Resurrection: The Clandestine Saga Book 2

by ID Johnson

  Aaron looked at him, speculating, a puzzled expression on his face. He was beginning to question the nature of Christian and Cadence's relationship again. He noticed Christian was glancing in his direction. "For sure," he agreed. "No, we've got to protect her. No question there."

  ***

  Zabrina was an expert at healing Vampire gunshot wounds. As soon as she saw Jack she demanded, "Drop your pants and lay down on the table." Within a few minutes, she had his leg cleaned, medicated, and wrapped. Though the pain wasn't completely gone, it felt a lot better, and Jack was very thankful to have a sister like her. He only wished they had brought her along so that she could have taken care of it an hour ago.

  "So, what's our plan now, brother?" Giovani asked, sipping a beer on the couch.

  Zabrina had helped Jack put his pants back on and hobble over to where Giovani was sitting and sat down between her brothers on the sofa. She placed her hand on Giovani's leg, fairly high up his thigh, something Jack thought very odd for siblings, and he needed a moment to answer the question. "Uh, well, I'm not sure," he admitted. "I think we give Cadence a few days, and then I call her and we try to meet up again. This time, I'll make sure she knows not to bring anyone with her."

  Giovani laughed. "That'll never work. They won't let her go alone, and she won't want to, unless we can entice her somehow. We've got to think on this," Giovani said, shaking his head.

  "I have an idea," Zabrina chimed in. "Why don't we go away for a little while, some place warm, clear our heads, get our act together, and then come up with a plan? Let's go down to Cabo and see what they've got as far as tasty beverages are concerned."

  "Cabo? That's a great idea," Giovani affirmed, leaning over and open-mouth kissing her lustfully before turning back to Jack. "What do you say, brother? Ever been to Cabo?"

  Jack was feeling a bit nauseous. "No, I haven't," wanting to add, "I'd never been to the setting for Deliverance either, until now," but he kept his opinion to himself.

  "Let's do it, then!" Giovani declared. "She's not my real sister, you know. It's not like we are actually related. Chill out, man."

  Jack took a deep sigh of relief. He wished he could figure out this telepathy thing so he could respond.

  Giovani jumped up, showing his excitement. "All right! I'll book those tickets for tomorrow. Just as soon as I do my sister," he added, pulling Zabrina up, kissing her, and then heading off toward his bedroom.

  Zabrina lingered by the couch for a second, snickering at his choice of words, her long honey-colored hair thrown back in a haphazard pony-tail. "I'll do you, too, you know," she said coyly, patting Jack on the uninjured leg and then following Giovani down the hallway.

  "When?" Jack whispered, not loud enough for her to actually hear. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He wasn't interested in Zabrina, but he had noticed a huge increase in sex-drive since he had Resurrected. Seeing Cadence today had stirred things up quite a bit. Right now, however, he was exhausted, his leg hurt, and he was missing Cadence for so many other reasons; he just wanted to go to sleep.

  He considered hobbling into his room to take a nap, but he decided the couch would have to work for now. He tucked a throw pillow beneath his head and swung his legs up on to the remaining cushions, careful not to disturb his wound. Despite the noises coming from the other room, he was soon fast asleep, dreaming of visiting Cabo, Cadence by his side.

  ***

  Cadence had feared Elliott might bulk at having to drive the mini-van. She even offered to let him ride in the back. But he was not only a good sport about it, he actually took it a little too far, insisting on jamming to what he called "mom music," which happened to be Lionel Richie, and even took them through a drive-thru for ice cream, despite the cold weather. Cadence wondered why he had "mom music" on his phone but the only answer she got was, "Because I'm a groovy mom," in his best impression of their own mother's voice.

  They had arrived home only a few minutes before her parents got back from the reception. Sitting around the living room finishing their ice cream, Cassidy laughed at all of Elliott's jokes, and Cadence was very happy to see her sister's mood improve. When they heard their father gunning the Lamborghini engine rounding the corner, they all ran to the window. Her parents came to a jerky halt in front of the house, and her dad ran around the back of the car to open the scissor door for her mother. They were both laughing and holding hands as they approached the house.

