Chapter 3

By the time I was done going through all of the resources Christian had inadvertently taught me about over the last few months, I’d compiled a list of over a hundred people that all appeared to be missing from the same relatively small area near Prague. Something told me stepping into the larger cities would give me even more names, but I needed to keep this proportional and not get overwhelmed. There was definitely something here, and I needed to show it to the persons left in charge when my sister and brother-in-law left.

I tried Aurora first because technically she should be my boss now. She is the second highest Hunter, at least in KC, so when Cadence left, she had appointed Aurora to be in charge of all of us. Technically, I’m a Hybrid, not a Hunter, but the half of me that isn’t a Vampire is Hunter, so that’s where I fall. When I tried to get her on the IAC, she was obviously busy, saying she was caught at the gym with some new recruits and she’d talk to me later. I really didn’t feel like this could wait, so I tried Hannah. I thought I needed to talk to her in person, though, so I sent her a message and asked if she had a few minutes. Unfortunately, the second in command of the Guardians was also busy. With what, she didn’t say, but of all of the people on our team, I believe that Hannah is probably the most private, so I didn’t push her. I did sit on my couch with a scowl on my face for far too long until I took my happy little self down the hallway. I needed a “grown up” to help me, and considering none of the others were helpful, I’d have to try someone else.

Brandon’s smile when he opened the door left me feeling slightly guilty. I hadn’t let him know I was coming because I wasn’t there to see him, which was weird, but nevertheless, when he let me in, I was distracted. “Hey, how are you, beautiful?” He reached for me, and I gave him a quick hug, only realizing I’d sidestepped a kiss after it was too late.

“I’m okay. Is your dad around? I need to talk to him.”

His eyebrows puckered slightly, and I probably should’ve paid more attention to the fact that I’d hurt his feelings, but I had something important on my mind—important-er than my boyfriend’s emotions, apparently. “Uh, yeah. He’s on the phone with my mom. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I guess. No, not really. I just found something, and I need to talk to someone on the leadership team about it.” The leadership team was the group of bosses who met to discuss when and where we should get involved in Vampire activity. It was a relatively new concept since before my sister had become Hunter Leader, Aaron basically did everything on his own. Now the two of them, plus Elliott, Hannah, Aurora, Jamie, and Christian, gave some input before Aaron decided what we were going to do.

I was already walking down the hallway toward Elliott’s room, assuming that’s where he was. Brandon followed behind me, and I could tell by his body language he didn’t want me to interrupt. I know how important it is to him to have his parents talking to each other, that he really hopes they’ll get back together. I think that might be great—but I’m also not really happy about how Amanda treated either one of the two guys I care so much about, so I’m a little more skeptical than Brandon who suddenly thinks because his mom is in rehab and college she shouldn’t have to answer for the way she used to beat on him when he was younger.

I knocked pretty loudly on Elliott’s door, even though I could hear him talking to Amanda in that syrupy voice that makes me a little nauseated. I mean, I’m sure he feels the same way about me and Brandon when we do it in front of him, and he was in the privacy of his own room, but still... she doesn’t really deserve for him to be that nice to her after everything she’s done. At any rate, he probably assumed it was Brandon because he ignored me. “I need to talk to you, ASAP.” I used my telepathy instead of the IAC because I figured that would get his attention quicker than if I used technology.

I wasn’t necessarily trying to eavesdrop but I could hear him saying, “No, you hang up first,” over and over and I could feel the bile rising up in my throat. After the third time, I had had enough and I switched his phone off.

“Cassidy Elizabeth!”

Perhaps I had gone too far.

Elliott opened his door, his nostrils flaring as he stared down at me. “Cass, really?” Brandon said behind me. I didn’t turn to look at him. “I’ll text her and tell her you lost your signal.”

“Thanks,” Elliott said, not pulling his eyes away from me to look at his son.

I started to feel a little bad, even though I didn’t regret my decision. “I’m sorry. I just... need to talk to you, and you wouldn’t stop saying you were going to hang up, so I did it for you.”

He just shook his head at me. “What could possibly be so important? She only has a few minutes to talk between her group therapy and when her classes begin.”

“I didn’t know that.” I should have. Maybe if I’d been paying closer attention to the people in my life and less attention to those on the other side of the world, I would’ve had a clue. “Listen, there’s a whole bunch of people missing from these little villages around Prague, and I think we need to do something about it. So... I was hoping you could help me get the leadership team to let me come to your weekly meeting tomorrow so I can let them know what I’ve discovered.”

The expression on his face let me know I’d taken the wrong approach. Maybe if I’d showed up and been all nice and asked sweetly, he might’ve been willing to help me, but this wasn’t exactly the sort of problem Elliott was good at solving anyway, and now that I’d irritated him, he was less likely to want to stick his neck out for me. He pushed past me, headed toward the kitchen.