Repercussion: The Clandestine Saga Book 3 (38 page)

              “Focus, kid,” Cadence replied. “Do you see how much he looks like you?”

“I guess so,” Brandon admitted. “And you’re saying that guy he’s fighting is a Vampire?”
              “Yes,” she explained. “And this is where I blow his head off,” she continued, as she did so in the footage. With a poof of ash, the Vampire was gone, and Elliott was giving her a high-five, congratulating her on the kill.

              “Wow, nice special effects,” Brandon said.

              “I know it’s hard to believe,” Aaron finally spoke up. “And we don’t expect you to absorb all of it in one day. But, you had questions about your dad, and we are here to answer them for you. He died protecting a Hunter during battle.”

              “He died a hero,” Cadence reiterated.

              Brandon nodded, obviously not sure what to think. After a moment, he said, “That’s good. That’s good to hear.”

“He had no idea you even existed,” Cadence assured him. “If he had, I’m sure he would have wanted to meet you.”

              Again, Brandon nodded, considering her words before shrugging and saying, “My mom said she thought he didn’t want kids, that he just didn’t have time. That’s why she never told him about me. She said he had another family at one point that he had abandoned, and she just thought he didn’t want to have anything to do with me either.”

“That’s not true, not exactly,” Aaron informed him. “He did have another family. And once he came to work for LIGHTS, he didn’t have a lot of time to spend with them. He did his best to see his kids, though, at least until they were adults. And then they didn’t want to see him anymore. His divorce was bitter and ugly, and his kids had spent enough time with their mom at that point, they never got to know their dad. But I assure you, he loved his kids.”

              “He loved my sister, too,” Cadence added, showing him a picture from last Christmas. “This is one of my favorite pictures of your dad.”

Brandon had been listening to Aaron’s explanation, a look of skepticism still on his face, but when he looked at the picture Cadence pulled up, his countenance changed. “That’s my dad?” he clarified. “And you? And who else?”

              “My little sister, Cassidy,” Cadence replied. “We surprised her for Christmas. She absolutely loved your dad. She was happier to see him than me, I think,” she laughed. “She made him wear that Santa hat all day, and he didn’t mind. He would’ve done anything for Cass.”

Brandon nodded. “And she’s a Vampire Hunter, too?” he asked.

              “Not yet,” Cadence replied. “But she will be. She’s not old enough to become one yet. But she can’t wait to join the team.”

              Brandon continued to nod, taking in all of the information. After a few moments, he said, “Well, I appreciate your help. I’m glad to at least know who my dad was—even if this all seems a bit… crazy.”

              “It’s not uncommon for people to feel that way once they find out the truth,” Aaron assured him. “Tell you what, why don’t you take my card, and if you have any questions, or if you decide you want to join our team, we’d love to have you. Your dad was a really special person, and you are an awful lot like him.” Aaron pulled a card off of his desk and offered it to the young man.

              Brandon took the card, glanced at it, stuck it in his pocket, and pulled himself to his feet. “Well,” he repeated, “thanks again for your help.” He offered his hand to Aaron who stood to accept it.

              Cadence came out from behind the desk. “I know this is going to seem crazy, but since you already think we’re nuts, would you mind if I hug you?”

              The expression on his face reminded her ever so much of his father, one eyebrow raised, a look of utter disbelief. But, after a second, it faded and he said, “Uh, okay. Sure, why not?”

She wrapped her arms around him, mentally reminding herself he was not Elliott, and then released him saying, “I hope you decide to join us,” with a hopeful smile.

              Aaron walked Brandon Keen to the door, shook his hand one more time, and then closed the door. Cadence was still standing by the desk, a look of shock on her face. “You okay?” he asked.

              “Oh, my God!” she said, hurling herself into his arms. “Can you believe that? It’s like… he’s back!”

              “Except he’s not,” he cautioned. “That kid isn’t Elliott. He’s Brandon. And when he joins the team, you’re going to have to remember that. He’s not your big brother—he might be your little brother at some point—but for now, you’ve gotta keep it straight.”

