Aimee looked back and forth confused, "What is going on Lydia?"
"This is the soul stealer we came for, Ari is a Rose. Well she was a Rose until she erased her own past and changed all of ours. How many times now Ari?"
Ari felt her face heating up, "Uhm three times now I believe. I'm so sorry."
Lydia smiled, "No need honey. We're just glad we found you. The Déjà vu's been driving us all crazy."
Ari nodded, "I know that feeling."
She felt a warm body behind her as Aleksander walked up and sat next to Aimee. He looked at Ari, "I'll have some water please."
She nodded, "Aims Iced Tea?"
Aimee smirked, "This is creepy."
Ari walked back to her uncle and put in orders for them without them even ordering and got drinks for everyone, including Lucas who she still hadn’t officially met.
She watched him walk back to the table and brought their drinks over.
Aleks beamed, "So it's you?"
She smiled, "I'm so sorry if it's been hard on you all. It's entirely my fault. Your meals will be ready in a minute."
She placed the drinks down.
Lucas frowned and picked up his root beer.
She walked away from the table frightened and unsure about what to do. She wanted to go with them but if she ran her uncle and Lorna and her friends from school were as good as dead.
She served her other tables and when their food was up she brought it to them.
"So what's the plan?" Lydia asked her softly.
Ari shrugged, "Not sure. I know they want me for whatever reason. They captured me before. They made me do terrible things." Her voice broke mid sentence. She tried to keep it together. Lydia touched her soothing her.
"Ari we could work as a team, you're trained?"
She smiled, "Yeah been to Roses twice so far."
Aimee laughed, "Good god. This is bizarre. So we were friends then?"
Ari bit her lip and nodded, "Best."
Aimee smiled back.
Aleks laughed, "What about us?" He raised an eyebrow giving her a seductive look. She felt her skin flush as she shook her head, "Just friends. We were all friends."
Aimee gave him a dirty look and rolled her eyes at him. He laughed and nudged her.
"Well you were friends with everyone except Lucas."
Ari's eyes bugged out of her head.
Lucas looked up at her frowning, "We weren’t friends?"
Lydia laughed, "You were more than that Lucas."
Ari laughed nervously.
Aimee looked shocked, "Lydia awkward much?"
Lucas didn’t smile or laugh, his stare intensified instead "Is this how you've brought us exactly what we would have ordered?"
She nodded, "I know you all better than I know myself." She turned and walked away from the table again and served her other tables. She didn’t want her uncle to see her.
"That boy is sure checking you out and he's a looker." Lorna whispered to her at the dish sink.
Ari flushed, "Yeah he is hot."
Lorna nudged her, "You don’t want him I'll be happy to go back in time fifteen years and help you out."
Ari laughed, "Dirty cougar."
"Rawrrrr."
She cleared the tables avoiding their table until she had to go over.
"So how was everything?"
Aimee rubbed her belly, "Best veggie burger ever."
Lucas laughed, "It smelled like death in a bun. My steak sandwich was perfect."
She smiled at Aleksander, "Was it alright?"
He nodded, "It was very good."
Lydia grabbed her hand, "Enough small talk Ari, we need to make a plan. We need to stay and fight and save your family and friends."
"I agree. I can't leave them alone."
Aleks cleared his throat thinking out loud, "We should hide now before they see us, its bad enough if they have a shifter they will smell us out. So where are you meeting them?"
"Bus depot for the last bus out. It's in three hours."
Lucas frowned, "Well we have to assume they're watching you right now. There is no way they would have left you without surveillance. I wouldn’t have."
She wanted to take it the wrong way but she nodded looking out at the night growing dark beyond the windows, "Probably."
"Well keep your uncle busy and let us work on something. Did I read it correctly you can knock an immortal unconscious?"Ari nodded, "Except Lucas. I've uh well done it too many time to uhm him. He's immune to it now."
Aimee laughed, "We are best friends."
Lucas scowled at Aimee but blushed when he spoke to Ari, "What were we doing?"
She blushed, "Uhm well you were taking piercings out of my face one time with pliers and once you fought with your brother Ben over me. Once another wolf kissed my cheek in front of you. It was all really just misunderstandings."
He raised an eyebrow, "Someone kissed you?"
She nodded watching his face twitch at the thought. She smiled, "Does it bother you even though we've never met?"
