by ID Johnson
Holland’s last attempt to save herself was to mutate her mouth, attempting to grow her teeth long enough to swing the top of her head down at such an angle as to catch Cadence’s arm, but she was very conscious of the breaking ligaments in her neck. Now that her left hand was free, Cadence was able to apply even more pressure around the Vampire’s throat.
As much as Cadence hated Holland, held her partially responsible for Drew’s death and for changing all of their lives forever, she looked down into the eyes of the monster beneath her and realized she was causing her to suffer excruciating pain. It was over; Cadence had won. There was no reason to prolong it any more. Keeping her left hand firmly planted on Holland’s throat, she reached back with her right hand, drew the Glock from her leg holster, placed the gun against Holland’s chest directly above her heart and pulled the trigger.
Despite the damage to her throat, Holland still managed to shriek. It was ear shattering. The same breeze Cadence had felt from her mouth earlier blew past her again, the stench almost too much for her to bear, as Holland’s body turned to ashes beneath her.
It took Cadence a moment to realize it was over. Slowly, she stood and dusted herself off. Surveying the room, she saw that only Hunters and Guardians remained, lest one lone Vampire cowering in the back behind Sabin and Genevieve. Sebastian had survived unharmed.
Chantal had been the only Hunter casualty and Jamie had been able to cauterize and heal the veins where she was bleeding out, which saved her life. There wasn’t much they could do about her arm, but at least she would live.
“That was agonizing,” Aaron said, wrapping his arms around her. “I didn’t know how much longer I could stand to watch that. Thank God you didn’t attempt to decapitate her. As strong as she was, that could’ve taken all night.”
Cadence laughed. “Well, a wise man once told me, ‘If you have the shot, take it.’ So I did.”
He realized everyone was staring at them, and it was the only thing that prevented him from leaning down and kissing her. She was staring into his eyes and he realized that it really didn’t matter what anyone else said or thought; he was falling in love with Cadence, and he wanted her to know.
Cadence momentarily leaned her head against his chest, taking a moment to recover from the excursion of battle. She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths, content to let the world melt away for a moment. She was completely safe and secure now, with Aaron’s arms wrapped around her. After a few moments, however, she realized everyone, including Christian, was staring at them. And the police had to be near by now. It was time they made a hasty retreat. She smiled up at Aaron and stepped away from him, intending to gather up the guns she had thrown off before the fight.
As Cadence stepped back, Aaron caught a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. He only had a split second to react and his gut response was to throw himself on top of her. As he did so, he felt the sharp sting of metal enter his side. He fell to the ground on top of Cadence.
Eliza had been one step too late. She had seen what was happening unfold from where she stood, directly across the room from the group by the stage. When she realized what was happening, she took off, hurdling her body at Sebastian and Sabin. He had gotten one shot off before she knocked him to the ground. Though he was attempting to beg her to spare him, she immediately drew her weapon and sunk a silver bullet right into his heart.
Sabine was stunned. She had no idea what had just happened. She stood shaking, watching Eliza destroy Sebastian and trying to process what had just occurred. They had completely trusted Sebastian and would have never thought he would go Rogue.
Cadence was fine, but she quickly ascertained that Aaron was not. She was confused. If Sebastian had shot at her, Aaron should be unharmed because a Vampire cannot kill a Guardian, but the blood spreading across the club floor was a clear indicator that he was not. “Aaron!” she screamed. “What? How did this happen?” He was looking at her, still conscious though he was fading fast. “No!” she pleaded. “You’ve got to stay with me!”
She felt hands on her shoulders and realized Jamie was there. He was weakened from healing Chantal, but he had some energy left. He just hoped it was enough. Eliza ran over with towels from the bar and Jamie applied pressure to the bullet hole, which was located right under Aaron’s ribcage on his left side.
Cadence cradled his head in her lap as Jamie continued his work. Jamie was fading almost as quickly as Aaron was and Eliza wrapped her arms around Jamie to give him the support he needed to stay upright.
Aaron thought the bullet might have went through his lungs because he was having trouble breathing, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t speak. He could feel the warmth from Jamie’s hands spreading through his body, and the pain began to subside. Nevertheless, if his lungs had truly collapsed, it would take a considerable toll on Jamie to fix that, and he wasn’t completely confident that Jamie had enough strength left.
Stroking his hair and holding his hand, Cadence fought back the tears. She refused to consider the idea of losing Aaron. Without him, how could she possibly go on? “Please, stay with us. Don’t leave us,” she said, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand.
He kept his eyes trained on hers and she felt like, as long as they didn’t break that connection, he would be forced to stay.
Jamie was giving it everything he had, but he could feel himself starting to lose consciousness. If that were to happen, he would be able to do no more.
There was a sound at the door as Elliott entered the room expecting to announce that they were all clear. Everyone was convinced they had just been shooting a movie about vampires and everything was fine. He was unsure as to why the room was so quiet until he realized everyone was staring at the situation in the middle of the dance floor. It didn’t take him long to realize what had happened.
Christian caught him at the door, holding him back, even though he knew Elliott wanted to go to Aaron’s side. He needed some room and there were enough people in the immediate vicinity for now. “Wait,” he said, “Just wait.”
Elliott understood and took a step back. “What the hell happened?” he asked.
