Bailey let out a sob as she fell into her mother’s waiting embrace. Doreen kissed her hair and rocked her silently until she regained some composure and sat up wiping at her eyes.
“You’re more beautiful than I could’ve hoped,” Doreen said, brushing the hair out of her face tenderly before standing and walking over to enter the hallway. She saw who she was looking for and made tracks in his direction. He saw her approach and turned to her expectantly.
“Mr. Watts, would you see that my son makes his way here, please?”
“Of course,” he said, a little surprised that she was speaking to him.
Doreen spun on her heel and made her way back to the room. She had left the door open and she entered to see Piper sitting behind Bailey on the sofa and redoing the braid in her hair. She watched curiously for a moment as Piper whispered to her comfortingly and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, taking her hand and pulling her gently to her feet.
“I want you to see Ryan,” Doreen said as they turned to her. “Only for a moment, and I’ll talk to him later about things. After I see him away, I’d like to find out what you’ve in mind for us.”
“Okay,” Bailey said shakily.
“How long can you stay?”
“We have to leave tonight.”
“We?” Doreen asked, smiling at their joined hands.
“Piper and I.”
“I see,” Doreen said tonelessly. “Come give me a hug, Piper,” she added with a smile and chuckled when Piper bounced away from Bailey, wrapping her arms around her as the door opened and Ryan entered, taking in the scene with a puzzled expression.
“What’s going on, Mum?” Ryan said hesitantly.
“What’s it look like?” Doreen asked.
Ryan looked from person to person until his eyes came to rest on Bailey and he stared at her confusedly, cocking his head a little.
“Don’t be rude, Ryan,” Doreen admonished. “Say hello to your sister.”
“Sister,” Ryan said slowly. “But…oh my God.” His eyes widened as it all crashed in on him.
“Hello, Ryan,” Bailey said quietly, trying not to shuffle her feet.
“My God, Bailey?” he asked unbelievingly and she nodded her head. “I don’t understand,” he said rooted in place.
“I’ll explain later,” Doreen said. “Give her a hug, you dolt,” she added happily.
He crossed the room and tentatively embraced her, backing away slowly and looking into her eyes. “Jesus please us, it really is you,” he said and embraced her again, earnestly.
“Ryan, this is Piper Tate,” Bailey said uncomfortably as he released her and began to study her at close range.
“Hi, Ryan,” Piper said cheerily, stepping forward and extending her hand to give Bailey a little space.
“Hello,” he said distantly, shaking her hand, slowly tearing his eyes away from Bailey and looking at her. “Uhm… Who are you?” he asked bluntly.
“She’s my girlfriend,” Bailey said defensively, taking her hand when Ryan released it.
Ryan shook his head and fell bonelessly into one of the chairs. “What the hell is going on?”
“Your sister’s alive and she has a girlfriend,” Doreen said dryly. “I’ll explain the rest to you later.”
Ryan spent a moment looking from person to person. “I think I need a drink,” he said quietly.
“Ryan, I wanted you to see her,” Doreen said. “There’s a lot you should know but I need to talk to her for a bit, she needs to leave soon.”
“Alright,” he said slowly, rising from his seat and walking over to stand in front of Bailey again. “You’re beautiful, sister,” he said with a smile. “I’m not going to pretend I’ve a clue about what’s going on, but it does my heart good to have you back,” he said and tenderly embraced her. “Will we see you again soon?”
“I hope so,” Bailey said returning the embrace.
“I hope so, too,” Ryan said and released her.
He turned to Piper. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Thank you,” Piper said brightly.
“Be on your way, Ryan,” Doreen said proudly. “I need to speak to your sister. I’ll talk to you shortly.”
Ryan nodded and beamed a smile at Bailey as he left the room, throwing a parting glance over his shoulder.
“He looks like Da,” Bailey said quietly.
“Yes, he does,” Doreen said. “Doesn’t have his smarts though, but he’s a good man.”
“He has a fiance?”
“Yes, Fiona. I would’ve sent for her too, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you,” Doreen said.
“It’s been a tough day,” Bailey said tiredly. “Thank you.”
“Take a seat, child. And tell me what we should expect,” Doreen said padding over and sitting down on the sofa.
“I expect everything to be finalized in the next two weeks,” Bailey began, seating herself on the sofa across from her mother with Piper. “Once it’s done, you and Ryan are free to live anywhere you choose under the Cameron name.”
“Even America?” Doreen asked.
“Yes, anywhere you’d like.”
“Where do you live?”
“In Atlanta.”
“I’d like to be near my daughter,” Doreen said. “But I’m afraid we’ve little money, no jobs, and aren’t citizens.”
“You don’t need jobs, you’ll be citizens of this country if you like and I’ve more than enough money for you to live anyway or anywhere you want.”
“Then I want to live in Atlanta.”
“I’d like that, too,” Bailey said quietly.
“Both Mr. Watts and Piper say these people want to kill you,” Doreen stated. “How do you plan to survive?”
“I can’t tell you that because too many things can change,” Bailey said. “But I’ll win and I’ll get what I want.”
“What do you want?”
