Exhaustion was beginning to set in as Cadence made her way to the office to find Aaron. She assumed that’s where he would be. He was hardly ever home anymore. Her steps were not as quick as they could’ve been, but they were determined, and with each one, she resolved herself not to lose her cool.
“Cadence, how did it go?” Cassidy asked over her IAC. “I was watching, and I didn’t see any shifters. I was going to ask Brandon ‘cause I figured you were busy, but he said something weird is going on.”
With a deep breath, Cadence stopped to answer her sister. She didn’t want to be in the middle of another conversation when she made her way into the office. “Yeah, I’m handling that situation; it’ll be fine. No shapeshifters. All went as planned. I’ll come see you when I’m done talking to Aaron.”
“Okay, but you’ll have to sneak in. Mom will be pissed if she knows I’m still awake on a school night.”
Cadence couldn’t stop the eye roll. How was her sister supposed to do her job under such strict rules? “Right. I know. I’ll sneak in.”
She started moving again, and a few steps later, she found herself in the lobby. She didn’t wait for the elevator, choosing instead to take the steps two or three at a time. She also didn’t knock. It was her office too, after all.
He was sitting behind his desk, as she fully expected him to be, and he didn’t look up when she came in. Cadence crossed the room and stopped behind the two chairs across from his desk, her arms folded, her hands fisted. She waited.
“I guess you’re alive then.” He didn’t look up from whatever paperwork he was staring at, and Cadence couldn’t help but be offended by his lack of emotions.
“You know I won’t let you do this, right?”
He shrugged slightly and finally glanced up at her for a moment before looking down again. “Let me do what? They’re under my command. They purposely disobeyed orders, so I’m doing exactly what I said I would. Don’t worry. Alberta’s not that far away. I’m sure you can run up there and visit now that you’re as fast as lightning.”
A stream of obscenities formed in her mind, but Cadence took some calming breaths and tried to remind herself that he needed her help, not her aggression. Still, her patience was wearing thin, and it was just a matter of time before that all went out the window, and she became a screeching, hysterical mess. “Look, if there was a line between who I can command and who you can command, this operation would never work. We both need to be able to direct every member of our team, whether they are Guardians or Hunters, or else people die. Yeah, I lived. My whole team made it out of there, but it would’ve been a lot easier with the proper equipment and the right personnel. The fact that you wouldn’t let Jamie come with us—or come with us yourself, for that matter—made it a hell of a lot more dangerous. But we got them, and that’s the important thing. This will be a huge blow to Holland. We need to keep moving.”
“We do not need to keep moving,” he countered, finally giving her his full attention. “You’ve done enough damage. Meagan was injured, could’ve been killed, and your arrogance and cunning have cost me two valuable members of my team.”
She shook her head violently. “No, it’s your stubbornness that has potentially cost you that. But they’re not going anywhere.”
“The hell they’re not.” He folded his arms across his blue shirt, one she’d purchased for him not that long ago, and she studied him for a moment. It was like she didn’t even know him.
“Aaron,” Cadence said calmly, “this isn’t you. I don’t know what’s going on, but….”
“Yeah, it is me, Cadence. I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but this is me.” He stood up now, though his arms were still folded. “I’ve tried all the bullshit suggestions you and the other jackasses who are supposed to be my friends have offered up, and do you know why it’s not working? Why Hannah can’t fix me, or Elliott can’t convince me that I’m not depressed or angry? Because there’s nothing to fix! This is how I am, and if you don’t like it then….”
Cadence froze, staring at the stranger in front of her, not wanting to hear him finish that sentence, though deep down inside, she began to realize, perhaps it was for the best. His eyes shifted for a moment, as if there was an inner battle going on, like he didn’t want to tell her to get out, but at the same time, he couldn’t help himself. “Then what?” she asked, unfolding her arms and resting her hands on her hips.
“Then… maybe you should go to.”
Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she fought them. As angry as she was, as much as part of her wanted to rip the ring from her finger and fling it at his face, she knew who she was, and Cadence Findley didn’t give up on people, especially not this one. “No. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know what’s happening right now, but when I said I’d marry you, I meant it. I’m going to figure this out; I’m going to find you again, and if you don’t like it, I don’t give a damn.”
“Cadence—there’s nothing to find! I am who I’ve always been!”
She took a step backward toward the door, realizing that if she was going to keep her word and continue to fight to figure out what was happening, she needed to get away from him. “I’m not giving up on you, Aaron, but right now, I can’t be in the same room with you right now.”
