“People come and go in their lives, from their homes and their worlds, believing they’re safe or thinking they’ve taken all the steps necessary to provide themselves safety, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes in the shadows is danger, like what happened to you in the alley the other night. You were merely grabbing something out of your car, and then suddenly your world is upended by a drunken stranger who could have brought you harm.”

“But he didn’t because you…wait…are you saying you’ve done that before? I mean, saved someone from being attacked?”

“Yes.”

Ruby took a moment to think. “Now things are making a little more sense.”

“In what way?”

“Okay, so I have a friend. Her name’s Doreen, and she’s super nerdy when it comes to your kind.”

“The woman who carries your groceries occasionally? Wears bright clothes. Loud hair adornments.”

“That’s the one. She hates to cook, so in exchange for helping me with my groceries, I make enough for dinner, so she has leftovers to take home,” Ruby said, smiling. “Anyway, she’s really into vampires, and one night when we were talking, she latched onto the fact that I noticed you always left the brownstone after sunset.”

“Go on.”

“Well, she came to the conclusion you were a vampire because vampires supposedly can’t handle sunlight. But, when it comes to you, we both know that’s not the case. You don’t leave at dusk because you have a problem with the sun. You leave when it’s dark because if you’re on the prowl for bad guys, doing it in broad sunlight isn’t a good idea—right?”

“Correct,” Bennett said, dipping her head. “And the criminal element thrives at night, so I use that time to thwart muggers and rapists and murderers. I’ve even stopped several parents from abusing their children, and drug pushers always get my undivided attention.”

“Why drug pushers?”

“Because not only do I destroy what they’re trying to sell, I take their money and donate it to charities in the area. It does a heart good knowing that the homeless have another warm meal, or abused women or lonely animals have the care they need whilst another junkie doesn’t get their fix.”

“So, you’re a vigilante.”

“I prefer to think of myself as just someone who has a lot of time on her hands, and what better way to spend it than protecting those who can’t always protect themselves.” Bennett pursed her lips when she saw Ruby’s toothy grin. “What’s that all about?”

“I was just thinking,” Ruby said, picking up her water glass. “For a woman who thought I’d be afraid of her, you seriously need to work on the terror part.”

***