Cadence didn't move for a few seconds as she continued to stare at me.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw that Nolan got up into a sitting position while rubbing his eyes and as soon as he saw me, his face brightened into a smile. "Vita!" He jumped off the bed and ran towards me with his arms wide. I bent down to his eye level and hugged him tightly while he did the same, wrapping his arms around my neck. His bright blond hair matched Cadence's, but his eyes were a soft hazel color.

"How are you doing, Nolan?" I asked while patting his back.

A sad look passed his features for a second before he looked at me and grinned. "Better!"

My anger towards Efren grew as I saw Nolan trying his best to put on a happy face. A child his age shouldn't have to force themselves to look content.

"That's good." I smiled brightly back at him. "Your auntie Cadence is going to be a little busy for a while. How about you ask her if I can take you out for some food and ice cream?"

Nolan's eyes truly brightened as he jumped away from me. "Auntie Cadence!" He went towards Cadence and shook her arm desperately. "Please?"

Cadence paused as she looked up at me.

I sighed softly and I understood her reluctance. The past few times I saw her, I was pretty hostile towards her. "No matter what happened between us, I would never hurt a child." I told her softly, yet firmly.

Acknowledgement flashed across her features and she looked back down at Nolan. "Fine. Stay close to Vita, okay? Safety first always."

Nolan nodded ecstatically up and down. "Okay. See you later." He quickly ran towards me and grabbed my hands. "Let's go, Vita!"

Cadence nodded at me.

"We'll be back in a few hours." With that said, I stepped out of the room with Nolan holding my hand tightly.

No matter what she did, I still believe that she would try her best to find Katrina for me. We survived so much together during school, through training and missions, that I wanted to believe that the soldier I once knew was still in her somewhere. However, there was no way to know the amount of time she could take to get a location.

I closed the door behind me and Nolan looked up at me expectantly and excitedly.

Emmaline was sitting on the floor cross-legged and as soon as she saw me, she stood up and looked at me questioningly.

I stepped close to her so Nolan wouldn't hear what I said. "Keep an eye on Cadence. I'm just taking Nolan out for food."

"Is that a good idea? Do you trust her?" Emmaline didn't bear hostility towards my decision on asking Cadence for help, she was simply curious.

Unfortunately, I still did kind of trust that Cadence will do the right thing. "She's our fastest bet."

"I see. I'll keep an eye on her, don't worry."

Emmaline's willingness to trust my decision touched me. She knew this was probably not the best idea, nor was it the smartest to give a computer to Cadence, but Emmaline trusted me.

"Thank you," I told her sincerely and she smile at me.

"We're a team. Go get some food and I'll see you later."

I nodded back at Emmaline and tugged Nolan's hand lightly to get his attention so that we could leave.

"Nolan, I have a friend I want you to meet later. Maybe we can eat together. Is that okay?" I asked him.

Nolan contemplated for second before answering with a, "yes."

With that, we both departed from Phoenix.

*

Nolan wanted pizza, so I drove the car to the closest pizza place. After we ordered a large box, I drove to Alexander's home so that Nolan could feel once again the comfort of a home.

"I like your house, Vita. So big and pretty," Nolan commented as he washed his hands.

"Thank you." I got some plates and put them on the table, then opened the large pizza box.

"Do you want anything to drink, Nolan?"

"Water, please," Nolan said as he sat down on the chair. "Are you okay, Vita? You look like you're limping."

"I'm okay, Nolan. Don't worry." I smiled to assure him that I was fine while I sat down next to him after getting both him and I a glass of water.

He looked at me oddly, but when I handed him a slice of pizza, our conversation was forgotten. Nolan ate with gusto and happiness.

I also reached for a slice and started eating. It was not long after we started eating that the sound of the front door opening and closing reached my ears.

"Angel?" I heard Alexander's voice call out.

"In the dining room," I answered and soon saw him enter.

The moment I saw his face, he looked regretful. That's when I knew that he had not succeeded in capturing whoever took the USB.

"Nolan, remember how I asked you if you wanted to meet my friend?"

Nolan nodded and looked at Alexander shyly.

"This is my friend Alexander."

Alexander walked closer and put a soft smile on his face. "Hi Nolan. Nice to meet you."

Nolan leaned closer towards me, still feeling shy. "Hi."

I rubbed Nolan's shoulder gently to calm him and assure him that Alexander was not a threat.

"Wash your hands and come join Nolan and I. We got pizza," I told Alexander. Hopefully he got my message that we will talk later since we could not do it right now with Nolan here.

"Alright." Alexander walked towards the sink and diligently washed his hands, then brought over a plate for himself.

"Vita, do you know when auntie Cadence and I can go home?" Nolan asked innocently with expectation and my heart squeezed painfully because I knew it wouldn't be anytime soon.

"Maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we can get you settled in a new house," Alexander spoke up gently.

"New house?" Nolan looked slightly skeptical.

"Your house isn't safe right now, so we're going to take you somewhere safe, alright?" Alexander explained carefully and slowly, certainly not sugar-coating much.

"Okay." Nolan smiled then went back to eating.

When we finished, Alexander cleaned up while Nolan and I made our way towards the family room.

"Can we go outside, Vita?" Nolan asked as Alexander walked into the room.

"I hurt my leg and I can't walk very fast. Is that okay?"

I could feel Alexander's intense stare but I didn't dare look his way. He was most definitely going to try and stop me from doing anything.

"Oh, we don't have to go, Vita." His happy posture shrunk.

"Nolan, I will be fine. Let's go."

His features immediately brightened and he took my hand, guiding me slowly towards the door. "We'll walk slow, Vita."

"Alright."

As Nolan put his shoes on, I felt Alexander's hand touch my shoulder and I couldn't avoid ignoring him for much longer. Alexander was frowning at me.

