She rested her forehead against Camille's back and said in a shaky voice. "Close your eyes."
Sophia’s Shine pulled apart their bodies into microscopic particles until Camille couldn't feel her own skin or the bones it covered then an instant later her body reformed inside of safe house B. She opened her eyes and found herself in a dark hallway. Pushing her own Shine, she hid herself and Sophia from everyone except Rachel.
Taking a deep breath, she edged into the chaos of the living room. Rachel saw her and smiled. A brown haired Shine crouched behind the overturned dining room table. The other Shine's eyes narrowed. She scanned the room, hesitated over where Camille stood, but continued on. Camille paused. Did the woman have the ability to see past Camille's Shine? Unwilling to take a chance, Camille stepped back into the shadows of the hallway. Rachel sent a butcher knife flying through the air at the woman. As if she could read Rachel's mind, the brown-haired Shine had the table pulled between her and the knife. Camille thought of the loud gongs of a watchtower clock. Keeping the gongs uppermost in her mind like Daisy had taught her, Camille pulled out the syringe Fear had given her for just this scenario. She nodded to Rachel.
Rachel's bared her teeth in a savage smile. “You should never have betrayed your own kind, little girl.”
Marla narrowed her eyes. “You American Shines are so pathetic. Your own people hate and fear you. It makes it so easy for us to hunt you down one by one and recondition you to serve us.”
Without warning, every item in the house that had any type of iron in it flew through the air to whirl around the woman and the table in a vortex. “We serve no one but ourselves,” Rachel hissed.
Camille edged around the whirling knives, pipe, tools, sculptures, and debris until she was directly behind the woman. She lifted the hand with the syringe and nodded. The vortex froze and Camille slammed the syringe into the woman's back without letting her own skin touch the other Shine's. The woman whirled around and lurched toward Camille. Right as her fingers grasped Camille's arm, her eyes rolled up in her head and she dropped to the ground.
CHAPTER TWO
Camille stared, unblinking, at the freshly mounded dirt of Dahlia's grave. The funeral had ended hours ago, but Camille and her entire team, her little family including Jenny, Jeremy, and Michael, were still out here. Everyone else had silently made the fifteen minute trek through the Death Valley desert back to Scotty's Castle, the location of Ohm, the Shine resistance base.
Camille's eyes burned, but she refused to blink. She longed to turn into Jeremy's silent, but comforting presence behind her, but knew the tears she was holding back would spill if she did. She glanced at Daisy seated on the ground near her sister's grave, arms wrapped around her bent knees as she rocked back and forth, eyes locked on the cross bearing Dahlia's name. Everything she should have done different played through her mind. Hadn't she felt that something was wrong? Why hadn't she gone with team two? These women depended on her and she'd let them down.
"Why?" Everyone except Daisy turned to stare at the red-headed Karen, her pale cheeks even paler in her grief. "Why are we here? What's the point of all of this?" Tears poured down her face as she sobbed. "Is there no place truly safe?" V put her arm around Karen's shoulders, but the other women shook her head and pulled away. "No. Just don't. I don't want to do this anymore. I want to find somewhere safe. Someplace I don't have to constantly look over my shoulder. Someplace I don't have to worry that my friends and myself are going to be hunted down, tortured, and killed on any given day." She jerked her arm across her face. "Is that too much to ask?"
Daisy, who'd been near catatonic since her twin's death, stopped rocking and looked at Karen. "Nowhere is safe." She returned her gaze to the cross and began rocking once again, silent tears leaving wet trails on her cheeks.
Camille inhaled, fighting the burning sensation in her gut that swelled to fill her chest until she couldn't get a full breath. She needed to say something to reassure her friends, but she'd never felt more inadequate in her role as leader. Nothing she could say would change anything. They were Shines, hunted for the special abilities that had appeared in each of them at puberty. No one knew why they'd developed these abilities or how. No one had asked them if they wanted them. Shines were treated like they were inherently evil beings out to kill children. No one cared that they were simply young women struggling to survive.
