Chapter 326
When I’d finished explaining to Aaron that Holland was coming for me, he sounded as calm as ever, which didn’t surprise me. He is the Leader for a reason, after all. “It’s okay, Cass. Can we make it to the SUV?” Aaron asked.
“Go get it, bring it here,” I told him. I didn’t have to say it twice. He was gone in a flash, and I wondered when he’d gotten the keys from Elliott or if they just happened to be in it. Maybe he had some sort of superpowers that made him capable of starting cars without the keys.
By the time the rest of us made it down the fire escape, Aaron was pulling the SUV to a stop in front of us. He jumped out, and I knew then he wouldn’t be going with us. He tossed the keys to Brandon, and Jamie hesitated, like he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. “Go help Paul,” Aaron insisted.
The sound of fighting down the street was louder here, and it caught Jamie’s attention for a moment. He knew his sister was out there. But he nodded, and the three of us jumped into the SUV and took off as Aaron headed toward the fighting.
“How do we get out?” Brandon asked me. I was sitting in the back seat, Jamie in the passenger seat, and Brandon was driving like a maniac. I figured that’s why he’d been given the keys and not Jamie.
Feeling out with my brain, I saw a path. “Turn here,” I said. I could guide him around Holland’s forces before the barrier was complete.
I realized ours was not the only SUV tearing away from the place. Ahead of us, I saw another one. Jamie must’ve had his IAC back on because he told Brandon, “That’s Patsy. She’s got most of the team, and they’re injured. She’s going to pull over up here so I can get in with her.”
Brandon nodded, and I checked to see if we would have time. We would if they hurried. I decided I should turn my IAC back on as well. That’s when I realized my sister was in trouble. I could see her in a standoff with Carter. I was under the impression Aaron was going back to get her, that they would be leaving. But they hadn’t done that, and then it dawned on me that they had no vehicle anyway.
“Brandon!” I shouted as he pulled in behind Patsy. “You have to go back!”
“What are you talking about?” Jamie asked as he got out of the car.
“My sister—Brandon’s dad. They’ll be trapped in there. Cadence decided to go ahead and fight Carter, and Holland is closing in.” I looked at Jamie hard. “Margie is in there, too. They can’t kill the Guardians, but that won’t stop them from taking them.”
“Okay,” Jamie nodded as he looked Brandon in the eyes. “Go back. Turn your IAC on, and follow our instructions. Cass, you’re coming with me.”
It wasn’t an option, and I didn’t argue. Every second Brandon spent with us was one that could lead to my sister’s death, to Holland sinking her claws into Elliott, Aaron, and Margie. I leaned forward and kissed Brandon quickly before I scooted out the back door, and he whipped the SUV around to go in the opposite direction.
Jamie and I climbed into the back seat, and Patsy took off before I even got the door shut. The seat was slick with blood, and as I looked around at the other passengers, I realized they were all in pretty bad shape. Steph’s arm was in her lap, and Derrick had his arm around her, trying to keep her upright though I thought she was unconscious. Tanner’s clothes were soaked in blood, but he seemed the best of the three. He was sitting in the passenger seat, grabbing his shoulder. In the back, Grant was stretched out, holding onto his leg.
Somehow, Jamie climbed over the seat, and I squeezed in beside Steph, trying not to touch her if I could help it so as not to hurt her. I had a job to do, two of them actually. “Patsy, go up three blocks, take a left, one more block and then a right. You’ll see the freeway in front of you. I think, if you step on it, you can make it out before Holland closes that path off.”
The tiny Guardian only said, “Kay,” and slammed her foot on the gas pedal even harder, making us all lurch forward. I returned my attention to Brandon. He was in the middle of it all as Holland’s forces closed in, but he was almost to the alley where my sister and the rest of the team had Carter pinned.
Except that wasn’t the case anymore. I watched through Cadence’s IAC as Carter bucked Aaron off of his back and grabbed my sister around the neck, threatening to kill her if the Guardians didn’t back off. My sister wouldn’t go down like that, though. She used her IAC to tell the rest of the team when to charge. I held my breath, watching her swing her leg up and over Carter’s extended arm, pulling down so hard, the limb was severed. A few seconds later, all four of them were on top of the Vampire, and Cadence pulled out that knife, the one Aaron had given her, and sawed through Carter’s neck, telling him not to worry, that Holland would be joining him soon.
The scream that filled the night sky didn’t come from Carter. It came from his bride who was infuriated at having lost him again. She increased her pace, literally floating down the street now, closing in on my sister. I watched intently through the IACs, praying Brandon would get to the alleyway and collect the rest of our team before Holland got there. As angry as the Vampire Queen was at the moment, I could see her tearing my sister apart before anyone could stop her.
