by I D Johnson
Aaron shook his head. “I didn’t even hear you come in.”
Taking an empty seat, Elliott replied, “That’s ‘cause I’m stealthy—like a cat. Due to my girlish figure.”
His ridiculous comments had the desired effect and Aaron chuckled. He looked at his glass and shook his head, probably thinking he should’ve heard the hotel room door open. He pushed it across the table, and Elliott picked it up and finished it off.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Elliott was sure he was contemplating the discussion he’d had with Laura. While Elliott had been the first to tell Aaron she was no good for him, he also knew the pain of breaking up with someone oh too well. He pushed thoughts of Amanda Keen aside, the only woman he’d truly loved, someone he hadn’t told anyone about, not even Aaron.
“Do you see the Brooklyn Bridge over there in the distance?” Aaron asked, drawing Elliott out of his head.
“Yeah, I see it. It’s pretty cool.”
Aaron nodded. “I jumped off of it once.”
Not sure he heard him right, Elliott turned and looked at his friend for a long moment before exclaiming, “No, shit? Really?”
“Yeah, I did. To kill Jack the Ripper.”
“Wait—do you mean the Jack the Ripper, or like, ‘Jack the Price Ripper, buy your new mattress here today!’?”
Laughing, Aaron said, “No, the Jack the Ripper. Jamie was there, too. That was a long time ago. A different world.”
Elliott nodded. He hadn’t been alive nearly as long as Aaron, but he knew what he meant.
“There was another beautiful blonde with me that day. She’s the one I should’ve tried this with—not Laura.” He shook his head. “Laura… you were right, man. I guess I forced it. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
“She’s a pretty girl. But she’s very immature.”
“Yeah.”
“And batshit crazy.”
Aaron laughed, but he didn’t disagree.
Once again, they fell into silence before curiosity got the better of him. “What happened to the girl on the bridge?”
“She got tired of waiting on me.”
Elliott knew Aaron had been married once, a very long time ago, and he’d never gotten over his wife. He could relate to that, to a degree. As much as he and Nancy had hated each other, there was a sadness lingering there as well. No one wants to admit they’ve loved and lost. “Well, you tried man. And that’s a good first step. Maybe next time you meet a girl, she’ll be the right one.”
Aaron scoffed. “Maybe.”
“Just make sure she’s not batshit crazy.”
Elliott changed the subject, not any more comfortable talking about love than Aaron was, but in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but feel responsible for making sure that Aaron didn’t fall for another girl that would jeopardize the team, no matter how much he seemed to like her and no matter how much he might like her himself.
Something told him that might be easier said than done.
Epilogue
Villisca, Iowa, 2014
The moon illuminated the field where Elliott stood near a copse of trees, waiting for a moment he was sure was going to change everyone’s lives forever, though he wasn’t quite sure just how. Around him, partygoers reveled in the liberty of knowing they were free to be themselves, vampiric tendencies and all, and there was little anyone could do about it.
He hated Eidolon Festivals. When Aaron had explained the concept to him a few years ago, he’d thought they were ridiculous, and Aaron should prohibit them. He didn’t care if they went back centuries and were an attempt to appease the bloodsuckers into behaving during normal circumstances, saving all of their reveling up for this one sacred night. He was all for turning their guns to full blast and plowing the monsters down right now. Every time one would walk passed him, he wanted to jump out and ring their scrawny necks.
But they were there on a peace-keeping mission, and as usual, he would do what he was told to do. Stand here. Protect any human who says no. Leave any of them who don’t protest to their own devices. Oh, and keep an eye out for Cadence Findley.
That was it—the game changer. The thing that would make his life different from this point on, and he knew it, though he wasn’t quite sure how. Just as he’d known it was Aaron when the Guardian Leader had walked into Andora’s that night so many years ago, he knew when Janette Findley’s oldest granddaughter showed up at this party, everything would shift.
The idea was just to make sure that nothing evil befell Miss Findley. Elliott understood that. Over the years, he’d gotten to know Cadence from a distance as he had been keeping an eye on her younger sister who, thankfully, was home safe and sound in her bed at the moment, according to the lookouts he’d left on her neighbor’s roofs. He wasn’t about to go off and leave Cassidy unguarded when there were hundreds of Vampires within an hour or so’s drive of the Findley residence. Trying to keep someone safe while also keeping one’s distance was difficult, and he’d grown pretty fond of the little girl with long brown hair and hazel eyes.
And something told him Aaron had grown fond of her older sister, with the same brown hair and striking brown eyes. So much so, in fact, that a few years back he’d asked Hannah to take over watching out for her for him, saying he was too busy to keep Cadence safe and run the world. Elliott suspected it might be something else, though, and he was bound and determined to make sure Aaron didn’t do anything stupid this time. He’d had another run in with stupidity after the Laura Comer problem, and Elliott was about done keeping the boss man out of trouble.
“Am I in the right position?”