              “I know, I know,” she replied, nodding her head. “Oh, I hope he joins, though,” she gushed. “It would be so great to have him. Brandon. To have Brandon on our team.”

              Aaron laughed and slid his hands down until they were around her waist. “Oh, he’ll be back,” he assured her.

              “How do you know?” she asked. “He said he thought we were crazy.”

              “I think I noticed something you didn’t,” he smiled.

              Cadence was confused. “What’s that?” she asked. She knew Aaron could read emotions, but she was usually pretty good at that, too.

              “Let’s just say it’s a guy thing and leave it at that for now,” he responded. “Now, let’s go back to your apartment and discuss that floor plan.”

              “Okay”, she agreed as he led her to the door. “But, listen, there’s something you need to know.”

He stopped, his hand short of the doorknob, and turned to look at her. “What’s that?” he asked.

              Cadence sighed. “All this talk of Elliott having kids, the ones he knew about, the one he didn’t, how he interacted with Cass, thinking about Aarolyn—it made me realize—Aaron, I don’t need time to think about whether or not I want to have kids.” She watched his expression change, morphing into an expression of sadness, and she realized he was misunderstanding her. “No, Aaron, I know I do want to have kids. For sure. Someday. Just not today—or tomorrow—but someday.”

              He beamed at her. “You’re sure?” he asked.

“Yes, of course,” she replied. “How could I not want to make beautiful babies with you? I just want to wait a while.”

              “Okay,” he said, still smiling. “I’ve waited a hundred and fifty years. I think I can wait a few more.”

“Good,” she responded, returning his smile. “And if we have a little boy who looks as much like you as Brandon looks like Elliott, we are going to have to fight off the ladies.”

              “And if we have a little girl that looks like you, I’m going to have to practice polishing my shotgun in front of a lot of scared first dates,” he countered.

Cadence laughed. “I love you,” she said quietly, feeling as if the weight of their recent loss was beginning to recede just a bit.

              “I love you, too,” he replied, pulling her in for a kiss. After a moment, he let her go, and reaching for the door, added, “Now come on. We need to practice.”

              “Practice?” Cadence asked, momentarily concerned. “Oh, right, practice,” she gushed, letting him lead her out the door.

              Later, as he held her in his arms in her bed, Aaron said, “Well, we talked about where we are going to live, having kids, all of that. What about a date? Should we set one?”

              Cadence looked up at him. Lying in bed with him always made her tired and she wasn’t sure she was capable of making an intelligent response just then. “We need to,” she agreed. “But maybe we should wait until we have Giovani and Sam taken care of so that we can go on a proper honeymoon.”

He considered her response. “There’s always going to be someone, something, to hunt down. But I suppose you’re right. “

“I can still start planning, though,” she smiled, all of the years of dreaming of her wedding, as all little girls do, coming to mind.

“We’ll do whatever you want,” he assured her. “The sky is the limit.”

              “Oh, wow,” she replied, readjusting in his arms. “That’s crazy. That will take a lot of planning.”

              “I’m sure Hannah would love to help you,” he offered. “She did a great job with the memorial.”

              Cadence laughed. “Except for the music.”

“It was… appropriate,” he reminded her. “I’m sure Elliott would have approved.”

              She nodded in agreement. “And I’m sure whatever music we play at our wedding, he will approve of that, too.”

              “Yes, he’ll just be happy we’re together, forever, at last,” Aaron agreed.

              “And nothing is ever going to tear us apart again,” Cadence said pointedly.

“That is for certain,” Aaron said, leaning down to kiss her.

              Cadence returned the kiss and then rested her head on his chest, thankful that Elliott’s sacrifice had not been in vain and confident that she would never have trouble sleeping again. As long as she was locked in Aaron’s embrace, she could conquer anything.

***

              “Zabrina!” Giovani shouted, throwing open the curtain that served as a door to their makeshift hut.

              She was sitting beneath a tree, focused on weaving palm fronds into a rug. “What is it?” she asked, glancing up at him. She couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm, though experience had taught her that this conversation would likely end in either an argument or a desperate attempt on her part to bring him back down to Earth.

