by Janie Crouch
Cameron looked under his bed, hoping to find anything there that could be used as a weapon. Nothing.
He got back up. It looked as if the guys were relaxing just a little bit. Good.
Cameron walked toward the bathroom door. “You check in there, Marco?”
Marco looked sheepish. “No.” The big man looked over at Fin.
“Check it out,” Fin told him.
This would be Cameron’s only chance. Marco’s back would be to him. He’d have to take down Rick first, since he had the gun. And Fin’s knife was nothing to scoff at.
Cameron took a deep breath and tried to center himself. He ignored any pain in his head and focused on making it through the next few seconds alive.
Marco opened the bathroom door. Cameron shifted his weight so he could pivot around.
“Don’t you touch me, you bastard!” The yell came from inside the bathroom.
Sophia?
Cameron was already in the process of pivoting, so he kept going around to face the other men. But instead of striking them as he had planned, Cameron just glared at Fin.
Fin had his knife up and had obviously been ready for Cameron’s attack. There was no way Cameron would’ve lived through it.
“Okay, maybe I put her in the bathroom, not the closet. So sue me.” Cameron shrugged. “Now can we get some coffee?”
The other three men mumbled something to each other and turned to walk out of Cam’s room. He heard Marco mutter, “See, I told you.” But he didn’t hear any response.
Cameron bent down next to Sophia.
“Are you okay? Why are you back? How did you even get in here?” Cameron shot off the questions, knowing he wasn’t giving Sophia enough time to respond. There wasn’t any time to give her.
Sophia pointed at the window above the bathtub. Cameron couldn’t believe, even as slight as Sophia was, that she’d managed to make it through that tiny opening.
He reached down to help her up and heard Sophia’s indrawn breath and immediately released her. He noticed the gash on her shoulder.
“What happened?”
“I cut it on my way in through the window. It’s not too bad, I think.”
“Stay in here. I’ve got to get to the kitchen and see what’s going on. I’ll bring back something to wrap your arm with.”
Cameron didn’t mention that the danger to the operation, and especially Sophia, was more severe now than ever. Unless Cameron could find a way to talk Fin into taking Sophia with them to Mr. Smith’s mountain house, things were still going to get ugly real quick. He grabbed his weapon on the way out of the room.
When Cameron arrived in the kitchen, Fin and the other men were sitting around the table. Marco and Rick ate some sort of sugary cereal. Fin was drinking coffee.
Cameron went over to the cabinet, grabbed a mug for coffee, then turned so he was facing the table with his back against the counter.
“So, what the hell, Fin? After all this time you think I’m some sort of cop?”
“Not me, Cam. Sorry, man. It’s Smith. He didn’t like the whole situation with the woman and told us to make sure everything was under control.”
Cameron should’ve known Smith was the one closer to figuring things out. Fin and his goons weren’t known for their mental prowess.
“We’ll have to get rid of her,” Fin told Cameron calmly, taking a sip of his coffee as if he wasn’t talking about murdering an innocent woman. Next to Fin, Rick looked gleeful at the thought of violence.
A plan came to Cameron—it was a Hail Mary, but it was worth a shot. He didn’t like the thought of dragging Sophia in deeper, but at least this would mean not having to end his undercover operation without ever meeting Smith. He was so close.
Cameron thought of his partner, Jason, who had been killed by Smith’s order. That made the decision for him. Cameron silently took a deep breath. He was placing all his chips on this one bet.
“Yeah, about getting rid of her.” Cameron forced himself to remain casual against the cabinet. “I’m not sure that’s the right thing to do.”
Rick snickered, but Cameron ignored him. Rick was just upset at the thought of the loss of need for violence.
“Why’s that?” Fin asked.
“Well, it ends up that she wasn’t in that warehouse by accident yesterday.” Now Cameron had everyone’s attention. “It ends up that she was there to try to meet and talk to one of us—someone who could get her a meeting with Mr. Smith.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Fin spluttered, obviously thrown. “Mr. Smith doesn’t meet with people he doesn’t know for no reason.”
