The brisk knock on the door alerted Cadence to who was on the other side more so than any visual even could have. Pulling it open, she smiled at Elliott who was leaning against the doorjamb, 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 second 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 suggested 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.
