Chapter 85
That had Jamie’s attention. “Leave? Where are you going?” he asked Kit.
She cleared her throat, and it was obvious she’d been crying. Her eyes were swollen, her nose red. “Jeffrey has decided I’m no longer a good fit for his team. He’s sending me to a smaller city, one where I may get into…” she cleared her throat, “less trouble.”
Jamie assumed that last part must’ve been a direct quote. “Well, that’s too bad,” he said. “I mean, I would never have asked him to do that.”
She looked hopeful, as if she had thought he might be angry at her over what happened. Of course, he wasn’t exactly happy about it, but he knew it was an accident. As much as they all wanted to pretend they were perfect, none of them were. What happened to Kit could well have happened to anyone who had a weapon capable of such destruction.
“I’m so sorry I shot you,” she said, staring at the gold and brown patterned carpet. “I just… when Sol wouldn’t even let me in on the Hunt, and then, the Vampire got right past him, I was pissed.” She covered her mouth with both hands, as if she couldn’t believe she’d said a curse word in front of him. “I was angry.”
“I don’t blame you for being pissed about that,” he replied, smiling at her innocence. “So how did he keep you out of the fray?”
“With a look, I guess. He got the first one rather quickly, decapitating her, and then turned to the second, staying me with his eyes. When he got away, my attitude switched to ‘I’ll show you.’ The Vampire had tossed him against the wall, so it took him a few moments to untangle himself. That’s when I took my chance. I should’ve run to you, tried to decapitate him. But I knew that Vampire was too strong, too powerful, for me. So I decided to shoot it instead.”
Jamie continued to nod. “Well, there was no harm done this time, Kit. That’s the important thing to remember.”
“That’s true. But there could’ve been.”
“But there wasn’t. I do think there are some possibilities with guns, that your father was on to something. But we need to do some more research.”
She nodded, finally turning her head to meet his eyes again. “I’m sure he’d be happy to work with you, if you want.”
He’d have to think about it. Did he really want Hunters using weapons that could kill Guardians so easily? Would he want to be responsible for that? Of course, there were some teams that already swore by them, so it wasn’t anything new. He had even heard of one famous Guardian who had been killed by a stray bullet fired by a Hunter. If he was going to be involved with perfecting the gun as a weapon for Hunters and Guardians, he would need to do a lot of research. Otherwise, he’d leave that to someone else.
“Anyway, Jeffrey’s sending me off to Georgia. My train leaves in about an hour. I just… I just wanted to tell you I think it’s exceptional that you were able to heal both yourself and Sol so quickly. You’re remarkable. I wish I’d gotten to know you better.”
Jamie couldn’t help but smile. She really was quite lovely, even when she was so upset. “I’m sure you’ll do great things in Georgia, Kit. Don’t sell yourself short.”
Without another word, she leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek, and Jamie felt his face turn crimson. “Goodbye, Jamie.”
“Goodbye,” he said. And before he could say anything else, she was gone.
Sighing, Jamie looked up at the ceiling. Perhaps he would’ve had an opportunity to get to know Kit better if she hadn’t been reassigned. Perhaps Kit would’ve found a way to actually kill him next time, for that matter. It was too bad he couldn’t find a nice young woman to share this experience with. It seemed like he would be a bachelor for the rest of his life.
The sound of the door interrupted his pity party, and he looked up to see Sol standing at the foot of his bed. He had a broad smile on his face and his arms were spread wide open. Dressed in a similar outfit to the one he’d had on the day before, though the pants were intact, he looked almost as cocky as he had when Jamie had first met him.
“There he is!” he exclaimed. “The man who saved my leg.”
“Hello, Sol,” Jamie said, smiling at his enthusiasm. “How are you?”
He jumped around a bit, even did a little jig. “Good as new. I owe it all to you, Doc. You’re amazing.” He stepped around the side of the bed, and Jamie sat up to clasp his hand as he leaned down to hug him.
“Glad I could help. Sorry you had to suffer so long before I woke up.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Sol admitted sitting down on the bed next to him. Jamie felt a little awkward, but he was still pretty weak himself so he only scooted over a bit.
“How did it happen?” Jamie wondered.
“The stairs,” Sol replied with shrug. “That bastard was getting away, so I launched myself at him, and he flipped me over his shoulder. Whack! Down the stairs I fell. Son of a bitch threw himself off balance, too, though, so he was right behind me, tumbling down two flights of stairs before Joe caught up to him. Didn’t take long after that ‘til he ripped his head, thwack, clean off.”
This story was every bit as animated as the one from the day before, though Jamie was glad there was no cigar smoke this time. “Well, I’m certainly glad you got him. And did one go out the window from the other room?”
“Yeah, that crazy bitch leapt right out of that window. The team on the ground got her though. And the other son of a bitch in the adjacent room was dead meat the second we burst the door down. He never saw what was coming. You don’t screw around with Abel.”
Jamie nodded, thinking that sounded about right. “I’m glad we got everyone.”
“Me, too. Especially after we found the bones of all of those missing people in a trunk in the closet.” Sol nodded, and Jamie shuttered, not sure what to think of that exactly. “Anyway, you still look like hell. Guess I’ll let you catch a few more winks. Thanks again, man.” He reached out for Jamie’s hand again, and he gave it to him. “Sorry Kit shot you. At least we won’t have to worry about her anymore.” He clapped his hands down on his legs and practically leapt off of the bed, and Jamie was glad he wasn’t checking for his reaction about his last comment. “Where you headed to now, Doc?”
“Wherever the wind takes me,” Jamie joked. “No, I don’t know. It just depends on what Uncle Culpepper and Jordan Findley want me to do.”
“Well, wherever it is, I hope it goes well. You’re something else, man. I tell you that. A real treasure.”
“Thank you,” was all Jamie could manage to say, not sure how else to respond. He watched Sol walk out of the room and wondered if he’d been all wrong about that guy. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as he thought he was. Perhaps he needed to learn to be a little slower to jump to judgement. It really wasn’t fair to decide he didn’t like someone within a few minutes of meeting them.
Jamie settled back down into the bed, hoping he could get a little more sleep before anyone else came into the room. He still felt woozy and exhausted. As he fell asleep, he prayed once more that soon he’d be able to go back to Boston. There really was no place quite like one’s home.