"Russia could be an option," Sophia said in a low voice. All eyes shifted to her. "According to my cousin, Russia is protecting her Shine. They are given a place to stay, food, clothing, and even trained in each of their abilities so that there is no danger of losing control."
"Are you sure?" Karen asked, the fear to hope apparent on her expressive, freckled face.
Daisy stopped rocking and angled her head as if listening.
Sophia shook her head. "Is possible safety worth the risk to find out?" She darted a glance to each of the women in their group. "It would mean giving up U.S. citizenship, leaving this country forever. Is it worth it to you in order to find the safety you say you crave?"
Everyone looked at Camille. "Marla is German. We don’t know who she works for. Leaving the U.S. doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be safe.”
“But if what Sophia’s cousin has told her is true, then the German murderer probably doesn’t work for the Russians. Right?”
Camille met Karen’s pleading gaze. “I can't leave when there is even one Shine I could help." Karen's eyes widened and Camille lifted a finger. "But, I can understand, nor would I hold it against any of you who wanted to. I can't stay in Russia, but if any of you want to go, I'll gladly help you." She lifted an eyebrow. "If any of you think I'm letting you go without going over and checking out that it's legit, you're out of your minds."
Karen threw her arms around Camille. "Thank you so much, Cam."
Camille shrugged as Karen stepped back. "Don't thank me yet. We still don’t know who Marla works for.” The German Shine, turned over to Aura and Fear when they’d arrived back at the camp, was being questioned by those with Shines that could strip her mind of everything she knew. “We’ll also need to get fake I.D.'s, passports, a way to go without calling attention to ourselves, among other things."
Jeremy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. "I can help with some of that."
Camille relaxed against him, some of the burning in her chest easing. "I'll also need to talk to Aura and Fear. Others may prefer safety to fighting, as well." She unclenched her fists and looked down at Dahlia's grave. "I don't blame them a bit."
CHAPTER THREE
The lights of the Las Vegas strip flashed around her in dizzy array. She walked the strip holding Jeremy's hand while Michael pushed Jenni's wheelchair next to them. They'd come out for a much needed break from the heavy grief hanging over her team. It'd been a week since Dahlia's death. The laughter and camaraderie that had been in abundance was gone.
Karen had downloaded Russian language software and with Sophia's help the team had taken to learning Sophia's native language with a single-minded focus. Among the team, Russian was now the official language. Though Camille had decreed that they'd keep their reasons for learning the language to themselves, some of the other women in the complex had decided to take the Russian learning challenge. Apparently, boredom was a common side effect of staying safely hidden at the castle. She’d jumped eagerly at Jenni's idea for a romantic foray into Vegas with their guys.
These three had been with her from the beginning, though she'd thought Jenni dead at one point and Jeremy responsible. All four of them were from the same small town in Oklahoma and though she'd added to this group of people she called family, these three would always hold a special place because of that shared history.
Jeremy threw his head back in laughter and Camille focused on the man who still didn't know he owned her heart. He'd allowed his blond hair to grow out until the ends curled to devastating effect, turning handsome into sexy. Sensing her gaze, twinkling eyes the color of
a clear summer day turned toward her. Her body heated, desire for this man always on a low simmer.
A seductive smile curved his lips. "How's a man supposed to think—" He pulled her against his chest and bent until their lips were only a breath apart. "—when a beautiful woman looks at him like that?"
She threaded the fingers of one hand into the curls at his nape. Her heart thundered in her chest. The world around them disappeared.
Camille stared, unblinking, into his bright blue eyes. "I love you."
His eyes widened. His smile, blinding in its intensity, flashed across his face. He lifted her in his arms and covered her mouth with his.
"There are a million hotels on this strip and you guys decide to make out in the middle of a crowded sidewalk," Michael said, a smile in his voice.
Jeremy flashed the other couple a smile, then turned his back on them and lowered her back to her feet.
