known about it. And to find a photo of Jaime, all Edward had to do was run an Internet search, as Elena had done.
Did I think Jaime would tell Edward what he needed to complete the ceremony? Yes, and that’s no reflection on her character. What reason did she have not to tell him? She knew Benicio was safely under guard, and if she steered Edward in his direction, she’d be steering him into ours, which was exactly what we wanted. Our main concern was that, after Edward got what he wanted from Jaime, he’d kill her. We could only hope he wouldn’t trust Jaime’s word enough to kill her before he had the portal reopened.
We planned our attack from both ends, the first end being the gala, where Edward would find Benicio, and the other end being the portal site, where he had to return if his mission was successful. Elena and Clay would join Aaron and Cassandra at the gala; with that kind of supernatural firepower on the alert, Edward would find it nearly impossible to capture Benicio. But, just in case, Lucas and I would stand guard at the portal site.
Lucas drove us back to the neighborhood where the portal had been opened. On the way, I drew a map of the surrounding area, noting all the possible points of entry and all the best locations for perimeter spells. Then we considered places to lie in wait. We were still debating our choices when Lucas’s cell phone rang. He checked the call display, then passed it to me.
I didn’t even get a chance to say hello before Aaron cut in. “Lucas? Where are you?”
“Uh, it’s Paige, and we’re still heading to the portal site. Do you want to talk to—”
“No, not if I can help it.” His voice sounded strained, and a bit breathless. “Shit! I am so sorry, guys. We fucked up. Fucked up big-time.”
“What’s wrong?”
I tried to keep my voice steady, but Lucas’s gaze shot over the moment the words left my mouth. I mouthed, “It’s okay,” and pointed at the road.
“We were watching Benicio,” Aaron said. “Cass and I. He was on the dance floor. Couldn’t miss him with that mask. Then Cass saw his bodyguard leaving. The one with the freaky blue eyes.”
“Troy.”
“Right, and she wanted me to follow him. She said he sticks pretty close to Benicio, and if he was taking off, something was up. So I went after him while she watched Benicio. I caught the guy sneaking out the back. Tried to get him to talk to me, but he wasn’t in a talking mood. We scuffled and just as I took him down, Cass came running out. Said the guy on the dance floor wasn’t Benicio.”
My gut went cold. “Wasn’t—?”
“It was a stand-in. With the mask—Fuck! We saw that mask and we were sure it was him.”
“So Benicio’s go—”
I stopped myself, but it was too late. Lucas veered the car to the curbside and hit the brakes so hard the seat belt snapped me back against the seat. I passed him the phone.
“Aaron?” he said. “Let me talk to Troy.”
Within minutes later, Lucas had the whole story, which he relayed to me as he drove hell-for-leather for the portal site. The Cabal researchers had found the ritual, so Benicio had always known that Edward could use Lucas’s blood to reopen the portal. He’d played along with us because it had seemed the best way to ensure Lucas would be at the masquerade, safely under Cabal guard. As a precaution, he’d brought in a look-alike, who could take his place with that distinctive mask.
When Lucas and I took off after Jaime, Benicio feared the worst. And he’d feared that calling in a full Cabal SWAT team could result in a California-like fiasco, which would only endanger Lucas yet again. This had to be handled delicately. Earlier that day Benicio had sworn to us that if his name was no longer enough to protect his son, he’d do so himself; that was what he’d decided to do.
Benicio had grabbed Morris, told Troy to stay behind in case we reappeared. Then he’d left for the portal site, knowing that was where Edward had to end up. Troy, though, hadn’t been about to let his boss take on a murderous vampire aided only by a temporary bodyguard. So he waited until Benicio was gone, then went after him. And that’s when Aaron had intercepted him.