When Enzo's efforts to protect the Bennett witches end up backfiring, Kai and Damon step in and learn that Rayna Cruz might be the key to their problem. However, Bonnie is reluctant to work with either man, but makes a pact with Kai while reliving her past years without him. Elsewhere Lucy Bennett comes face to face with Kai, which forces her to confront their fallout.
"Congratulations to the class of 2015."
After four long and hard years, Bonnie Bennett had finally graduated from Whitmore College. Earning her degree in humanities, and eligible to teach History and English. She was so proud of herself, and she knew her Grams would be proud too.
Walking back to her dorm, getting ready to move back to Mystic Fall with two job opportunities lined up at the local high school, waiting for her to make her final decision.
Once she arrived at her dorm, she packed up her things. She pulled photos of herself, Caroline, Elena, and the others from the corkboard on the wall before putting Ms. Cuddles and her other belongings into a cardboard box.
Finally, Bonnie headed toward the door, and smiled sadly at the reminder of her best friends and how far away they were. She walked out the door and down the hallway to take the boxes to her car. As soon as she got down to the vacant student lounge, gasped at who was sitting down in an armchair by the fireplace.
Bonnie stopped breathing for a moment. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Enzo grinned, a gleeful bearer of bad news. "It's your graduation. Honestly, I was expecting a better turnout. No best friends, no boyfriend, not even your mum. Who last I heard was living in Georgia."
She shrugged one shoulder and dropped the stack of boxes onto the ground. "What do you want, Lorenzo?"
Enzo waved one hand at the visitor's chair for her to take a seat. Bonnie wondered what bad news he came to deliver. Moving over, Bonnie sat down nervously as Enzo glanced around and cleared his throat.
"The Armory is closing in on Lucy Bennett. As of yesterday she became their top priority," he said, his voice cold.
"And you came to warn me out of the goodness of your heart." Bonnie said in disbelief.
Her confusion must have shown, for Enzo smiled slightly. "I'm not a fan of Alex either. She's no different from Lily or Damon, but right now she has access to things. And I can be your inside man."
"I don't trust you," she said in a sneering tone.
Enzo slumped slightly in his chair. "Whatever Alex wants with Lucy, cannot be good. Yesterday I found Mary Louise locked up in a cell. She was being tortured by the Armory," he said rebelliously. "So I'm warning you before your cousin ends up in a cell next to her."
Bonnie got tensed, her jaw tightening. "Where is she?"
"They say she's somewhere in Canada, it will be at least another 36 hours before they pin her down."
She stood up. "Nova Scotia." Bonnie hesitated. "She's hiding on an island in Nova Scotia."
Enzo looked up and smiled slightly, cocking his head to one side. "Okay then, we can take my car and drive out there tonight."
Bonnie just shook her head. 'We aren't allies. But you're right, you have insider access with the Armory and Lucy could be in serious trouble. I will work with you to get her, but…"
"I get it." Enzo waved a hand at her. "Look, I'll meet you at Mystic Grill tonight." With that, Enzo stood up and rushed out of the dormitory.
Bonnie huffed, insulted at the flippant dismissal. She didn't want to work with this traitor after everything he'd done to her and her friends. But there was no one else left. Caroline and Alaric were living in Texas with their daughters being normal parents. Matt went to Oklahoma City for the weekend to meet his girlfriend's parents. Bonnie was angry that Enzo turned up to remind her of how lonely she was. He brought Bonnie face to face with one thing she'd tried to avoid thinking about; her last night with Kai Parker two years ago.
Still holed up into the hallway with Damon at the mental health center, standing outside her door while she and Enzo argued back and forth about their return. Kai swallowed his emotions and studied the door, pretending that nothing was wrong.
"Do I have to open the door?" an irritated voice asked.
"They came to help us. And need as many people on board this time. The two of us aren't enough anymore."
"Fine!" she yelled in a voice that would have easily awakened the dead.
Kai straight up as he could hear her walking toward the door, reluctantly. When she opened it, her face was tight, while Damon was next to him with the flowers he brought her, looking so desperate. Kai watched as the vampire held the flowers up to Bonnie and walked closer into the room.
