Mind made up, she placed a finger over her mouth. The other woman nodded and they hurried to catch up with Jeremy. He was near the front entrance when they caught up, close enough to smell his mild not quite floral, not quite citrus scent. Camille clenched her fists to keep from reaching out to touch him. As they passed the security room, she glanced in to see Dr. Adams peering closely at one of the screens. Her stomach dropped. Had she looked up when the rod had touched her? She'd been facing the camera when her Shine had been nullified with the electricity. They'd have her face and some idea of her Shine now. She forced herself to move faster as Jeremy opened the door Sophia had helped her teleport past earlier. He held the door open and turned to the guard on the left. "Did either of you see or hear anything out of the ordinary tonight?"
Camille slipped past, brushing her fingers across his back. Jeremy jerked. His back muscles rippled under her fingers. She shivered. She wanted so badly to feel his arms around her. She shoved the feelings down into the box of memories in her mind and focused on walking quietly across the pavement. A black SUV sat in front of the building, another darkly dressed agent waiting in the passenger seat. Pulling the other girl with her, she paused at the back of the SUV and looked at Jeremy. He finished his discussion with the guards, then rounded the front of the SUV to the driver's side. He paused and looked around. Camille focused on his mind, allowing him to see her. His eyes widened and he took a step toward her. Camille shook her head and stepped back. Their eyes locked. She knew he'd see unshed tears glistening in her eyes. Unable to stand looking at him without remembering his betrayal, she whirled around and pulled the other woman into a jog. She used her Shine to vanish from Jeremy's sight.
9
I'm Camille," she said, glancing toward the silent Shine.
They'd stopped jogging when Camille had realized the larger woman was struggling to keep up, her breath coming in ragged gasps. They neared the parking lot where they'd left Rachel's truck and Jenni's car.
A streetlight lit the other girl's round face as she darted a nervous glance toward Camille. "I'm Veronica Gutierrez," she whispered.
Camille's eyes widened as she fought the wave of desire that washed over her. Veronica could make a killing as the voice on the other end of a sex phone service. And the other woman had only whispered. No wonder she hadn't wanted to speak to the good Dr. Adams. They'd have known immediately that her Shine had something to do with her voice. They reached the car, parked in a shadowy corner of the empty parking lot. Karen, Brenna, and Sophia waited, relief painted on their faces. Her eyebrows lifted; Rachel's truck wasn't beside the car.
Brenna rolled her eyes. "The ninja princess is fine. When your invisibility cloak fell away, some of the maintenance workers saw her. We stuffed a couple of the unconscious Shines into her truck and had her leave before the entire airport was shut down." The usually cheerful Shine reached over and pulled Camille into a hard hug. "Scare me like that again and I'll make you dance naked for the perverted old man that lives across the street."
Camille pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. "I'll keep that in mind." She glanced at the silent Shine watching the exchange beside her. "Everyone, this is Veronica Gutierrez, the Voice." The taller Shine's dark eyes widened and darted to Camille. "V, this is Teleporter, Puppetmaster, and Human Lie Detector. I'll let them share their actual names with you."
Veronica's eyes widened. "It's nice to meet you," she whispered.
Karen paled, Sophia's shuddered, and Brenna lifted an eyebrow as each felt the impact of the other Shine's voice.
"Can you turn it off?" Brenna asked, head tilted to the side as she studied Veronica in fascination.
Veronica shook her head and avoided meeting anyone's eyes. "No. I'm careful not to phrase anything as a command."
Camille pushed Brenna toward the car's front passenger seat. "Later, madam scientist. We need to be gone as of yesterday."
The women squeezed into the electric car, Camille used her Shine to make sure they remained undetected as they headed back to their temporary home.