"Nolan, there's some toys in the garage we can bring to the park, choose anything you want," I told Nolan and he quickly ran off.

I watched Nolan as he slipped inside the garage. "If I can give him a bit of happiness, nothing else matters," I softly said to Alexander while he simply sighed in frustration and I knew why. Technically, I should still be in the hospital right now.

I fully turned towards him and motioned him to lean lower, then as he leaned in close enough, I planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be careful, I promise."

Alexander cupped my face with both of his hands.

Immediately feeling awkward, I turned around to put my shoes on, but Alexander stopped me by grabbing my elbow. I looked up at him in confusion, only to see him sigh in defeat. He knelt down and laced up my sneakers as I held his shoulders for balance.

"Thanks," I gulped

"Ready?" Nolan jumped up with a smile.

I couldn't help but smile back at him as his smiles were contagious. "Let's go."

*

We ended up taking the car for a two-minute drive down the street to the park. While Nolan rushed out of the car and Alexander quickly got out as well to keep an eye on him, I carefully slipped out of the car and slowly walked towards the park.

Since the benches were all occupied, I stood near the edge of the sandpit of the park leaning heavily on one leg, looking at Nolan. He seemed to have warmed up to Alexander and they were both kicking a soccer ball back and forth. As more kids started to join, Alexander stepped away from the circle. He looked around for a moment before meeting my gaze and walking towards me.

Alexander swiftly stood next to me and we both watched the kids play together.

Suddenly, Alexander shifted his position to stand slightly behind me and wrapped his arms around me gently. He placed his cheek against the crown of my head and sighed softly.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm sorry."

I was so shocked by what came out of his mouth that I was about to turn around to look at him, but he squeezed a little tighter, effectively holding me in place.

"I shouldn't have told you to give it to her."

"You made the right call." I put my hands on top of his. "If they really searched Phoenix, they could steal confidential information without us knowing. That would put even more people in danger."

He remained silent and I knew that he was still feeling regret even though he probably made the best choice given the situation.

"Red..."

"I'll get it back."

"Okay. I'll be standing right beside you," I whispered softly.

We stood silently watching the kids run around, playing what seemed to be a soccer game. Nolan's happiness brightened his face and it tugged my heartstrings.

"Do you want kids?" Alexander asked me in a casual manner, but I could tell that my answer really mattered when he stiffened slightly while awaiting my answer.

"If I say no?" I tilted my head up to look at up him and I felt him flinch. I couldn't help but chuckle at his honest reaction. "I do. Just not any time soon."

He relaxed slightly and we both stood in silence as we looked at the kids. As it started to get darker, the kids started to leave one by one with their parents and soon Nolan rushed over to us with the ball in his hands. Alexander let me go and stepped away.

"You ready to go, Nolan?" Alexander spoke up.

"Yeah." He smiled guilelessly, his cheeks bright red from running around with the other kids.

We all got back into the car and Nolan fell asleep on our way back to Phoenix. Since we decided not to wake up Nolan, Alexander carried him towards Cadence's current room. Before we entered, Alexander stared at me as we stood in front of the door, waiting for me. I assured him with a small smile and knocked on the door before opening it. As we entered, I saw Emmaline eating dinner while Cadence was fully focused on typing away on the laptop.

Alexander gently placed Nolan on the bed and Cadence's head snapped up away from her screen to look at us. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Almost have a location," she informed us softly as her eyes strayed to Nolan, scanning him from head to toe.

"We ate and took him out to the park," I told her.

"Thank you," she sighed gratefully.

I nodded at her and she turned her eyes back onto the screen, continuing her typing.

Emmaline slowly got up, picked up her unfinished food and tried to quietly sneak out of the room. Alexander grabbed my hand and gave me a soft squeeze before walking out closely behind her.

I slowly walked towards the table Cadence was sitting at and took a seat across from her, where Emmaline was sitting before she left.

"What are you going to do when I find her?" Cadence asked as she continued typing.

I clenched my hands on top of the table. "Bring her in for questioning," I answered with the censored version of the thought that passed through my mind.

An awkward pause of silence.

"I heard what you did for my parents," I said, snapping the silence. "I appreciate it," I let out slightly bitterly as I knew it could have been her that helped Efren capture my parents in the first place.

Cadence stopped typing and soon, her tears started to roll down her cheeks as she kept her face slightly facing downwards. This took me by surprise since Cadence didn't tend to cry easily.

She quickly wiped her tears away, but they kept rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm..." Her voice broke. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

I looked away from her.

"He's all I have left now. I couldn't risk anything."

I froze. "What?" The last time I saw Cadence, her mother was fully healthy.

Cadence finally looked up, her eyes red and glistening with more tears. "Efren threatened me, saying if I didn't work for him, he would kill my family. When I disagreed the first time, he followed through."

"Does Nolan know?" I asked as I looked at her.

"No. I haven't found the courage to tell him." She sighed while rubbing her eyes. "What should I do, Vita?"

"That is up to you, Cadence." I slowly stood up, having nothing more to say to her.

Whether Cadence decides to tell Nolan now or avoid the topic until later, once Nolan finds out, he will lose a spark of his innocence and experience the meaning of loss and death. She is only delaying the inevitable since he will find out sooner or later. That said, there was no easy way to tell a child that they would never see their grandparent again.

*

I was sitting back on my hospital bed after getting a scolding from the doctor, nurse and Mrs. Blades. There was nothing for me to do but fiddle with my phone.

Just as I was about to nod off to sleep, my cell phone vibrated.

"Yes?" I answered half awake, knowing it was Cadence.

"I thought I should let you know first."

"And?"

"I got a location," Cadence informed me and I stiffened. "She's at the airport."

****

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InvincibleBunny