Chapter 162
“Does it hurt at all?” I asked Brandon.
“No,” he assured me. He licked his lips and finally put his arms down, which I was thankful for. They were starting to make me dizzy. “It hurt a little bit when Jamie put the first dose in, but I think I was already out by the time he gave me the second one, the pain medicine.” I nodded. I had thought he was already unconscious before the second shot, too, but it was hard to tell. “What time is it?” he asked, looking around like he might be able to see the clock, which was behind him.
I had stowed my phone under my pillow, so I pulled it out and looked at the time, seeing I had a text from Lucy from about an hour ago asking if there were any updates on Brandon. I’d have to answer her later. “It’s just after midnight.”
“Just after midnight Sunday morning, or just after midnight the third week of April?” Brandon asked. He shoved his pillows up with his shoulders and readjusted so he was sitting slightly higher.
I had to laugh. That was so something his dad would’ve said. “Sunday morning. You really weren’t out that long.”
Brandon looked surprised. “Huh. I expected to be out until at least Monday.”
“I know, right? I did, too.” I agreed. I had thought he’d be out a lot longer, too, since Cadence had reportedly been. I began to swing my crisscrossed legs back and forth, the jitters not letting me sit still. There was something about the way he was looking at me that was making me uncomfortable, but in a good way. “I’m glad you’re up, though. You missed some stuff.”
“Really?” Brandon asked, sitting up even more. “Like what?”
I thought back to everything that we’d discovered while he was out. “Well, my friends found Giovani at Heathrow getting on a plane earlier today. Aaron thinks he’s on his way to Philadelphia, so they’re checking footage for that right now.”
Brandon’s forehead wrinkled. “Why Philadelphia?”
I let out a sigh. The whole thing still made me uneasy. “They think he’s going to turn the Jogging Path Killer into a Vampire so he can take out my sister.”
“Shut up!” Brandon shot up onto his elbows. “Why would he need to do that?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. The whole thing seemed so odd to me. Why didn’t Giovani think he was strong enough to do it by himself? Where had he gotten the notion that Gibbon was the answer? “I guess that’s, like, the only guy who would be powerful enough to do it.” If you can’t find a friend, make one, I decided.
“Unbelievable.” Brandon dropped back down onto his pillow, his fingers interlaced behind his head. He was quiet for a moment, thinking. “So, if they find out Giovani’s in Philly, will they go there?”
“Yeah,” I assured him. “And my sister will have to kill the Jogging Path Killer—I mean destroy him. I guess he’d be dead already. Or whatever.” The whole thing was so confusing to me. All along, I’d thought the Jogging Path Killer could already be a Vampire, and it turns out I was just ahead of my time. Now, Giovani would try to turn him, so Cadence could destroy him. How… bizarre.
Brandon continued to stare at the ceiling for a long time, and I stared at him, wondering what he was thinking. What would his dad think of this entire situation? “That sounds kind of dangerous,” he finally said quietly. I’m sure Elliott would’ve thought so, too, though that wouldn’t have stopped him from chasing Giovani and Gibbon down.
“I know,” I agreed. I tossed myself backward onto my pillow, deciding staring at Brandon could be dangerous for my mental health. I remembered what my sister had said when I’d voiced my concerns about Gibbon. “She said she’s not worried about it, that she can take anyone. Maybe she can. I don’t know.” I honestly didn’t. I knew she was good at her job, but how good? Wouldn’t Gibbon be a brute?
He leaned up on one elbow, and I turned my head to meet his eyes. A reassuring smile on his face, he said, “Hey, Cass, I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
I realized I’d been chewing on the inside of my mouth and he could probably tell how nervous I was about the idea of my sister facing off against Gibbon. With a deep breath, I shifted to face at him more directly, propping my head up on my hand. Brandon’s eyes were almost as wide as mine, and I wondered if he could possibly be thinking the same thing I was. Offering him a small smile, I finally said, “I guess so. I just wish we could go with them.” While I definitely wanted to go myself, having Brandon there would make it even more of an adventure, and I wouldn’t be the only newbie likely to screw up.
“You and me both,” he agreed, giving me a nod before he lay back down. “Maybe they will at least let us go to the planning meeting, you know? Get us some experience that way.”
Thoughts of sitting around a conference table with all of the experienced members of the team seemed pretty thrilling, though I wanted more. I needed to find a way to convince Cadence to actually let me go with her, to make her see I could be of value, like I already had been. “That would be good, but not the same as going on the hunt. I really want to be part of bringing Giovani down.” Even saying his name made my stomach tighten.
“Why is that again?” Brandon asked. He was peering at me again through the darkness.
I leaned over closer to him, not sure what he already knew. “He made my sister kill Jack.” My mind returned to what Elliott had told me about that night, when Giovani had ambushed the team, shooting my sister in the leg. That had started all of this mess with Laura, but it had also ended a life. “I loved Jack. If it weren’t for Giovani, Jack would still be here. He’d be a Vampire, but at least he wouldn’t be dead. I’d rather have a Vampire Jack than no Jack at all.” As awful as it sounded, I was sure that was the case. Maybe he would be the same person on the inside, maybe not, but it would be one less dead person in my life.
