One look at Brandon’s face made Cassidy stop talking. She had clearly said enough to upset him. After a moment of silence, she said, “I’m sorry. That was rude.”
“It’s okay,” he shrugged. “You’re right. I never got a chance to meet him. I’m glad you did though. You can tell me stories about him. All three of you can. I just wanted to see Sam before I Transform, to say that I faced him as a man, that’s all. He’s a big part of my motivation to be here, after all. It might make it a little easier if the Transformation gets pai
They paused outside of the door, waiting for Cassidy and Brandon to catch up. Before Aaron unlocked the door, Cadence reminded them, “He’s in pretty bad shape, but he’s still a cantankerous old fart, so stay back. And, Brandon, whatever you plan to say to him, don’t expect any sort of polite response.”“I understand,” Brandon replied, nodding. He looked at Cassidy, who smiled at him reassuringly and squeezed his arm, before Aaron opened the door and they all made their way into the tiny cell.
The tunnels beneath the town of Cesky Krumlov were damp, dark, and not designer-clothing friendly at all. Wrinkling her nose against the smell of old and mildew, Eliza led her team onward, hopeful that the payoff at the end of this mission would be worth it; if she could bring down Giovani, they’d have to let her back on the Kansas City team.She’d gotten a tip just the day before from an ex-Hunter who said she was almost certain she had seen someone fitting Giovani’s description entering the premises above this elaborate system of tunnels and that there had been rumors for c
The flight from London Heathrow would be much longer than the initial flight from Vienna, but it would give Giovani and Zabrina a chance to strategize, and there wasn’t too much to complain about while sitting in first class, sipping champagne.“What is your plan once we arrive in Philadelphia?” Zabrina asked, absently flipping through a fashion magazine.Giovani turned his
“Are you sure you don’t want me to call your mom?” Aaron asked. “You might be out for a day or two.”Brandon scrunched up his mouth in consideration. After a moment, he began fishing his phone out of his pocket. “All right,” he finally replied. “But make sure I’ve gone through with it before you call her. And her number isn’t under mom. But you’ll find it.”
Almost instantly, Amanda picked up. “Brandon Michael, where the hell are you?” she asked, her speech slurred. “I’ve been texting you all damn day.”“Ms. Keen, this isn’t Brandon,” Aaron said, keeping his voice completely calm, despite her obvious agitated, and extremely inebriated, state. “This is Aaron McReynolds. I was a friend of Elliott’s.”
Cassidy FaceTimed her friends, and it only took a few seconds for Lucy to answer, Emma sitting behind her on the bed in Lucy’s bedroom. “Oh my gosh, Cassidy. I thought you’d died.”“Uhm, it’s been, like, forty minutes,” Cassidy replied, just slightly offended at her word choice, considering the recent events. “What is it?”“So, Chri
Detective Abby Watson had been sitting in the lounge outside of the Intensive Care Unit for hours. Though there were two armed police officers at a time working shifts directly in front of Gibbon’s door, she was not about to leave until she had a chance to talk to him. Since his surgery earlier in the day, he still hadn’t come to, and so she continued to wait, a plethora of coffee and frequent trips to the bathroom her new weekend routine.She hadn’t slept in longer than she could remember. Not that she ever rested when she did sleep. Still, sitting in the uncomfortable chairs in the w
Giovani and Zabrina had gone straight from the airport to the appointed meeting place near the Hospital of the University of Philadelphia, where Gibbon was being treated. Standing atop a parking garage, they had a clear view of the building, and though there were a few cars coming and going nearby, for the most part, this area of Philly seemed to have gone to bed for the evening. The lights in the surrounding office buildings showed no one at work, and the apartment buildings in the distance were mostly dark, with shades drawn, the people inside snoozing, completely unaware of the monsters playing on the rooftops only blocks away.
Hannah took Jo to give her a bath, and Ona helped Cadence get Cadon latched while Jamie left to go check on his own one-month-old baby. Cadence’s son was a pro almost immediately, latching on the first try to resting peacefully while he nursed. Cadence couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have even one sweet baby, let alone the blessings of two. He wore a tiny little cap to keep him warm, and she couldn’t help but stroke his head while he made soft baby noises in her arms.Hannah brought Jo back before Cadon was finished. It took her daughter much longer to latch. She kept turning her feisty little face away, growling her discontentment as Cadence tried to get her on and not disturb Cadon at the same time. With Aaron’s help, their daughter finally latched, but he had to have his hand on her back or else she’d pull off again. “She is definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Cadence declared, shaking her head at her strong-spirited daughter.