              “You’re never going to guess what Robert just told me,” he replied, plopping down Indian-style across from her.

              She placed her project over to the side so she could give him her undivided attention. “What’s that?” she questioned.

Robert had been Giovani and Zabrina’s neighbor when they lived in Omaha and had been a frequent hunting partner of theirs. He was able to communicate with Giovani via telepathy. “He said that bitch Laura pulled off some sort of ambush against the Kansas City LIGHTS team and wiped out about half of them,” he responded, smiling broadly. “Can you believe that shit?”

Zabrina considered the statement carefully before replying, “Actually, no, I can’t. Where did he hear that?”

“He said it’s all over the place. It’s all anyone is talking about. I guess she told them she knew where you and I were hiding, and she was able to lead them in there and gun them down,” he further explained.

              The skeptical expression was still on Zabrina’s pretty face. “Who exactly did she annihilate?” she probed.

“He didn’t know for sure,” Giovani admitted. “But it was part of that same team we encountered, Cadence and those other jackasses.”

              “So, you’re telling me that somehow Laura single-handled gunned down the main LIGHTS team out of Kansas City?” Zabrina clarified.

              “Well, no” Giovani admitted. “I don’t think she was by herself. He said that Cowboy Sam—that guy whose family we took out in Dallas—he was with her and some other Hunters who had, had enough of Aaron and his prickish ways.”

              Zabrina was shaking her head. She turned and picked up her weaving again. “Okay, Giovani. I don’t quite believe that, but if that’s the case, so what?”

“So what?” he asked, ripping the palm fronds out of her hand and tossing them aside. “Don’t you see, Zabrina? This is what we’ve been waiting for,” he replied.

              She was clearly annoyed that he had taken her work away from her, but she let it go. “What do you mean, exactly?” she questioned.

“They’re going to be so busy looking for these assassins, they’re not going to be thinking about us at all now. We can get out of here, go to Europe, or Australia, wherever, and they won’t be thinking twice about us. It’s perfect.”

              Once again, Zabrina was having trouble believing her ears. “Giovani,” she stated calmly, looking into his steel gray eyes, “we have talked about this. We need to stay here for a very long time. The last thing we need to do is draw attention to ourselves.”

              It was Giovani’s turn to sigh now, but clearly the anger was rising, and when he finally spoke, it was with a full measure of determination. “Zabrina, Cadence Findley killed Holland. My mother. Your mother. She wiped out hundreds of members of our coven in one swoop. Surely, you must want revenge as badly as I do.”

              “I do want revenge,” Zabrina assured him. “But I also want to calculate and minimize our risk, darling. There’s no sense in emerging right now when we are still fresh on their minds.”

              Giovani pounded his legs with his fists in frustration, causing Zabrina to jump back a bit. “You’re not listening to me! They’re not paying attention to us now. They are out looking for Laura and Sam. Now is the time, Zabrina. I’ve been wasting away in this hellhole for six months now. I’m ready to go!”

“Giovani,” Zabrina pleaded, “I just don’t think…”

              He was done listening. “You can stay here, if you’d like,” he shot back at her, standing, “but I’m leaving in the morning. I’ll let my contact know I’ll be needing transportation, and I’m making my way out of here. With or without you.”

***

              Sam had been running for months. He had initially made his way to Mexico, choosing to hide in some of the border towns around Mexico City where he thought it was unlikely any Hunters or Guardians would spot him and report him. For the first time in over 150 years, he had changed out of his comfortable cowboy clothing and began dressing like a typical man in his mid-sixties. He had cut his hair, shaved, and done his best to try to blend in. He knew he could rely on absolutely no one. He had not attempted to reach out to any of his former teammates. In fact, he wasn’t sure if any of them had even made it out of the ambush, though he thought he heard at least one other motorcycle peeling out as he was making his escape. Nevertheless, despite the cell phone he continued to carry, he didn’t dare turn it on or attempt to talk to anyone. He was an island unto himself. He kept the lifeline for emergency purposes only, just in case he needed to reach out to Sharon or someone else he trusted.