“I want a normal life with Piper and my family,” Bailey said honestly. “And I’ll get it, one way or another.”
“Alright, when do we know it’s over?”
“I’ll either come for you myself or I’ll send word through Major Watts,” Bailey said.
“I hate to even ask this, but what happens if we never hear from you?” Doreen asked reluctantly.
“I’ve made arrangements for everyone’s welfare if I don’t survive,” Bailey said and Piper looked at her sharply. “The Major will be contacted by someone else in that case. But I don’t expect that to happen.”
“These people are obviously very powerful,” Doreen said sadly. “Can’t we just run now that we’re together?”
“No,” Bailey said pointedly.
“Why?” Doreen said. “I don’t want to chance losing you to these people again.”
“Because they’ve stolen too much from me and I’ve no intention of running. It wouldn’t be fair to Piper, you and Ryan, or myself.”
“Is there no changing your mind?”
“No,” Bailey confirmed.
“Alright,” Doreen said. “I’d like to spend Christmas with my daughter.”
Bailey exchanged a quick look with Piper.
“Mrs. Cameron, I believe my family would be delighted to have the Cameron family for Christmas at their home,” Piper said. “If that’s alright with you?”
“Will you and Bailey be there?” Doreen asked.
“Of course,” Piper said.
“I think that would be very nice.”
“Me too,” Piper said, squeezing Bailey’s hand.
“We should go,” Bailey said reluctantly and Doreen’s eyes instantly filled.
“You come back to me,” Doreen said roughly.
“I will,” Bailey said. “I promise.”
Doreen stood up. “Give your Mum a hug.”
Bailey rose and embraced her tightly. “I’ll see you again,” she whispered in her mother’s ear.
“I love you, child,” Doreen said, squeezing her tightly before letting go. “Give me a squeez
e too, Piper.”
Piper smiled and embraced her. “Don’t you ever let her go,” Doreen said so softly in her ear that Piper barely heard it.
Bailey took Piper’s hand and leaned quickly over her mother, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Goodbye, Mum.”
“Bye, love,” Doreen said wiping at her eyes as they walked to the door but Bailey turned as she crossed the threshold and beamed a winning smile in her direction.
“Wait,” Doreen said excitedly. “I’ve something for you,” she said as she began frantically looking around for her purse, and finding it with a relieved sigh, she dug through it furiously, walking to the door to hand Bailey a picture.
“What’s this?” Bailey asked curiously.
“Look at it.”
Her eyes fell to the photograph and grew moist as she viewed the features of her family in its entirety.
“Thank you,” Bailey said her voice cracking. “I’ve no pictures to remember them by.”
“I thought as much,” Doreen said. “I look at that one everyday and ask God to watch over those no longer with us and tonight I’ll not be grieving for you. Now be on your way so I can have another good cry,” she said with a shooing gesture.
Bailey could only nod and Piper shot her another smile in parting as they entered the hall. Jeremy saw them coming and signaled to Andrew.
“Have them bring the car about,” he said and Andrew instantly disappeared.
He turned back to the women to see that Piper had brought them up short and was whispering to Bailey. He waited patiently until they arrived.
“Would you like me to accompany you to the airfield or would you like some time alone before your flight?” Jeremy asked pleasantly.
“Would you be offended if we left alone, Major?” Piper asked and he smiled.
“Of course not,” he said offering Piper his hand. “It was a pleasure, Miss Tate.”
“Yes, it was very nice to meet you,” Piper said brightly.
“Bailey, I hope to see you soon,” he said, offering her his hand as well.
“Thank you for everything, Jeremy,” she said shakily as she shook his hand. “You’ve my number if you have any questions?”
“I do,” Jeremy said surprised at how soft her hands were.
“Take care,” Bailey said, releasing his hand and taking Piper’s again.
“You too,” he said as the car pulled up and Bailey opened the door for Piper and got in behind her.
“Sir?” Andrew said appearing at his side as the car pulled away.
“Yes, Andrew?”
“Who was that woman?”
“Which one?”
“The dark one,” Andrew said cautiously. “She’s dangerous.”
“Yes, she is,” Jeremy admitted.
“Who is she?”
“The Wraith,” Jeremy said honestly as he pulled his cigarettes from his pocket.
VII
She was a fast machine, She kept her motor clean,
She was the best damn woman I had ever seen.
—Young, Young, Johnson
Piper rinsed the shampoo out of her hair and stepped out of the shower, her thoughts centering on Bailey as she dried off. She had been extremely quiet since they had left the embassy and upon arriving home, she had declined an offer to join her in the shower and had immediately crawled into bed. Wrapping a towel around her, she left the bathroom and found her asleep fully clothed. She gently sat down beside her on the edge of the bed and carefully took the photograph from Bailey’s fingers, knowing that she had fallen asleep while studying it.
She looked at the photograph for the first time and saw a Bailey that made her breath hitch. She was smiling widely and her eyes sparkled in way that she had never seen. The Bailey that she knew had eyes that made her seem centuries older than her physical age and she wondered, not for the first time, what she would have been like with a different life. With a pained expression, she reverently put the photograph on the nightstand next to the bed and set the alarm. Shrugging out of her towel she crawled into bed beside her, snuggling up to her back and softly stroking the ebony hair until she fell asleep herself.
