Chapter 8

My heart raced and my mouth dried in seconds. I was being held at gunpoint in my very own car. I could still see the CEO. He was now about to enter the building. Even if I had the chance to call him, he would not be able to hear me.

“What do you want?” I gulped, and my voice was filled with fear. “My handbag is right there, it has some money in it, and it’s a really expensive bag.” 

“Shut up…” The person laughed, and pressed the gun harder behind my head, causing me to inhale sharply as I closed my eyes tightly. 

“Then what do you want?” My voice came out shaky, and hot tears escaped my eyes. I felt like I was going to die. I had never had a gun pressed to my head, nor had I even been so close to one in my life!

The person laughed and then withdrew the gun from my head, helping me to be able to breathe properly once again. “I don’t want crap from you, Lisa.”

I wanted really badly to look at the person but I was too afraid to. I did know that the person was a woman though, based on the voice. But the voice did not belong to anyone that I might have known.

“Drive.” The person said in a chilling tone that sent shivers down my spine.

“Wha-what?” I stuttered in fear, though I heard the person clearly. 

“F*ckig drive, Lisa!” The person shouted and I whimpered as more tears escaped my eyes. The engine of the car was already started so I did exactly as I was told. I drove out of the parking area and onto the main road. 

After a few minutes of silence, I gulped and then spoke bravely, “Who are you, and where am I to drive to?”

The person did not respond immediately. I heard them cackle before replying, “I’m not going to let you change your route, sweetheart. You’re going to drive me right to your house.”

“And as for who I am, all you need to know now is that I’m a consequence of something that Bradley Specter did.” The mysterious woman who had me under hostage added.

I frowned slightly. If this was about the CEO, then how did it have anything to do with me? I barely knew the guy! He was only a client that I had a one-night stand with.

‘And also the one that changed you into a vampire,’ My mind reminded me, and I pursed my lips.

I was at first happy that Bradley did not bring up the supernatural and helped me have a totally normal day. But now I was starting to regret it gradually. I was now a freaking vampire and I still felt powerless!

The only thing that had changed about me since I drank Bradley’s blood was my heightened senses, my incredible new-found thirst for blood, and my slowly growing fangs. Either than that, I did not feel any different. 

Instead of questioning the person that could shoot me dead at any point, I decided to stay quiet and now we were a few houses from my home. As much as I hated and was pissed at Mark, I was really hoping that he was home. 

I finally parked right in front of my home, and I turned off the engine. “Okay, we're here.”

“Good. Thank you for your cooperation, Lisa. You did a great job!” I heard one of the doors of the car unlock and then open. “That would be all for now. I have a feeling that we’re going to meet very soon again.” 

The lady exited the car and left me alone. It took me full three minutes before I shakily reached for my phone in my handbag. I dialed 9-1-1 but I did not put the call through. I only stared at the number on the phone’s screen.

There were so many missed calls and texts. Plus my heart was still beating so much that I could not breathe too well. Although the mysterious woman that held me hostage had gone, I was still scared out of my mind. 

Calling 9-1-1 seemed logical but the woman was already gone and she did not hurt me, at least not physically. When it came to emotions, I was shaken to the core. I was bruised emotionally and nothing could stop me from doing what I did next.

I placed the phone back into the bag and laid my head on the steering wheel and cried. I cried so hard that my head hurt. I had been so afraid and I literally thought that I could have died. 

But that was not all I cried about. I also cried because I knew I had lost Mark the moment I saw him with Nora. I knew it was toxic but I wished that I had not come home that day. 

Maybe it was better that I was ignorant. I was happy when I was ignorant.

I also cried because my normal life had been stripped away from me. I was a vampire and would have to try to learn how to be one. I was running away from that but after what happened tonight, I needed to step out of my fear and be who I truly was. 

If I had known everything about being a vampire tonight, I wouldn’t have been the victim. But all that was going to change tomorrow, because not only was I going to confront the CEO about the woman who is a consequence of something he did, but I was also going to get him to train me.

A small knock sounded at the window and I lifted my head from the steering wheel. It was Mark. He was in sweatpants and shirtless. “Are you okay?” His voice was muffled due to the rolled-up window. 

When he saw my face and how weary it looked, he became alarmed and tried to open the door. When it was open, I just stared at him while he talked. 

