Cadence bolted up right, almost knocking Aaron’s phone out of his hand as she did so. She looked around her own living room like she wasn’t sure where she was or how she got there. The last thing she knew, she’d been talking to Aaron about strategy, and then she was being chased. By Jack.
“Are you all right?” Aaron asked, setting his phone down on the table next to the couch and cautiously putting his hand on her back.
Taking a deep breath, Cadence replied, “Yeah, I guess so.” She looked behind her and then at him, putting the puzzle pieces together. She was beginning to remember tossing a throw pillow on his lap as they went over their game plan. She must have fallen asleep. “Sorry,” she muttered, sitting up and putting her feet on the floor. “It was Jack. Again.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, smoothing her long hair down her back. “Chasing you again?”
“Yeah,” she confirmed, massaging her temples, her elbows resting on her knees. “God, it gets old.”
“Maybe once we get Giovani it will all stop,” Aaron offered.
Cadence spun around, turning to face him, tucking one leg under her as she did so. “Ugh, I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
“You were pretty tired. You never got caught up after the hunt the other night, remember?” he said taking her hand.
“I know,” she agreed, absently playing with his fingers in both of her hands. “We just have so much to do.”
“We’ve already talked to the team in Philly, and they’re mobilizing to get to the hospital as quickly as they can. Hannah is handling the local hunt, and Brandon just woke up, and he’s fine. I’ve called all of our teammates together for a meeting at 8:00 in the morning. There’s really not much else we can do tonight. You might as well get some sleep.”
“Brandon’s awake? Already?” she asked, wrapping his arm around her waist and forcing him to move closer.
“Uhm hmm,” he said as he leaned in toward her.
“How do you know that?”
Before he answered, he took the opportunity to kiss her, and she let him. After a moment, he pulled back and said, “I know everything, remember?”
She smiled at him and shook her head. “Okay, but how do you know?”
“I don’t know. Just a change in vibration,” he shrugged.
“So, you don’t really know—you just have a feeling.”
“Cadence,” he sighed with a lopsided grin. “He’s awake. He’s fine. We’ll talk to him in the morning, and he’ll let you know that he woke up around midnight, okay?”
“Okay,” she replied, deciding to let it go. After all, he was probably right. He usually did know these things—somehow. “I hope my sister is still asleep.”
Aaron laughed. “They’re fine. She doesn’t even know if she likes him or not.”
Cadence knew he could use his abilities to read other people’s emotions to determine that. “He definitely likes her.”
“She’s your sister. What’s not to like?”
“I know. But she’s not me,” Cadence reminded him.
“Can’t disagree with you there. And she’s getting a little—feisty.”
Nodding, Cadence said, “I know. What’s up with that?”
“I don’t know. But it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
“She’s just so eager to get on with everything. I wish she’d just slow down. Everything will change once she’s out there with us,” Cadence said, staring off across the room at nothing.
“It’ll be all right. We’ll figure it out,” Aaron assured her.
“Do you think Christian will get back in time to do Elliott’s IAC before we have to leave? Cadence asked.
“Do you mean Brandon?” Aaron corrected her.
“Shit,” Cadence mumbled. “I have go to get my head straight.”
“They are not the same person, sweetheart.”
“I know. They are very different, actually. And I’ve got to stop treating him like he’s his dad.”
“I think that will get easier over time,” Aaron assured her. “And to answer your question, I don’t know. I’m thinking we may need to tell Christian to go straight to Philly. Brandon may have to wait a few days. He can start his training without it. You did.”
“Are you planning on leaving Shane here to do that?”
“Yes, I don’t think we need him. I suppose we need to bring the best of the best with us, and unfortunately, he really isn’t on that list.”
“Globally?” she asked, fidgeting with his fingers again.
“Don’t you think?” Aaron asked.
Cadence nodded. “At least everyone we can get in the US. We might not have time to wait for international leaders.”
“True. We’ll just have to see what our timeline is,” Aaron agreed with her. “Are you still feeling antsy?” he asked, noticing her knee bouncing again.
“I wish I knew what was going on,” Cadence sighed. “It’s really starting to get on my nerves.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, brushing back a stray lock of hair from her face. “You are still taking your birth control, right?”
