“We have to go back,” Cassie said as she settled across from him and Quinn at the small dining table inside the RV. “We’ve been away from the children for too long. We’re still a couple hours away from home, but there are too many vampires too close to them for my liking.”
“The kids are probably driving Annabelle and Liam crazy by now too,” Devon said as he rested his hand on Cassie’s shoulder. “And we can’t have any of these vampires finding out what Cassie is truly capable of. If things go wrong, there may be no hiding it from them.”
Cassie’s violet-blue eyes were haunted when they met Julian’s. “If what you intend with The Commission fails—”
“Then we’ll need for you to be somewhere else and safe in case we don’t make it,” Julian interrupted. “I understand. The children have to be protected too, no matter what. I didn’t expect you to stay with us for this long, and I had no intention of you going up against The Commission again.”
Red bled through the whites of Cassie’s eyes. “I would like nothing more than to see every one of those bastards dead.”
“They will be. It’s the only way any of us will ever know any true peace. I’ll make sure they’re eradicated.”
“If this fails,” Devon said, “the vampires may scatter again.”
“They might,” Julian agreed, “but if it succeeds, they’ll trust us and believe in us more. Besides, there is no other choice. The Commission cannot be allowed to continue.”
“No, they can’t,” Devon agreed.
Julian knew Devon would have happily torn out the throat of every single remaining member of The Commission, but the more time Cassie spent around these vamps, the more likely she was to use one of her other powers in front of them. Her ability to wield multiple powers was a secret none of them wanted revealed.
Cassie’s hand rested on the top of his as she leaned across the table. “If you need us for anything—”
“I have your number and I know where to find you. Go, Solar, we’ll be coming for a visit as soon as the earth defrosts in the Great White North, so probably August.”
She gave his hand a small, electrical shock. He grinned back at her but was wise enough to remove his hand from hers. “I hate it when you call me that, and it’s not that cold up there.”
“You are a wimp,” Quinn said to him.
“Stop absorbing powers like a solar panel absorbs light, and I’ll stop calling you Solar,” Julian said to Cassie before turning to Quinn. “And guilty as charged. This body was built solely for heat, Dewdrop.”
“Asshole,” Devon muttered.
Pink crept into Quinn’s cheeks. He took hold of her hand and enclosed it in both of his. “We’ll be fine without you. Don’t worry about us,” Julian said to Devon and Cassie. “And I’d much prefer knowing we have backup if we need it. If the vampires don’t all flee if something goes wrong, Devon will be able to take control. We have to do everything we can to make sure they don’t become disorganized again. That will only lead to someone taking advantage of their fear and turning them onto a much darker path than most of them are walking now.
“None of them are perfect, but more of them than I ever realized, or ever would have believed, don’t wish to harm another. Yes, many of them killed upon turning, it seems inevitable for most of us, but that is something we can also work on. If there is a ready blood supply available for newly turned vamps, they will go to that instead of tearing into the first vein they find. Most of us have been turned in the same, fend-for-yourself scenario. It doesn’t work.”
Quinn’s hand tightened on his until his bones ground together as he spoke, but he didn’t try to free his hand from her grip. He knew she was thinking of her own brutal transformation and didn’t realize what she was doing.
“Going by what I know of those who changed us, and how sadistic they were, I think a jarring transformation was part of their plan. I know Victoria enjoyed the show when I woke as a vampire,” Julian said of the woman who had changed him. “She turned me loose, and I delivered the deaths she wanted.”
“I’m sure Elizabeth did too when she changed me,” Devon said.
“And as some vampires grow older, the thrill of the kill is the only joy they find anymore. Immortality can become tiresome, and many seek some excitement to break up their tedious days. Until someone comes along to make eternity far less boring.” Julian lifted Quinn’s hand and kissed the back of it.
Her grip eased on his hand as she smiled at him. “Or they come along to drive you nuts,” she teased.
“I do my best,” he assured her before turning to Devon and Cassie again. “Do the others know you’re leaving?”