He licked his lips staring at hers.
Lydia smacked him, "Anyway we need this to work so you better get back to work and we will come up with something."
Ari walked away and when she looked back Aimee was gone already. She hoped their plan would work.
Chapter Twenty-Eight- Bane
Aimee
She took Lorri's hand in hers and winked them to the bathroom in the diner.
"So she is legit?"
Aimee nodded, "It's weird."
Lorri laughed, "I met one once, it was weird. They really are the Bane of our existence. They mess with everything. I'll sneak out back and follow you guys."
Aimee walked casually back to the table and sat down.
"Where is she going?"
Aimee smiled at Lydia, "To watch out back."
They waited for the diner to close and then slipped out into the night to hide around the property. Lucas and Aleks went to the bus terminal to wait and watch out for the others.
Aimee watched from a distance as Ari said her goodbyes and hugged everyone. Her uncle got into the truck to drive her over. He seemed like he was devastated about her leaving. Aimee felt sad for him thinking about her own father and how keeping her distance was no doubt the only thing that had kept him alive. Her constant worry for him was the main reason she hadn’t ever tried to patch things up with Shane.
Ari climbed into the truck hugging the blond older woman once more.
"Take care of yourself sweetie and we expect visits at Christmas."
Ari waved to the woman and her uncle pulled out of the parking lot.
Aimee ran to the suburban and jumped in starting it and following after Ari.
The plan had seemed to be pretty basic, use Ari as bait and kill everyone as her uncle left. The only part Aimee was uncertain about was whether or not Ari could handle herself. She'd seen the way Luke had watched her, like the wolf and Little Red. She smirked thinking about it.
"Don’t be mean. She's his mate. He can't help how he looks at her."
Aimee grinned at Lydia, "Its just funny. He's so sexy, if you tell him that I will deny it to the death, honestly he is though and he has never shown an ounce of interest in a girl. Then suddenly this little sporty looking waitress comes along he's drooling and growling like a madman.
Lydia laughed.
They pulled in behind her uncles' old beater truck and watched as he helped unload her bag from the back of the truck. He hugged her and handed her some cash. She tried to turn him down but he insisted.
"He loves her so much." Aimee whispered.
"Its mutual." Lydia whispered back, "She's been through more than any of us will ever understand. She's lived this year four times, each time as a different her. One of the girls was raped and beaten and lived on the streets as a drug addict. Lucas saved her. She is the only one who remembers all of it."
Aimee felt pain for the girl who seemed like a small town country bumpkin.
They watched as Ari hugged her uncle and kissed him and dragged her suitcase over to the bus stop. He ran his hands through his hair and paced as if ready to tell her not to go. Aimee glanced at Lydia who nodded at her idea.
Aimee got out of the truck and walked up to the bus stop.
"Ari?"
Ari looked at her confused, "Hey."
"You catching the bus?"
Ari nodded looking at her uncle and smiling, "Yeah."
"Me too. Awesome at least we wont be alone. You must be Ari's uncle, I'm Aimee. I graduated two years before her."
He smiled brightly at Aimee, "Nice to meet you. What school do you go to?"
"She goes to Brown too Uncle."
Aimee nodded playing along, "I do yup, third year. It's an amazing school. You catching the flight from Albuquerque?"
Ari nodded, "Yeah they're paying, I got full scholarship."
Aimee whistled, "Good for you. You must be so proud of her."
Ari's uncle nodded and turned to hug her once more, "I am. Stay safe okay kid? Stay together."
Ari smiled at her uncle, "We will Vince, jeeze, easy on the PDA. It's only two months till Christmas."
He laughed, "You're a brat. See ya at Christmas."
The bus pulled up. Ari let them load her suitcase and looked at Aleksander in the corner. He nodded. Ari hugged her uncle once more and Aimee pulled her on the bus, "OMG Ari there is a dance in the fall it's so fun. Bye." She waved at Lydia as if it were her mom or grandma. Lydia waved smiling from ear to ear.
They went to the back of the bus and sat down. The bus driver scowled at them, "Tickets?"
Aimee smiled at him, "We don’t need tickets remember, we gave them to you already."
He looked dazed, "Oh yeah." He turned and walked back.
Aimee and Ari sat and watched Vince get back into his truck waving at the bus once more before driving away. When the truck was gone from sight Aimee winked them back to the bus stop.