"I have an idea..."
Bonnie moved herself next to Enzo, flashing a glare at her former best friend.
"Do not speak to me. If you have anything to say, you speak to Enzo," she said, darkly. "If you have any ideas how to keep Lucy from dying, I'm sure he'll be happy to hear them, but I don't want to hear one word from your mouth directed at me. You lost the right to my attention when you left without saying goodbye."
With a defeated sigh, Damon nodded.
"How did Lucy get sick?" Kai asked, leaning against the door.
"Funny that you ask, since you were the one who abandoned her." Enzo said in a sneering tone. "The Armory used Rayna Cruz's blood to make pills that could poison humans and supernaturals."
"They were testing it out on Nora and Mary Louise, probably other witches," Bonnie said without turning her head to look at Kai and Damon. "Rayna's immune to magic, those pills made it so that Lucy could stay off the Armory's radar."
"And since Lucy can't do magic, we stashed her in a safe house." Enzo remarked slowly.
"You guys couldn't have found another way to hide her," Kai challenged. He could have kicked himself again, but his mouth seemed to work without his brain's input. "How could either of you trust anything from the Armory?"
"Another way?" ask Bonnie in a low voice. "None of this would have happened if..." She stopped short.
Kai's features changed, rearranging themselves slightly.
"In case you haven't noticed, we had little help back in Mystic Falls," said Enzo grimly. "Not with Valerie running off with Stefan or Damon desiccated in New York. We couldn't call Caroline and Ric or Deputy Donovan. Bonnie and I were on our own. We made the best of a dangerous situation."
"Look, we need to get back to the cabin." Bonnie muttered to Enzo, and Kai felt his heart sinking in anticipation.
Enzo smiled slightly before picking up her bags and pulling out his car keys.
"I'll drive." Enzo walked towards a speechless Damon and clapped his shoulder, before motioning to him to follow. "Keep up, mate." Damon took one last look at Bonnie, who was shooting glares in his direction, before following behind Enzo.
Kai didn't know what he was going to say to her. He never had time to plan what he wanted to say to her. He never thought he'd ever see her again. Instead, the words seemed to march out of his mouth on their own.
"I want to fix this, Bonnie."
Her face darkened. "You left her alone. She didn't know what happened to you."
A chill ran over his skin. "I'm going to make this right, with both of you," said Kai, stepping closer to her.
She opened her mouth to protest. But Kai moved to step just a little closer to her. Bonnie's features were as coldly perfect as ever. How he wished he could trace the sharp lines of nose and chin and cheekbones with a fingertip. His hands were knotting into fists to keep himself from touching that beautifully modeled face now.
Kai had no more self-control, not for her.
Her eyes darkened, and she held him in her gaze. "I want them to pay for what they've done."
He could not close his eyes, he could not look away. "We'll make them pay, every single one of them." Kai put a hand almost on her arm. But not quite.
Kai knew deep down in Bonnie was a thirst for vengeance. He saw that look in her eyes before, when she stabbed and left him in the 1903 prison world. The Armory poisoned and killed Nora, her friend, and their experiment with Rayna could cost Lucy her life, too. Kai wanted revenge. He wanted to kill everyone including Rayna Cruz for putting them all in danger.
She looked into his eyes, and in that moment, they had an understanding. Kai looked back at her, guarding himself as if he expected her to take his heart in her hands and destroy it. A smile starting on her face, looking into his eyes, with the smallest spark of hope forming in their depths.
Lucy unlocked the back door and walked up the stairs that led to the apartment above Ms. Furtado. The building smelled even worse than it did when she left in the morning. Lucy sighed as she entered her apartment and kicked off her high heels.
Hanging up her jacket on the coat rack and moving into her living room, she heard a faint knock on her door. Must be Ms. Furtado asking for more scented incense to burn. The older woman who lived in this small dwelling with her was always reinventing new Mediterranean cuisine, that mainly includes fish, which left the whole place smelly.
"I'm coming," she mumbled carelessly.
Hurry back over to open her door. Lucy Bennett froze when she saw who was standing in her doorway.
"Bonnie!"