Elliott snarled at the sound of Eliza Wrath’s voice coming over the IAC. “Speaking of stupid,” he muttered. Aaron had come to his senses with this one pretty quickly and cut her loose, but not before a botched job where Eliza had screwed up something awful, almost costing her her life. Yet, unlike Laura, she was still on the team. Tonight, she’d be part of the extraction crew, if they were needed, along with him and Jamie, and Elliott wanted to answer if she didn’t know if she was in the right position, maybe she shouldn’t be part of the most critical part of the operation. But Aaron affirmed she was where she was supposed to be, in a much gentler tone than he would’ve used, so Elliott continued to wait for the signal and prayed that the night was uneventful, that if Cadence Finely showed up at all, she’d leave just as quickly—in one piece—having never even known they were there.
He was never a fan of standing around, especially not by himself, when he had to be quiet. Being quiet made him think, and thinking led to memories, and memories led to tears. He wasn’t the crying type even though he had plenty to cry about. Jimmy and Reggie were the two that got him in the gut every time. And images of his kids running around, playing, calling him Daddy. All of that changed the night he Transformed, and Nancy decided she could no longer trust him.
He’d never reached out to Peggy again after the last time she’d called him to tell him Jordan Findley had died. He’d thought about it lots of times, but he always figured there was tomorrow to do it. Neither one of them were going to die any time soon; he was pretty sure of that. So he waited. Maybe he’d give her a call around Christmas next month. Maybe he wouldn’t.
Maybe he should use a social media site to see if he could track down Amanda Keen. It had been eighteen years since he’d seen her, but not a day went by that he didn’t think about her. He’d dated other women since then, but none of them ever meant anything to him the way that Amanda had. Of all the maybes in his life, she was the one that he lingered on the most.
Hannah’s calm voice came over the IAC delivering the news he dreaded to hear and jarring him back to reality. “She’s here.”
Unable to resist the urge to make light of the situation, he replied, “Come on, now. What did we talk about?”
A moment later, with a sigh, she said, “The eagle has landed.”
That got a few snickers out of the rest of the team and a warning from Aaron t
hat he needed to get his act together. He apologized and tried to be more serious, especially since he was fully aware of the stakes.
It wasn’t hard, however, when she came into view. Following her on Hannah’s IAC was one thing, but when he turned his head and saw a group of teenagers coming their way, time seemed to slow down, and he focused in on her face. She was walking next to her ex-boyfriend, her arms folded in front of her, chewing on her bottom lip, an apprehensive expression narrowing her eyes. Someday, she might very well be the most powerful Vampire Hunter in the world, or maybe she’d walk out of here the same person she was when she came in, but for now, Cadence Findley was a scared little girl, and more than anything else Elliott just wanted to protect her, no matter what that meant, even if he had to be the bad guy to do it. That was a role he was familiar with, one he’d played lots of times before. He might’ve failed at keeping the people he cared about safe most other times in the past, but he swore to himself that moment, looking into those dark brown eyes, he’d do whatever he needed to in order to save Cadence Findley.
The End
Author’s Note
Hi Readers!
I just wanted to say a quick thank you for reading Elliott’s story. If you haven’t read The Clandestine Saga yet, you’ll want to pick up Transformation to see if Elliott’s prediction about Cadence Findley is right. You can get Transformation for free on many of your favorite vendors, including Amazon.
If you liked this book, please consider leaving a review so other readers can determine if it’s the book for them. Reviewers are very helpful!
Elliott has always been one of my favorite characters, but when The Clandestine Saga first came out, I was a little surprised out how many people let me know he was their favorite, too. I’m not sure what it is about him that resonates with so many readers, but I hope his story has given you some insight into why he is the way he is and that you still love him as much or more after having read this book.
If you’d like to stay connected you, can download Saving Cadence, a novelette about the Eidolon Festival when you sign up for my newsletter here: https://claims.prolificworks.com/free/Ej6IH
Thanks again for reading, and please check out the “Also by ID Johnson” page for more books you’re sure to enjoy.
Also by ID Johnson
Stand Alone Titles
Deck of Cards
Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss
The Doll Maker’s Daughter at Christmas
Beneath the Inconstant Moon
The Journey to Normal: Our Family's Life with Autism (nonfiction)
The Clandestine Saga series
Transformation
Resurrection
Repercussion
Absolution
Illumination
Destruction
A Vampire Hunter’s Tale (based on The Clandestine Saga)
Aaron
Jamie
The Chronicles of Cassidy (based on The Clandestine Saga)
So You Think Your Sister’s a Vampire Hunter?
Who Wants to Be a Vampire Hunter?
How Not to Be a Vampire Hunter
My Life As a Teenage Vampire Hunter
Ghosts of Southampton series
Prelude
Titanic
Residuum
Heartwarming Holidays Sweet Romance series
Melody’s Christmas
Christmas Cocoa
Winter Woods
Waiting On Love
Shamrock Hearts
A Blossoming Spring Romance
Firecracker!
Falling in Love
Thankful for You
Melody’s Christmas Wedding
Reaper’s Hollow
Ruin’s Lot
Ruin’s Promise
Ruin’s Legacy
Collections
Ghosts of Southampton Books 0-2
Reaper’s Hollow Books 1-3
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