His eyes serious, he cupped her cheek. "I've loved you since that morning I held you in your father's study, a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird tucked between us."
Her smile wobbled even as her heart swelled beneath the truth she saw in his eyes. She remembered that day so clearly. She'd found a flash drive in one of her parents’ old trophies and had thought the password would be something to do with her father's favorite book. Inside the book she'd found the password and on the flash drive she'd found a letter from her deceased father. It confirmed that her parents had been murdered because her father had discovered a plot to frame Shines for terrorist acts like the Seattle incident. It had been his last goodbye. Jeremy had come in as she sobbed over her father's last words. He'd pulled her into his lap and quoted her father's favorite line from the book.
Jeremy gave her a knowing look. "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird," he whispered.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat and quoted back. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."
He smiled. "I'm glad you chose to see from my point of view."
A throat cleared behind them.
Jenni's amused voice followed. "Michael, leave them alone."
Camille closed her eyes, heat creeping up her neck and leaned into Jeremy. His laughter rumbled under her cheek. They pulled apart and began walking once again beside the other couple.
Jeremy slapped Michael on the back of the head. "Can it, Saunders."
Jenni looked up at Camille, happiness for her best friend in her smile. "I never imagined this for either of us, Cam." Her eyes moved to the two men ribbing each other behind them. Her gaze returned back to Camille and her smile faded. "I just wish everything else in our lives could be so perfect."
Camille looked away, some of the warmth of Jeremy's declaration fading. The fact was, they were Shine. Not even finding a man to love could change that. Her heart clenched.
She reached for Jenni's hand and squeezed. "I know." She glanced behind her to see both men deep in conversation. "I'd die if something happened to him."
Jenni nodded, understanding completely.
Camille glanced around her at the brightly lit and crowded Las Vegas strip, looking for anything to distract her mind from her fears. A group of missionaries sat behind a table handing out pamphlets about their foreign missionary program. A donation box sat in the center of the table. As if compelled, she reached into her pocket and stepped up to the table. Michael, Jeremy and Jenny followed.
Camille placed a twenty in the box and met the kind gaze of woman with iron gray hair. "What countries do your missionaries visit?"
The woman smiled. "We fund missions all over the world. I've just returned from Russia, myself. My partner--" she gestured to the white haired woman next to her "--just returned from Turkey."
Camille glanced at Jenni.
"I've always wanted to visit other countries. How does one become a missionary?"
The woman shook her head, no doubt used to such a question, her smile cooling. "We aren't missionaries so we can see other countries. We're missionaries because we care about souls around the world who desperately need Jesus' grace."
Camille's cheeks heated. "Oh, of course."
Noticing her discomfort, the woman's smile softened again. "If you'd like to visit other countries, you should consider a program to teach English abroad. Those programs are always looking for people who're willing to trade their time for free lodging and a small paycheck.”
Camille nodded thoughtfully. "Good luck on future missions."
The woman grew serious. "Luck has nothing to do with it. We succeed by the grace of our Savior."
Camille gave the woman a brittle smile and stepped away from the table. Jeremy pulled her into his arms and bent to feather a kiss over her ear and neck. A shiver ran through her body and she lifted her gaze to his. He wiggled his eyebrows, making her smile. Her heart melted. Just like that he could take her from the edge of a painful memory and make her laugh. She pushed up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. The gaze softened and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Hey, Walker, that you?”
Jeremy froze, his bright blue eyes darkened until none of the warmth remained. He turned so that he stood between Camille and the three men approaching them. “Petrov, Johnson, West,” he said, nodding at each man. “I thought you were in Houston finishing up with the Cordova case?”
A tall, black haired man with a hawk’s nose and gray eyes just as sharp and cold, raked his gaze over the members of their group, pausing at Jeremy’s possessive hold on Camille. “His enemies got to him before we could finish the trial,” the man said, his voice emotionless.
A short, stocky man with messy brown hair stepped forward and gave Camille what she could tell he considered a charming smile. “Won’t you introduce us to your friends, Walker?”
