Chapter 28: Chapter 28
The scrutinizing look on Brandon’s face was more than a little bothersome. “Where? Where is there a hunt going on tonight?”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Not at him but at the fact that I probably wasn’t even supposed to know. “In the forbidden land, the place we shall not speak of.”
Brandon was with me now. He shook his head and asked, “The Czech Republic?”
“Close. Hungary. So... I’m sorry, but I need to be ready in case they need me.” They would definitely need me, especially if Mila was under the impression that Eliza was able to get the necessary information to track Honey without knowing her source. I didn’t like being so rude to Brandon, but he didn’t have all of the information I did, so he had no way of knowing just how important it was that I was ready when Eliza called.
He wasn’t walking away, though. “Why in the world would you be helping the team in Eastern Europe, Cass? Did your sister tell you to do that?”
“No, but someone asked me for my help, someone who is aware of the problem over there, and so I offered to give it to them. So if you don’t mind....”
Brandon was staring at me in a way that really made me uncomfortable. I held his gaze for a moment, aware that Eliza wanted something. I couldn’t look away from him, though. It was like he was going back over our entire relationship in his head. I’d hurt his feelings again. I really hadn’t meant to, but... I’d thought if anyone could understand how important it was to me to be involved in this, it would be him. He didn’t seem to understand.
But he did say, “Okay, Cass. If that’s what you want....”
“That’s what I need right now, Brandon.” I tried to be gentle, to make him see this really had nothing to do with him. Because I know that’s not what he was thinking. For some reason, he wanted to put all of my recent distraction on his shoulders, to assume it had to do with Alex. And this didn’t. At least, I didn’t think it did.
His face melted into something else, a look I couldn’t recall ever seeing from him before. When his mouth opened again, I could hardly believe what he was saying. “Listen, then, uh, maybe we should take a break. You know, just until you, uh, get caught up with everything. Or until you get things figured out.”
I knew what he was saying without needing clarification, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept. So I asked for clarification anyway. “A break?” I think my mouth was hanging open for the entirety of his answer. I just couldn’t believe this was happening.
“Yeah, I don’t want to keep bothering you when you’re busy. You know where I’m at when you’re ready to talk.”
I closed my mouth—finally—and looked him in the eyes. I should’ve felt terrible. The pain in those green orbs was relentless. And I had put it there. I could fix it. I could ask him in right now and explain everything to him. I could let him read Alex’s note for himself and confide in Brandon, my boyfriend, the guy I loved, that I was confused about Alex’s feelings for me and what it might mean if I ever meet another guy with similar feelings. I could explain how I felt worthless because I couldn’t find Havel’s wife, how I was just excited to finally be helping, even if I wasn’t there in person and had to partner with the likes of Christian and Eliza.
I didn’t say any of those things. When I finally answered, it was only to say, “Okay.”
He looked surprised, like he had expected me to say something else, or wanted me to anyway. His eyes dropped to the bouquet in his hand, and he thrust it at me again. I took it, because, what else could I do? He shoved his hands into the pocket of his jeans, my favorite pair, the dark ones that are still soft and comfortable but look dressier than most of his others. Without another word, he pivoted on one heel and started down the hall.
“Brandon!”
He stopped and turned to look at me, his eyes wide with inquiry.
I didn’t know why I’d called his name. I just felt like I needed more answers, though the questions I wanted to ask took a minute to form before I asked, “You mean, like a break-break, right? Not like a... frozen yogurt break?” I prayed he’d know what I was talking about because if I had to say the actual words instead of using a vague reference to an episode of Friends to express myself, I’d be in even more trouble.
“Yes, I mean like a real ‘we were on a break’ break.”
I knew that, of course. But hearing him say it again made it even more difficult to breathe. I managed somehow. “’Kay.”
“Kay.”
He walked away from me, and I stood there for a second staring after him before I went inside and closed the door. I looked at the flowers, aware that Eliza needed my help, that I needed to concentrate on my work and not let what had just happened with Brandon destroy me, though I didn’t know how that might be possible. I plunked the flowers down on the counter, realizing that without water they’d feel just as suffocated as I felt at the moment, sucking air into lungs that refused to take it in, and sat back down on my couch, hoping that the numbness settling over me would at least get me through this hunt. Because Eliza was going to need me, and even if I didn’t particularly care for her, I did hate the monsters she was fighting almost as much as I currently hated myself.