There was her cousin and another man, with dark hair and eyes. Bonnie straightened up, fire in her eyes.
"Can we come in?"
"Of course, come in," said Lucy, opening the door wide. "Er… should I even ask why you're here?"
"The Armory is here for you."
Lucy blinked in surprise. "Here as in…"
"You have about twenty minutes before they come knocking down your door and take you back to Virginia."
Bonnie stared at her friend. "Enzo and I came to get you out of here."
"Bonnie, who is this man? Where's Kai?" Lucy asked sharply.
Both Bonnie and her friend Enzo looked very uncomfortable.
"Kai had a run in with a vampire huntress," Bonnie forced a smile. "He made a deal protecting her from the Armory."
Lucy's eyes widened, and Enzo stood silently.
"He told me he would come back for me," said Lucy quietly. "Two fucking years ago."
There was a moment of silence. Then Enzo piped up. "I understand your pain, Lucy. I really do, but we have little time."
Her sharp amber eyes bore into him. "This is too dangerous. I promise Kai not to get you involved in my mess."
Bonnie rubbed her temple. "Kai left you here. For two years, Lucy, you don't have many options except us."
"I don't even know him."
She bristled visibly. "You didn't know Kai, and you trusted him. Even after everything I told you." She glared at Lucy.
Lucy shrugged negligently. "You also told me he turned the corner."
"He did," she replied crisply.
"Then why did he leave me here?"
An awkward silence fell between them once more.
Enzo exhaled. "From what I was told, Rayna threatened to kill Damon and a few of Kai's old heretic buddies. Kai knew the Armory could not cage Rayna for long and promised her protection. However, the Armory has Rayna now."
"Wait, what?"
"How do you even know this?"
Enzo drew in a deep breath. "I had a meeting with Alex yesterday evening before we left. Rayna has been under the Armory's watch for the past month."
Cautiously, Lucy inquired, "Bonnie, does he work for them?"
"Look, we don't have time for this. Any minute now they'll be breaking these doors down." Enzo said firmly.
"Like hell I'm going with you." She sternly tamped down the sudden desire to scream and scamper away—
Enzo gave her a sharp look. Even through the subtle crow's feet, his steely gaze sent shivers down her spine. And Bonnie twisted her hands together in a way that Lucy knew had meant guilt.
"Enzo is an old friend who's working undercover." Bonnie whispers to her. "I know it sucks that Kai left you here alone. But I won't leave you. I promise, I'll do everything in my power to protect you, to protect what family I have left." Those green eyes filled with tears immediately.
Suddenly, Enzo appears behind her and places his hand over her mouth. Lucy could see from the corner of her eyes Bonnie moving towards her window and opened it.
"They're here." Bonnie exclaimed, running from the room.
Lucy held her breath. She could hear the footsteps flooding up the stairwell. What she wasn't prepared for was the vampire using his super-speed to get them out of her apartment and into the back alley.
Nearby the dumpster, Enzo let Lucy go. She stared up at him with wide eyes, unable to speak until her cousin appeared beside them.
"We need to get back to Virginia." Bonnie declared, shaking her head.
Enzo nodded briskly. "I have a safe house we can use."
"Wait, a minute. Now Bonnie, I…"
Lucy never got to finish her thought. Before she knew it, a syringe was being jammed into her neck. She gasped in surprise, looking from Bonnie to Enzo.
"You fucker." She went limp and floated off into the darkness.
The drive back was a long one. Took them four hours to make it into Virginia, with Damon tailing them. Bonnie was fuming beside Enzo the entire ride. Every single emotion punching her in the gut today. Between the news about Lucy, seeing Kai and Damon, and still mourning the loss of Nora. Bonnie felt tired, not sure how much longer she could go on.
"So that's it between you two?"
Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest. "I've dealt with Damon's shit for far too long. All of us have," she replied tartly. "You know Alaric told Caroline a year ago, how much better his life was now that Damon's no longer in it. He was a shitty friend to all of us."
Laughing, Enzo deepened his voice. "I thought we all got past the anger stage."
"We did. But it's easier for some of us who've built a life since then," said Bonnie with a miffed look on her face.