“Basically that’s what I told her,” Cameron continued. “I mean, hell, I’ve known you guys for a long time and I’ve still never met Mr. Smith.”
Fin stood up. “Fine. Then it’s settled. Plan still doesn’t change.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Here it went, the Hail Mary. “Oh, yeah, she mentioned knowing something important about a Ghost Rock or something. I have no idea what that is.”
Fin froze exactly where he stood, staring at Cameron. Finally he turned and pointed at Rick and Marco. “You two, out. Now.” They left their cereal and headed out the door without a word. Fin turned back to Cameron.
“You mean Ghost Shell?” Fin asked slowly.
“Yeah, Ghost Shell. That’s it. Not Ghost Rock.”
“That woman in your room knows about Ghost Shell?”
“Yeah.” Cameron shrugged and took a sip of his coffee, pretending not to notice how completely wound up Fin was. “She said she came to the warehouse so she could find someone who knew Smith and could get her a meeting with him. But then things got out of hand before she could make her play… Guess that’s my bad.”
Cameron could see the wheels turning in Fin’s head, so he continued, “Evidently there’s some problem with this Ghost Shell whatever and she knows about it and how to fix it. But she says she’ll only talk directly to Smith.”
“So make her tell us and we’ll tell him.”
Cameron shrugged. “She said it can only be shown with the Ghost Shell. Whatever that is. She said Mr. Smith would be very glad to have the information.”
Fin began pacing back and forth. “Mr. Smith isn’t available today. I can’t get in touch with him at all.”
Cameron breathed a sigh of relief. Dealing with just Fin was much easier than dealing with Mr. Smith, someone Cameron didn’t know at all. “Well, it’s totally up to you, Fin. You know best. But I say, what harm can there be in bringing her? We can get rid of her there just as easily as here, if Mr. Smith doesn’t want her around.”
Cameron could see Fin considering the idea. Obviously the man was not supposed to bring unvetted strangers to meet Smith. But if that stranger was useful… “You could save the day, Fin. Whatever Ghost Shell is, it’s obviously important to Mr. Smith. If this woman knows something helpful, you could be a real hero.”
The thought of being in Smith’s good graces was obviously the little push Fin needed. “All right, fine, we’ll take her with us to the mountain house. But she’s your responsibility. And you’re the one going down if she doesn’t have the info she says she does.”
“That’s cool, man. I think she does, though. She seems really smart.”
“Oh, yeah?” Finn scoffed. “When did you guys have a little heart-to-heart talk?”
“Whoa, nothing like that.” Cameron laughed good-naturedly. “Just after we had our…fun, she brought it up.”
“Yeah?” Suspicion came back into Fin’s eyes. “Was that before or after she hit you in the head?”
Cameron thought fast. “What can I say? We both like it rough. She obviously can give as good as she gets. We’re beginning to grow on each other.”
Evidently that was enough to satisfy Fin. “Whatever. Just have h
er and yourself ready to go soon. We’ll be leaving in a couple of hours.” With that, Fin turned and headed out of the kitchen.
Cameron took a sip of his coffee, but found it had gone cold so he dumped it in the sink. His plan had worked. Sophia was safe. His undercover operation was still intact and he was going to meet Smith. Cameron was one step closer to bringing that bastard down, acquiring Ghost Shell and getting Sophia to safety in one piece.
But the dread pooling in his stomach told him the opposite was true.
CHAPTER EIGHT
A few hours later Cameron watched out the jet window over Sophia’s shoulder as they came in for their landing in the Blue Ridge Mountains area of western Virginia. There was nothing around but trees for miles in any direction. The airstrip they landed at was tiny, similar to the small airport south of Washington, DC, they’d taken off from not too long before. Neither was being monitored by anyone who didn’t work for DS-13, Cameron was sure.
Cameron looked over at Sophia, who stared blankly out the window. Dark circles of exhaustion, almost like bruises, ringed her eyes. She held his hand in a death grip.