  "That was the most amazing thing I've done all year!" Eli proclaimed, leading his wife into the house. Seeming to reconsider his statement, he clarified, "I mean, driving the car, not the reception."

  "We knew what you meant, honey," Liz said shaking her head. She enveloped Elliott in a tight hug. "Thank you so much for letting us borrow the car," she gushed.

  "Yes, ma'am," Elliott replied. "I'm glad you had a good time."

  "I'm going to get me one of those," Eli proclaimed, knowing he could probably never afford it but daring to dream.

  "Well, I need to head back to the hotel. I should see how things are going," Elliott said, placing his hand on the doorknob.

  "Do you have to?" Cassidy asked, disappointment in her voice.

  "'Fraid so, lil girl," he replied, stepping over to give her a hug. "I'm sure I'll see you soon, though," he promised.

  "Okay," she said. Then added, "Don't leave without saying goodbye, okay?"

  "I promise, I won't," he confirmed, making a cross on his chest. He took the Lamborghini keys from her father and reached for the door again.

  "Don't be a stranger," Eli said, patting him on the back.

  "Stop by anytime!" Liz agreed.

  "Any messages for anyone?" Elliott asked, turning back to Cadence.

  She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I'll talk to you soon," she added.

  "'K," he said, winking at her. Cadence realized, he wasn't just being friendly; he was also reminding her that her IAC was off and that he wouldn't be able to reach her if he needed to.

  Despite knowing her entire team was out of contact unless they used her cell phone, Cadence didn't turn the IAC back on. Not yet. She was still upset at Aaron, and she didn't want to talk to him. Or anyone else. Not right now.

  "Well, you seem to have had a good time with Mr. Elliott," Liz said, straightening Cassidy's hair as they walked over to the living room.

  "He's so funny," Cassidy declared. "I really like him, Mom."

  "Me, too," Liz agreed.

  Cadence sat down next to her sister on the couch and took a drink out of a water bottle she had retrieved from the kitchen earlier. Listening to the conversation around her made her happy. She was glad her family liked her new friends.

  "Are you dating him, Cadence?" Cassidy asked innocently.

  Cadence choked on the water, spitting it all over herself. "No," she said as soon as she could talk. "Why would you think that?" she asked, brushing at the water droplets on the front of her dress.

  "I don't know," Cassidy replied, a bit embarrassed. "I just thought you got along so well, and he's kind of cute, in a teddy bear sort of way. I think you would be adorable together."

  "I'm sorry, Cass, but no. I don't like Elliott like that. It would be like, if I asked you if you were dating Milo or Wes," Cadence said, hoping her sister would understand.

  "Eww," Cass responded, clearly getting the analogy. "Sorry I asked."

  "It's okay," she assured her. "I'm not dating anyone, Cass."

  "What about Aaron?" her mother asked, not knowing when to keep her mouth shut.

  "Aaron?" Cass asked, her eyes growing wide as saucers. "I thought he was probably married or something."

  "Why?" Cadence asked, puzzled.

  "Because, you'd think some lucky girl would have put a ring on that a long time ago," she replied, taking on a ghetto accent toward the end of her statement.

  "Seriously?" Cadence asked, throwing a pillow at her sister. "You're so weird. No, he's not married. And, no, we're not dating. We've . . .talked. That's about
it. Nothing going on there. Nothing at all."

  ***

  "I got the job!" Juan Arriaga exclaimed to his mother. They had been staying with his Tia Leticia for the last few days, since they had moved from Lincoln to Kansas City. He had applied for a position at St. Luke's Hospital as a nigh custodian and just received word that the job was his.

  "I am so proud of you!" his mother, Sofia Arriaga proclaimed. "I know that you will work so very hard." She knew she would be very proud of her son and the hard work he was sure to do.