***
I immersed myself in the hunt, hoping that thinking about catching Honey would mean I wouldn’t have to think about what Brandon had just said to me. Eliza was already out of the vehicle and moving toward the club where Honey was still chatting up those dudes by the time I was situated on the couch and back in the game. I hadn’t heard her explanation for how she knew they were there, but I was sure it was on my IAC, so I could go back and look later if I wanted to.
The Hunter with Eliza was a really tall guy named Sergio who spoke in a thick accent, but I didn’t have any trouble understanding him. If I dug into her mind a little bit, I’d probably discover she was kind of in to him, at least it seemed that way. She talked to him like she thought he was hot and stood a little too close to him. Or maybe Eliza just acts like that around all guys. It made me like her even less, if that was possible, but Sergio seemed cool, the kind of guy who might come in handy when a Vampire showed up. He’d been there the other night when Eliza took out all of those other Vampires, but she’d sent him around the side of the building before she went up the fire escape, and by the time he’d gotten back, she’d already killed them all. Except for Honey, who was the mark tonight. She was still in the bar, but not for long.
“You in position?” I asked her, not sure what I’d missed. It looked like they were standing in an alley a little distance from the front entryway of the club, but it was hard to tell. The streetlights weren’t doing a very good job, and the cars that passed by either blinded me with headlights that were too bright or had one missing and did next to nothing to illuminate the streetscape.
“Yeah,” Eliza replied. “Mila said Honey’s still in that club. That right?”
“She is. But she’s not going to be for long. Give her a few minutes once she comes out or she’ll know you’re there and run. She’s already suspicious.”
“You read that in her mind?”
It’s difficult for me to explain exactly how I know things, but I tried. “No, I didn’t have to. She keeps glancing around the room like she’s afraid someone’s going to sneak up on her. She’s not afraid of you, either, by the way. She just has a suspicion you’ll be on her soon, if you’re not already.” I had only grazed the surface of Honey’s mind, but now that the team was in place, it wouldn’t matter if she left the club. I could push harder if I wanted to.
“Got it.” Eliza sounded appreciative, and she should be. If it wasn’t for me, her team wouldn’t be in the right location at all. They’d probably still be driving around Budapest, lost.
It took longer than I’d thought it would for Honey to leave. She was having a hard time choosing which guy to take with her. Eventually, she chose Daven, and even though I wanted to tell him to run home, quick, I didn’t want to tip the Vampire off again, so I let him go with her, assuming Eliza would find a way to get to the bloodsucker before she could turn him. If she listened to what I had to say earlier, about waiting a bit, she’d be in a good place to follow Honey and get her before she acted on the hunger I could feel radiating off of her as she walked out the front door. I let Eliza know she was moving.
The rest of the team was also in place, and I could see Honey passing by a couple of them on her way down the street. Eliza and Sergio were arguing about when they should go so I mentioned to Eliza, “That guy she’s with is still a human, for now. His name is Daven, and he’s worried because his family thinks he’s playing cards at a friend’s house, though he wasn’t worried enough to stay put and not leave with the blonde. She said she’s taking him down the block a little way.”
“Good to know,” Eliza said to me, and then to Sergio, “If you’re done arguing, we can follow the Vampire now.”
Without waiting for him to respond, Eliza took off, out of the alley and down the street, Sergio behind her. Honey was across the street from them, but she still wasn’t aware that she was being stalked. She’d notice soon enough, if Eliza and Sergio or another teammate got close enough, though. She should be able to feel it inside of her, the same way we can sense Vampires.
A guy on the street approached Eliza, asking her for something I didn’t catch, and she shoved him aside, violently. I thought for sure that would let Honey know there was something going on, but the blonde didn’t turn around.
Daven was anxious. He looked over his shoulder several times, and Honey assured him they were almost to the place she wanted to take him. I wasn’t sure what lie she’d told him, but I was pretty sure she didn’t say she wanted him to come this way so she could suck his blood and turn him into a nightmare. I told Eliza, “He’s starting to get worried. She keeps saying it’s just a little further.”
Honey turned the corner, and I was about to make sure Eliza realized that when she said, “Come on,” to Sergio, and shot off across the street, dodging an old car as she went.
The street Honey had turned down was even more poorly lit. It was so narrow, it looked almost like an alley, but it wasn’t. Piles of trash littered the ditches and sidewalks. I have no idea what Daven was thinking walking along with this stranger late at night in such a place. Never go with strangers, kids!