10
Camille lay on her bed in the room she shared with Brenna, the door firmly shut against intrusion. She'd fallen into bed as soon as they'd returned from the airport and slept a solid four hours before dreams of Jeremy woke her. She fingered the glasses sitting on her chest. Had he saved her to once again gain her trust or had he actually wanted to help? She put the glasses on and pulled up her list of contacts. She'd added Jeremy's name to the list, a part of her unwillingness to believe he was lost to her. She selected his name and the glasses dialed the number she knew by heart.
"Scout?" Jeremy said.
The door to her bedroom flew open. Camille yanked the glasses off her face, disconnecting the call.
Sophia stood in the door, eyes wide. "They're flashing our pictures on the news."
The tiny living room of the rental was crowded as Camille's band of Shine, new and old, gathered in front of their ancient flat screen. A pretty woman with a microphone stood in front of the Amarillo Airport painted in flashing police lights.
Early this morning, a Boeing 893 airliner was undergoing routine maintenance when it suddenly crashed through the back wall of the maintenance hangar, injuring two maintenance workers who'd been checking its landing gear. This incident was followed shortly by deployed alarms at the Shine holding building, where Shine were being detained until they could be flown to the Shine rehabilitation facility in El Paso. Four Shine escaped with the help of at least three unknown Shine.
A photo of the top of Camille's head, Sophia's profile, and a dark image of Rachel in the distance were paraded across the screen along with the photos of Veronica, Annie, and identical twin sisters, Daisy and Dahlia Smith.
The incidents, seemingly unrelated, have investigators suspicious coming only hours after PA2 stripping Shines of all rights, was signed by President Patterson. If you recognize these women, please call the police immediately. They are all considered dangerous.
Camille muted the television and turned to face the silent group of women. "The safety of this place is compromised. Brenna, locate us another place. While she does that, everyone else pack up." She looked at the watch on her arm. "It's eleven o'clock. I want this place to look like no one lives here within the next half hour."
The women nodded, but before they could do much more than stand, a voice rang out. "Wait." Everyone turned to look at Annie Graham. "We need to go to my parents’ house first. They can help us."
All eyes shifted to Camille, who studied the younger girl. "Why do you think we can trust your parents?"
Annie's nervous gaze jumped from face to face until finally resting on Camille. "My older sister, Sara, was a Shine. She disappeared from her dorm room at Baylor University last year during her first semester. My parents believe the government took her. They won't turn you over to the police."
Rachel stepped forward. "I knew it." Everyone turned to look at the beaming Shine. "You're not even a Shine, are you."
Annie grimaced. "No."
Rachel turned toward Camille. "I told you she was too young."
Brenna rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath as she turned back to her computer. "Who cares if it's totally irrelevant as long as her highness is proven right."
Rachel flushed and stepped toward Brenna, but Camille shook her head. "Don't." Rachel lifted her chin, pivoted on her heel, and stormed from the room. Camille sighed, then pinned Annie with a hard look. "That still doesn't tell me how your parents could help us."
Annie bit her lip and held Camille's gaze as if trying to decide whether to trust her. "They are part of the underground movement funneling Shines out west."
11
Camille stepped out of the sagging front door of the house and squinted in the late morning sunlight. She'd packed her own things, then left the others to finish gathering the few belongings they'd managed to accrue. She needed to think. She walked down the narrow street lined with overgrown yards. A w
oman in a shapeless robe held a baby in her arms, a cigarette hanging from her mouth and dropping ash onto the baby's blanket. Camille shook her head and kept walking, ignoring the urge to stop her Shine so the woman could see her disgust.
The raised voices of a man and woman poured from the window of the next house. Apparently, the woman had been caught cheating. At the next house, a group of teenage boys surrounded a small dog tied to a tree with a rope. They laughed as they threw rocks and poked at it with sticks. Camille frowned and crossed the street toward the group. Did no one care about being decent human beings anymore? This was the world that had turned its back on Shines. Why did she care so much? Did she really want to be a part of it?
She slipped between the boys and untied the rope from the dog's neck, then used her Shine to make it disappear.
"Hey, where'd it go?" a short, chubby boy yelled.