"Bonnie…"
"Just don't," she interrupted. Her tone wasn't as frosty as before.
Enzo looked wary. "What did you and Kai talk about?"
Bonnie cleared her throat. "I just needed to remind him how serious this situation is."
"We're going to save her. I'll stop at nothing to make sure we do, and when it's over, I'll rip out that huntress's heart." A regretful expression came over Enzo's face.
"Lucy is a survivor after all," she whispered, reaching out to give him a comforting pat on the shoulder.
Enzo agrees with Bonnie's remark as they pull down an old dirt road, which leads to a secluded cabin in the middle of the woods. Damon pulls in behind them in his Camaro and gets out of the car to join them, along with Kai.
"Well, this is... quaint." He narrowed his eyes. "What do you think, Kai, could see me in a place like this?"
The heretic rolled his eyes. "I think you should stop talking before you dig yourself into a deeper hole."
She also felt a furious retort bubbling to her lips. "If only." Bonnie kept walking to the front door, searching for her keys.
"It's a safe location, no one has found it for months." Enzo remarked gratefully.
Damon smiled and beamed at Kai, who seemed to deflate somewhat. "Lonely, cramped, like a prison cell. I can see why Enzo likes it."
"You know what? He's welcome to go back to his musty old mansion far away from here." Bonnie reminded him. Her voice turned icy, dripping with venom.
A smile spread over Kai's lips. Bonnie was sure that he thought their bicker was pleasant and welcoming, reminding him of old times back in 1994.
Damon scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not hating on the love shack you two build here."
The click of the lock sliding open seemed almost impossibly loud, and she could see his gaze sharpen. Everyone made their way into the house. Kai looked around before he spotted her in the kitchen. The smell of meatballs and tomato sauce had everyone's mouth watering.
"Luce, that smells amazing."
Bonnie openly grinned as she greeted her cousin in high spirits.
"Oh. Cozy. It's a big step, moving in with someone." Damon muttered to Enzo. "And you guys have a live-in chief."
Bonnie rolled her eyes and walked over into the kitchen. Lucy Bennett put down her knife and glanced across the room at her cousin. Those amber eyes spotted Kai, who appeared to be deep in thought for a moment. Bonnie waited patiently.
"Lucy… hi." Kai somewhat flushed, stepping into the room.
Taking in her face closely, Kai stopped right there. The witch balled her fists before she stormed out the kitchen and left them all behind. Bonnie could hear the bedroom door being slammed shut.
Bonnie looked behind her briefly, wondering if she should have warned her cousin.
Snorting, Damon pointed out, "Awkward moment for Kai. Anyway, where are you hiding that pesky little huntress?"
Enzo rolled his eyes and nudged him. "Storm cellar. Follow me."
He turns and walks back out the front door to head to the side cellar door while Damon follows close behind him. When they left, Bonnie went to turn off the stove, and Kai slumped against the wall.
She chewed on her lip. "If you think I have a temper on me, check how bad Lucy's gets."
"She's going to hate me forever." Kai sighed, leaning forward. He laced his fingers together and hung his head.
Bonnie laughed bitterly and shook her head. "Probably. If she has that long."
He flared his nostrils. "She will."
A small smirk made its way onto her pink lips while they stood in different parts of the house in silence, neither of them sure if the other was grateful for the company.
She woke up gasping. As she tossed and turned on the couch, still groggy from the effects of the sedative, Enzo gave her back at Nova Scotia. When she remembers what happened, she scrambles to her feet and walks over to the fireplace.
Just then, Enzo walks in the front door, and she immediately tries to attack him with a fireplace iron, though he easily dodges her strikes. He eventually grabs the fireplace iron out of her hands, so Lucy rushes toward the door to flee the cabin, only for Enzo to vamp-speed in front of her to block her path. Lucy, at a loss for options, thrusts out her hands to attack him with magic.
"Motus"
Nothing happened. She tried a second time and still failed. Deciding to go another route, Lucy tries to run away. Enzo stands in her way and blocks her, grabbing her by the shoulders to hold her back and causing Lucy to struggle violently against him.
"Get your damn hands off of me."
