Caught Red Handed

Alessia stared at the man in front of her wide eyed for a long while, after a moment, her features changed into one of confusion then realization. She quickly turned her face away sharply and wiped at her eyes with shaky hands.

"Th… thank you…" She stuttered, but inside she wanted to scream.

'What… what is this man doing here?!'

Dervan raised a curious eyebrow. "What are you thanking me for?"

Alessia paused for a second, before she turned her attention back to him and frowned. "For… well for…"

Dervan waited for her expectantly but her frown only grew deeper and she bit the inside of her bottom lip.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure what she was thanking him for. It was probably because she was still disoriented. She took a glance at the arm clutching her bag to find out it was still quivering.

Dervan watched her carefully. He glimpsed her fingers briefly and tilted his head slightly to the side as if listening for something. 'She seems far too shaken…'

Alessia eyed him warily. 'What is he doing?'

"Do you mind telling me what happened?" Dervan suddenly voiced, startling her.

His question triggered the memory she was desperately trying to surpress and she started to tremble all over again.

Alessia clenched her bag even tighter. "I… I s–saw… It… It was…" She shut her eyes hard as her lips quivered.

There was no way he was going to believe a ridiculous claim like that. She almost laughed at herself… who in their right mind would ever believe that she saw a Vampire?!

Even she found it difficult to believe, even though she had seen it with both her eyes, she still felt it was a pigment of her imagination.

It had to be.

Alessia let out a breath to steady her breathing. "It… It was a robber." She managed to say without stammering too much. "He was holding a gun."

Dervan's green eyes scanned her thoroughly. 'She's lying.'

His brows furrowed slightly. He couldn't help wondering what she actually saw but he decided not to press her any further. It would only complicate things.

He was silent for a moment, before he slowly pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. "Here."

Alessia stared at it in surprise for a second, then took it from him and wiped her eyes. "Thank you…"

Dervan nodded. "It's alright." He paused. "I... have a car… would you like me to take you home? The robber might still be lurking around."

Alessia stiffened, then ultimately relaxed. "...I'll… I'll take you up on your offer if it isn't too much trouble…" She said softly. "Thank you…"

She definitely didn't want to go wandering about alone by this time of night… that thing might be waiting somewhere to pounce on her when she least expected. So she was very grateful for his offer.

Still, she wondered what was stopping it from making itself known now that Dervan was with her.

Dervan reached a hand out toward her and she took it, though she stumbled when she stood up, she regained her footing after he helped steady her.

"Where do you live?" He asked.

Alessia swallowed. "Fo… forty nine dowain street. It's… It's not too far from here…"

Dervan nodded. "Alright."

It was a quiet walk to his car, and Alessia was on the lookout for any slight movement in the shadows. She took a couple glances at tye man walking beside her on their way, increasingly wondering if he truly didn't recognise her.

She found that hard to believe, there was no way he would help a stranger he saw just once at a café he went to sit at… people were usually not that kind. They would rather avoid trouble.

Alessia sighted his car for the first time in close range and her jaw nearly dropped. Her mouth was actually left hanging open the moment he opened the door for her to get into the passenger's seat.

She had only entered an expensive car once and that was so long ago, she had forgotten what it felt like.

This car had no keys, just a tab… or was it a monitor that Dervan inputted into before he started to drive. Everything in it looked so futuristic and she was sure she wouldn't even be surprised if it had the auto drive she usually saw in movies.

She kept her hands close to herself, hugging her bag to avoid touching or ruining anything by mistake. She couldn't stop admiring the interior.

Dervan took a glance at her from the corner of his eye after a while and his expression seemed to soften somewhat. 'Her complexion looks a lot better now…'

He let out a slow, delibrate breath. "I didn't know rich people took part time jobs at cafés." He voiced, his gaze focused on the road.

Alessia stiffened.

He… he recognised her! But… but how?! She was wearing a mask that day!

She swallowed, trying her best not to look put off. "Well, I didn't know rich people liked to visit rundown cafes either."

Dervan's brows twitched. "So you're not denying it?"

Alessia shifted her gaze. "I doubt it would work on you even if I gave it my best."

Now she knew for certain… Dervan hadn't believed her when she told him she was new money at the party.

Well… he had been the one to suggest it but that was beside the point.

He had probably spoken to her that night to observe her and left after concluding that she wasn't a threat.

Alessia bit the inside of her cheek. 'I think I need to get down from this car–'

"That makes me even more curious." Dervan stated, interrupting her thoughts. "I wonder what you were doing at a party you stole an invite to?"

Alessia pursed her lips. 'So he knows my invite was stolen… how did he find out?'

She knew there was no way she would get out of this by lying. He might as well drive her to the police station if he felt like it, and she wouldn't even be able to do a thing about it.

She didn't even know how to open the door!

"I was sent there to gather information." She answered quietly.

"Sent?" Dervan echoed with a raised brow. "By whom?"

Alessia furrowed her brows. "I don't know." She responded and she really didn't.

"I see…" Dervan mused. "So you just do whatever anyone asks of you, for what, the money?"

Alessia's hands fidgeted as she clawed at her fingernails. "Yes."

Dervan nodded. "Alright," he started. "For double the amount, tell me what you found out at the party."