Resurrection: The Clandestine Saga Book 2

by ID Johnson

  She got her answer shortly. As soon as Aaron entered his apartment, he turned to look at her, an expression of outrage on his face. "What in the world possessed you to answer my door--dressed like that--and let Cadence believe she had interrupted...that?"

  "What? You can't even say it Aaron? Do I repulse you so much that you can't even think about the possibility of us having sex?" she spat, her temper preventing her from employing the damage control technique she had intended to employee.

  "Eliza," he began, one hand on his forehead. "Don't you think I know what you did? What you've been trying to do for the last month?"

  "Sleep with you?"

  "Seduce me!" he corrected. "Explain to me why--why--would you want to be with someone under false pretenses that you created?"

  Her expression changed to that of a wounded puppy. "I thought you wanted to..." she pouted, sticking her bottom lip forward in an expression he knew all too well.

  "You know that's not true," he replied in an exasperated sigh. "You know what you're doing just as well as I do!"

  "But, if I was using my talent, it would be working, wouldn't it? Isn't the fact that you're not sleeping with me proof that I'm not being underhanded?" she attempted.

  He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. "While I applaud your use of backward logic, no, it's not proof. The fact that I have taken precautions against your special skill might be a reason."

  "What!" Eliza exclaimed. "Who..." suddenly, she had a realization. "Hannah! That bitch!"

  "Eliza..."

  "She told me she would never medal with love! She wouldn't do anything for me when I was ready to kill myself the first time you broke up with me."

  "She didn't change anything. She just counter-acted your own attempts. She didn't make me uninterested in you. She just allowed me to keep making my own decisions. And, Eliza, you know--you've known all along--I don't want to be with you."

  The tears were falling from her eyes now, big splashy raindrop sized tears that cascaded down her face and landed on her folded arms. "How can you say that?" she asked quietly. "After I was the only one... the only one who told you the truth."

  "The truth?" he asked. Though he hated to see her cry and had been avoiding this conversation for weeks partially for that reason, he had done a bit of his own investigating that afternoon after leaving Cadence's apartment. "I met with Christian today," he explained. "I tried to tell you earlier--before you took your pants off. I saw the entire recording, including the last fifteen seconds you omitted. It makes much more sense now that I have seen Cadence pushing him off of her and begging him to stop."

  Eliza swatted at her tears. "I never saw that part," she lied.

  "I don't believe you," he said calmly. "Now who is lying to me?"

  "I'm telling the truth!" she proclaimed.

  "Eliza, you manipulated the recording and the situation to make me break up with Cadence. You know what you did..."

  "But you broke up with her for lying to you! Remember? It had nothing to do with making out with Christian; it was the fact that she didn't tell you!" she reminded him.

  "Eliza, you set it up so that I would be angry at her and find an excuse to break it off..."

  "That's not true!" she screamed. "You broke up with her on your own because you can see what a lying, manipulative, little bitch she really is!"

  "God, I can't keep having this same conversation," Aaron said looking up at the ceiling. "Eliza, let's say you're right. Let's say I don't date lying manipulative bitches; there's the door. Would you like your pants back before you go?"

  Panic was beginning to settle in as Eliza realized she might actually be losing him for good this time. "I'm going to kill myself!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

  Aaron had heard that threat many times before. Picking her pants up off of the floor and tossing them at her, he calmly said, "Please do it in your own apartment. I really don't want to clean up the mess."

  "I'm going to kill that bitch!" she shrieked, catching her pants and shoving her legs into them.

  "You can't," he reminded her.

  "I'm going to kill you!"

  "You already are. Get out, please. Just go," he implored.

  "You are going to be very sorry!" she screamed walking toward the door. "When you have my blood on your hands, you'll be sorry."

  He followed her to the door. "I suggest you go have a conversation with Hannah. She is a psychologist, after all. I'll let her know you're coming." He opened the door and guided her out as sternly as he could without actually pushing her.

