Cadence had forgotten to check with Cass to see if her appointment was actually at 1:00, but Cadence assumed it couldn’t be any earlier than that. However, when she walked into the building where Jamie’s operating room was located, she could see a small crowd of familiar faces outside of the room in the hallway. Brandon was pacing back and forth, a worried look interrupted only long enough to acknowledge her with a head bob. His dad was leaning against the wall on the opposite side from the operating room, and Christian had his face glued to the small window in the door.
“You know, you could probably see better through Jamie’s IAC,” she mumbled as she approached. “Why didn’t anyone call me?”
“She just got here,” Brandon replied quietly. “She didn’t tell any of us. Jamie decided to go ahead and put her under and then let us know.”
“I told him you had an important lunch date.” Christian said only tilting his head slightly.
“Thanks for that.” Cadence wanted to slug him but didn’t. “So she just decided to come on over and hit Jamie up for a little procedure ahead of schedule?”
“Pretty much.” Elliott didn’t look worried so much as irritated. His curly dark hair plumed out around his head as he leaned against the wall, and Cadence thought of some exotic birds she’d once seen at the zoo.
“Jamie said it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes,” Christian informed her as Brandon continued to walk back and forth.
“Won’t she be pissed to wake up and find us all here?” Cadence asked, looking from one face to another.
“In fairness, I was already here when it started. Since this was my idea,” Christian replied.
“You think?” She was staring at him hard enough to make him turn around and face her, only momentarily.
“Sure. I brought it up at the meeting last night.”
“Yeah, but Cass has been talking about trying to figure out what can kill her for weeks,” Brandon argued, not slowing his march to do so.
“And I’m going to let her know. Just as soon as I get my hands on those samples.”
“You really should see someone. A professional,” Elliott said, standing upright and shaking his head.
“Aren’t you a psychologist or something? Isn’t that what all of your fancy badges say?” At least one of them said so, Cadence remembered, eyeing him suspiciously. “Maybe you could examine his head.”
Elliott snickered. “I may have a badge or two that says I’m qualified. But I don’t think even Dr. Freud could make heads or tails of Major Henry here.”
“You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not in the room,” Christian shot back over his shoulder. “And you can keep your opinions to yourself, zombie man.”
A deep chuckle emanated from Cadence’s friend, and she regretted starting anything between them. It was no secret they didn’t get along, though it did seem slightly odd to her that the first time she’d seen them bicker was over her, and it had been Christian who had stood up to Aaron on her behalf, arguing against Elliott, who wanted her head.
With a sigh, she ran both hands down the length of her face and then pushed Christian out of the way so she could see what was going on in the room for herself. Jamie hadn’t granted her access to his IAC before he started the procedure, and she didn’t want to interrupt him now. From the looks of it, he’d had Cassidy change into a gown. She was lying perfectly still on an operating table on the other side of the room, a bright light shining down on her. But Jamie had on his lab coat, not surgical scrubs like he’d had when he’d done Cadence’s ALC replacement, and there was no nurse in the room. Absently, she wondered what nurse he’d even used for that surgery. It couldn’t have been the Vampire one, could it? She shook her head and focused on what Jamie was doing. It was hard to say from here, but he seemed to have it under control.
“She okay?” Brandon asked as Cadence stepped aside. Christian’s face was glued back to the slender window before Cadence was fully out of the way, their shoulders bumping. She turned and stared at him, shaking her head in disbelief. “Cadence?”
“Yeah, she’s fine.” Cadence eyed Brandon for a moment, wondering why he was so antsy. From what Jamie had said, it didn’t seem like such a big deal. “I mean, there’s supposed to be blood dripping off the table right?” She winked at him, but he clearly didn’t think it was funny.
“Move, Christian.” Brandon pushed him aside and checked for himself. “You’re a jerk, Cadence.”
“You knew I was kidding,” she said, swatting at the kid. “If there was blood, I’d be a little upset. That is my kid sister, you know?”
Brandon said nothing, only shook his head as Christian resumed his role as sucker fish in the aquarium, and then began to pace again.
Cadence folded her arms and took a position next to Elliott. There were a few things she wanted to talk to him and Christian about, but not necessarily with Brandon here, although it would involve him, too. She could switch to IAC, but she decided against the distraction of carrying on an important conversation while Cassidy was still under.
“Where’s Aaron?” Elliott asked her after a lengthy silence.
“I don’t know. I think he was also under the impression she wasn’t going under until 1:00.” A quick check of the time showed it was just now 12:45.
“You didn’t tell him she decided to come in early once I mentioned it to you?” Her friend was staring down at her like he thought she’d done her fiancé a disservice.
Cadence shrugged. “Last time I talked to him, he seemed pretty busy. I don’t think Cass necessarily expected him to be here.”
