Lost in the Shadows (The Lost Series Book 3)

by Tracie Douglas

  I chuckle to myself before lunging my body out of the window and into the large bush behind her, hoping like hell it doesn’t hurt too bad. My body hits the shrubbery, and I tuck into myself, protecting my head. The branches break and scratch along my skin, and as my body hits the ground, the impact of it hits my body, pushing out the air in my lungs.

  Penny rushes over to me, and I drag a rough breath into my lungs.

  “Are you crazy?” she shrills while trying to help me up and out of the bushes. I shake my head, unable to answer her at that moment.

  I scramble to my feet and limp over toward the cases with her things. She follows closely behind, picking debris from my body. I bat away her hands, and another explosion rings out, this time from above us. I lunge for her, pulling her to the ground to cover her body from the debris. Chunks of stone and wood fall around us, striking me in the back like bee stings.

  “We have to get out of here,” I yell and haul my body off hers. She looks up at the window we just came from. The room is engulfed in flames. She stands, entranced by the sight. I tug at her hand. “Penny, please, we have to go!”

  She looks away finally and nods. I can only imagine what is going on in her head, but I’m sure her thoughts are like my own.

  If I hadn’t come back, she…

  No, I can’t think about that right now. There’s still too much at stake, and I need to get her to safety.

  We break out into a run, dashing along the pathway leading to my planned exit. I only hope we get there without any difficulties. We’ve already been through too much in the last few minutes.

  You should have planned this better, I tell myself. But then, she was never planned for, and when I was told of the “honor” Armando was granting me, she never factored into all of this. After what just happened to our suite, I’m damn glad I listened to my gut.

  The time it takes us to get from the compound to the exit gate goes by in a blur. I don’t remember the trip, and I look behind me to make sure Penny’s still there. She is, and just like me, her chest is pumping hard for breath. Between the physical exercise and the smoke, my throat is burning for water.

  I bend down to pick the lock on the gate, which is surprisingly easy, and clasp her hand, pulling her through it with me. She stumbles a step, and I stop to take in the area around us. We aren’t too far from the vehicle planted for my getaway, but standing still is too risky.

  “We don’t have to go much farther. Do you think you can make it?”

  She nods, and I notice her tear-streaked face. Fuck! When did that happen? I reach out and pull her in for a hug, wrapping my body around her. “It’s going to be all right. I promise to explain everything once we find safety. Let’s go.”

  Instead of an all-out run like before, we walk hurriedly through the streets. Stopping only when I see the small blue beater I was instructed to look for.

  After finding the keys where I knew they’d be, I toss Penny’s stuff in the trunk and open the passenger door for her. Letting myself in the driver’s side, I chance a look behind me, spotting instantly the cloud of black smoke signaling the location of the compound.

  I hope and pray that every sick fucker involved with the operation either meets their fate at the end of a bullet, or they burn to death.

  Chapter 13

  Damien

  We’ve been driving for nine hours, and it’s been rough. Stopping only twice for a bathroom break and gas, we haven’t spoken many words to one another. I don’t think either of us knows what to say to the other.

  I know she’s waiting patiently for me to explain myself, but I’ve needed time to process everything, and time to figure out how best to tell her I’ve been lying.

  “Where are we going?” she asks, finally breaking the silence in the car. The fact that it’s taken her this long to ask that question only provides further proof of her trust in me.

  “Denver, Colorado,” I reply, knowing she doesn’t know where that is. “We have a little over an hour still before we get there.”

  “What’s in Denver?”

  “Someone who’s going to help us.”

  “Are we in danger?”

  “Not exactly.” I look over at her and decide that now is an appropriate time to tell her everything. “I’m not who you think I am.”

  “I think I figured that part out already, Tony.”

  “My name isn’t Tony. It’s Damien. Damien Reynolds. The company I work for was hired to go undercover for the FBI. I was planted in the organization to help bring the men who run it down.” I keep my eyes on the road, looking for a safe place to pull over if she needs it.

  “And that back there was what?”

  “The day before I could find the proof we needed to close the operation, which triggered what happened back there.” I pause and take a breath. “The compound was heavily guarded and secured. The measures Armando and Charles took were set in place long before I came along. There wasn’t anything I could do to keep them from happening.”

  “You knew about the building holding…”

  “If our plan went the way it was supposed to, that building was empty when the explosion happened.”

  “But you don’t know for sure?”

  “No,” I admit, hating I can’t give her a more definitive answer. It’s possible she knew a lot of the girls in the group, and it’s likely she called some of them friends. “I will know more when I check in with my handler.”

  “When will you do that?”

  “When we get to where we are going.” I look over at her, taking my eyes off the road for a moment. “I promise, as soon as I know more, you will, too.”

  She sits quietly for the next few minutes, and I can tell by the way she chews her bottom lip there is a lot running through her head. I let the subject rest.

  Another fifteen minutes pass before she speaks again, this time surprising me.