  "You'll regret this," she continued as he slammed the door in her face.

  "I already do," he sighed. "If you only knew..."

  Chapter 12

  The brisk knock on the door alerted Cadence to who was on the other side more so than any visual possibly could have. Pulling it open, she smiled at Elliott who was leaning against the door jam, her phone in his hand. "Mornin' kid. You ready to do this?"

  Taking a deep sigh, she nodded, stepping out of the way so he could fit his large body through the door.

  Handing her the phone he said, "So, do you want me to stay then?"

  Once again, Cadence nodded. It was about 10:00 in the morning, but she was feeling exhausted. After the conversation she had, had with Aaron much earlier that morning, she hadn't fallen back to sleep until about 8:00. Though the walls between their apartments were rather thick, she was still able to hear what sounded like shrieking of some sort, and she wasn't sure if that was good news--or bad. When Elliott had told her he was on his way over about a half an hour ago, she finally managed to pull herself out of bed. "So, what's your plan? What are you thinking?" she asked, sitting down on the couch and studying her own phone like she'd never seen it before.

  He lowered himself down beside her. "My plan?" he asked, emphasizing the "my." He chuckled. "I didn't realize I was the one coming up with this."

  "I told you, you're running it," she reminded him.

  "I know, but I thought it was your plan, and I was just giving the orders," he replied. "Let me think. Well, sooner is better than later."

  "I agree."

  "And some place public, obviously, but not in the middle of an amusement park either."

  "For sure."

  Elliott seemed to consider their options for a few moments. "The Plaza maybe?"

  "It had occurred to me," Cadence agreed. "I'm not as familiar with it as I should be," she admitted.

  Elliott pulled up a map of the popular Kansas City location on his IAC and shared it with her. "Well, last I checked you've only lived here for a few months so.... What about over here by Mill Creek Park? There's a pharmacy over there, so late at night there shouldn't be too much traffic. There's a hotel there, but it's not as popular as some of the others, and the view of the highway may deter people from actually looking out their windows."

  Cadence zeroed in on the location he was referring to. "That could work. There are enough restaurants within walking distance from there that it would make sense that I might ask him to meet there and then walk somewhere else, I guess."

  Elliott nodded. "Okay, so once you give Jack a call, then we need to talk about your plan and how you are actually going to go through with this."

  Cadence exhaled loudly. "One thing at a time, my friend. One thing at a time. Where's the number?"

  "Christian added him to your contacts."

  Cadence pulled up her contacts and checked the obvious location. Nothing under Jack Cook. She looked at Elliott, a confused expression on her face. "Keep scrolling," he said, a slight smirk on his face. She found it under "Vampire Jack."

  "Is that supposed to be funny?" she asked rolling her eyes. Although it was a bit humorous, she wasn't exactly in a joking mood.

  "Hey, if you don't laugh, you'll cry, right?"

  "Touché," she replied. She reluctantly clicked on the name "Vampire Jack" and hit the call button. With another deep breath, she put the phone to her ear. He answered on the s
econd ring.

  "Cadence?"

  She closed her eyes. The familiar voice was almost too much for her to take. She felt Elliott's hand on her shoulder and continued. "Hey, Jack," she said, as nonchalantly as she could muster. "What's up? I've been waiting for you to call me."

  He giggled nervously. "I've been waiting for you to call me," he replied. "Sorry, I guess that was a misunderstanding."

  "Yeah, I guess so," she agreed. "What have you been up to?"

  There was a lengthy silence before he said, "Well, we were on vacation for a while. Now we are back in Nebraska."

  "Oh, where did you go?" Cadence asked, as if she didn't already know.

  Jack hesitated. "Uhm, just to the beach. I'd really like to see you now that I'm back," he said, quickly changing the subject.

  Cadence let the fact that she knew precisely where he had been go. Likely, he knew that she was aware. "I'd love to see you, too," she replied. "Would it be possible for you to make it to Kansas City soon?"

