Team members got up, some of them like Aurora, Meagan, Ashley, and Mickey, who hadn’t said a word, rushing for the door. Shane lagged behind his girlfriend, like he still had words he wanted to say to Elliott, but eventually he followed them out the door. Cadence turned her attention to her sister, who was sitting across from her, glaring.
“Hey, why don’t you take your jacket off and let me look at that.”
Cadence jumped and looked up, the sound of Jamie’s voice catching her off guard. She didn’t even know he’d crossed the room. Too tired to argue, she pulled her jacket off, noticing for the first time that the teeth marks were much bigger than she’d expected. Beneath the leather, the sleeves of her purple shirt was shredded. “Damn,” she muttered. She’d really liked that one.
She turned her chair so that Jamie could more easily reach her as Aaron offered him the wheely chair he’d only sat in for about five seconds. Jamie took it and placed his hands on her arm. Cadence instantly felt better. Until she saw that her sister was still glowering at her. Brandon was sitting next to her, not having left without her, but Elliott was talking to Aaron a few feet away from Cadence, and Christian was standing by the door, like he was planning to ambush her when she walked out.
As Jamie’s energy flowed into her body, Cadence began to feel better. “What, Cass?”
“Let me.”
Cadence took a deep breath. “I think we should talk to Mom and Dad about this.”
“They aren’t here.”
For the first time since her father’s retirement got postponed two weeks ago, Cadence regretted that it would be at least a few more weeks before her parents moved to headquarters. “We can call them.”
“It’s my decision.”
Whatever Elliott and Aaron had been discussing it came to a halt as silence fell over the room. Brandon didn’t even move to still her. Cadence had never seen her sister’s face so angry. She inhaled deeply, and Jamie pulled his hands away, done. “Cassidy, I just think—” Cadence began.
Before she could finish, Cassidy shouted, “Let me!” and slammed her fist down on the table in front of her. The solid wooden table splintered in a perfect circle around where the teenager’s fist had made contact, leaving a jagged hole, the wood splintering up into the air in shards as a larger piece clattered to the ground landing next to Cassidy’s boot.
They were all shocked and stared in stunned silence, but no one was as surprised as Cassidy. She stared at her own hand like it was no longer a part of her body. “What…?”
“Holy hell. I’m dating the Incredible Hulk,” Brandon mused, leaning forward and looking through the hole. “Nice boots.” He must’ve been trying to calm her down.
If it helped at all, it was marginal. Cassidy looked like she was about to cry, and Cadence stared at her, not sure what to say.
“For the love of God, Cadence, let her do the tissue samples,” Elliott reasoned. “You’re lucky that wasn’t your face. That was just an innocent table, and look what she did to that.” He raised and lowered his eyebrows, saving Cassidy from bursting into tears, and Cadence absently thought, “like father like son.”
“Fine,” she said, turning to look at Jamie, who was leaning back in Aaron’s chair like he might not even be able to walk out of here in a minute. It had been a longer night for him than she’d stopped to realize. “You guys do what you need to do.” She pushed back from the table, shaking her head, gathered her jacket and her nearly empty cup and headed for the door. Aaron patted her arm as she walked by, but he of all people knew she wasn’t in any mood to talk.
She dropped her cup into the trash louder than necessary. By the time she reached the door, she realized Christian was gone. He must’ve just been slinking around waiting to see if Cassidy was going to mention the tissue samples again. Cadence was beginning to wonder why she ever even bothered to argue with anyone. She never seemed to win an argument, and anytime she got her way it was because she had to go behind their backs. She tore out the door, headed toward her apartment, glad for the fresh air even if it didn’t clear her head.
“Cadey!”
She froze, exhaling sharply as she realized her sister was running to catch up with her. Slowly, she turned to face her. “What?”
“I’m sorry,” Cassidy said, stopping in front of her. “I’m sorry I broke the table. I didn’t know I could do that.”
Cadence only shrugged. “It’s just a table. But… are you sure you want to do this?”
“I need to know. You heard what Mina said. There was someone else like me, but she’s gone now. That means there is something that can kill me. I need to know what it is.”
“How do you know that old woman wasn’t just messing with your mind, Cassidy?” The chilly air stirred their hair, though it did nothing to cool the irritation festering in Cadence’s chest.
“No, I told you. I saw her. I saw the girl. In Mina’s memories. She was like me. I’m sure of it.”
Stretched beyond the point of utter exhaustion, Cadence sighed. “Fine. I already said you can do it.”
“I know, but I don’t want you to be mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you,” Cadence assured her, trying to force the words to come out in a comforting away and only sounding more annoyed. “I’m just tired.”
“Me, too,” Cassidy agreed, nodding. “Okay. I’ll… I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”
Cadence saw Brandon standing back, closer to the conference room door, and assumed Cassidy had some more discussing to do. Something was off with them, too, though she didn’t have any idea when or what had happened. That was for another day. “Goodnight, Cass,” she said, turning back to face her apartment building and letting thoughts of a nice warm shower and comfortable pajamas seep into her mind.
Tonight’s hunt was the kind of fight that took everything she had, but she knew in her heart this was only the beginning. As much as she’d wanted to punch Shane in the mouth for saying it, Cadence realized that whatever was going on, it was her fault. And she’d have to be the one to stop it—one way or another.
