Repercussion: The Clandestine Saga Book 3 (10 page)

              She contemplated his question. She had been wondering the same thing for hours now. At last she said, "Not really, not in a way that matters. I wish I could explain everything to you, Cale, but it's just... it's too much. I think it's more than I can even understand myself."

Cale was stroking his chin again, the gesture he made when he was concentrating. Eventually, he said, "So, nothing is mended then?"

              Again, Cadence considered the question. She slipped away for a few seconds, deep in thought. He stirred in front of her, bringing her back, and she finally said, "I don't know. I'm not sure. I mean... I feel like some of the things he said to me last night at the airport explain a lot. But, does it make it all better? No. Not even a little bit." She paused and met his eyes for a moment. He looked generally confused, which matched her own sentiment, and she didn't blame him. After another moment of contemplation she added, "I do think it will make our working relationship better--like I'm no longer so angry at him that I refuse to go into the field with him--but I'm still personally so offended and upset by everything that happened that we are very far from the possibility of even considering a friendship at this juncture."

              Cale's brow furrowed. "But... you did just work with him in the field--seamlessly--like that's what you were made to do. So..."

              Just then, the waitress arrived and sat the mountain of food down in front of Cadence, reminding her of each and every item by name, as she plunked it down on the table, including the butter and syrup. "Is there anything else I can get you, sweetie?" she asked, chomping on a piece of gum.

              Cadence eyed the bounty in front of her. There was no way she was going to eat all of this. "Uhm, a straw?" she asked.

              The older, mousey-blond-haired woman dug into her apron for a moment before producing the paper wrapped utensil. "Anything else?" she glanced at Cale as well, who waved her off with a polite smile.

              "I think this will do it," she said, no longer feeling quite as ravenous as she had before, especially once she realized she still needed to address Cale's last statement.

              Once the waitress had walked away, and before she even lifted her fork, she attempted to formulate an answer that might make some sort of sense. "That was... instinct, I guess, is the best way to describe it. You probably noticed when you and I were working together, I don't do a lot of conscious thinking while I'm on a hunt. I just follow my gut. Aaron and I have worked together a number of times, and he does a really good job of anticipating what I'm going to do. From the fireball he sent into the second story to parking the car the way I initially suggested, you can gather that we tend to think a lot alike... while hunting. Not any other time, I guess."

              As Cale took a drink of his coffee, she took the opportunity to dig into her food before it got cold. The first bite of pancakes reminded her why she had ordered so much to begin with. She really was starving.

              He was silent while she took several bites of her breakfast, seeming to consider her response. Or perhaps he just didn't know what to say. It was only after she had finished half of her pancakes and a good bit of her eggs that she finally said, "I'm sorry. I didn't really eat anything yesterday--or this morning."

              "No, it's fine," he said holding a hand up dismissively. "In fact, it's rather a welcome change to see a woman who’s not afraid to pack it away."

              Cadence laughed, despite herself. "Pack it away?" she asked. "I'm not sure what that means in England, but that's a little rude in the States."

"What?" he asked, feigning offense. "I didn't mean anything bad by it. I'm just saying, that's a lot of food. And you're showing it who's boss."

              Her fork clattered on her plate and her mouth dropped open, though she was smiling at the same time. "Seriously? You did not just say that to me!"

He was laughing now, too. "It's a compliment, Cadence," he assured her.

              "A compliment?" Hey, baby, you eat like a pig? What's up?" she said in some strange impression of a guy in a club.

              "Oh, 'cause that's what I said," he shot back at her. Then, doing his best impression of her impersonation, he paraphrased her remarks. "Oh, yeah, you're rather eating a lot there. Why don't you come back to my place, and I'll make you a meal you'll never forget?"

              Cadence burst out laughing, covering her mouth with her napkin in an attempt to keep from spitting on him. It took her several seconds to regain her composure and when she finally did so, tears were rolling down her cheeks. "If that's how you ask a girl out, it's no wonder you're single," she chided.

              Though he wasn't laughing quite as hard as she was, he couldn't help but find humor in her reaction. He didn't respond to her comment at first, just smiled at her, waiting for her to wipe the tears off of her cheeks. Finally, after a long pause, he asked her, "Are you?"

              It seemed like an odd question at first, but it only took her a moment to gather his meaning and respond. "Yes," she assured him. "I am definitely single."

              He nodded. "Well, then, perhaps you'd like to go to a concert with me Thursday night. The Kursk are playing in Tahoe, and I hear they're one of your favorite bands. A lot of my team members are going, if you'd like to bring your girls."

              For a moment, Cadence slipped away to the last time she'd been asked out. A cold night in December, parked outside of her parent's house when she'd been brutally honest to a fault, ultimately ruining everything, though she'd had no idea then. She left the car that night exhilarated--certain she'd found the one she'd spend the rest of her life with, though with a bit of trepidation that she might have overstepped. She cleared her head and met his pale blue eyes, seeing nothing but innocence and kindness. "I'd like that," she said, smiling.

"Perfect," he replied, grinning, and exhaling sharply, as if he had been holding his breath. "Now, let's see if you can clean those plates."

              "Is that a challenge?" she asked, glancing down at the three half-full dishes in front of her.

              "Oh, yes, most definitely," he smirked. "I have faith in you, though. I think you can do it."

She smiled. Faith was a nice thing to have. She hoped she was worthy of it.