  Juan was very happy to have a new position, but he was also hesitant to take on another hospital job after the strange circumstances surrounding his work at Bryan Health in Lincoln. If he were to see anything else along the lines of fantismos or vampiros, he would have to pack up and go back to Mexico. For now, however, he was looking forward to getting some over-time pay over the holidays and buying his mother and his aunt something very special. Surely, even if there were vampires in Kansas City, he would not be so unlucky as to run into two in the same lifetime.

  ***

  "Dad, your truck is parked behind my car, and I can't get it out of the garage. Where are your keys?" Cadence asked. It was 8:15, and she was getting ready to go to Kash's house for movie night, despite the fact that sitting around reminiscing with her friends, minus the two recently deceased, was the last thing that she wanted to do.

  "Oh, honey, sorry about that. Why don't you just take my truck? I'm not sure your Challenger has any gas in it anyway," Eli replied, only temporarily looking up from the sports section he was reading in his comfy recliner.

  "Have you been driving it again?" she asked, knowing how her father enjoyed speeding around in a sports car, any sports car.

  Eli glanced around the corner of the paper. "Possibly. My keys are hanging on the hook by the garage door."

  Shaking her head, Cadence went to the garage door, retrieved the keys, and reentered the living room. Her mom was sitting on the couch crocheting. "I'm going to Kash's house. I'm not planning on being gone too long." She leaned down and kissed her mom on the cheek and then gave her dad a quick hug.

  "Try to have fun, honey," her mom yelled after her as she left the room.

  "I'll try," she said to her mom, reaching for the door, and then added under her breath, "but I'll fail miserably." She pulled the door closed behind her and then froze in her tracks. "What are you doing here?" she asked, more shocked than angry, although she hadn't forgotten what had happened that afternoon.

  "I told your friends I'd come, so I'm here," Aaron replied, shrugging his shoulders, his hands deep in his jacket pockets. "And I wanted to talk to you," he added, stopping on the top step leading to the porch.

  Cadence glanced at her watch. She still had a few minutes before she was going to be late. She was a slave to punctuality, but she knew her friends would understand under the circumstances. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?" she asked, not moving.

  He took a few steps closer to her. "Well, for starters, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. Not for shooting Jack," he clarified, watching her forehead furrow. "I didn't have much of a choice but to do that. But I am sorry that it upset you. That wasn't my intention. I apologize for upsetting you and for arguing with you about it afterwards."

  Cadence stared at him for a moment, considering his apology. She took a few steps over to the balcony railing and sat down on it, despite the small amount of snow. "At least you're honest," she replied. "Okay, I accept your apology. And I'm sorry I got so angry at you. I shouldn't have questioned you in front of everyone. It's just. . . I finally got Jack back, and then you shot him. I was afraid I was going to lose him all over again."

  "I know..."

  "And, now I've got to figure out a way to convince him to come with us after you blew a hole in his kneecap. How am I supposed to do that?" She withdrew her hands from her pockets and gestured wildly for emphasis. The curtains in the living room window fluttered, and she was absently aware that they were not alone.

  "You're right," Aaron agreed, leaning against the railing next to her. "We're going to have to take some time to figure out where to go from here. Hopefully, if nothing else, you got him some information today, and he realizes that, if he continues to take the advice of his brother, he's going to end up in a very bad position." He glanced over at her and saw she was nodding her head in agreement. "Cadence, if he makes one more bad decision, I won't have any choice. He's been warned now by a Hunter. He has no excuse."

  "He won't," Cadence said with conviction. "He won't hurt anyone else. I just know Jack wouldn't do that. Especially now that he's been told."

  Aaron wanted to tell her he had seen similar situations many, many times before where a person had acted completely out of character once they had Resurrected. But he didn't go into that with her now. There was no point. "As soon as we get back to LIGHTS, we'll all sit down and figure it out, okay?"

  She nodded again. "I really don't understand why you didn't tell me about him when we were together at the hotel the other night," she added, her voice hushed, in case her parents were listening.

  "I didn't want to tell you and then get on an airplane and leave you for two days," Aaron explained. "I didn't think that was fair. I had no idea he had been calling you."

  "So whatever you were doing in Billings was more important?" she asked, feeling a bit hurt.