Everyone else was inside a restaurant right now, ordering whatever meal they could before they drove back to Pennsylvania. They had fifty more vamps making this journey with them than they’d had before. Some of them had gone ahead to a meeting place Julian had given them. Vern and most of the other vamps were spending the night in the motel next to the restaurant. Some of them had already made their way over to the bar across the street.
“Not yet,” Cassie replied. “We hadn’t officially decided until a little bit ago, but if we leave from here, it’s a shorter drive for us.”
“True,” Julian agreed.
“What you’re doing here, gathering these vampires and organizing them, it’s going to work,” Devon said. “Once they truly accept that we’ll all be working together, they’ll really fall into line with this plan. After what happened at Herb’s house, I think the ones who were there already trust us more, and they’re spreading the word. Watching a Hunter take down a member of The Commission is something they’ll never forget.”
“No, it’s not,” Julian said.
“Chris did what he had to do,” Cassie said.
“He did,” Julian replied, “and it’s gained the Hunters more trust and support with the vamps. Vern certainly believes in what we’re trying to do, and Prue is coming around. Hadie is still in a more wait and see position, but her caution is understandable. After what I saw tonight, Carla needs this in her life.”
Devon frowned at him. “I’m not used to you having your ability on so often.”
“Neither am I.”
“It’s wearing on you.”
“It’s necessary, for now.”
“It is,” Devon agreed.
Devon released Cassie’s shoulder as Chris stomped through the door of the RV with two paper bags of food. Grease stained the bottoms of the white bags when he set them on the table in front of Julian. Julian used his index finger to push the bags away from him.
“Oh sure, you’ll feast on blood, but a little dead chicken and cow are distasteful to you,” Chris said. “You vamps are so screwy.”
“Pretty sure some of that cow is still alive,” Cassie said as she poked at the red stain spreading across the bottom of one of the bags.
“Just the way I like them,” Chris replied. “And I like lots of them.”
“Hungry?” Devon asked.
“When is he not?” Julian retorted.
Chris ran a hand down the front of his shirt as he grinned at them. “Yet I maintain my stunning physique.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Easy there with the ego. I think you’ve been hanging out with Julian for too long.”
“Agreed,” Devon said.
“Maybe, but facing hundreds of vamps and then trying to figure out if they’re psychos or not is draining.” Chris pulled out a chicken leg. He bit into it as he pawed through the bag and set the rest of his food on the table.
Melissa and the others climbed into the RV behind him. The odd step Melissa took to avoid touching Chris had Julian’s eyebrows in his hairline. Cassie gave a subtle shake of her head when she caught the move.
When everyone settled in to eat, Cassie and Devon told them of their plan to return to Canada.
“Do you want me to go back with you?” Dani inquired of them.
“That’s up to you,” Devon said.
Her eyes darted over everyone. They briefly settled on Julian before returning to Cassie and Devon. “I’d like to see this through to the end,” she replied, “but if you feel the children could be in danger—”
“I don’t think they are, but we’re not willing to take the chance right now either,” Devon replied. “We’ll be fine if you stay.”
“Then I’m staying,” she said and took a bite of her chicken sandwich.
“We’ll be glad to have you,” Julian told her and actually meant it.
Dani gave him a wavering smile as a blush crept into her cheeks.
“We’ll hit the road then. We should be able to make it home before sunrise,” Cassie said.
Devon slid out of the booth, and Cassie moved to stand beside him. The two of them said their good-byes to everyone else before Julian rose and helped Quinn out of the booth. He kept hold of her hand as they followed Devon and Cassie into the crisp night air and over to Devon’s car.
Julian glanced over the dozen or so cars, with their heavily tinted windows, parked outside the restaurant and motel. He’d never been around so many vampires before when he hadn’t been trying to kill them. Even after he and Devon had made it to Elder status, they’d shunned the Elders and carved their own path through the world, which was something that had driven the other Elders nuts.