Camille pushed between two of the boys and the dog followed, its tail between its legs.
One of the boys she'd pushed shoved the other. "Why you wiggin, man?"
"You the one wiggin, clown," the other boy said, shoving his friend in return.
The argument escalated into a full-out brawl as Camille led the dog down the street, away from the boys. She stopped at a house with a cracked plastic bowl in the front yard that had muddy water in it. A little girl played with a dirty doll on the front porch. She stopped her Shine from hiding the dog as it drank from the bowl.
The little girl froze. "Momma, a dog's drinking Dolly's water."
A woman came to the open front door, her tired face studying the dog suspiciously. "I suppose Dolly don't need it anymore, baby."
The dog limped over to the little girl and lay down, its head on its paws. The little girl tentatively reached out a hand to pet it. The dog closed its eyes.
The girl continued to stroke the small dog's matted fur. "I think he's real tired, Momma."
The woman's face softened and she disappeared back into the house for a few moments, then reappeared with a bowl of dog food and a cup of water that she poured into the water bowl. "We need a new one to replace Dolly anyway, don't you think?"
The little girl's smile lit up her face as she nodded. Camille left him to his new home with a lump in her throat. Jenni would have pointed to this moment as proof that the world wasn't all bad. Camille wanted so badly to believe that too. The glasses she wore vibrated. Jeremy's number popped across the top of one lens. She froze.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she relaxed her face into an expressionless mask and answered. "How long until I can expect the Feds to be crawling over this location?"
Jeremy's face appeared before her, eyes wounded. "I haven't told them where you are, Camille."
She raised her eyebrows. "You say that, but we both know what happened the last time I trusted you, don't we?"
"You don't have all the information and I can't give it to you while there's a chance you could be caught by the other side. You have to trust me."
A burst of sound, half laugh, half sob tore from Camille's throat. "That's not going to happen." She tore the glasses from her face, ending the call.
The glasses started to vibrate almost immediately. Camille placed the glasses back on her face, but ignored Jeremy's name blinking on the lens and headed back home. As she turned onto the cracked walkway leading up to their front door, a new voice message icon popped up on the screen. She paused on the front porch and listened to Jeremy's message.
I'm sorry about what happened in Oklahoma. Things aren't the way they appear to you. I know you don't believe me, but it’s true. I can't tell you anything, Camille. There are too many lives at stake to risk them just to make us both feel better. I'll be at the coffee shop connected to the Cyber Cafe on Amarillo Boulevard this afternoon between three and four. I know you hate me, but I'll be there anyway hoping you can forgive me for hurting you.
Camille closed her eyes, savoring the sound of his voice. Even after everything that had happened, the sound still made her knees weak. She was so pathetic. She wanted so badly to forgive him, to go to that coffee shop and let him wrap his arms around her. The sound of Brenna and Rachel arguing inside brought her back to reality. Sighing, she squared her shoulders and opened the door. She couldn't abandon her Shines. These two needed her at the very least, otherwise they'd kill each other and save the SSS the trouble.
12
Camille stood looking up at the Grahams’ large house. She'd left Brenna, Rachel, and Karen to find them a new place and move their stuff. The twins had wanted to go with Annie while Veronica and Sophia had insisted on staying with Camille. She'd instantly rejected the idea.
Though they didn't know each other well, she liked the other Shines and thought the potential existed for a true friendship with each. She didn't want to lose another friend the way she'd lost Jenni. Brenna had put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Brenna and Rachel both knew about Jenni and what had happened in Oklahoma. So here she was, with Sophia and V, relying on a God she hadn't forgiven to keep anything from going wrong again. She sighed.
She glanced at Annie. "The Feds may be monitoring your parents’ house. They have some idea of our Shines now and we don't want to make them suspicious if they are watching. We'll go over the fence and through the back door."