“For the record, there really is no comparison between us naming our son after a famous jazz pianist and you naming your daughter after a murderous dictator,” the Healer pointed out before getting back to the task at hand. “I think in two or three more pushes, we’ll have a baby.” He was looking at Cadence now, smiling at her above the draped sheet that made her feel a little more secure even if it didn’t really hide anything at all from the doctor.“Okay,” she said again, ready to get it over with. Jamie told her to push, and she did, as hard as she could, hoping for two and not three as the lucky number.“Keep pushing,” Jamie said, even though Aaron had reached ten. “She’s almost there.”Cadence strained even harder, giving it every bit of energy she had left, and a few seconds later, she felt her daughter slip into the world. Listening to her cries made Cadence’s heart melt all
“One more push, Cadence,” Jamie insisted, his normally friendly-tone replaced by his not-quite-as-friendly medical professional tone. “One more time, and we’ll have a baby.”Cadence could feel the sweat dripping off of her forehead and wondered how normal human women did this, especially the ones who refused any sort of pain medication. Even with her superhuman strength and resilience, she was tired. Jamie had gloves on so he wasn’t using any of his healing powers to help her, but she had opted for the epidural, which minimized her pain but did nothing for the exhaustion.“You ready?” Aaron asked, standing next to her, holding one leg while Ona, a Healer who was acting as Jamie’s nurse, held the other.“I’m ready,” she nodded. Her husband’s smile hadn’t dimmed since her water broke three hours earlier. It might not have diminished since they’d left Prague eight months ago,
Jamie gently wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He kissed her cheek. “Love you, Cadence.”“I love you, too,” she said, returning the kiss. He took a step back and smiled at her before heading off toward the mountain.Cassidy hugged her sister a little more tightly than the doctor had. “Don’t you ever die on me again.”“I won’t. You neither. I love you, little sister.”“I know.” Cassidy giggled at her own smart remark. “I love you, too.” Cadence kissed the top of her sister’s head, and Cassidy let her go, stepping back to wait for Brandon.“Good job getting the monster.” Brandon’s hug was more like a pat on the back, and Cadence almost laughed, wondering if he just didn’t want to break her or was embarrassed.“Thanks, Brandon. Take care of my sis.”“I will try,
“The baby, Cadence,” Aaron said in her head. “You’re carrying our baby.”Cadence sucked in air all over again, like she had when she’d first fought to open her eyes. The baby! Jamie had told her she was pregnant before the hunt. How it had slipped her mind was beyond her, but yes, she was going to have a baby.Or was she? Her eyes flew to Jamie’s face, all of her questions bottled up in her eyes as she raised both brows, hoping he could alleviate her worry.Jamie smiled and gave a small nod only she could see. All of the air rushed out of Cadence’s lungs again as her hand flew to her abdomen, sighing in relief.“What is it?” Cassidy asked. “What was the other thing you couldn’t remember before?”Part of her wanted to keep their little secret just that, and she was disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to tell Aaron. She looked to him to see if
Cassidy smiled, but didn’t say anything, and Cadence could tell by her expression, she didn’t know what to make of Cadence’s revelation. It was no matter—she moved on.“Jack was pitching, Elliott. And the batter was a guy who looked so much like you. I couldn’t remember you at the time—sorry—but I asked, and my grandparents said the batter’s name was Jimmy.”“Jimmy?” Elliott echoed. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that name to you.”“I don’t think you have either, but that’s your brother’s name, isn’t it.”Elliott’s head rocked back and forth slowly. “Wow. If that don’t beat all.... It’s like the freakin’ Wizard of Oz. ‘And you were there, and you were there....’ Hmmm.”“Well, it gets Wizardier because your mom was there, too. Arlene. And she wa
A growl from Elliott let her know he disagreed, but he didn’t say anything more, and Christian only nodded before he faded out of view. It was just as well. Cadence was exhausted. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone else, just let her husband pick her up in his strong arms and carry her back to the SUV so she could take a shower and fall asleep for a few years.“I hate to interrupt,” Scarlet said, taking a step closer to where they were sitting. “Cadence, it is wonderful you’re okay. But Jamie, what about that serum you made? Do you think we should try it? If we can get the Hybrids back up there, we might be able to save some of those people who are still trapped in the holes.”“Oh, right.” Jamie scratched his head, like he’d forgotten about the serum. “Yeah, why don’t you and Cale start working on that. The serum is in my backpack, which is in the trees near where we first encountered the bla
Lungs burning, body aching with the pain of soldering itself back together, eyes blinded by brilliant white, Cadence opened her mouth and sucked in air for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her legs still felt like they were on fire, like she’d been running for hours, but as she tipped her head back and began to cough the memories of what had happened to her, how she’d killed Daunator and then found herself in the air with no ground beneath her boots, flooded her mind, and every trace of memory about why she felt like she’d been running fled her mind.“Cadence? Cadence!”Aaron was there. She could feel his hands on her, even though she couldn’t open her eyes to look at him yet. Her throat burned as she continued to sputter, coughing and choking on the air she so desperately wanted in her lungs. How long had she gone without taking a breath? Why did her heart feel like a jackhammer, her chest muscles sore from the exert
Jamie was at twenty-two, and Aaron was trying to focus, but the voices to his left were prominent in his mind. He could still hear Elliott’s murmurs, Cass’s sobs, sighs and gasps from others. Christian was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, behind almost everyone. Aurora, free of her handcuffs now that she was no longer a threat, was doubled over on the ground, her hands linked around her knees, her wails having lost their voice minutes ago so that she was no longer making a noise as her body shook and spasmed. Eliza had her arm around the much taller Hunter, trying to be comforting, but Aaron was aware that, of everyone here, Eliza Wrath was the only one who really didn’t care if Cadence ever opened her eyes again. He could feel it rolling off of her in waves of ugliness like the sea during the type of storm that leaves debris littered all over the beach, breaks boats in its wake, and sends sailors to the bottom of the ocean.There were