"Lucy, I'm just trying to help you." Enzo replied coolly, his eyes snapping to hers.
"You work for them." She tried not to let her voice rise to the squeaky register it always reached when she was flustered. "You may have Bonnie fooled, but not me."
"I've known Bonnie a lot longer than them, and I wouldn't do anything to harm her or you."
She stiffened, and he let his fingers fall. Lucy sighed and gave him a long look.
"What happened to my magic?" she asked, voice steady and almost cold. It did not put Enzo off in the slightest.
"It's an anti-magic sedative, it's keeping you hidden from the Armory."
She set her jaw. "You're in over your head. Both of you, these people, have been around a lot longer than you've been alive."
The vampire couldn't repress a snort. "I can handle myself." Enzo started, slowly, unsure how to approach the subject, "Look, I don't know why they want you, but they want you, and in my experience, when they're being dodgy about what they want, it's because they want it for dodgy purposes."
"Guess they don't tell you everything, huh errand boy."
His expression was carefully blank. "If you could just fill in the details for me."
"Don't worry about it."
"How about you tell us why you and Kai were together?" Bonnie stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.
Lucy watched as Bonnie got seated on a lounge chair in a relaxed pose. Her eyes were anything but, and Lucy could see Bonnie's green eyes darken.
"I fucked up a job for them."
"Let me guess, they want revenge?" Enzo asked as he walked swiftly past her to the kitchen.
"Maybe, I don't know," she murmured. "One sister wanted me dead, not sure about the other one, Alex."
Bonnie jerked her head up, startled, glancing in Enzo's direction.
"That's a start." Lucy could smell the freshly ground beans brewing. "We need to figure out what Alex is up to. I have some books and journals for you to go over."
She sighed and shook her head. "I don't think so, I'm not staying in this hut, doing research and sitting on my hands."
Bonnie ran her tongue over her teeth, her fury emanating from of her. "You've been sitting on them for two years waiting around for someone else to save you."
His lips curled into a smirk. "How about this then, in exchange for my protection, with a complimentary room and board, you can help us figure out what Alex is planning with you or you can go back on the streets," Enzo poured the pitch black coffee into two separate mugs and then brought it over to Bonnie.
"Enzo will keep up appearances with the Armory." Bonnie said, "I have to move my things back to Mystic Falls and get ready for my job interview this week."
"And while we're both away, you must take one of these." Enzo pulled out a bottle of pills from his hoodie pocket. "These pills keep you hidden from locator spells."
"How foolproof is this plan you two have?"
"I can't promise anything, but Enzo and I will do our best. One of will check in on you daily, you're not to be alone for over 24 hours. If we're gone longer than that, something bad has happened and you need to run and find Abby in Georgia." Abby Bennett was Lucy's first cousin. She hadn't seen her for over fifteen years.
Her back stiffened. "Fine, we'll do it your way."
After leaving Kai in the cabin, Damon followed Enzo down to the storm cellar, where the vampire spotted Rayna Cruz on the ground, frantically scribbling on torn out pages from various books. Looking down, Damon could see she was not only writing words down, but sketches of various shapes. Nothing she wrote or drew made any sense to him.
Rayna soon pauses and winces, screwing in pain. Damon looked confused at the state of this all time powerful hunter.
"What's wrong with her?" Damon asked, voice chill and face as still as marble.
"She gets vision now, mate," said Enzo with a wave of a hand weighed down by gaudy rings, "Caused by that little mystical connection to all those vampires who escaped the Phoenix Stone. It's made her a little... loony."
"You know I can hear you, right?" Rayna scoffed, "And must you talk about me in third person."
As Damon walked towards Rayna to crouch down behind her, Kai entered the room, looking flushed. The vampire could only guess how his conversation with the Bennetts had gone down.
"I feel like I miss something." Kai insisted, following closer in the dimly lit cellar.
"Rayna is completely kooky now," Damon repeated, lacing his hands together, "Look sister, we're here to broker a deal."
The huntress pursed her lips. "Because that worked out so well last time."
Kai frowned. "You were being reckless again. They would have never caught you if..."