“Sebastian grabbed Sabine’s gun and used her hand to fire it. So, no matter who it hit, that bullet was lethal,” Christian explained. “Rather ingenious, though he still ended up losing his life.”
“And Aaron threw himself in front of her, not realizing it?”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure he would have done it whether he realized it or not, but yes, he dove to protect her,” Christian recounted. He knew that, should he have been in the same position, he would have done the same, and even though he did not envy Aaron in taking the bullet, he was a bit jealous watching Cadence attending to their leader now.
Elliott shook his head, absently kicking his toe into the floor. “Where is he hit?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but I think it’s right under his rib cage,” Christian replied.
“Lungs?” Elliott asked, a grimace of concern on his face.
“Appears so,” Christian replied, his arms folded across his chest.
Aaron continued to stare into Cadence’s eyes. He suddenly felt like the air was flowing into his chest again. Jamie was just barely hanging on and Eliza had helped him lean forward so that Jamie’s head was now resting right over Aaron’s lungs. His hands were still applying pressure to the wound, but the bullet hole was no longer painful and the bleeding had stopped. For the first time, Aaron started to think he might actually recover. He opened his mouth again and this time, he was able to speak. “Cadence?” he said softly.
She gasped at the sound of his voice, daring to hope that he was going to be alright. “Yes?” she asked, softly stroking his face.
“You have really pretty eyes.” His voice had almost completely recovered now.
She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. “Thank you. So do you.” She smiled down at him as a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. “How do you feel?”
> “I’ve been better,” he admitted. “But, I think I’m going to be okay.”
“Yeah?” she said, the tears beginning to stream down her face now.
“Yeah.” His body hadn’t completely healed yet; he still had a significant amount of pain in his chest where his cells were trying to regenerate. But he was certain now that he was no longer in danger of death.
Jamie had given it everything he had, finally losing consciousness and slumping forward, Eliza’s arms the only thing preventing him from hitting his head on the floor. Elliott and Christian hurried over, helping Eliza lay Jamie down and steadying Aaron as he attempted to sit up. He coughed up a bit of blood, but for the most part he felt much better. He owed Jamie his life now, for certain. He was very fortunate that Jamie had been there and that he had reacted in time.
“Thank you,” Cadence said. “You saved me.”
“That’s my job,” he replied. “I won’t ever let anything happen to you.”
He looked around at the faces surrounding him. Everyone looked so relieved that he had recovered. Most of them had tear streaks down their faces. He felt appreciated for a change, which was refreshing. Of all of the faces, however, there was one to which he returned. Those calming brown eyes, the ones that had prevented him from slipping away, although the thought of an eternal slumber had been so tempting. He may have saved Cadence from the bullet, but she had saved him that day as well. As much as he wanted to let her know just how much he appreciated her, he realized that now was not the time. With a deep breath, one that filled his entire lungs, he said, “Come on guys, let’s go home.”
***
Taylor had left Cadence eight messages, each more despairing than the last. She didn’t understand why she wouldn’t just answer her phone. The first message was just to let her know that Jack wasn’t feeling any better and that she should call if she got a chance. The next two were slightly more urgent. Jack had slipped into a coma, and the doctors weren’t sure if they were going to be able to bring him back.
Next, she’d left a few messages letting her know that Jack’s health was deteriorating rapidly. They had put him on a ventilator. The doctors were only giving him hours to live. The last two had just been asking her to call as soon as she could. She couldn’t bear for Cadence to hear the news on her voice mail.
Jack was dead.
***
Cadence had been so concerned about Aaron and Jamie; she had let Jack slip her mind, something she felt horrible about. It wasn’t until she was on the plane flying home that she realized she needed to check her messages. When she saw that she had eight messages from Taylor, she knew it couldn’t be good. She recognized that there was nothing she could do while they were on the plane, so she may as well give her heart a few more hours without letting it break again. If Jack was gone, she really didn’t want to know right now. She glanced across the rows of seats to the back of the plane where Aaron was fast asleep. After having almost lost him today, she couldn’t put herself through the trauma off letting go of someone else she loved, not yet. It would have to wait. No matter who else she loved in her life, Jack had been her first and she knew she would always love him.
***
The tingling started in his shoulder and slowly radiated through his entire body, spreading into his limbs, each finger and toe, his inner organs, even the hairs on his arms felt alive. He was cognitively aware that the pulsating pain he had been feeling throughout his entire body had finally stopped. Before he even opened his eyes, he knew he felt different. His body felt stronger, more powerful. He felt a new life coursing through his veins and he intended to relish every minute of it. And he knew exactly whom he was going to spend it with. She had said she loved him just before she left. Now, Cadence would be his forever. Nothing, no one could ever stop them from being together. Inhaling deeply into his freshly restored lungs, Jack felt invigorated. His eyes fluttered open, the dim light of the morgue sinking into the steal gray irises, causing them to burn at first, but then they adjusted and he had a new view of the world around him and all the possibilities it contained. Yes, he would find Cadence and she would be his, right after he quenched his insatiable burning in his throat.
End Book 1
Look for Book 2: Resurrection coming Summer, 2015
For updates, visit www.authoridjohnson.blogspot.com
Follow on Twiter @authoridjohnson
Find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IDJohnsonAuthor