly rolled down his temple.

“Do you need a specific book or something?”

He licked his lips and glanced around. For a man of twenty-four, you would think that he would have grown some more confidence over the years. Bobby hadn’t changed much at all, he was still tall and scrawny.

“I-I heard a-about the a-attack,” Bobby stuttered. “I—” His eyes darted over my shoulder and widened while his words instantly died down.

I didn’t have to look to figure out what he saw because I could feel him. Obsidian’s presence was hard to ignore.

“Y-you—” He swallowed, eyes darting back to mine. “I-I wanted to m-make sure that y-you were okay.”

I smiled and took a step towards him, but my movement was halted when Obsidian gripped my hips and pulled me back against his chest. My smile was replaced by a frown.

“I’m fine, Bobby. Thank you for coming to check on me.”

My eyes darted over to the door when it opened. I watched in stunned amazement as Devrim and Ezra entered the library. Devrim’s eyes instantly locked on Bobby. His gaze hardened. It seemed he wasn’t very happy to see Bobby; why, I had no idea.

My eyes moved between Devrim and Ezra. What are they doing here, anyway?

Bobby shifted from foot to foot. His face had paled considerably. With one last glance at me, Bobby spun on his heels and fled the library. I stared at the door silently for a few seconds before turning my attention to Devrim.

“What are you doing h-here?”

“Obsidian texted,” Ezra answered.

“Why?” I stepped away and turned to face the man in question.

“He was following you,” Obsidian said with a frown.

“How do you know that?”

“Because I was following him following you.”

I blinked at him. Following him following . . . me? 

My anger rose. It was his eyes I felt burning into my back this morning! Without thinking, I stepped forward and hit his chest with my fist.

“You fucking asshole!” I hissed through clenched teeth.

“Vanya—”

Obsidian growled and pushed me away from him. A gasp of pain fell from my lips when my back slammed into the bookshelf.

“Obsidian!”

Ezra was instantly by my side, rubbing at the sore spot. I glared at Obsidian and silently cursed him in my mind.

“Vanya, are you okay?”

I nodded at Ezra. “Fine.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Devrim asked Obsidian. “Do you have any idea how badly you could’ve hurt her?”

Obsidian’s eyes locked with mine. I could see the remorse in his eyes, but it quickly faded when he looked back at Devrim. He flashed sharp teeth at him and then stormed off.

“W-what are you guys doing here?” I asked as I stepped out of Ezra’s hold.  

Ezra cleared his throat. “Obsidian texted to let us know that you were being followed.”

“By Bobby?” I laughed. “He’s as harmless as a damn baby!”

“We couldn’t take that risk,” Devrim said softly.

“Why not?”

He stared at me silently as his nostrils flared, causing his eyes to widen. His actions confused the hell out of me. I heard that they had a great sense of smell, a lot better than a human. Do I smell?

“How long has that human been in here?” he suddenly asked.

I blinked at him. “W-what?”

Devrim took a step closer, but paused. “The human, how long has he been in here?”

“Bobby?” I shrugged. “I-I don’t know.” I was distracted by a certain hybrid who played havoc with my body. “Why?”

“Ezra,” Devrim growled. “Get her out of here and call the police.”

“Why?” I shook Ezra off when he gently grabbed my arm. “I can’t leave. Why does—”

“I smell gas,” Devrim interrupted me.

“Bobby would never—”

My words were cut off when Ezra grabbed my arm again and spun me around. In the next second, I found myself hanging upside down over his shoulder.

“Let me down!”

I slammed my fist against his back, but it didn’t stop him—it didn’t even slow him down a bit. My words fell on deaf ears as he continued to carry me out of the building. I glanced up just before we exited the building to see Devrim sniffing around my desk.

***

There was a gas leak and I hadn’t even noticed.

The realization that someone wanted to kill me was scarier than being locked inside what used to be a fishing cabin in the middle of the woods with a hybrid. Granted, he had saved me once, and I had no doubt that he would do it again, but he was still a stranger and I had no idea if he could be trusted or not.

“Here. Drink this.”

I blinked at the glass that suddenly appeared in my line of vision.

“I-I don’t drink alcohol,” I whispered.

Ezra sighed and leaned over to place the glass down on the wooden crate next to the chair I was sitting on. I flinched when he placed a hand on top of mine. Before I could pull away, he grabbed my hand and raised it to his lips.

“You’re shivering,” he muttered. “Are you cold?”

I swallowed. “S-somebody wants to k-kill me.”

I looked directly at him for the first time since we arrived at the cabin. Ezra didn’t look as cheerful as he had when he visited me in the hospital.  

My heart missed a beat when I thought of what could’ve happened if Betsy hadn’t gotten the call from her daughter.  

We could’ve died today. She could’ve died because of me.

“Sugarplum?”

“W-why?”

Ezra frowned. “Why what?”

“Why does he want to kill me?” I asked him, even though I already knew the answer to the question.

His eyes darted over my face. It seemed like Ezra was debating whether he should answer or not. He didn’t.

Ezra stood and picked up the glass with amber liquid and quickly downed it. He pulled a face as he turned and entered the small kitchen, walking over to the front door.

“I’m going to make a phone call,” Ezra said without turning to face me. “I’ll be close, but please don’t leave the cabin, Vanya.”

Dead silence surrounded me the moment the door closed behind him.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I leaned back in the chair and glanced around.

The cabin was old and almost completely bare except for a few wooden crates and some camping chairs. Dust and dead leaves covered the floor and some of the surfaces. The smell of rotten wood lingered in the air.

My eyes darted over to the dirty window next to the door. I could faintly see Ezra pacing back and forth as he talked on the phone.

Licking my dry lips, I glanced towards the small space that had been set up as a bathroom. It only contained a toilet and a shower stall that had no shower curtain. There was no door for privacy.

I glanced at the window again to make sure Ezra was still on the phone before I stood and entered the bathroom. The toilet was as clean as it could be in a place like this.

I walked into the kitchen to search for water so I could wash my hands. When I opened the tap, nothing happened.

“Are you hungry?” Ezra suddenly asked from behind me.

I slowly turned around to face him and shook my head. I wouldn’t be able to stomach food with all the worry that was eating at me.

“When can I go home?” I asked him instead of answering.

“Dev wants to make sure that there are no more threats to you.”

“You think Bobby did it?”

He frowned. “Bobby?”

“The guy that was at the library,” I explained. “The guy Obsidian said was following me.” 

“Yes.” His face cleared. “Yes, Dev thinks it’s him.”

“Why don’t you just check the cameras?”

“Cameras?”

I rolled my eyes. “My father had cameras and a security system installed when I started working there.”

Ezra pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed a few buttons before holding it up to his ear. “Vanya says that the library has cameras.”

He listened to whoever was on the other end of the line and his frown deepened by the second.

“Are you sure?” Ezra’s eyes darted over to me. “Fine.”

Ending the call, he pushed his phone back into his pocket and sucked in a breath, slowly blowing it out. His eyes flashed golden before returning to their normal colour.

“Let’s go.”

“W-where?”

He gave me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “To your father.”