"If what?" Rayna demanded, hurriedly flipping through the books in front of her. "Anyway, I told Enzo already I can't help his lady friend," she continued, watching his shoulders stiffen.
"Yes, and Enzo's the guy who'd take "No," for an answer." Damon spat as Enzo scoffed at this jab. "Me? I'm stubborn, I'm willful, I'm bossy. I usually get what I want. So, let me ask you this — what if you had a little help to get rid of those runaway prisoners?"
A warning was in Kai's gaze. It was then where Rayna paused on her writing, thinking deeply about Damon's proposal.
Kai's breath whooshed out of him sharply. "Damon and I can form a hit squad."
She furrowed her brow. "Go on," turning slightly so that she could face him. Rayna could see the uncertainty in his face, the troubled gaze as he looked at her.
"Well, the three of us here would be happy to wipe out anyone off your list for a small favor." Kai replied. His eyes bored into hers.
Rayna looked uncertain. "Now what could I possibly do for you?"
This was taking a leap of faith… that could end everything.
Kai's eyes darted to Damon. The other man coughed before saying. "We want you to die." The vampire blinked away fear as he tried assessing her.
Rayna chuckled before returning to her writing. "I don't think so."
Exasperated, Enzo said, "I don't think you realize this yet, but you're on your last mortal life."
Her expression grew troubled. "I know that."
"Now, what we'd like to do is to take that shamanic life and transfer it to Lucy. We think it will heal her." Enzo said, his voice as unctuous as ever.
Rayna seemed to relax a fraction. "If it doesn't work?" she asked, raising her dark brows.
"Bonnie said it will work, she knows her stuff." Enzo replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Her eyes ran over his face, and for a moment he felt exposed. "If I give up my link to the Everlasting, I'll die."
Kai wrung his hands and nodded. "Yep. But if you don't, I'll kill the Everlasting, and you'll die, anyway." His voice was deceptively soft. It was the calm before the storm, the stillness prior to the lethal strike.
"And at least this way you get to be a good samaritan in the end," Damon pointed out. Then his lips curled into a smirk.
Rayna's heart was pounding in the walls of her chest. She shook her head. "Worse than the last sales pitch you offered me."
"Here's a better offer." Kai inhaled sharply through his nose as he pushed Damon out of the way to crouch down to Rayna, looking her in the eyes. "You've been chasing vampires every day of your eight lives. Every day. From what Damon told me, they blew the Phoenix Stone up and now a bunch of its prisoners are out in the wind again."
Her cheeks warmed under his dubious stare.
"Do you really want to spend the rest of your last life chasing them down again, until you're weak and old, probably getting locked back up in that psych ward." Kai asked darkly.
After swallowing hard, she whispered, "No."
A tiny smirk replaced the frown that marred his face. "So let us do your dirty work for the next few days and you can die in peace."
She was silent.
"Prove it," she said firmly, seizing her torn-out pages. "Prove that you can kill the ones on my list in-progress. Clear them from my head."
Enzo and Damon both signed dramatically at her response, while Kai just stood to his feet and walked over to join them.
Rayna tilted her head to the side. "I'll consider your deal once my head's cleared."
"Give us the list.." Damon snarled, wagging a finger at her.
Rayna scoops up dozens of pages as she tore out of books that contained her scribbles. And Damon had a shocked look on his face, trying to connect the dots of her handy work.
"Lucy Bennett doesn't have over 48 hours before the effect of those pills wears off and the Armory will come calling for her." Rayna chewed on her lip. "That's if the withdrawal doesn't escalate her illness. And those vampires could be anywhere. You'd better get started."
Damon made a face as he rifled through the pages. He could feel the burning stare of both men beside him. Neither of them suspecting the inner turmoil of Damon's thoughts on this whole deal.
After having the most stressful day at the Armory, Enzo was pleased to have some peace when he entered the safe house. It was empty, though. Bonnie allowed Lucy to walk around the area, going no further than a mile outside the location. Enzo made some tea while he waited for the Bennett witch.
Not long after he set the kettle on, did Lucy return to the cabin, a surprise look on her face. Enzo noticed she was in her joggers and a cropped sweatshirt, her hair pushed back into a ponytail. She looked quite pleasant for a change.
