Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
“I’ll be back in a few,” Ransom said, eying Cassandra. “I’d like to speak with you after.”
“Of course,” she said, and hugged her brother again before he scooped up his bag and followed Ransom down the hall and out of sight.
Cassandra let out a heavy sigh, and looked over the paper again. Her panther must’ve felt her anxiety over Warrick, because he leaned into her hip, purring softly. “I don’t recognize any of these names,” she said, and I wasn’t sure if she was talking to the panther or me, but I shifted my feet to get a better look at the list anyway.
“Oh, my God,” I said, reaching for the list with frantic fingers but stopping just shy of the paper. I looked at her with questioning eyes. I knew better than to rip something out of a vampire’s hands, but thankfully she handed it right over.
My fingers shook as I re-read the names on the list six times.
“Do you know some of them?” Cassandra asked.
“Whoa, girl time in the entryway?” Avi’s voice sounded as she rounded the corner, stopping before us. “Why aren’t we in the dining room eating muffins? Isn’t it muffin o’clock?” The light mood drained from her face when she noted the seriousness in my expression. “Grace? What’s wrong?”
I held up a finger, my breathing erratic as my mind worked out the kinks in the puzzle I held. They were both used to me needing a minute, so neither pushed me to speak.
Every single name on this list belonged to a child in foster care, and I only knew that because they were in Maria’s foster care.
“The Sons are targeting associates of vampires or humans with any amount of vampire blood in their line, right?” I asked for clarification. They both nodded. “And the likelihood of children being acquaintances of vampires?”
“Zero,” Cassandra said. “Well, unless they were saved by an assassin or something rare like that. Why?”
Panic and understanding lashed up my spine. Maria…oh, my God, Maria knew. She knew about my bloodline and had to know about these children’s lines too. Could she detect it, like Cassandra’s gift? Is that why she’d taken me in all those years ago or is that why my mother was friends with her? Was her entire agenda to help these children with these special histories?
It made all the sense in the world, but figuring it out wasn’t the priority right now.
“These are all names I recognize,” I finally answered her. “They’re children, Cassandra. Some of them aren’t even eight years old yet.”
Avi gasped, a hand flying over her mouth.
“They live in the home I grew up in,” I continued. “We have to go. Now. If they’re being targeted…” My voice trailed off as my heart trembled for what could happen.
“We have to tell the hunters,” Cassandra said.
“We can’t leave these children to die!” I countered. “What if the Sons are already there? What if we get the hunters and then we’re too late?”
Cassandra contemplated for a moment, then nodded. “Fine, we have time to do one thing. Go to the location and try to move them to a safer location, or we go get help.”
“I can’t stand here and wait when those children could be attacked any second. You can make other people around you invisible right?” I asked Avi.
“Yes. But not very many.” Avi said.
“We can get in and get the children out with that trick. And we’ll take weapons, just in case.”
“I’ll go get Valor. She has a go-bag filled with what we need,” Avi said, disappearing at vampire speed.
“Ransom would stop us, right?” I asked, wishing above anything we could bring him.
“He’d definitely make us wait for the hunters and assassins,” Cassandra answered.
I shook my head, spinning around and hunting down a pen to write down the address of the foster home on the list of names. “He’ll be back any minute,” I said just as Avi returned with Valor and Lyric. “We’ll leave this here for him to find.” Cassandra arched a brow at me, but I shrug. “I’m in a hurry, not suicidal. He’ll rally everyone when they return and we’ll get the help we need, if we need it.”
All of them nodded, but Cassandra eyed me as we headed out the doors. “You know Ajax will never forgive you if this goes south ,right?”
“I’ll never forgive myself if I stand by and do nothing while children could be dying. Children who have already suffered enough trauma as it is.” Losing parents or any situation that led to them being cared for by Maria. That was enough to deal with for one lifetime, let alone being targeted by a malicious cult with a dangerous agenda.
“I’ll drive,” Cassandra said, and we all piled into her car, Valor handing out weapons as we went. I’d never held a gun before, but I’d seen Ajax do it enough times that I figured out the safety pretty quick. My adrenaline was so high I didn’t even contemplate the fact that I was holding a gun, the weight heavy in my hands.