“Michael, Jenni, Camille meet Petrov,” –he pointed to the hawk-eyed man—“Johnson”—he pointed to the shorter man—“and West,” he said as he pointed to the quiet blonde man.
The smiling Johnson held out a hand toward Camille. “I’m honored to meet proof that Walker is actually human. We didn’t think he had friends outside of work.”
Jeremy’s bicep was hard as stone under Camille’s fingers. His fingers tightened subtly on her hip and she instinctively knew he didn’t want her touching the other agent.
Ignoring the other man’s outstretched hand, she nodded. “Nice to meet you all.”
Johnson dropped his hand and a flash of anger lit his gaze before being hidden behind a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. She glanced up at Jeremy, sure she must have imagined it. He squeezed her hip again, his attention remaining on the three men in front of them.
“We’re headed to dinner if you’d like to join us,” Johnson said, his fake smile firmly back in place.
Jeremy shook his head. “We appreciate the invitation, but we’ve had dinner and were actually headed home for the evening.”
Camille fought to keep her disappointment from showing on her face. They’d only just arrived and had been heading toward the restaurant where they had a reservation. Jeremy squeezed her hip in apology.
Johnson smiled at Camille. “I hope you’ll come around more often. The others will want to see proof that our newly appointed Supervisory Special Agent has a life outside of work.”
“We’ll see. You boys enjoy your evening,” Jeremy said before Camille could do more than nod.
Jeremy ushered Jenni and Michael ahead of them, his arm firmly around Camille. They walked away in tense silence. Camille glanced back to see all three agents following their progress down the strip.
Jeremy directed them toward a line of cabs waiting in front of Ceasar’s Palace. After storing Jenni’s wheelchair in the back of the taxi-van, Jeremy directed the driver back to the garage where they’d left his SUV.
Camille caressed the edge of Jeremy’s clenched jaw. “Tell us what’s wrong.”
He rubbed the
bridge of his nose. “Of all the people in the world I could have run into with you on my arm, Johnson and Petrov would have been my very last choice. Some of us suspect they’re dirty and linked to several national and international crime organizations, though we can’t prove it. They don’t like me and the feeling is entirely mutual. They’ll see you as a possible weakness.” He pulled Camille in close to his side. “If they attempt to discover your identity, they’ll attract the attention of the anti-Shine Division or worse.”
Camille’s stomach rolled and she squeezed her eyes shut. “You mean we could’ve just inadvertently brought our enemies very close to our base.”
Jenni’s voice broke the heavy silence. “This is all my fault. I should never have suggested we go out.”
Camille reached over and squeezed her best friend’s hand. “It’s no one’s fault. We all wanted to do something normal. Let’s just get back to the castle. We’ll keep a low profile and hopefully they’ll forget all about us.”
Unease sat heavy on her shoulders as she looked up into Jeremy’s troubled gaze.
CHAPTER FOUR
"Dobroye utro," a tall blond-haired Shine said, the Russian rolling effortlessly off her tongue.
Camille resisted rolling her eyes and nodded. "Ey."
The woman passed her to enter the castle's lower music room, now used as the Ohm leader's office and meeting room. Camille made her way out of the main castle and across a large expanse of cracked pavement, past huge palm trees and a trickling man-made creek to the bunkhouse attached to the visitor center. Though all meals were taken communally in the main house, the Shines lodged in the areas not open to tours. The cookhouse, guesthouse, and the bunkhouse. They didn't have to worry about trying to hide their personal things that way.
Camille and her team shared the last three rooms of the bunkhouse. She entered the one they used as their own personal living room. They'd gone into different thrift stores in Vegas to furnish one of the rooms with a television, a couch, two chairs, a tiny corner desk and a table. Brenna looked up from the desk and pulled her headphones out of her ears. Jeremy and Sophia set aside their card game and Rachel muted the television. All eyes turned to Camille, eager to hear what the Ohm leaders thought of their plans to go to Russia.
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