The younger girl nodded and they walked over to the fence. Sophia laced her fingers together and braced herself. Camille placed her foot on Sophia's hands and grabbed the rough wood. She jumped as Sophia boosted her up. She heaved her leg over the fence and sat straddling it, thankful it was one of the capped privacy fences favored by those who could afford them.
"Sophia will do the same for each of you, then she'll follow us." The Shines nodded and Camille swung her leg over the fence and climbed down into the green paradise that was the Grahams’ backyard. Her mouth hung open as she took in the large trees, green grass, and colorful flowers that belied the fact that they were in the very dry and hot west Texas panhandle. She'd hate to see the water bill the Grahams’ paid each month. The clattering of shoes against wood slats announced that another Shine was coming over. Camille turned away from the oasis, forcing her gaping mouth closed. Annie swung over and climbed down to stand beside her, followed by first one twin then the other, and finally Veronica. Camille led them deeper into the cool shade of the trees. Sophia soon appeared next to Camille, startling a gasp from one of the girls behind them.
The sound of cascading water grew louder as they rounded the corner to see a small waterfall running into a sparkling pool surrounded by lounge chairs and more greenery. Annie led them past the pool to a large covered patio with a built-in grill, bar, and a ping-pong table. She passed the patio door leading from the pool, and moved to a blank section of wall hidden by thick shrubs. Reaching through the leafy branches, Annie pulled something toward her. A section of the wall moved toward them. Camille glanced toward Sophia, whose narrowed gaze watched the girl carefully. Annie pulled the section of wall toward them, revealing a large, rectangular steel door with a keypad and scanner. The teen placed her hand on the scanner, then punched a sequence of numbers on the keypad. She pulled the door open, revealing a small room with two doors on the opposite wall. A small sofa sat against one of the adjacent walls, a chair with a side table against the other. They filed in and Annie made to pull the door closed.
Camille put her hand up and stopped her. "Until I know what it is I'm walking into, I'd prefer this stay open."
Annie's eyes widened and she dropped her hands. "That door leads into the house and that one leads into a hidden room in the basement with a tunnel leading to the neighbor’s basement."
Camille continued to hold the steel door open. Annie sighed, then moved to one of the doors on the opposite wall. She opened it, revealing a closet holding a vacuum cleaner and extra linens. Annie stepped through and opened the closet's door, showing them a bedroom. Camille glanced at Sophia. The other Shine nodded and disappeared into the bedroom. A few moments later she reappeared.
"It looks like a guest room. It leads to a hallway that leads to the front foyer."
Camille nodded and allowed Annie to cross back over and lock the steel door behind them. Camille stepped into the bedroom followed by the twins. Annie led the way into the hallway. They exited the hallway into a large open family room, dining area, and kitchen. Mrs. Graham stood at the kitchen counter breaking eggs open into a bowl.
Annie lunged forward. "Mom!"
Mrs. Graham jerked her gaze up, then dropped the egg shell she'd been holding into the bowl and dashed around the counter. "My baby," she cried.
Annie threw her arms around her mother and the two women clung tightly to each other, tears streaming down their faces.
"You were instructed to bring her to the hotel," Mr. Graham's cool voice said from behind them.
Camille turned, her eyebrows arching up her forehead. "I said we'd return her to you." She lifted her hands and gestured toward Annie and her mother. "And here we are."
Mr. Graham's gaze settled on his daughter and softened. He opened his arms and the girl threw herself into his arms. "Daddy, I was so scared."
He met Camille's gaze and nodded. "We must be careful not to call attention to ourselves. As it is, the Feds will most likely be here soon to search the house. She'll need to be moved to a safe house as soon as possible."
"That's why we're here. Annie said you run the underground Shine movement. You know where Ohm is located?"
Mrs. Graham interrupted as Mr. Graham shook his head. "Please, everyone, have a seat. Let me prepare you all a nice brunch while we talk. It's the least I can do to thank you for returning my daughter to me."
Shine: Season One (Shine Season Book 1) Page 93