Chapter 456
I wondered if Cadence was listening in to all of this, too. I looked around the plane briefly and didn’t see her. Maybe she was still in the cabin, or maybe she was in the bathroom.
I returned my attention to Brandon. I saw Antonio headed his direction through Dax’s IAC and was glad Brandon would be getting some relief. “You hanging in there?”
“Yeah. Did you see all of that... like all of it?”
Part of me wanted to lie to him. But I couldn’t. “It doesn’t matter. You’re going to be fine really soon.” Antonio was unzipping his bag, and Brandon and I were both relieved to see he had some morphine. “He’s got the good stuff.”
The shot hit him pretty quickly, and I knew he’d get loopy soon, and with any luck, he’d pass out. “Where are you, Cass?”
“I’m in your head.”
He chuckled. “I mean... where on the planet earth are you? You are on the planet earth, aren’t you? You should stay there. It’s much safer than going up in a portal.”
“I’m not on earth. I’m in an airplane, speeding toward you as quickly as possible.” At least, I assumed my sister had gone to the cabin to tell the pilot we were headed to Rome. If not, I would be jumping out as soon as we were over land.
“Good. Because I need to see you. I love you so much, Cass. It’s so awful in there. Alex died. And there’re these big demon hunter things. And my dad is still in there. Is my mom with you?”
He wasn’t making a lot of sense now, jumping from one topic to the next. It brought tears to my eyes. “Your mom is here. Your dad will be okay. I know about Alex.”
“It was so sad, Cass. Watching him die. I hated it.”
“I know.”
“I never gave him a chance because I was jealous. And that’s so stupid because he just saw you as a friend.”
“Yep—but that’s okay.” I wasn’t sure what I was saying was true, not after that text from Alex earlier, but I went with it.
“I wish I could call my mom, but I gave my phone to Aaron because the battery was the fullest. And Dax’s is about to die.”
“It’s okay. You can talk to her in person soon. You should get some rest, babe.”
“Yeah. I should. You don’t sleep in there. Or eat. Or use the bathroom.” He was groggy now, and they were loading him onto a litter to transport him to one of the vehicles.
I needed him to know it was okay to let go, that I’d be there, in his head when he opened his eyes again. “Go to sleep, Brandon. I love you. I’ll be with you soon.”
“I love you, too, Cass. So so so so so so much.” And then he was out.
I could’ve kept paying attention to what was going on through Dax’s IAC, but I wanted to make sure Amanda knew what was happening. I realized my sister was sitting in front of her, talking in a quiet voice, and I figured she was filling her in.
The quiet was interrupted by an outburst from Ashley. “I don’t understand! Why didn’t Jamie come out, too? He could’ve, obviously, and he wouldn’t have even gotten hurt!”
I wasn’t ready to have round two, so I left it to my sister. Cadence kept her voice calm. “Ashley, I am sure he stayed because of the one left behind rule. If Jamie left, Elliott and Aaron would be alone in there. With these new demon hunters, he was probably afraid they’d get hurt.”
Or killed, I thought but didn’t say.
“Yeah, well, he’s not their freaking babysitter! Now he’s going to be in there at least another six hours! Aaron should’ve let him go.”
I could see a fire burning in my sister’s eyes now. Ash was getting close to stepping over the line. “Aaron probably told them both to go, but they chose to stay behind.”
Ashley’s discretion must’ve been left at home. “It’s bull! So much for age doesn’t matter. And why did they take that stupid Hybrid with them.”
And... now I was mad. “Hey! She’s been in there for over a hundred years!”
“So what? She’s not even part of our team!”
“Didn’t you just see her throw that shield? She just saved our behinds!” I came out of my chair, but my sister’s hands were on me, pressing me back down.
“Okay, ladies! I know all of our emotions are on edge right now. No one wants to see someone they care about trapped in there. We are on our way to get the rest of the team out. For now, can we please try to keep this professional? The three that got out should be able to give us some useful information. In the meantime, the fact that there were Vampires on the ground tells us Holland is doing everything she can to thwart our efforts. So we need to be on our toes, all right?”
I glared at Ashley, suddenly realizing what it was my sister didn’t like about her, but I turned back around. From the back of the plane, Tara started giggling. How absolutely inappropriate. I’m sure she was talking to Dax, but now was not the time....
I heard Amanda ask if she could call Brandon. Before Cadence could answer her, I volunteered, “He doesn’t have his phone on him. He left it with Aaron. And Dax’s phone is almost dead.”
Amanda’s face fell for a moment before Cadence said, “I’ll get a number from Lex, the Hunter Leader, and you can call him soon, okay?” Amanda nodded, and Cadence got up. She sat down next to me and took my hand. I wanted to tell her I was sorry that Aaron was still in there, but I didn’t know what to say. I was hoping just the fact that we were in this together was enough, that she knew I wouldn’t give up until they were all home. She rested her head back and closed her eyes, letting out a small sigh. I knew she still had a ton of work ahead of her, talking to Lex and the rest of the team, trying to figure out what to expect when we got to Ireland, but for now, I think she was just a vulnerable young woman missing her fiancé. I leaned over and rested my head on her shoulder. I’d give Amanda Brandon’s message soon enough. For now, my sister needed me, and I wanted to be there for her the way she’d always been there for me.