After convincing Fin to take Sophia with them to meet Smith, Cameron had made his way back to his room. Sophia had still been sitting on the bathroom floor, almost in a daze, arm still bleeding. He’d cleaned the cut and wrapped it with gauze. It didn’t look as if it needed stitches, but it still wasn’t pretty.
He still didn’t know exactly why she had done it, but her return had saved his life, without a doubt.
“Thank you,” Cameron had whispered when he was finished with her wound, putting his hands reverently on either side of her face and kissing her gently.
Sophia had just nodded.
Since coming back into DS-13’s grasp, Sophia had hardly said one word to Cameron, although he had to admit, talking had been nearly impossible. By the time he had played out his wounded-because-you-don’t-trust-me part for Fin and the gang, and gotten suitable apologies, it had almost been time to go.
Cameron found a shirt for Sophia to wear—hers had lost all the buttons, much to the delight of the DS-13 men. He had wanted to talk to Sophia about what had happened, but sending an encoded message to Omega Sector with his satellite phone had been more important. He had to let Omega Sector know they were moving—to an unknown location as of yet—and that there was now an innocent third party involved. Cameron would send more info when he had time and details.
As the plane came to a halt, everybody unbuckled their seat belts and stood. Except Sophia. She still stared vacantly out the window.
Fin opened the plane door and everyone began to file out. When Sophia still didn’t move, Cameron squatted down in front of her. He took her hands, which lay limply in her lap, in his.
“Hey,” he whispered. He watched as her eyes, shadowed with exhaustion, turned blankly toward him. “You doing okay?”
Sophia nodded slowly. “Where are we?”
“We’re in the mountains. Going to the evil lair, remember?”
The ghost of a smile crossed her lips. “They don’t call it an evil lair.”
Cameron winked at her and rubbed the back of both of her hands with his thumbs. They were like ice. “That’s right, sweetie. You going to be all right? I know this is really hard.”
Sophia nodded again. “I just don’t know what to do, Cam.” She leaned in closer to him and whispered urgently, “I know I work for the Bureau, but I’m an artist! I don’t have any training. I don’t know anything about working…you know, in situations like this.”
Cameron unbuckled her seat belt and helped Sophia stand. “Just stay as close to me as possible, and try to ignore everyone else. Can you do that?”
Sophia gave a short bark of near-hysterical laughter. “Uh, yeah. No problem wanting to stay away from them. Especially that Rick guy—he freaks me out.”
Cameron knew Rick had a cruel, violent streak. He didn’t blame Sophia for wanting to stay away. “All right, let’s go.” Cameron quickly sent out the coordinates of this landing strip in a message to Omega Sector—a risky move, but one he had to make. Then he led Sophia down the few short steps of the small plane and over to the SUV that was waiting just off the runway. He got in the backseat with Sophia, noticing how she avoided looking at anyone.
And how every man in the vehicle looked at her. Cameron would have to keep Sophia with him as much as possible. She was definitely not safe alone.
Cameron paid very close attention as they drove from the airstrip to the mountain house. If for some reason he was not able to get GPS coordinates to Omega Sector, he would have to rely on his own observation and memory to find the “evil lair” again. They were headed northwest on a pretty steady incline. Mr. Smith’s hideout must be near the top of one of these mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia weren’t tall and barren like the Rockies. There were little peaks of hills everywhere, where homes could be built and privacy abounded.
Many of these homes had one way in, and one way out. Which was obviously the case here, Cameron realized. There hadn’t been a single turnoff or other car on the road since they’d left the airstrip. Smart move on Mr. Smith’s part.
Cameron hated that Sophia was here, but was excited that he was finally making such strong headway in the case. Today, finally—finally—he was going to meet Mr. Smith. Cameron knew he couldn’t arrest Smith right away, he’d definitely need Omega Sector backup first. Plus, acquiring Ghost Shell took precedence over any arrest, but he couldn’t help but feel hopeful that he was going to be able to do both.