———
Piper slapped the alarm three times in irritation before she succeeded in turning it off and grudgingly opened her eyes. She rolled over onto her back and fanned her arms out on either side of her, scowling upon discovering she was alone. With a sigh, she got up and into a pair of sweats, grinning when she spotted Bailey’s sleep shirt hanging from the bathroom doorknob. Pulling it over her head and practically swimming in the black shirt that was several sizes too big for Bailey, she inhaled deeply of the scent that still clung to the fabric.
Smiling, she ventured out of the bedroom and, as she approached the kitchen, she found Martin sitting at the table poking at a bowl of cereal. She could hear the pounding bass of a song being played loudly down the hallway.
“Morning,” Martin said smiling at her.
“Good morning,” Piper said brightly.
“That shirt is huge on you,” he observed with an amused grin.
“It’s Bailey’s,” Piper said returning the grin. “What’s she doing?”
“I don’t really know,” Martin said with a shrug. “She came through here with her sword about half an hour ago and asked not to be disturbed.”
“Her sword?” Piper asked with a scowl.
Martin shrugged. “Did everything go alright yesterday?”
“Yeah,” Piper said her scowl changing to a little grin. “Yeah, it did.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” he said with a pleased nod.
“Did she seem upset when she came through?”
“Nope, she smiled at me.”
“Hmmm,” Piper said. “I think I’ll look in on her,” she added following the music down the hallway until she came to a set of double doors.
She entered slowly and with a raised eyebrow, observed a very large room with a wooden floor and exercise equipment on one side. Stepping all they way in she saw her at the far end of the room with her back to her. Her eyes widened as Bailey swung the sword about her so fast that it took her a second to realize what she was doing. Abruptly, she cart wheeled in the air to her side and upon landing began performing the same series of exercises with her other hand. She watched in fascination as Bailey sped up her motions and switched the sword back and forth between either hand, eventually gaining enough speed that she gave up trying to follow the blade and thought she could hear it whistling in the air over the music. Her mouth dropped open at the display of technical skill, gasping when Bailey ran at the wall and upon contact kicked herself backwards in a flip, landing easily on her feet. The song came to an end and she sat cross-legged on the floor, laying the sword across her lap.
“That was friggin’ amazing,” Piper said and Bailey sprang to her feet in a catlike motion, walking over to grab a remote from the window ledge.
“Good morning,” Bailey said after she clicked off the stereo.
“Good morning,” Piper said pleasantly as her eyes took in the sweaty form dressed in a black muscle shirt and sweats. “You sure are limber,” she added teasingly.
“Be quiet,” Bailey said walking across the room toward her.
Piper chuckled as she received a quick peck on the mouth. “What was that you were listening to?”
“Juno Reactor.”
“Hmm, catchy,” Piper said with a smile. “What ya gonna do today?”
“I’ve got to see to some things downstairs, but other than that I’ve no plans.”
“We didn’t talk much last night, are you okay?”
“Never better,” Bailey said with a smile.
“Sure?”
“Yeah.”
Piper wrapped her arms around waist. “I’m concerned about you,” she said softly. “Tell me this is all going to work out okay.”
“It will,” Bailey said. “I promise.”
“I don’t want to lose you, Bailey,” Piper said worriedly.
“You won’t.”
“You sound so sure,” Piper said. “This is a scary thing you’re… I mean we are involved in.”
“Piper, promise me something,” Bailey said gravely.
“I’ll try,” Piper said hesitantly.
“Don’t ever give up on me,” Bailey said. “No matter what happens.”
“I promise,” Piper said sincerely.
“Good, because things aren’t always as they might appear to be.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I never quit, Piper,” Bailey said. “I play to win and if it looks like I’ve lost, its only because its not over yet.”
“Could you be a little more cryptic?” Piper asked with a little scowl.
“Perhaps,” Bailey said with a shrug.
“What if they kill you, Bailey?” Piper asked worriedly.
“The odds of that are vanishingly small.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because, for the first time in my life,” Bailey said placing a kiss on the top of her head, “I’ve a future, and no one will take that away. No one.”
Piper embraced her tightly. “You’d better not leave me,” she said sternly.
“I won’t.”
Piper held her quietly for a long moment before she sniffed loudly. “You stink,” she announced.
“Thank you,” Bailey said dryly.
“Well you do,” Piper said with a smile. “I’ve got to get ready for work, wanna take a shower with me? I’ll make sure you’re not so stinky.”
“Hmmm,” Bailey considered and Piper sighed. “Okay,” she smiled. “But only if you beat me there,” she said quickly and ran through the door.
“No fair,” Piper yelled childishly after her in pursuit.
Martin looked up from his cereal in alarm when Bailey raced by him without a word and vanished rapidly down the hallway.
“Cheater!” Piper yelled from behind him.
He watched as Piper ran by him without a glance as she chased after Bailey and he grinned in amusement as he returned half-heartedly to his soggy cereal.
Engravings of Wraith Page 44