***

              Eliza Wrath was enjoying her new gig as Leader of the San Francisco Area. It was a pretty easy job. San Fran had its share of Vampires, but most of them had the same relaxed attitude as the humans, and the ratio of Rogues to Compliants was relatively low. Every once in a while she'd have to organize a hunt, but she had a very experienced team, and much of what she did involved nothing more than calling in various members. She actually had a Hunter Leader, as well, something most Guardians couldn't count on anymore, and Daniel had been doing his job so long, he didn't seem to mind making most of the calls. Ultimately, she had all of the power, and none of the work. For her, it was a win-win. She spent a lot of time in her office pretending to look busy while she shopped online.

              She was about to hit "purchase" on a rather large order on the Neiman Marcus website, which was going straight to her expense account, when her cell phone rang. She looked at it oddly--since she had the IAC, she mostly just used it to play games--and glanced at the number; it was blocked. Assuming it was probably a wrong number or a telemarketer, she considered not answering. But curiosity got the better of her, and she answered on the fifth ring. "Hello?" she asked cautiously.

              "I know where he's at," the voice on the other end said very assuredly.

              Eliza pulled the phone away from her ear and glanced at it, as if that would give her some sort of a clue as to who she was talking to and what she was talking about. "What?" she asked, putting it back to her ear. "Who is this?"

              "You know who it is, and you know who I mean. I want to work with you. But only you. He's in your territory. I can't talk any longer right now, but I'll give you a call this afternoon."

              The phone call dropped, and Eliza was left bewildered. Again, she glanced at her phone, which was of little use. "What the hell?" she asked, shaking her head and running her fingers through her now shorter, but still burgundy, hair. Still talking aloud to herself, she wondered, "Who is in my territory? Who was that?" and then, suddenly it hit her. "Laura!"

***

Cadence returned to her hotel room, extended their reservations for a few more nights since they now had plans, and attempted to contact Elliott--who was in a meeting, much to her chagrin. So she gave her Grandma Janette a quick call in the meantime.

              "Darling, I just thought it might seem odd for you, if you realized how long he has really known you. I'm glad you know now, though. I think it's important that you discover all of these little things a bit at a time. Learning everything all at once can be so overwhelming," Janette had explained.

              "But Grandma, that's important. It's no wonder he's been so confused about me. It's gotta be a little... odd," Cadence replied.

              "I don't think so, honey. Your Grandpa was much older than me," Janette began.

              "But did he know you when you were in diapers? Oh, God, Aaron never changed my diaper or anything did he?" she asked, the very thought causing her to almost hyperventilate.

              Janette laughed. "No, honey, nothing like that. He never had much contact with you. It's not like he was physically there every moment of every day either. He still had an entire world-wide operation to run. He just checked on you frequently. Until you were about fifteen. That's when he asked me if I would mind if he assigned someone else to your direct observation. I thought it was strange, but I assumed he was just too busy with everything else to do it himself. Of course, I agreed, and so he didn't see you at all for years--until the festival."

Cadence listened carefully. She was surprised by that last bit, as Aaron hadn't mentioned it to her. "So, when I was in high school, he wasn't around?"

              "No, I think you were a freshmen when he stepped back," she confirmed.

That made sense to her. When she had run into him at the Eidolon Festival, he seemed to know who she was, but there was also an air of unfamiliarity. That raised a different question. "Who took over?" she asked.             

Janette let out a sigh. "Cadence, darling, don't you already know?"

              "No," Cadence replied almost immediately. "How in the world would I know?"

              "Use your powers of introspection, dear. I think, subconsciously, you probably do know. You can likely recall a lot about your past that seems out of place now, if you stop and think about it," was her grandmother's reply.

"Did I ever see this person?" Cadence asked, both confused but willing to give it a try.

              "I'm sure you did at one point or another. It would have been nearly impossible for her to be around so frequently for all of those years and never fall within your careful gaze."

Cadence was quiet for a moment, thinking. Grandma had said, "her," and she wasn't sure if that was clue or a slip up. She wondered back to her days in high school, mentally searching the faces in the crowds at sporting events, graduation, even movies and trips to the mall. If the information was in there, maybe she could pull it out. Nothing--no one--was coming to mind. Then, just when she was about to give up, she realized who it was! As if her brain really was a giant computer, scanning files for facial recognition, it was able to compile enough information to answer her question. "Hannah..." she whispered.

"See, I knew you could do it," her grandmother replied.

              "But how?" Cadence asked. "How did I know that?"

              "Sweetheart, everyone's brain remembers everything. You just have to be able to access it. Yours works much more efficiently than other people's now. So, you should be able to pull memories back more quickly. "

              "Remarkable," she said under her breath. "It's no wonder I feel like I've known her for years..."

             
"Hey, kid, you got a minute?"

It was Elliott, and she'd been waiting to talk to him for hours. "Grandma, I've gotta go. I love you! I'll talk to you soon."

              "Goodbye, darling. I love, you, too," Janette said before disconnecting the call.

"Hey! A little heads up mighta been nice--friend
," she said, only half-joking.

             
"He didn't tell me,"
Elliott replied, sounding sincere.

"Really?"
she asked, both shocked and suspicious.
"He just left the state without mentioning where he was going to you or anyone else?"

"If he mentioned it to anyone else, they didn't tell me. I was just as shocked as you were, I swear."

              Cadence believed him. "
All right, you're off the hook for that one, but I have another question for you, and you won't be able to dodge this one quite so easily, bro."