  "I'm not sure..." Jack responded. There seemed to be some conversation between him and what Cadence could only assume was Giovani. "What if you came here?"

  Cadence looked at Elliott and shook her head. "I don't think I can get away in the next few weeks or so. We've been super busy."

  "Well, I just don't think it's a good idea for me to show up so close to..."

  "Jack, do you not trust me?" Cadence asked in a voice that could only read as offended.

  "It's not that," he exclaimed. "I trust you. I don't trust those other people. That guy who shot me..."

  "Is an asshole. Don't worry, Jack. I promise I can get away without him knowing. I just can't make it all the way up there without the team realizing something is up. It's not like they don't have a tracking device embedded in my eye, you know? But I can make up a story about going shopping at The Plaza. They'll buy that, and it will give me a chance to get away."

  He seemed to consider her request. There was some more chatter, but Jack seemed to be pretty emphatic when he responded to Giovani. She heard him say, "Let me handle this," to his brother before coming back to her. "Okay, Cadence. I trust you," he replied. "What about Saturday?"

  "Uh, well, Saturday is usually pretty busy for us. I was thinking more like a Tuesday or Wednesday," she said, still looking at Elliott who was nodding. They needed a time when there were less likely to be crowds at The Plaza. She gave Elliott a thumbs up to let him know the conversation was headed in the right direction.

  Again, Jack was quiet. "Okay, well, I can't get down there until next Tuesday. Will that work?"

  It was Thursday so that would be a few days, but Cadence would rather have something scheduled and an end in sight then continue to go back and forth. "Yes, next Tuesday is fine. Why don't you meet me in front of the Bioscrip Pharmacy building across from Mill Creek Park, and we can figure things out from there? There are several restaurants within walking distance."

  "Okay, what time?" Jack asked.

  It sounded like he was taking notes. "I don't know. Eight o'clock?" she asked.

  "How about 9:00?" he replied.

  That would actually work better because there would be less people out, but she hadn't suggest it because it seemed a little late for a regular date to Cadence. Nevertheless, she said, "All right! It's a date. I'm so excited to see you!"

  "Me, too," Jack replied, and Cadence could almost hear him smiling over the phone.

  "All right, babe, take care, and I'll see you soon," Cadence said trying to keep her voice as natural as possible.

  "Okay," Jack replied. Then he added, "I love you, Cadence."

  Cadence squeezed her eyes shut. She did not want to hear those words. "Love you, too," she forced herself to say before quickly disconnecting the call. Elliott was rubbing her back now, and she let her breath go in a long exhale. "God, I can't believe he just said that," Cadence said looking at her friend.

  Elliott just shook his head. "You did amazing," he said giving her a small smile. "Totally sounded like you meant that and everything."

  "Good... it was hard to say. If I hadn't said that in the first place, I might not be in this position."

  "If you hadn't said that in the first place, he might not be so damn set on getting you back, and we would have a hell of a time tracking him down," Elliott pointed out.

  Cadence nodded. "I suppose you're right. I just hate lying to him."

  "Cadence, he's a killer. He's not the Jack you think he is. That Jack is gone. I'm sorry to have to keep reminding you of that, but there's nothing you can do to get him back," Elliott said, squeezing her shoulder.

  Refusing to cry again, she locked her eyes shut for a few seconds. "Logically, I know that. But, unfortunately, this doesn't make it any easier."

  He nodded. "I know. But we'll get through it and then move on to the next." Cadence gazed away from him at those words, a distant look in her eyes, an expression that said there was something she was not mentioning. "What's going on?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in concern.

  "I don't know," she said scratching the back of her head and looking away. "I just... I kind of feel like I need to get out of here for a while, you know, go see the world or something."

  Elliott's eyebrows shot up. "What and leave all this?"

  "Not permanently," she assured him. "Just for a little while. Just until I figure out who I am..."

  "Shit, I'm 75 years old and I don't have any damn idea who the hell I am. You think Aaron knows who he is? And he's what, 150?"

