Aaron caught a few wondering glances from the others, particularly Hannah and Laney, but did not address their concerns. He walked across the room and sat down in a chair adjacent to Christian and rubbed his face in exhaustion.
"Girl problems?" Christian asked quietly, leaning forward in his chair.
"Oh, my God!" Aaron whispered back, looking at Eliza who was sitting on the corner of Laura's bed, arms folded, glaring at him. "Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why can't they just take constructive feedback?"
"I don't know, man. Or let you know what they really think before they lose it and end up screaming it at you," Christian offered.
"Absolutely," Aaron agreed, thinking of his discussion with Cadence in the park. "By the way, covering Cadence was a good idea today but next time, run it by me first, okay, man?"
"Sure," Christian confirmed, nodding his head. "I wasn't sure if there was time. Sorry."
"No, it's fine. It was a good thing you were there; I just didn't know where you were headed," Aaron explained.
"Right," Christian stated, showing he understood." You think he didn't shoot Cadence because of Jack?"
"Yeah," Aaron nodded. "I don't think they were intending to hurt her. I think Jack was hoping to take her."
"Do you think she would have gone if we hadn't stepped in?" Christian asked.
"No," Aaron said emphatically. "Why would you ask that?"
Christian seemed to hesitate before answering. "I don't know," he admitted. "I just know how much she cares about him. I was afraid she might think, if she went with him, maybe she could talk him into going back with her."
"I don't think Cadence would do something that risky," Aaron said, leaning back in his chair, still pondering the idea.
"Good," Christian replied, breathing a small sigh of relief. "But I wouldn't put it past Giovani to shoot her if he has the chance again. She killed his mother, after all."
"I agree with you there," Aaron confirmed. "The next time we face them, we've got to be a hell of a lot better prepared, and there can't be any freaking surprises like there were today."
"Giovani is notorious for that shit, though," Christian reminded him. He sat back in his chair then, clearly pondering the possibilities. He added, "God, if anything ever happened to her. . . I don't know what I'd do."
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 ponytail. "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.