Enzo gave her a calculating look. "Hey." He greeted Lucy.
Her face flushed. "Hey. It's getting chilly out there." It was late November already.
Lucy walked over to the breakfast table and took a seat. Across from her was a book with blue pages. She reached over for it and began flipping through it.
"Find anything interesting?" he asked, moving over to take a seat across from her with a mug of tea in his hands.
The witch glances over at him, raising one eyebrow incredulously, wondering if he's actually attempting to be nice, or at least not vile.
"Trying to figure out what was in that vault." Lucy muttered, "Whatever it was, it drew Yvette in, lured her somehow?"
Enzo sipped his tea. "Why do you think it wanted her?"
She sighs and turns to Enzo, her normally cruel eyes merely dull with boredom. "Alex wasn't big on the details when she offered me the job," Lucy scolded, "But she paid $5,000 for a quick sealing spell, and I was in the area so I accepted the job with no questions. Half an hour later, the younger sister comes wailing at me about killing her sister."
Enzo noticed the distressed look on the woman's face. "You don't think Alex knew Yvette was in there?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Probably not." Lucy frowned and flipped through the large text in her hand. "But she knows something, and whatever she wants from me can't be good."
Enzo could feel his gut clench. "Bonnie believes the other sister might be our best bet to get some answers."
"Could you ask Alex about her?" Lucy asked. She was preternaturally still, and Enzo was feeling unnerved by it.
His eyes darted to the small grandmother clock on the wall. "Not without raising suspicion. Don't worry, Bonnie is trying to locate her."
She gave him an inquisitive look. "Do you mind explaining to me what you're getting out of all of this?"
He inhaled sharply. "My father and uncle were the ones who created the Armory." Enzo said, lacing his fingers together. "Alex and her sisters, those are my very distant cousins."
Frowning, she whispered, "Then why even help me? Why not give me over to your family, Enzo?"
He ran his tongue across his teeth. "Years ago Bonnie saved my life. I died, and she brought me back from the other side." Enzo conceded. "In fact, she brought back all her friends, that's what she does, save people."
Lucy smiled, but she couldn't help but feel guilty as well. "Complete opposite of what I do."
"She's the actual hero of Mystic Falls," he said, honestly trying to think of something to say. "Not Elena Gilbert or Stefan Salvatore. They make things more complicated. But Bonnie, she's the real deal. I owe her my life, and I'm paying the debt by saving yours."
Lucy smiled half-heartedly. "Sounds like you care for her."
Enzo snorted humorlessly. "Your cousin has plenty of suitors, although they all seem to abandon her."
"You mean, Kai?" Lucy asked, a fire in her tone.
"Damon Salvatore too." The older man's expression grew sour. "I suppose neither of them could make her their first choice."
"One thing about the Bennett women, we have poor luck with men." Lucy chuckles, shaking her head back and forth in bitter amusement, glancing over the book once more.
Enzo gave her a curious look. "Men run away from women who have a lot of fire and passion in them," he chortled, smirking. "Better to wait for the right one, then to get trapped with someone who doesn't deserve you."
Lucy stares at him for a moment, as though unsure what to say or do.
"I've got to go. Alex wants me to report to her tonight." Enzo almost whispered, biting down on his lip before standing up and finally moving to the door. His fingers tremble as he pulls back on the handle, when her voice suddenly cuts him off and he freezes in his tracks.
"You know, the guest room has a California king-size bed," Lucy began, deliberately keeping it vague. "Bonnie never uses it, she always goes back home when she visits."
Enzo could hear the unspoken offer in her voice and stare up at her in shock, not knowing what to say at her sudden offer of comfort.
Unable to stop the small smile from spreading across his face. "I might take you up on that." Enzo promised, his eyes gleaming.
Lucy smiles sadly back at him, then nodding her head towards the door, silently reminding him that Alex was waiting for his return. Enzo nods back and quickly slips through the door and back to his car, the dank air already collapsing down on top of him, but Enzo knew, it's only a matter of time when he'll need space from the Armory, at least he had another place to go, that's enough to keep him breathing.
