Cassidy’s arm was asleep. She had been laying on it funny, and now that she was awake, she was afraid to even open her eyes because she hated that uncomfortable feeling of creepy crawly tingles that would greet her as soon as she took her weight off of it. But the more aware of her conscious self she became, the more she remembered why her arm was asleep.
She opened one eye and then the other and noticed she was staring at familiar carpet, but not the one in her apartment. And this definitely wasn’t her bed. Her arm was no longer her biggest concern as she realized her head was lying on a pillow on Brandon’s lap. She wondered how long he’d been sitting there just letting her sleep.
Slowly, she sat up, wiping her eyes and running her living hand across her mouth to make sure she didn’t have any drool or anything. He still hadn’t said anything, which was weird. When she turned her head, he was looking at her, a small smile on his face,
Elliott folded his hands between his knees and thought for a moment, the posture he took when he had something important to say but hadn’t quite chosen the words yet. He blew out a deep breath, loudly, and then said, “I’m worried about you.”“Me? Why?” That wasn’t at all what she had been expecting. Cassidy took a drink of her shake and then set the cup down on the table beside her next to a lamp.“I’ve known you a really long time, since you were in diapers, and I can tell when you’re keepin’ somethin’ to yourself, even better than your sister can, I think.”The blood seemed to be draining out of her face, but Cassidy tried to play it cool. “What do you mean?”“What were you doing yesterday when Daunator got stuck in your head?”“I was checking on these people.” She gestured at the papers spread all over the coffee table. “I foun
Sitting behind her desk in the office she shared with Aaron, Cadence had been discussing some of the new weapons her dad was working on with her husband when she’d gotten a strange call from one of the Guardians at the front gate, the barrier visitors came to on the rare occasion they had any. An older “gentleman” was asking to see her--alone, without Aaron. He claimed to be a Hunter, but he didn’t have any identification, no IAC, and he wanted to talk to Cadence by herself, saying he had valuable information about, “her enemy.”Aaron hadn’t wanted to let her speak with him, even though he admitted he had no idea who it might be, but Cadence postponed her appointment with Cassidy to go downstairs and meet the man. He was sitting on a bench near the chapel, the one where they’d had Elliott’s funeral. Dressed similarly to the way Cowboy Sam had been the first time Cadence had met him, in dusty brown pants, a faded denim shir
“You’re him.” Cadence didn’t move, didn’t stand up, didn’t even turn her head until she repeated it. “You’re him. You’re... Skelton.”He was still in his own world, sniffling and wiping his eyes. “It weren’t my fault. He took over my brain.” His sadness morphed into what she could only describe as rage then, as he whirled around and grabbed her shoulders again. “He’ll do the same to ye, Miss Findley! You’ve gotta believe me. Don’t go. If ya do, you’ll regret it. He’ll get into yer head, and you’ll never, ever get him out. He’ll make ya do bad things. Real bad things.”His fingers were beginning to dig into her shoulders, but Cadence was captivated by the man’s irises. They seemed to be pulsating in a way she couldn’t describe. She’d seen Elliott’s spin before when he was telling one of his tall tales, but this was d
Aaron slowed down slightly, and she took his hand. “Where did you learn to block like that? I was impressed. Maybe you could play for the Cowboys after all.”He chuckled, and a tinge of red started to creep up his neck. “There are other sports a person can play that require the ability to block, you know? Not just your blessed American football.”She couldn’t help but laugh at his choice of words. “Like what? Soccer? Rugby? Did you play lacrosse?”“I used to play a little bit of real football from time to time, years ago. Not professionally, of course.”Cadence let out another belly laugh, her side starting to hurt, not just from his comment that soccer was somehow real football but that he felt the need to clarify he hadn’t been a pro, not that he couldn’t have been. Any of them would’ve made successful professional athletes due to their speed alone. “Well, Jamie’s no Bec
Sitting across the table from her sister, Cadence could see she was nervous. Her hands were interlaced on top of the table, and that fire that usually shot out of her like a volcano when she was explaining her thoughts about what the team should do next was only percolating deep beneath the surface.“How did your research go?” Aaron asked, settling into his normal chair to Cadence’s right. She knew him well enough to recognize he was fighting to sound nonchalant when what he really wanted to do was start an interrogation. She’d let him take the lead for now.“I have some interesting information to tell you,” Cassidy said. “But it’s not good.”Cadence took that to mean that the facts Cassidy was able to establish meant the task ahead of them would be harder than expected. “Let’s hear it.” She tried to smile, even though after her last encounter and this confirmation, it didn’t come easy
“Heather could do it.” Cassidy’s answer was so quick, it seemed rehearsed. “She needs the practice, you know, finding people on demand. She hasn’t done much of that.”“We could ask Heather,” Cadence began, keeping her tone even, “but it might take her a while to locate him, and you could tell us right this very second exactly where he is.”Once again, Cassidy seemed to be having trouble swallowing. “It takes me a little bit of time to find people, too.”“Yeah, I know. But... you could tell us right now, without digging into his head, couldn’t you?” Cadence said again.Cassidy turned her head sideways and studied Cadence for a moment. The older sister didn’t blink or look away, only held her insistence. “He asked me to keep his personal information to myself.”“Why?” Cadence asked. “Why would he trust you after what just happ
“How do you....” A knock on the door interrupted her thought. “Did Mrs. Carminatti tell you?”He didn’t answer, only raised his eyebrows at her, and Cadence felt the urge to laugh for a moment before she remembered the situation with Cass and was no longer amused.“Hey y’all,” Heather said, traipsing in. “How’s it goin’?”“We’re good, Heather,” Aaron said, gesturing for her to take a seat at the table.The girl looked around for a moment. “This here’s a nice office. Big. Oh, look at this table! It’s bigger than my family’s whole cabin.” She ran her hand along the finish, and Cadence hid her smile behind her hand. She had no idea what it would be like to spend a century inside of a black hole, but she could only imagine life would look a lot different when she came back out.Aaron pulled out the seat Cassidy had vacated for Heather
Cassidy left the office and immediately went to Brandon’s apartment. She had no intention of going there when she got out of that chair, but that’s where her feet led her. This time when she knocked, it wasn’t bone shattering like it had been the night before. Waiting let her mind wander, but she didn’t want to go back over the conversation she’d just had with Aaron and Cadence. It was too upsetting.She’d gone into that meeting fully intending to tell them where Christian was, of even contacting him while they were sitting there. But that hadn’t happened. Why, she wasn’t sure. Part of it truly was the promise she’d made to him. However, as much as she didn’t like to admit it, she hadn’t wanted to tell Cadence simply because she’d asked. Her sister had positioned her in the middle of a standoff—keep your promise or help the team. In the end, she’d decided to be stubborn and stick to her guns.