Chapter 289
This whole time, I’d been letting this child and her “mother” convince me that my teammates, the same ones who were likely sprinting to our rescue right now were “bad” when the Vampires had been the enemy all along, just as they had always been.
I’d even let them jeopardize my relationship with Brandon.
There was no time for me to feel sorry for myself or regret my decision at that moment. I had to do whatever it took to make sure Tara wouldn’t get hurt again. I followed my instincts then, and with all of the strength I had left, I blocked the pictures in my mind and brought my knee down hard on Bonnie’s leg, securing it to the ground. I pulled the Glock from my waistband and positioned it directly over her heart.
The child stopped her picture show and went wild, screaming, “Mama! Mama! No! No! No! Please!” She was doing her best to look human now, to try to play on my sympathy. “You promised! You promised to keep me safe!”
Tears sprung to my eyes as I considered what I’d thought I’d been doing the night before, who I thought I’d been holding in my arms. It wasn’t this monster. Before I let her talk me out of it, I pulled the trigger and emptied my Glock into her chest.
Bonnie went very still beneath me. She stopped screaming, stopped fighting, stopped thrashing. But something was wrong. There was no ash. I had never killed a child Vampire before, or any Vampire, for that matter, but I assumed they would react the same way as adults and instantly change to black dust. But when that didn’t happen, I shook her slight frame. “Bonnie?” She looked like a human child, lying there on the floor, covered in everyone else’s blood.
“Is she…” Dax asked from right behind me.
As I turned to answer him, I felt a rush of wind and was knocked backward onto my bottom. Bonnie leaped over Tara and ran out the door, barreling down the hallway as if I hadn’t just shot her in the heart more times than I could count.
I followed her, though I hated leaving Tara on the floor, probably bleeding to death. I rounded the corner into the hallway, screaming Bonnie’s name. She didn’t stop, and she plowed through the door into the waiting room just as there was another flash of movement coming through the glass door into the intake area. My eyes couldn’t register what was happening quickly enough as the wooden barrier was swinging shut. I couldn’t get there in time to warn whoever was coming in. Judging by the speed, I’d say it had to be Aaron, but I couldn’t see. So I screamed—it was all I could do.
The door shut completely, blocking my view. I ran as fast as I could, slamming into it, forgetting that my IAC wasn’t working so I’d have to muscle through it like I had before. It clicked just in time for me to see Bonnie pick the Guardian Leader up and throw him through the glass door. Once again, all I saw was a flash of movement and more blood than I could conceive. The glass shattered, and for a split second, the child turned to look at me, a smile on her dripping face.
And then she was gone again.
I heard gunfire in the hallway, and since I had no idea who was firing, I ducked around the corner. Once I heard footsteps in the hall, running away from me, I decided I needed to investigate. It was good to know that reinforcements were here, but there was only one person who could help Tara, and something told me he might’ve just run away from me.
What was left of the door was covered in blood. I knew Aaron would be okay, but I couldn’t imagine what my sister might be thinking if she’d seen him. I found out pretty quickly when I pushed through the remaining door and stepped into the hallway. Cadence was running down the hall away from me, and Aaron was sitting on the floor around the corner. At least he was upright, which is more than I could say for anyone else Bonnie had attacked.
Though I was certain Cadence wanted in on this hunt, I needed her help. “Cadence!” I shrieked. She was just about to turn another corner but squeaked to a halt and then ran back to me, her eyes wide.
“Are you okay?” she shouted. The front of her was covered in blood, but I assumed that had to be Aaron’s.
Without any time to explain everything. I just spat out, “I’m fine, but we need Jamie. It’s Tara. She’s dying!”
Cadence’s eyes looked vacant, like she wasn’t sure who Tara was, but she was nodding. “Okay. Where?”
I could hear a commotion down the hallway and more screaming, but I managed to tell her, “In the playroom.” My hands were shaking so badly I folded them together as a burst of gunfire echoed down the hall. I knew bullets wouldn’t do any good against Bonnie, but I couldn’t explain it all right now.
“Cassidy!” Brandon came running in from the hall where Aaron was sitting. I saw him glance down at his boss quickly but then his arms were around me, and I was so thankful he was there. A group of Guardians came streaming in behind him. Shane was in the lead, and my sister fell into line with him, shouting directions. I prayed she didn’t forget my request for Jamie, but I needed to get back to Tara as quickly as I could.
“Come on,” I shouted, giving Brandon’s arm a tug before I headed back to the playroom. He was right behind me, and I was glad to have him with me, even if we had some things to talk about. “Dax!” I shouted, letting him know it was me in the hall. He was standing in the doorway with his Glock in his hand, and I ran to where Tara was lying on the floor.