Everyone gathered back into the cabin, leaving Rayna Cruz in the cellar alone with her visions and thoughts. Kai remained in the living area with Damon and Enzo planning and Bonnie was trying to get Lucy to come out her room.
Damon's lips twitch sadly at Kai. "Over a hundred people on this list, no way we can take out this many vampires within 48 hours."
"Rayna wants us to start in Texas, it's where the stone got destroyed." Enzo grumbled with a sigh.
"And then Richmond, Atlanta, probably Ocean City." Kai said, voice heavy with scorn. "Most of those vampires are probably crossing the border to Canada and Mexico by now."
"Then we enlist everyone to help. I'll call Ric and Stefan," Damon spoke up. "Bon-Bon can call Baby Gilbert, Lockwood, and Donovan."
"Jeremy and Tyler are both in South America." Bonnie said, crossing her arms before entering the room. Behind her was Lucy, looking quite meek.
Damon raised an eyebrow. "And Donovan?"
"I don't want to bother him right now," Bonnie replied as she averted her eyes.
Kai sighed as he turned his gaze over to the other Bennett sitting by the kitchen window.
"Just call Stefan and Ric." He blinked furiously, trying to get his eyes to focus.
Enzo eased somewhat. "We should split up, three of us can take my car."
"I'll see if I can hitch with Ric." Damon replied, voice clipped in annoyance.
"Luce, will you be okay by yourself?" Enzo looked at her for a moment before pushing his hair out of his eyes.
Lucy's head snapped up, and she peered at the group before her.
"I'll be fine, just be safe. Both of you." She spoke directly to Bonnie and Enzo.
"Alright let's head out." Damon and the others gather themselves to exit the cabin. Bonnie was the last one out the door as she gave Lucy a sad look, pleading with her cousin, before walking past Kai. He gave her a woeful half-smirk as he watched Bonnie walk out the door to join the others.
The cold air from the front door was nipping at Lucy's cheeks. She pulled her hoodie closer to her face. He took this chance to move closer to her, making his way into the kitchen. His hands buried deep in his pockets, his smile was small and sharp, as if he was a creature with edged teeth.
"When I left you in Nova Scotia, I was coming back." Kai began, voice soft and sinuous. "Damon and I teamed up to kill Rayna, only for Bonnie to tell us, killing Rayna means me and everyone else marked by her dies too. I couldn't leave my friends to deal with Rayna since I was the one who brought her to Mystic Falls in the first place," he said stiffly, the hated words rolling off his tongue. "I didn't have a choice but to run."
"There's always a choice," she chastised.
Kai shook his head. "My back was against the wall Lucy, I hated the choices I've made ever since I was a kid." He pointed out. "This time instead of ruining more lives, I was trying to save some."
Lucy nodded, believing in the firmness of his voice, the intensity of his blue eyes and the faint shuddering of his tired body. "Fine, you were trying to do right by your friends. But that does not change the fact that you left without a word. If Enzo and Bonnie hadn't gotten me that day, I'd probably be worse off." Her entire body is rigid.
More time passed, and silence suffocated them once more. Kai thought he knew the brunette well, but now he was not so sure. The woman that he knew would have removed herself from the situation immediately. The woman that he knew was not so delicate.
Kai reached his stiff hand out, and his finger gently grazed a scab on Lucy's cheek. He could see the fear and confusion in the older Bennett's brown eyes. "You better put something on that, could leave a mark." He dropped his hand back to his side.
Lucy reached up and felt the scar he had touched. "I noticed it this afternoon. I haven't been feeling that great since Bonnie told me the bad news."
He watched her intently. "I'm going to fix this. We're all going to make sure you come out of this alive." His voice was even, and his mask didn't falter.
Lucy's eyes seemed to shine with an unholy light. "Better get on with it hero, from what Enzo told me the Armory will be here in less than 48 hours."
AN: This is part one of chapter fifteen. Part two: Bonnie and Kai have a couple of explosive conversations about Bonnie's personal life. Kai gets curious and jealous of Bonnie and Enzo's budding relationship, and Bonnie puts an end to all the speculations.