  “I heard you on the phone the other night.” She turns her body slightly toward me and places her hands on her lap. I curse inwardly because if she could sneak up on me, I wonder who else has been able to do that. “You said I wasn’t part of the plan.”

  I curse again. How did I let this happen?

  “You weren’t,” I tell her honestly.

  “But you came back for me, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.” Again being honest. I don’t see the point in lying to her.

  “Why did you come back?”

  Her question hits me hard in the chest, and I shrug because I don’t have a reason. Maybe it was fate telling me her life depended on it. I’m not sure, but if I hadn’t gone back, she wouldn’t be alive. Not after the third explosion, destroying the suite we lived in.

  “I just knew I had to.” Simple and to the point. I hope she doesn’t push for anything more.

  “Thank you,” she murmurs, looking down at her hands. “You saved my life.”

  “It was nothing,” I brush it off, wishing she hadn’t said that, like I’m some damn hero. I’m not. Especially after all the shit I had to do to get to the top.

  As if sensing my shift in thoughts, she quiets down again and pushes no further.

  Thank fuck.

  Chapter 14

  Penelope

  We arrive at some rundown motel an hour later, like he predicted. The building isn’t anything fancy, but it will do.

  Damien doesn’t hesitate the moment the door is secure to change out of his clothing from the compound. The suit he started the day out in is torn and dirty; he’s been pulling at the thing for the last two hours.

  With his back turned to me, he rips open his shirt, ignoring the buttons entirely. I hear them hit the wall and bounce off the floor as he pulls the once white garment from his skin. I manage to stifle a gasp when my eyes and brain finally connect, taking in the beautiful sight of skin and muscle.

  I don’t mean to stare and act like I’ve never seen a naked man before, but the truth is, I’ve never seen a man like Damien. He clearly takes care for himself; whoever
he is and whatever he does in his life, that much I’m sure of.

  But it isn’t the muscle that astounds me. It’s the dark lines covering every inch of his skin that do it. It’s like an omage to his life but cryptic and metaphorical. The dark lines, from far away, look like a jumbled mess of hard and light lines, but the more I study them, the clearer the pictures begin to form.

  It’s a phoenix, and its wings are spread out across the width of his back, feathers drawn precisely to look like the bird is grabbing on to him. Dark flames lick along his skin, and even though there is no color to the artwork, it is breathtaking.

  I take in every detail, entranced by the way the intricate lines weave around his skin. A name pops out at me, stopping my eyes from moving any further.

  Starla.

  My thoughts swirl as I study the name, surely burning a hole into his skin. Can he feel me staring at him? The name is carefully designed into the feathers wrapping around the bottom of his ribcage. I almost missed it, and I can’t help wondering who she is to be so carefully concealed on his body.

  This man is becoming more of a mystery to me, but this, seeing that name on his skin, I feel like I’ve somehow stepped too far across the line into his personal space. The feeling makes me look away from his back, pretending to busy myself with my bags of clothing.

  He rummages through the duffel bag he pulled from the trunk of the getaway car and pulls out a gray shirt. I watch from the corner of my eye as he pulls it over his head and it stretches across his well-defined body.

  It’s becoming more evident there is more to this man than I imagined. Those suits did nothing but hide the body underneath them. My body reacts, warming instantly. I don’t know why. It’s not like I’ve never been this close to a half naked man before.

  I’ve pulled nearly all the clothing out of my bags, trying to ignore the growing warmth, and make heads or tails of what was grabbed during our escape. There are very few items that can actually be worn, and there are a lot of undergarments and socks.

  It’s safe to say I’m no good at packing under pressure.

  Damien turns toward me, but his attention is on the cell phone in his hand. “I’m going to step outside and make a few calls.”

  Those are the only words he gives me before walking out of the room.

  Forty-five minutes later, I sit on one of the two queen beds, waiting for him to come back. Not that he went far, just outside the door. Again, I’ve heard bits and pieces of his conversation, and just like before, all it’s done is build another list of questions to ask.

  He’s in hot water.

  He wasn’t supposed to take me.

  They won’t listen to reason.

  They refuse to believe I’d be dead if he hadn’t gone back for me.

  He doesn’t care. He won’t abandon me.

  He will not place me in their custody.

  He gave me his word. He’ll protect me at all costs.

  I was right to believe there was something much bigger happening. I just never imagined it would be this. This new man with a new name has captured my attention completely. Whereas Tony confused me, Damien made everything make sense.

  I find it much easier to trust him now, even knowing this could be an elaborate lie or a new kind of game. It’s possible he’ll make me a bigger fool than I already feel I am because I’m giving him my trust so easily.

  As Tony, he had a role to play, and it was a nasty one. His hand in how I came to be here, whether undercover or not, leaves me wondering what kind of man he really is. But the look in his eyes when the building the others were kept in exploded gave me reason to believe he was affected in a way similar to my own feelings.

  The other girls…

  I take a deep breath, straining my ears to listen for any sign on his side of the conversation that they made it out. I hear nothing.

