Jack had known better than to walk in the front door of his dorm building wearing only a hospital gown and a lab coat, though he had seen party-goers coming home drunk wearing equally suspicious outfits upon occasion. Nevertheless, he had decided to use the custodial entrance, the one next to the dumpsters. The door appeared to be locked from the inside, but he was able to pull it forcefully enough to open it anyway, though he was fairly certain he wouldn't be locking it behind him, especially since there was now a gaping hole in the doorjamb where the deadbolt had ripped through.
He had manag
"Please?" Eliza begged, recognizing the unsure look on her long-time boss's face. "Cadence wants me to, don't you?"Cadence nodded. She would feel better knowing she had a true friend among the team members who would be accompanying her."All right," Aaron agreed, seeing Cadence's expression shift momentarily to one of relief and Eliza's to joy. "But, I don't want all three of you going to t
Hannah was tall with long strawberry-blonde hair, a sharp nose, and hazel eyes. Cadence noted that she was pretty, though not in a traditional way, and that she had a warm smile. "Cadence," she said, standing and approaching the girls as they boarded the plane. "I'm Hannah. It's very nice to meet you." Rather than offering her hand, she actually embraced the Hunter, using her gift to ascertain that Cadence had heard of the passing of her friend. "I'm so very sorry for your loss," she added quietly.Cadence nodded, stepping back. "Thank you," she replied quietly. She noticed two things almost i
Cadence opened her mouth to protest but realized her argument was futile. She looked over her shoulder at Eliza who was also still standing. "All right," she finally said, sighing. She glanced back out the window as she walked back to her seat, seeing her friends fade into the distance. She knew she could easily cover the ground in just a few steps if she were out of the plane, but destroying the exit and wrecking the plane would accomplish little, and despite the fact that she wanted to make sure Aaron was okay, she knew there was not much she could do to help him. Jamie would be the best person for that, and he was right there. Still, having lost one man she used to love made her realize just how important Aaron was to her, and the urge to run to him when she saw him struggling had been instin
The flight from Kansas City to Lincoln was not a long one, and before Cadence knew it, she was being jarred awake by the jolt of wheels hitting tarmac. Her eyes flew open and reality hit her like a ton of bricks. Jack was dead. She should be overwhelmed with grief. Yet, she wasn't. Glancing around, she saw Hannah's comforting smile next to her and remembered why.Then, she realized, Jack wasn't the only person she was no longer worried about. She had never even contacted Aaron to see how he was. Somehow, Hannah must have blocked that worry from her mind as well. As much as she appreciated the
They sat in silence for the remainder of the trip. When the car pulled up in front of The Cornhusker Hotel, the snow was coming down even harder. The building was decorated with red and gold ribbons and lights; one of the few reminders Cadence had seen that it was almost Christmas. She had to press thoughts of the most joyous time of the year out of her head, however, as the driver opened the door, waiting for Hannah to slide out."I'll go on to the other hotel," Eliza said, as Cadence slid past her to get out of the car. "We are staying at the Embassy Suites. I'll see you guys when you get ba
Jack's preferred hang out was a bar named Duffy's, which was a favorite amongst the college crowd. Though he would have loved to have stopped by and had a drink with some friends, he didn't feel it was safe, for some reason, to do so. Instead, he made his way on foot across town and found a lesser populated hole-in-the-wall where the older crowd hung out. It was a bit early, but the place was open, so Jack wandered in, hoping that alcohol would have the same effect on this sensation in his throat as the blood he had consumed earlier.The bartender seemed disinterested in Jack as he approached
Twenty-two-year-old Juan Arriaga had been a custodian at Bryan Health for almost five years. Over the course of that time, he had seen enough to sicken and revolt even those with the strongest stomachs. The only thing that ever bothered Juan was the idea that he was not alone, even while he was mopping the floor outside of the morgue, when he should have been completely by himself. His entire family was highly superstitious, and he believed the spirits of the dead still roamed the halls of the hospital. This day, however, it was not just una fantasma he feared. No, it was something more. He had pretended not to see what Dr. Doss and Dr. Martin were discussing, as he opened and closed the drawers in the refrigerator, making sure no unknown bodies were located inside. However, just as soo
Jack took another drink of his beer, gulping the rest down before he placed the glass back on the table, wiped his mouth on his hand, and attempted to formulate the question burning in his mind into articulate words. Somehow, however, before he even asked for clarification, he knew what Giovani's answer would be. "Who is Holland?" he began. "And, how can she be my mother?"Giovani smirked and signaled to the waitress who had just started her shift. Still tying her apron, the petite brunette approached the table, her shoes clicking noisily on the wooden floor. "Can I get a couple more Buds?" he
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