his lips were crimson [vampire]

six

CHAPTER SIX

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU KNOW HIM?" Denali asked, squinting her eyes at the woman curiously. "Like you know-know him?"

"Yes," she said solemnly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "He's a friend of mine." Denali noticed the woman's eyes flick towards the case file behind her on the bench.

She was starting to feel uneasy, slightly worried the stranger would take the file or tell someone she had it. She didn't need any wandering eyes, especially on something as confidential as this. For all Dani knew, John Doe was in trouble and the woman could be the one giving it to him.

Backing up slowly, she grabbed his case file and held it up to her chest. "Your friend? Is he from around here?" The woman looked down at the file tucked behind Denali's arms curiously and then scanned Dani's position before looking into her eyes.

"You're a doctor," she said it like a statement, rather than a question. "Was that what you were going to tell me earlier?" Denali nodded in confirmation, trying to keep up a bold front. "So, he's in the hospital? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's great," Her breath hitched as she said this. "You didn't answer my question though."

"There really isn't a straight answer to that," she remarked, shugging.

"What do you mean?"

"He travels a lot." The woman took a few steps closer to Dani, planting a soft smile on her face. "I'm willing to trade information."

"I don't think I'm allowed to do that," Dani's voice quivered as she spoke. "It's confidential information."

"Oh yeah?" The woman's eyes glanced down at the file again. "I don't think," she poked the file with her finger, "you follow the rules very well." Denali wasn't sure what the woman was getting at, but it sounded a lot like blackmail.

"This file belongs to the hospital."

"Which is exactly why it shouldn't be here." The woman sat on the bench behind Dani, patting the seat next to her. "Sit," she ordered.

"Who are you?" Denali refused to sit next to the woman until she knew for sure the woman wasn't dangerous. She didn't trust her one bit and she didn't want to put her life, or John Doe's life in danger.

"Are you going to sit?" The woman delicately raised a brow, pressing her lips together.

"What's your name?"

"If you sit, I'll tell you."

"How about you tell me your name first and I'll think about taking a seat next to you." She threw the woman a narrowed glare.

"Okay," she placed her hand out toward Dani, expecting her to shake her hand willingly. She didn't. "My name is Gianna."

"See," Denali pushed Gianna's hand away with her elbow, sitting down next to her. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I don't know," the woman wiped her palm on her dress. "You tell me."

"So," she tsked. "You said he was a friend? What's his name?"

Gianna shuffled in her seat, unsure if she should tell the doctor before her the truth. She didn't trust her enough to put his life in danger, but she was hoping the intuition she gained over the years was enough for her to believe Dani's words.

"Well," she was going out on a limb here. "His name is Christian."

Denali raised her eyebrows, hoping to get a last name out of Gianna, but she just shook her head in return. That was about as much information she was going to give her. She needed to keep Christian safe and until she was positive Denali was a real doctor, she wanted to keep her answers short.