  "Actually, he's 169," she murmured.

  "See, and he has no clue who he is," he replied. "What makes you think you can figure out who you are, kid?"

  "I don't know. But I feel like I need to try. I can't stay around here with... those two. I need to separate myself from that situation for a while. There are other things that I can focus my time and energy on. If I really am as talented as everyone thinks..."

  "You are..."

  "Then there are other Hollands out there, other Barbarosas that I can hunt down," she explained.

  "On your own?" he questioned.

  "I've talked to a couple of other Hunters about going. I don't know..."

  "With no Guardians?"

  "Do you want to go?"

  He considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "I can't," he replied quietly.

  "I guess we'll use local Guardians. I don't know. I haven't thought it all the way through yet. But it's something I'm definitely thinking about. I just suppose I'll have to have his permission if I want the financial backing," she admitted.

  Elliott nodded. "Well, let's get through this first."

  "Okay," she agreed. Returning to the task at hand she said, "So, I was thinking we would place Aurora and Christian at the northern end of the park over here," she said adding a couple of dots to the map through the IAC. "And then put Shane and Meaghan at the other end. They can keep a look out for Giovani from there, I think."

  "That looks good to me," Elliott replied.

  "Then, I'd put Laura and Laney with Hannah over here north of the hotel. If I meet Jack here, next to the pharmacy, they'll be close enough to get there if Giovani shows up, but not so close that Jack should be able to detect them."

  "Sounds good," Elliott confirmed.

  "Then, I want Jamie close by, but he's got to be where Jack can have no clue that he's there. If he notices him, it's game over," she explained.

  "Well, I think this parking lot actually drops down here," Elliott said indicating the location on the map. They were looking at an aerial view, like Google Earth, so it was difficult to see the drop on the map. "If he's down there, it will be harder for Jack to see him, but he'll be a flight of stairs, and then some, away."

  "That's perfect," Cadence replied. "And then, if we rented a room in the hotel, you could set up there. I would really like for you to be able to cover me."

  "Well, if that's the case, I need to get into the pharmacy and set up on one of these upper level floors," he replied. "If
you're going to meet him in front of the pharmacy, that will be the closest location."

  "But how can you get into a closed pharmacy after hours?" she asked.

  "I'm Dr. Elliott Sanderson of the CDC. I can get into wherever the hell I want," he replied with a haughty smile.

  She laughed. "Okay, well if you think you can..."

  "I know I can."

  "When you do," she said snidely, "I want you to set up with a sniper rifle just in case."

  "Just in case... what?"

  "Just in case Giovani shows up. Or just in case... I can't do it," she replied with a gulp.

  "And you think you won't hate me forever if I kill Jack?"

  "That's not Jack," she replied in a mocking voice. He sighed and gave her a look that said "you know what I mean," and she finally emphatically said, "No, no I won't hate you if you shoot Vampire Jack. I would probably be very grateful. But Aaron says it has to be me so..."

  "He has his reasons, I guess," Elliott replied.

  Cadence knew he didn't know the whole story, but she wondered if he knew the part about Kian. She didn't ask, however. "So, sound like a plan?"

  "Sounds like a plan. We have about four days to make sure everything is in place. What are you going to do in the meantime?"

  "I don't know," she replied, a distant look in her eyes. "Avoid Eliza and Aaron, that's for damn sure."

  "I think he's pretty upset that he's not going," Elliott remarked.

  She looked away. "I don't want him there. This is too personal. Besides, he picked his side. He can stay home with..." so many names popped in her head but she pushed them all aside and chose to be the bigger person, "her."

  Elliott smiled. "I guess you don't know then," he said with a small chuckle as he pulled himself to his feet.

  "What?" she asked, popping up and following him to the door.

  "Ixnay on the irlfriendgay," he replied pulling the door open.

  It took Cadence a minute. "What? They broke up?" Elliott nodded. "When?"

  "Apparently, after she eavesdropped on your conversation last night," he replied.