Cassidy shot out of the building like it was on fire, searching for fresh air before her lungs exploded. Once she was outside, she took a few gulps and tried to slow her raging pulse. She knew her temper had a way of getting the best of her. It had been that way ever since she Transformed, but since the second round of serum, the symptoms had been even worse. She’d been trying to ignore it for months, but in this sort of a situation, there wasn’t much she could do except to try to get away before she said something she’d regret—or turned into The Incredible Hulk and ripped someone a new one.
Which reminded her of Christian. “Where are you? Are you busy?”
“I am in the lab, finishing up a few things. Why? What’s up? You thirsty for blood?”
She actually laughed, hoping he didn’t hear through the IAC because she didn’t want to give him any credit for being funny. “You wanna meet me at the coffee shop? I’ve got some information for you.”
“Sure. Isn’t it almost your curfew?”
“Could you let Hannah know you need to talk to me about some of my tissue samples or something that won’t alarm her but also won’t let her know that I’m working with you on this secret mission? If it’s work, she’ll let me out.”
“Yeah. Lying is my strong suit.”
Again, she had to laugh. “All this time we thought it was Elliott’s.”
He grumbled under his breath, and Cassidy let it go even though it was a definite reminder that Christian and Elliott are not friends. “Meet you there in ten?”
“I’ll be there in two.” She switched off and hurried toward the other apartment building where the coffee house was located in the basement. It only took a few seconds to reach the building, but as she walked, she remembered a time her sister had told her about when she’d met Christian for coffee at a Starbucks, right before Aaron dumped her—which had also been Christian’s fault, his and Eliza’s. It seemed ironic that Cass was in cahoots with Christian now.
She took the elevator down to the basement, thankful that she didn’t see anyone she knew in the lobby. There weren’t a lot of new recruits now, not since the annihilation of so many Vampires back in the spring. They just weren’t necessary, and most of those people would be headed to bed because they had training in the morning. Some Roatan Guardians lived here as well, but Cass had been avoiding most of them since Alex died. She really didn’t want to talk about him to anyone.
Downstairs, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee hit her lungs. She inhaled deeply, even though she was never a true fan of the stuff. Like her sister, she preferred hot chocolate. Tonight, however, she wanted something bolder, something that might take the edge off of her frazzled mind. She ended up ordering a caramel latte with an extra shot of espresso, having no idea what that might even taste like. Luckily, when she took a sip, it was pretty good. And she had the feeling she’d be up for a while.
She took a seat in a booth away from the door, figuring Christian could find her. If he couldn’t, he’d have bigger problems going to locate Daunator then the few that had arisen during her research. He came in a few minutes later, waved at her, and then approached the counter, looking at it like he’d never ordered coffee before. Cassidy’s mind began to wander.
What if Brandon was right and part of what was wrong with them was the whole thing with Alex? When she’d read the note he’d left her as he lay dying, he’d told her it was just as well that he passed away because he was afraid he’d try to come between her and Brandon. Cassidy had had no idea Alex had feelings for her, and even though she’d realized some time ago that she did have a crush on the man, she’d never entertained any thoughts of the two of them being together because she knew Alex wanted to die—and never in a million years would she have thought he was interested in her that way. She had been wrong. And now he was gone.
She loved Brandon, of that she was certain. But at the same time, he was the only boyfriend she’d ever had. What if she was missing out on something else, something potentially better, because she had gotten so attached so young? The thoughts seemed ridiculous in a way because she knew Brandon would do anything for her. He was the greatest guy she could imagine—even when he did say stupid things like he had tonight. So why should she ever go looking anywhere else? The easy answer was she shouldn’t. But somewhere deep inside of her, she wondered if that would be enough.
Christian set his coffee down before he slid into the booth across from her. “Rough night?”
“You could say that.” She ran her hands through her hair and tried to let it go.
“Man, who would’ve ever thought even a week ago you’d be sneaking out in the middle of the night to see me, huh?”
Cassidy swallowed bile that began to creep up her throat. “You don’t have to make it sound like that.”
“Like what?” He raised and lowered his eyebrows in a way that made her skin crawl.
“You know, we could do this via IAC.”
“Oh, relax, kid. I’m just messing with you.” He took a drink of his coffee and seemed to vibrate for a minute. “Whatcha got for me?”
“Uh... well....” The whole situation was so weird to her. Sitting across from the person she hated most in the world, sharing secret information that no one else could even know about. It was almost as surreal as the fact that she was half-Vampire. “I made a list of all of the Vampires I could locate in and around the area where Holland used to live, stretching out from Budapest into the rest of Hungary and into Eastern Europe. At last count, which was a few days ago, I had only identified a couple of dozen, which was far less than the missing persons reports said I should be able to find.”