Living in the RV and working with everyone was the most he’d interacted with anyone in years. Now, he was going to be bunking in the parking lot of a motel full of vampires. He refused to have a room there. The vamps may say they were all willing to work with them, they may have passed him and Chris touching them, but he hadn’t survived centuries by lowering his guard or being trusting. They were better off where they could watch the motel and the others from the RV.
“Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle this?” Devon inquired of him.
“Yes.”
“There’s a lot of vamps here. Your feelings for them have always been the same as your feelings for humans,” Devon said.
“Which was?” Quinn inquired.
“Disposable playthings,” Julian answered.
“Cute.”
He pulled her a step closer and wrapped his arm around her waist. “My thoughts on them have changed.”
“Being around so many though,” Devon murmured as his gaze scanned the motel.
“The things we’ll do for those we love,” Julian said, drawing Devon’s attention back to him.
Devon stared at Quinn before hugging Cassie to him. “You’re right.”
“So does Melissa ever plan to tell Chris she has feelings for him or is she going to continue to go out of her way to avoid touching him?” Julian asked Cassie.
“What?” Devon inquired at the same time Quinn blurted, “Melissa has feelings for Chris?”
Cassie grinned and shrugged. “I have no idea if she plans to tell him. I keep telling her to say something to him, but she thinks it will ruin their friendship.”
“Since when has this been going on?” Devon demanded.
Cassie’s lips pursed thoughtfully. “For a while now, I think, but she’s been fighting it. I’m not sure if she knows exactly when it started. I’m sure living in the RV with him helped to speed things up.”
“I’ve lived in that RV with him. It must be love if she can still stand to be around him,” Julian said.
“Did she like him when she was dating Zach?” Quinn asked.
“I think Zach was a way to distract herself from Chris,” Cassie replied. “It didn’t work.”
“No, it didn’t. It was something I should have picked up on sooner, but I haven’t had my ability on around them in a long time, and I was distracted by other things,” he said with a pointed glance at Quinn. “It’s entertaining to watch her trying to avoid him in that tiny space, but Chris is completely oblivious. Unless she tells him, he’s not going to know anything.”
“Which is another thing. Melissa is convinced he only looks at her as a friend,” Cassie said.
“If she slaps him upside the head, I think she’ll like the outcome. He may be unaware of her feelings, but he loves her. I think, for him, it won’t be a big step from friendship to relationship when it comes to her.”
“You’re like an old washwoman gossiping around the laundry,” Devon said to him.
“We don’t get much TV while we’re driving, and I haven’t had a chance to watch my soaps in at least a year. I have to find some entertainment somewhere. Melissa and Chris have started to provide it for me,” Julian replied.
Quinn rolled her eyes while Cassie chuckled, “Let me guess, General Hospital?”
“Days of our Lives. Who doesn’t love Hope and Bo and Marlena and John?”
“Oh God,” Quinn groaned and dropped her head into her hand to rub at the bridge of her nose.
Julian kissed her temple. “I’m sure once I get a chance to catch up, it will be like I never missed an episode.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Quinn muttered.
“I can’t take any more of this. We have to go,” Devon said. He extended his hand, and Julian clasped hold of it before they pulled each other close for a hug.
“Take care of her,” Devon said to him and glanced at Quinn.
“Always. The same goes for you.”
Devon smiled as he stepped back. “Always.”
Julian turned to embrace Cassie while Devon hugged Quinn. “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to him,” he heard Devon say to her, and a smile lit Quinn’s face and eyes.
Cassie smiled at him as she stepped away. “Maybe you could give Chris a little nudge.”
“Would make things more interesting,” Julian replied, “but I think I’ll let them figure this out on their own.”
“Probably for the best.” Cassie turned to Quinn, a sad smile on her face as they stared at each other. She held her hand out and did a little air shake gesture with it that Quinn copied. “I’m sorry,” Cassie said. “But your ability—”
“I understand,” Quinn said. “It’s overwhelming for me too at times.”
“I bet it is.”
Turning, Julian lifted Quinn into his arms and carried her away from the two of them. He felt her waving over his shoulder, but he didn’t look back. Right now, all he wanted was to get her out of view of the vamps he knew were watching them from the motel.