Chapter 169
“Andrew, I know this has been stressful, but we appreciate your efforts,” Aaron assured the other Guardian. Aaron certainly has a way of letting someone know they’ve made a mistake or two without telling them they are a total screw up. I admire that about him. It seemed to me that Andrew should’ve gotten Giovani and Gibbon last night, and everyone knew it, including him.
Andrew looked happy to still have a job. “I really appreciate that. We’ll do everything we can to support you while you’re here.” I supposed that was his way of handing off the torch.
“We know you will,” Aaron said as Andrew faded away.
The room was quiet for a moment before Aurora broke it with the statement, “Well, they sure did botch that whole thing from start to finish.” I assumed that meant the only people in on this conversation now were the people I could see, but I wondered if Christian was still listening since he belonged here.
“It didn’t go well,” Aaron agreed, “but, in fairness, they really weren’t prepared for something like this. And I have to take responsibility for that.”
“Well, that’s very noble of you,” Jamie said quietly. I agreed with Jamie’s sentiment—that this wasn’t Aaron’s fault in any way, shape, or form. “So…shall we load up?”
“I think so,” Aaron said, “unless any of you have questions.”
I was honestly shocked that no one seemed to have any questions. I had a million. What would they do when they got to Philly? How would they find Giovani and Gibbon? Once they found him, what would they do about him? But not a single one of them had any questions at all.
“Very well then. It’s 8:32. The plane is ready to go, so let’s plan on departing at 9:00. Does that give everyone enough time?” Aaron still seemed tired, and he sighed really loudly as he finished his question. Perhaps he realized this would not be an easy job.
“You got it, boss.” Shane stood, pushed in his chair, and banged the table with his fist. He had a huge smile on his face. I wondered why he was so happy, but had no one to ask, so I just stared at him.
Meagan, Aurora, and Hannah all stood, too. “It was nice to see you guys,” Meagan said, patting Brandon on the shoulder and smiling at me.
“Yeah, take care,” Aurora agreed.
“Be careful,” Hannah said as she backed toward the door. “Hope to see you soon.”
Once they were gone, that just left my sister, her fiancé, and the doctor who looked at Brandon and asked, “You still feeling okay?”
“I feel like a million bucks.” A quick glance in his direction told me he was as bewildered as I was, but he was good at pretending otherwise. I could see what my sister meant when she said he was a good liar.
“Good. I won’t be here to check in on you, so I want to make sure you’re all set before I go. If you do need something, though, just come up here and let Mrs. Carminati know, and she can find someone who can help you,” the doctor explained.
“Sounds like a plan,” Brandon nodded.
I folded my arms and took a few deep breaths. The fact that they were all getting on a plane to go to Philly to end all of this set a fire burning inside of me. How I longed to be going with them.
Quietly, my sister said, “Cass, don’t even bother to ask, please,” and I realized just how transparent I am, unlike Brandon.
“Okay.” My voice broke over the word. I knew there was no way in God’s green Earth my sister was letting me get on that airplane. I would have to come up with something else.
“Brandon, would you mind driving Cassidy back to Shenandoah? You can take the Enclave,” Cadence asked over top of my head.
“No, I don’t mind at all.” Brandon sounded surprised that she’d even asked him, but I was even more shocked.
“I have to go home?” I asked, staring at my sister like that was even more ridiculous than undead military Vampires.
“Well, you can’t really stay here until I get back,” Cadence explained. “I have no idea when that will be.”
There were tears threatening to spill down my cheeks, and I refused to cry in front of this group of grownups. “Fine,” I managed, feeling less than a person at this point, like my contributions hadn’t even mattered, and neither did I.
“Just be careful,” Cadence warned. I think she was talking to Brandon more than me at this point. “There are plenty of Hunters and Guardians in Shenandoah to keep you safe, but who knows what might happen to you if you stop along the way.”
“Brandon can take care of me. He’s a Guardian now, you know?” I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering why she even cared if anything happened to me.
“I know,” Cadence agreed. “But he hasn’t been trained. So just be precautious, all right? Both of you are very important to me, so be careful, and don’t do anything risky.” I said nothing. She could claim I was important to her until she was blue in the face, but actions spoke louder than words, and it was clear to me at this point that she didn’t want me to be a part of any of this for a reason. I shook my head, feeling like a baby and not wanting to look like one.
Aaron was stacking his papers up carefully and putting them into an accordion file. “I’ll have them bring the Enclave around and leave it in front of your building, Brandon.”
Brandon nodded, and Cadence continued with her motherly instructions. “All right. We’ll go straight from here to the airport, so you guys are okay to head back to the apartments for a while? You don’t have to leave right now, if you don’t want to, but make sure you’re back here before dark, Brandon, and try to go the speed limit, which will be hard. You’ll want to go a lot faster,” Cadence explained as she stood to go out the door.
“Yes, ma’am,” Brandon agreed. Standing, he gave her a hug, and said, “I’ll keep her safe.”
“I know you will. I trust you,” Cadence said as she hugged him back.
I stood and turned to face my sister. I tried to remember that what she was about to do was very dangerous, and I loved her and didn’t want her to become Vampire food. “Be careful. I’ll see you soon.”
“You be careful, too,” Cadence said, looking pointedly into my eyes. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly as if she were trying to apologize for being the bossiest person I’ve ever met. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you.”
I almost laughed. “Don’t worry about me. Nothing remotely exciting ever happens to me.” I let her go, and my sister raised an eyebrow. It was true, though. Exciting things might happen to the people around me, but not to me. I was beginning to formulate a plan, however, and with any luck, that was about to change.