  "Cadence, come on," he said shaking his head. "I had already promised them I would be there. They needed my help. I couldn't justify putting a personal matter in front of it, especially when I thought it could wait."

  She crossed her arms, choosing to say nothing rather than to try to continue justifying her position. Finally, she decided to change the subject instead. "How's Laura?" she inquired.

  "She's getting there," he replied, his voice showing concern. "Jamie has completely drained himself twice now, but it looks like he may need to do it again. That bullet that hit her in the back was fairly close to her spine, and he's afraid she might end up paralyzed if he can't get it all completely healed."

  "Laura's not a fan of yours, I gathered?" Cadence asked, her eyebrows raised.

  "Not even a little bit," he confirmed. "And she probably shouldn't be. We didn't break up on the best of terms."

  "Did she quit the team?" she continued, turning a bit to face him.

  He didn't really want to drudge up those old memories, but he also wanted to be honest with her. "Yes. We worked a job in a nightclub in NYC. It was 1998, so it's been a while. She botched it. Badly. We got into it--as usual. I told her I didn't want to see her anymore, and as soon as we got back to LIGHTS, she packed up and left. I never heard anything from her again. About ten years ago, I heard that she was chasing Giovani, but she wouldn't even ask for intel, at least not as far as I knew. I found out tonight that she had been talking to Eliza off and on and that Laney contacted her a few days ago. But all of this was news to me."

  "Was Giovani the mark that night in NYC?" Cadence asked, trying to piece the story together.

  "Yes, he was, and Holland," Aaron confirmed, looking her in the eyes.

  "So, all this time, she's been trying to find absolution. Do you think she's hoping that, if she finds a way to bring him in or destroy him, she can somehow go back to how it was before?" Cadence was fully facing him now, her mind sorting through the situation and trying to make sense of it.

  Aaron shrugged. "I think so. I don't know. She's been chasing him for over 15 years now. Why she didn't ever ask for help is beyond me. She Transformed her sister to help her, but that was way back in the beginning. I can't imagine working on the same case for that long. I think it would drive me mad."

  Cadence agreed. "Maybe it has," she offered. "Maybe that's why she didn't ask for help." She glanced down at the porch, her brown boots only slightly dusted with snow. "We need to get him, then," she added. "Even if Jack doesn't like it. Giovani needs to be destroyed."

  "I agree," Aaron said, nodding. "So, we'll have to figure out how to do that."


  "And Laura and Laney will have to be part of. So they can get some closure and move on," she added.

  "If they will, that's fine with me," he consented.

  Cadence was quiet for a moment. She knew she was probably going to be late to Kash's house now, but she also realized this conversation was too important to cut short. "Thank you for being completely honest with me," she said, looking him in the eyes. "I know it's not easy for you to talk about your past, but if I'm going to work with these two, I've got to know what I'm up against."

  He nodded slowly. "Honesty is extremely important to me, Cadence," he admitted. "When I don't offer information to you, it isn't because I'm attempting to be deceitful, it's because I have a lot of people to coordinate and not everyone needs to know everything. Sometimes that does more harm than good."

  "I agree with you," she admitted, sliding off of the railing and standing next to him. "I know there's a lot more tactical information floating around in your head than I could ever fathom wanting or needing to know. But I'm talking about the really important stuff, the personal stuff. You need to know that you can talk to me about that stuff, too."

  "Okay," he said, just above a whisper, looking into her eyes.

  "And, that includes Aislyn," she added. "I want to hear about her, too, someday. I know how much she meant to you."

  He looked away from her momentarily and then back to her eyes. "Someday, hopefully, I will be able to tell you about her."

  "Good," Cadence replied, giving him a small, reassuring smile. "You can trust me, Aaron. I hope you believe that."

  He didn't answer, rather he pulled her toward him and kissed her, hoping she would accept that as confirmation. He was learning to trust her, and that was more than he could say for anyone else in the last 150 years.

  Peering out the living room window as discreetly as possible, Liz whispered over her shoulder at Eli who was still entranced by the sport section. "Looks like Team Elliott just took another blow."