“Welcome!” An older woman with a thick Italian accent greeted them when they walked in the door. She was round and grandmotherly, and Cadence got the impression she was a human. She hugged each of them and kissed them on the cheeks before leading them to the back of the building.
“I’m Nessa. Lex and Gia might be the Leaders, but I run this show.” She laughed at her own joke in a jolly chuckle. “They are expecting you.”
At the entrance of a conference room, she stood in the doorway with one arm extended. Cadence thanked her and led her team a few steps inside, though there were so many of them, most had to stay in the hallway until Lex and Gia realized they were there.
Lex was more attractive in person than he was over the IAC, and Cadence actually heard Aurora gasp behind her as he stood and smiled at them. “Ah, Cadence! It’s so nice to see you in person!” He rushed over and hugged her, and Cadence returned the gesture remembering the Europeans were a little more open about that sort of thing. Once he’d stepped back, she introduced everyone else. Gia stood to welcome them as well.
“We were just going over the logistics from the encounter at the Colosseum. We can speak about that later, though. I’m sure you want to see your teammates.”
“Very much so,” Cadence nodded. Her team scooted aside so that Lex and Gia could exit the room, and they started down another hallway.
“Brandon had surgery on his leg. I called in an actual surgeon who has worked with us before. I do not have a Healer who is also a medical doctor, unfortunately.” He stopped outside of an elevator and pressed a button.
“I’ll see if I can remedy that,” she noted. It was clear that not all of them were going to fit on the elevator. “For now, why don’t Cass, Amanda, Tara, and I go up, and the rest of you can head that way in a few minutes?”
No one seemed to have a problem with that, and when the elevator opened, Cadence saw she’d made a good call. The metal box was narrow, and the six of them barely fit.
“He’s doing well. Maybe he could have healed himself without it, perhaps. But I thought it best to go ahead and call in a specialist.”
“No, I agree, that was a good idea,” Cadence nodded. Lex had mentioned the surgery on the IAC, but she didn’t realize it wasn’t a Healer performing it. And she didn’t know how Brandon was doing now that it was over.
“The other two have been in his room since it finished, maybe two hours ago? They do not seem to want to leave each other. It’s been a tough time for them, I think.”
Cadence would have to agree with that as well.
The elevator doors opened, and Lex led them a little way down another hallway. This one was busier, and they passed a few people dressed in black whom she assumed were Guardians and some others she thought she recognized as Hunters. “I’m sorry for your losses,” Cadence said quietly. “I know you lost two good Hunters this morning.”
“Yes, it was regrettable,” Lex said with a solemn nod. “We haven’t had much experience with these... super Vampires, the ones that will not die so easily. We will know better next time. If there is a next time.”
“Hopefully, there won’t be.” The idea that all of this could be over soon, that she could actually end Holland in the next few hours, was enough to make her breath catch in her throat.
“Ah, here we are.”
They arrived at what looked like a small recovery room, and when Lex pushed the door open, Cadence stood aside, letting Dax run out to Tara, and Cassidy run inside to Brandon. Amanda was right behind her. Cadence watched as they hugged, and cried, and turned away from the kissing part since that was her little sister after all, though they were a bit more modest than Tara and Dax who could’ve used a whole different kind of private room.
Heather made a gagging sound and moved away from Dax and Tara, and Cadence couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction as she stepped toward her. “You must be Heather.” She offered her hand and a broad smile, and though the blonde looked skeptical, she shook it. “It’s very nice to finally meet you. Thanks for helping the team out during the attack. Your shield was invaluable.”
“Your husband said you was perty, but I think he was underestimatin’ you,” she replied, her accent so thick, Cadence had trouble understanding her. “Weren’t no problem, once I figured the damn thing out.”
Cadence realized she was talking about the shield now. “Good. We may need your help when we go to get the rest of the guys out, if you’d like to come with us. Of course, I realize you were in the portal a long time and may have other things to do.”
“Nah, I’ll come. Them two ‘specially said I’d be part of yer team now.” She tilted her head to the side and waited a beat before asking. “You think that’s true?”
“Absolutely,” Cadence assured her. “We’re happy to have you.” She smiled and patted Heather on the shoulder. The girl backed away at first but then allowed the touch. Cadence noticed she was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved blue T-shirt and imagined these were not the clothes she’d been wearing for the last century. Dax was still dressed like a Guardian, but his pants were a little short. The Rome team must’ve found them both something to wear.
“Hey, Cadence!” Brandon shouted from just a few feet away. She could see he was wearing a hospital gown under the blankets. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” she said, stepping over to him. “How are you?”
“I’m great! Never better! So happy to be out of that stupid portal, that’s for sure.”
“Uh huh. And did the doctors give you a little happy medicine for your surgery?” She couldn’t remember ever seeing such a big, sappy grin on his face before.
“They sure did. Fixed me up good as new. I’m gonna get up soon, too. Get dressed. Take a shower. Well, take a shower, then get dressed. And then we’re going to England to see my dad!”
Cadence stifled a giggle and looked at Cassidy who was grinning almost as widely as Brandon was. Amanda looked relieved more than amused. “It’s nice to see you, Brandon.”
Dax’s face was still latched onto Tara’s, so she figured she’d get his story later on. “Cass, I’m going to leave you guys here and head back to meet with Lex and Gia. I’d like to get as much info from them about the attack as possible. I need to check in with Lucy, too, and see if we’ve had any Holland sightings. When Brandon is... himself again... I’d like to talk to him. We need to get in the air in the next couple of hours to make sure we’re in position in plenty of time for the portal to open.”
“Okay,” Cassidy nodded, but she didn’t pull her eyes off of her goofball boyfriend, and Cadence fought off the pangs of jealousy that threatened to well up inside of her as she saw these two all gaga over the men they loved. She hoped to be joining them soon enough.
For the next couple of hours, Cadence went over the information from the hunt with Lex, Gia, and a few other local team members. Watching Brandon and the others fall from such a high altitude was nauseating, though she was glad she couldn’t see Brandon’s leg crunching from any of the perspectives she’d watched since all of them were from outside of the Colosseum. Still, she could hear him screaming and had been riding along with him when it happened in his own IAC, and it was gruesome. Thank goodness he was all better now.
By the time they loaded up to head back to the airport, he was back to himself. The three of them were able to give Cadence a pretty decent description of what the portal was like, beyond the information they’d received in the text messages. She could see why it would be tricky to get all three of the Guardians out while simultaneously getting Hamish Stewart in, especially since she had a pretty good idea that Holland and her minions would be there, even if Lucy hadn’t been able to spot her on surveillance footage to this point. Cadence just had to assume her team was preparing for Armageddon.
She had gotten a text from Aaron while she was in the meeting with Lex and Gia, and hers had gone through, so at least they knew for sure the kids were okay. He’d relayed his own plan to her—that he was ordering Jamie and Elliott to exit the portal on what would be the third opening since Rome, and he would follow if he could. She prayed he’d get her next text because she needed him to know that she was going to do everything within her power to make it so that he wasn’t the one left behind. She only hoped her best effort would be good enough.