Cameron glanced over at Sophia, who was staring blankly out the window again. He just hoped she could keep it together. He reached over and took her hand, subtly, so nobody else in the car could see. She looked over at him.
She could obviously recognize his concern. She nodded slightly and gave an attempt at a smile. Cameron squeezed her hand, wishing he could do more.
After just a few more minutes the car started making an even steeper incline. It wasn’t long before they were at the DS-13 mountain house, or evil lair, or whatever you wanted to call it.
It definitely was no jackass-infested rat hole. Well, maybe it was jackass-infested, but it certainly wasn’t a rat hole. The house was gorgeous and huge—a surprisingly tasteful blend of wood and large stone. Giant windows made up huge sections of walls, providing unobstructed views of the spectacular hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
And unobstructed views of anyone who might be trying to get up to the house through those hills. Any sort of covert attack of any magnitude would be nearly impossible. Definitely something Cameron would have to communicate to Omega Sector, if they planned to take down Mr. Smith here.
The beauty of the building and the surroundings were breathtaking, but Cameron forced himself to stay focused solely on the job at hand. The SUV pulled into a four-car garage that attached to the house through a walkway.
They all got out of the vehicle, grabbed their bags and made their way inside. Sophia stayed almost glued to Cameron’s side, clutching his arm. Rick was quick to comment on it.
“Seems like someone is a little friendlier this morning, Cam.”
Cameron smirked at him. “Yeah, well, I guess I’m just that charming.”
Rick smirked back. “Maybe you should give me a chance to be charming with her. I’m a pretty charming guy.” Rick took a step toward Sophia. Cameron immediately felt Sophia’s grip on his arm tighten.
“Not going to happen, Rick. So just run along.” Cameron shooed him away. Anger flared in the other man’s eyes, but he said nothing.
Cameron gave a short whistle as they walked into the house. It was even more impressive on the inside than it was on the outside. “Wow, this is quite a place,” Cameron told Fin as he looked around.
Fin nodded, grinning. “Ten bedrooms. Eleven baths. Half a dozen of
fices and meeting rooms. A formal dining room and even a party area. Try not to get lost.”
A man who was probably a member of DS-13, but looked like a butler, came through a doorway from the back and started walking toward them. Tension filled Fin and the other goons at the man’s presence. As subtly as he could, Cameron put himself between Sophia and this unknown person.
There were too many damn unknowns in this situation.
The man obviously knew Fin, but spoke with a formal tone. “Mr. Fin, welcome. As you know, your uncle will be arriving later this evening, bringing some other guests for a weekend soiree.”
Fin fidgeted. “Um, yeah, Thompson, thanks. My uncle told me about the party. This is Cam Cameron. Cam, this is Thompson.”
Thompson nodded. “Yes, Mr. Smith mentioned his arrival. And Mr. Cameron’s guest? She was not mentioned.”
Fin looked uncomfortable. “Yeah. She’s with Cam. Has some information for Mr. Smith that we think he’ll be very happy to hear.” Fin lifted his chin in an attempt to look confident.
“I will show you to your room, Mr. Cameron, and your guest, also.” Thompson turned to Cameron. “Everyone else has been here before and is familiar with the house.”
“Good, because I’m tired as hell since I had to spend most of the night convincing everyone I’m not a liar.” Cameron gave a dramatic sigh. He picked up his duffel from where he had set it on the floor and began following Thompson, the butler guy.
“Uncle?” Cameron said with an eyebrow raised as he passed Fin. “Who’s the lying SOB now?”
Fin just laughed and shrugged and headed off to another part of the house.
Thompson led Cameron down the hall with Sophia following close behind, still holding his hand. Every once in a while he could feel a shudder run through her. She was swaying on her feet and Cameron knew he needed to get her to the room soon. He breathed a sigh of relief when the older man opened a door for them.
Cameron ushered Sophia inside, then turned to their escort. “Thanks, man. We’re just going to crash for a while,” Cameron told him while shutting the door in his face.