“Not you, too!” she muttered. “Yes. It’s not that.”
“Okay,” he said defensively. “Just making sure.” After a few moments, he changed the subject, saying, “It will be better if we can get Christian to Philly in time to help us, though, considering he grew up there.”
“He did?” Cadence asked, surprised.
Aaron sighed. “You know, you really should try talking to your teammates about their lives from time to time. It might help you understand them a little better.”
Cadence wanted to be defensive, but she knew he was right. “I know. It’s just—I always feel like I’m prying. And when I do ask, people go on and cover hundreds of years’ worth of history.”
“I think that’s the problem. You don’t want to hear all of that, so you don’t ask.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s really not. I mean, I know about Aurora and Meagan. And Meagan’s told me all about Shane. I guess, growing up we didn’t talk about our family’s history. And now I know why. So, I’m just not used to asking. And everyone already knows everything about me. So… I just don’t ask. But I’ll try to be better, I promise,” Cadence explained, running her fingers through her hair.
“Okay,” Aaron shrugged, leaning down to kiss her.
She returned the kiss quickly, but cut him off to ask, “You don’t believe me, do you?”
“Maybe,” he said. “But no. Not really.”
Now she was offended. “I will! I will try harder. I’ll ask Jamie something tomorrow—about the Civil War or something.”
“Uhm, that ended three years before he was born, but that’s the spirit,” Aaron corrected her.
“Fine—then World War I, then.”
“For a human, that would be way off—but that will work. He can talk about that.”
“Okay, then I will do it. You will see,” she said, crossing her arms with conviction.
Aaron just laughed and shook his head. “Anyway, it would be better if Christian can get back here in time. I’m going to go ahead and get him on a plane.”
“I could have sworn he was British,” Cadence mumbled, realizing he was likely sending Christian an IAC to get him on a plane.
It took him a moment, but eventually Aaron said, “Please don’t ever say that to Christian. He would be very offended.”
“Why?” Cadence asked, a puzzled look on her face.
“Because he fought the British, and he’s not a fan,” Aaron explained.
“He fought the British? Oh, should I ask him about World War I?”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that and get you a history book for Christmas. No, in the Revolutionary War.”
“Hey, I know a lot about history. I got an A in all of my history classes,” Cadence shot back. “Right—World War I was Germany. The first time, right? So, Christian fought the…” she thought for a moment before saying, “red coats?”
“That’s it,” he confirmed, a bit relieved that she knew more than he originally thought.
“Wow,” Cadence replied, shaking her head. “Then he’s like… what? Two hundred and some odd years old?”
“Yes, he’s… two hundred fifty-nine, I believe,” Aaron said, thoughtfully.
Cadence shook her head back and forth slowly. “I really cannot wrap my head around that.”
“And you thought I was old,” Aaron muttered.
“Man, he’s a lot older than you.”
“Yep, and you made out with him,” Aaron smiled.
“Don’t remind me!” Cadence said punching him in the arm. “Regardless of how old he is.”
“On this very couch….”
“Stop or else I will bring up someone from your past!”
One thought of Eliza—who had already been in his brain too much for one day—stopped him. “Okay—I’ll stop.”
“Aaron…” Cadence whined in her best Eliza impression.
“I said I’ll stop!” he exclaimed gently grabbing her arm.
“Can I go with you to Montana?” Cadence continued.
“Stop! Seriously!”
“Why don’t you make me?” she threatened, a wicked glint in her eye.
He did the only thing he could think of to make her stop talking. He pulled her into his arms and began to kiss her. She immediately began to respond to his sweet caresses and climbed onto his lap, straddling him as she did so. He wound his hands through her hair but kept his mouth on hers, afraid she hadn’t quite let it go just yet.
“I can still annoy you, you know?” she asked through her IAC.
“I can turn your feed off, you know?” he replied.
He moved his hands to her waist underneath her shirt, and she caught her breath as he did so, moving her lips to his neck. Just as he was about to carry her into the other room, they both received a message they couldn’t ignore. It was Andrew, the head of the Philly Area. “It’s going down,” he said through the IAC, clearly out of breath. “And I think we might be too late to stop it.”