  I stand up, walk to the window, and peek out from behind the curtain. Not seeing Damien, I step back and walk across the room. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I decide to wash the remaining pieces of the compound and its existence off. I dig through the makeshift suitcases and find something suitable and comfortable, just in case we must run again.

  I spare a glance at the door, checking the lock before making my way into the bathroom. Damien took the key with him after he brought our stuff inside. I don’t have to worry about him being able to get inside the room.

  I turn on the shower and let the water heat up while I undress. The luxury of a hot shower will help sort out my scattered thoughts and allow me a moment to just breathe without worrying about the next move. I take the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner into the shower with me.

  I’m tired of always looking over my shoulder and trying to read the people around me. I haven’t felt safe in a long time, but I’m hopeful that is going to change soon.

  A soft knock on the other side of the bathroom door jolts me back to the moment, and I hear him call out to me. “Penny, I’m back.”

  “Okay, I’m almost done,” I respond, rinsing away the lather I worked up along my skin. I make haste with my hair, briefly wondering how I’m going to brush out the knots because I didn’t grab anything in the rush to leave.

  Turning the water off, I twist the water out of my hair and step out. I dry off with the small scratchy towels provided by the motel and get dressed.

  I stare at myself in the mirror feeling changed. I don’t know how, but this entire experience has driven away the girl I once was. Despite my young age, I feel as if I’ve lived a lifetime, and I’m exhausted.

  “Penny,” Damien’s voice calls from the other side of the door, and I’m half tempted to ignore him because I’m not ready to face what he’s going to tell me.

  “They made it out.” He gives me the four words I need the most, all without knowing I need them. I hang my head and drag in a breath, releasing the tension I carried for them.

  We all made it out alive.

  Because of him.

  Chapter 15

  Damien

  When Penny comes out of the bathroom, I see the relief in her body. I don’t blame her; I feel relieved myself. When they told me the other girls made it out before the explosion happened, I nearly fell to the ground with relief.

  All the shit I went through and had to do paid off. And with the additional information I could provide the FBI, there is enough to go on to find and prosecute clients of the organization. It’s a long shot, but the ability to save many more lives is in play.

  Mission fucking accomplished.

  Which brings me full circle, except for one thing: the woman standing in front of me. She wasn’t part of the plan, and they are pissed. But I don’t care, because I refuse to send her home. Even when I told them the reasons she can’t go home, they didn’t care.

  Fuck that.

  I know she has other options regardless of what they say, but I have a plan of my own. Another option that will give her all the protection she needs. The only problem is convincing her to do it.

  “What is it, Damien?” she asks, like she senses the turmoil in my mind. I debate whether telling her about what they said about her is a clever idea, but if I want her to continue trusting me, I need to.

  “They’re talking about sending you home,” I explain and watch her eyes grow big and wide, and the air in my lungs becomes trapped.

  “I can’t…” she trails off, the relief she felt moments ago lost at my words. She’s right. She can’t go back, and I’ll be damned if I let them send her home.

  “That’s what I told them.” I step toward her, pulling her into my arms, trying to calm her now shaking body.

  “You did?”

  “Yes.” My finger finds her chin, and I add pressure, lifting her face to mine. Her crystal-blue eyes are soft and worry-filled. But I can’t help the warmth pooling in my body. When she looks at me like that, I almost forget all the bad I’ve ever seen or felt in my life. “There is a way we can keep you here, but I don’t know how you�
�ll feel about it.”

  “I will do anything, Damien. Please, I cannot go back home.” She grips my arms, and I pull her in tighter. She means it, too. I can feel it in the way she lets me hold her. “Tell me what I have to do.”

  I swallow hard, clamping down on the sudden panic I feel. The words come out before I can stop them. “Marry me.”

  “Marry you?”

  “Yes, marry me.” I smile but have a tough time doing it. She leans back. Her eyes seek out mine, but before she can say anything, I ramble on. “I don’t know what the custom is where you’re from, but here—”

  “I know what marriage is, Damien. It’s a pretty simple universal concept.” She frowns. She’s not entirely right, but I don’t want to burst her bubble. Plus, I’m terrified of her answer. “What I don’t understand is why you’re saying this.”

  “My contacts in the FBI are refusing to hear me out. This is the only thing I could think of that would keep you here, keep you safe, and make it legal.” My smile is gone as the seriousness of the situation begins to weigh heavily in the room. “I asked for them to make it legally possible for us to get married, a favor after everything that’s gone wrong with this assignment.”

  “A favor?”

  “The paperwork,” I explain before taking a deep breath and coming clean with her. “Despite everything, you’re here as an illegal, and while there are other options you can utilize to help keep you here, they can’t guarantee them.”

  “Marriage isn’t a guarantee either,” she points out, and she’s right. Either way, it’s a risk. But with this risk, I will be a part of the equation. I need her to say yes, and I will push even harder for it. “For us to be married, there has to be a slew of paperwork to make it happen.”

  “Yes, but I’ve asked them to overlook most of it, as a favor.” I know miracles can happen. I know they can do this for us. For her.

  “Why are you doing this?” she asks and shakes her head in disbelief.