“Lisa, what happened?! Are you okay?” He began checking my body with his eyes for any sign of harm but found none. 

“I–,” I tried to speak but I ended up laughing without humor when I processed all that just happened. Maybe I was still in shock. This had never happened to me before. My life was pretty much boring and normal.

Mark helped me out of the car and I hugged him. “She had a gun to my head.” My voice broke and tears flowed easily from my eyes. “I thought I was going to die!” I sobbed.

He comforted me. He was very good at this. He grabbed my handbag from the bag, locked the door, lifted me in his arms, and took me into the house. 

I could tell that he wanted to ask me about what had happened but he did not. He took me to the guest room and laid me on the bed. He then helped me out of my work clothes and helped me get into something comfortable. I was way too drained and weary to even shower.

I just wanted to go to sleep. 

My phone was still ringing and alerting me of texts while it was in my handbag, but not as much. I planned to try my best to respond to all those texts and calls tomorrow. 

“Goodnight, Lisa. We can talk about what happened in the morning.” Mark told me, and then tried to leave but I stopped him.

“Please…don’t leave me alone.” 

He seemed taken aback, especially considering how much I have pushed him away for the past few days. “You want me to sleep in here with you?”

I nodded in response and I saw his eyes glimmer with hope. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes, Mark. I’m sure.” 

“Does that mean that you forgive me?” He sat on the bed next to me and then swung his legs onto the mattress. 

“No.” My voice was firm though tired and a bit hoarse from crying so much.

“Yeah, I pretty much figured.” He mumbled and I could not help but laugh lowly. He got under the duvet with me and I allowed him to hold me in his arms. It took a few minutes and I fell asleep like a baby.

The morning came with renewed strength and a sounder mind. When my eyes fluttered open, I realized that I was snuggled in Mark’s arms. It felt good and the truth was that I wanted to stay longer in this position. 

While he slept, he looked so peaceful. He looked like my Mark. The one that was not going around sleeping with other women, especially my best friend. I let out a deep breath and planted a soft kiss on his bare arm before getting out of bed.

I heard him yawn as I headed for the bathroom to shower. He was now awake. Letting him sleep here was not a mistake. I wanted him to. I needed him last night. 

Mark was all I have known for years and he was my rock. I just did not know how to cut him out of my life just like that. 

After showering, I wrapped my body in a clean towel and walked back into the room. Mark was still in the room and he was watching the news. I don’t know if it was working with the UN that created his obsession with watching the news, or if he just liked it. 

Normally, I would have just changed into what I needed to wear for the day, not caring if he was in the room with me. But not after what he did with Nora. It did not feel right to do so, it just did not.

“Mark…” I called for his attention and he looked at me. “I need to get ready for work.” 

“Oh. Yeah, sure.” He got off the bed and ran his hands through his hair. His face was a bit flustered and I knew that he would always regret cheating on me. “Thank you for letting me stay with you last night though.”

“Mmhmm,” I mumbled, and he smiled faintly and then left the room. I took the opportunity to change into my outfit for today. I had a lot of things on my schedule today, but there was something that I could not miss no matter what: visiting my grandma.

After cleaning the room and then getting ready, I decided to take with me a purse today instead of a handbag. I held it in my hand and my phone in the other. 

I then left the room and walked into the dining area. There Mark sat behind the island as he sipped a cup of coffee. “I made you one.” He offered when he saw me. 

“Thank you,” I mumbled. I walked to him and sat not too far from him. I did not have the time to make breakfast this morning. But there was food in the fridge though and Mark knew how to cook.

After sipping some of my coffee, I asked, “You know that I posted the video, don’t you?”

He placed his cup down and looked at me with a very calm expression. “Yup.” He popped the p.

A few seconds of silence passed between us and he chuckled, “You know, I was upset when I saw the video. I thought that what had happened yesterday morning would help make things better, and then it dawned on me. I did a sh*tty thing and I still have a long way to go to make up for it.”

I smiled warmly at him. I loved how open, vulnerable, and honest he was being. 

“Do you really want to end what we have?” Mark asked me, and I took a long sip of my coffee, not knowing what to say in response. The truth was that I did not want to end what Mark and I had, but I felt that I needed to.