Cadence hesitated a bit in boarding the plane. After all, the last time she had been on one, her exit had been hasty and painful. But once the G5 took off and they were up in the air, she began to relax. And her stomach had finally begun to calm down as well. Now, sitting in the front of the airplane with Aaron, who no longer chose to sit in the back now that Elliott was gone, Cadence found herself able to fully concentrate on the task at hand.
“Are you doing all right?” Aaron asked, squeezing her hand.
“Yeah, actually, I am. My stomach stopped flip flopping about the time we got to the airport, and I finally feel like I can focus.”
“Good. Do you want me to show you where the parachutes are, just in case?” he teased.
“Not unless you want to use one,” she shot back. “I hope that Brandon gets Cassidy home safely,” she added as she leaned her head back against the seat.
“I’m sure he will,” Aaron assured her. “Especially if he doesn’t stop anywhere.”
“Surely she understands why I had to send her home. There was no way I could possibly consider letting her come with us,” Cadence said, running her hand through her hair.
Aaron smiled at her reassuringly. “She’ll be all right. She’s been through a lot, and she just needs to wrap her head around all of this. And I’m not sure if Brandon will be a good thing or a bad thing. It might be hard for her to know he’s with us training while she’s still in school.”
“Well, he definitely likes her,” Cadence reminded him. “Maybe he can talk some sense into her. She certainly won’t listen to me.”
“Maybe,” Aaron shrugged, though he wasn’t so sure. “For now, let’s just focus on the task at hand. We don’t need any distractions.”
“Right,” Cadence agreed. “Any idea where Giovani might be? And how the hell is he hiding a helicopter?”
“I have some theories about where he might be, but I want to talk to Christian about it first. And as far as the helicopter is concerned, I’m really not sure. Unlike a plane, a helicopter can land a lot of places, so if he managed to stay off of the radar, he could potentially hide it indefinitely.”
“Do you think he’s going to try to use it against us somehow?”
“I honestly have no idea. I can’t figure out what he’s got planned, and it’s driving me crazy,” Aaron admitted.
“Hopefully when we get there and can meet with Andrew in person we can start to put some things together,” Cadence said, patting his arm with her free hand.
“We just need to find Giovani before he’s ready, or else, this is going to be a lot more difficult than anything we’ve ever done before,” Aaron reminded her.
“Either way, we can stop him. We have to,” Cadence sighed.
“Let’s just pray there aren’t any distractions,” Aaron replied.
“Amen to that,” Cadence agreed. More than any other time since she Transformed, she would need to completely focus on destroying Giovani and Gibbon. If anything at all unexpected happened that could interfere with her ability to keep to the task at hand, this could end very badly.
* * *
Gibbon was stirring, moaning uncomfortably, pulling against his restraints. Giovani was beside himself with glee as he peered down at the face of his monster. The phrase, “It’s alive!” came to mind, but he didn’t say it out loud, just chuckled and clasped his hands in joy.
“Zabrina, did you finish patching up that nurse?” he called to her over his shoulder. “I believe our new friend may need a refreshment.”
“I did,” Zabrina replied from her seat across the room. “But I don’t think she’s managed to regenerate yet. She was almost completely bled out by the time we got her here.”
“Did you feed off of her?” he asked, turning to look at her sharply.
Zabrina glared at him. “Well, someone had to! Otherwise, she wouldn’t be reserva de sange, she’d just be a wounded human.”
Giovani growled at her. “Then get me the detective.”
Without changing her expression, Zabrina stood and crossed the room. The male they had captured was sprawled on the floor next to the nurse, and each of them had a hand chained to the brick wall behind them. He appeared to be sleeping, but she knew he was likely just unconscious, not yet fully refilled from the draining he’d received at the hospital.
Managing the full-grown man was no problem for Zabrina. She slipped a key from her pocket and unfastened the lock, pulling him up by his arm. He groaned as she did so, but it didn’t make her actions any gentler. She hoisted him up and half-carried, half-dragged him to the bed. “Where do you want him?” she asked, still annoyed.
Giovani looked at her with disdain before he replied, “Drop him.”
Zabrina did as she was instructed, and the man cried out loudly as he hit the cement floor. Zabrina crossed her arms and walked back over to her chair, plopping down noisily in an attempt to show Giovani she was still upset with him.
He didn’t even glance in her direction. She could go hang herself at this point for all he cared. Gibbon was the only one that mattered now. “Steven?” Giovani called quietly. “Open your eyes, Steven. It’s me—your father.”
Gibbon’s eyes fluttered for a second, and then they were open. Steel gray pools peered back at Giovani, clearly confused. “Where… where am I?” he growled.
“You’re at your new home,” Giovani explained. “And I am your new father. And together, we are going to destroy that bitch of a step-mother of yours.”
Once again, Gibbon’s forehead furrowed. “My step-mother?”
“Yes, Barbara. She needs to die. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Gibbon nodded in agreement. “Yes. She needs to die.”
“And she is on her way here now,” Giovani explained. “So, we need to make sure you are all ready. Now, I’m sure that burning in your throat is getting rather annoying, isn’t it?”
Gibbon attempted to place his hand on his neck, but his arms were still tied down.
“Now, now,” Giovani cautioned. “I can’t let you lose just yet. You’re far stronger than you realize, and you could harm yourself. Luckily, I have just the thing to stop the burning right here, and I’m happy to help.” He pulled Detective Dixon up by the arm, draping his body across Gibbon, and pulling his arm over toward Gibbon’s mouth he said, “Drink. Take sustenance. Find life.”
Gibbon still looked puzzled, so Giovani dragged his long fingernail across the soft flesh of Dixon’s forearm, drawing a flow of crimson blood. As soon as the scent hit his nostrils, Gibbon’s fangs shot forth, and he began to salivate. Laughing in glee, Giovani held Dixon’s bleeding arm to Gibbon’s mouth and watched him sink his fangs in for the first time. The echoes of Giovani’s maniacal laugh bounded off the walls. His plan was coming together, and soon, Cadence would be destroyed once and for all.
