Page 35

Camp came into view on the outskirts of town. The cool night air helped me think. Kane is okay. We are okay. The Ghost is dead. In some ways, it was back to square one… except for Kane. God, I was glad he was okay.

I called the Hellraisers on my way. “I”m back,” I told them. All our technology had failed briefly during a flux in the Leftovers, but now the connection was clear enough to call in with no bad static. “Colin and I are safe.” After a resounding cheer from the twins, I told Holt to call everyone together for a meeting. I owed them a talk.

Colin switched places with Dorian to help support Kane. It was better if the Bureau soldiers saw me and a fellow team member bringing in more vampires. Hindley was going to have my butt for sure with this mess of a mission. If she didn”t fire me, then she was going to bury me in paperwork for the foreseeable future.

I appreciated Colin”s calm presence as we walked. Despite the fact that I used to think he ran too cold where I was too hot back in our earlier Bureau days, his help on this leg of the mission meant a lot to me. I was curious to know his thoughts about the situation, although I suspected he was still upset about the Ghost”s death. It was a shame, what had happened, and I said as much to him.

“It was,” he said. His frown was somber but thoughtful. “The creature was in pain, though. You could tell how much it was hurting. At least now it”s no longer suffering. I”m just glad we found Kane; I was worried about him fading out before we reached him. I didn”t think this mission could get any weirder, until we stumbled across that freaky cloaked cult.” Lyra had given us the rundown of what had happened in their fight against the group in the Pocket Space. It sounded like a whole lot more headache for us in the future. But I would think about that tomorrow.

A sneaky smile formed on Colin”s lips.

“What?” I asked, feeling defensive for no discernible reason.

He shook his head. “I was just thinking that you would have hunted through every building in the Pocket Space if the creature hadn”t managed to bring you to Kane.”

A touch of embarrassment hit me. Was I that transparent?I was thinking about Kane, but I hadn’t said anything about my connection to him besides our mental link. The kiss, though. My feelings about everything danced beneath the surface. I couldn’t deal with them now.

”I was worried,” I admitted. Colin”s eyes twinkled with amused skepticism. ”Fine. Very worried.” That was as much as I was willing to admit, at least for now. He had probably read me like a book anyway, but I still had to maintain my dignity.

He stared ahead, satisfied by my answer. ”What was it like being inside Kane”s head? Tough-guy talk constantly, right?”

”You”re not wrong, but it was… illuminating.” I’d discovered a whole new side to Kane that I hadn’t realized existed. The only problem was that it was discovered in a very intrusive way. But, as it turned out, he had heard me on that awful date, so surely, we were even.

”I always thought Kane felt more than he showed,” Colin said thoughtfully. He was right, as usual. He was always the sniper, the quiet and observant guy who spoke when it counted. A good marksman with words as well as bullets. Had he observed more than he was letting on?

There”s not much to observe. Nothing between Kane and me besides one delirious kiss…and one interrupted one.Okay, yes, there is something between us… but I’m not sure what it means yet.

The memory of Kane”s mouth on mine made me feel hot all over. How many women had to drag the guy who’d just kissed them back to base camp? Nobody could say life in the supernatural field was easy. My heart fluttered, and I hated it. I wasn”t a lovesick schoolgirl, and yet… I was unsettled.

Colin didn’t say anything else, which told me that maybe I didn”t need to say anything for him to know everything. I would ask Hindley one day to teach me her cold, tough commander face, if she didn”t sack me.I cleared my throat.

”Thanks for supporting me in all this,” I told Colin. Even if I was embarrassed about him catching on to the awkward tension, I was glad he was here with me. He smiled gently.

”No need for thanks. You”d do the same for anyone, Captain.” He stressed the last word slightly, a gesture of support that touched my heart.

Once we arrived at camp, I said goodnight to Lyra. Dan went with her, as he was technically her prisoner at the moment, while Chandry helped me get Kane to a medic tent. It turned out that the acrobatic newcomer was gifted in basic vampire healing arts.

”You have to learn all the skills you can, when your people are nearly wiped out of existence,” she told me simply. She thought Kane”s prospects were good, once he got some dark energy in him. Perhaps one of the Bureau soldiers from the original squad had an old X-75 lying around somewhere in their gear. We might be able to gauge a small enough dose to heal Kane faster, but the other vampires promised to do their best to feed him in the meantime.

Colin and I made our way back to the Hellraisers. It was time for our meeting, and I had a lot to say to them.

”I”m here for you,” Colin said as we went up to my hotel room, where the Hellraisers were gathered. It was hard to believe that we’d spent our early years in the Bureau together, and now I was his captain. He didn”t seem to resent it, like some of the others, content to just go with the flow. Besides, I might not be his captainfor much longer.

Jones might have lost patience and staged a coup, arguing for a complete takeover from Holt… if he hadn”t already alerted Hindley to my absence. In fact, the iron-willed woman might have sent over my termination orders already. The sting of worry settled deep in my chest, only soothed by the notion that Kane and Lyra”s team were safe. I had my own personal victories to celebrate in this case. I’d carved out my own success this time, so I would take what was coming to me and just roll with it. In my heart, I knew I had done the right thing.

The funny thing about doing the right thing is that it”s all about perspective. For some reason, I bet Bryce would”ve been proud of me for this moment of self-reflection.

I opened the door, expecting to face the beginning of the end.

”We saw you bring your vampire friend from the window,” Jordan said excitedly as soon as I walked through the door. He pointed to the glass window of my small room, where he had left a faint grease mark from pressing his face against the pane. The others were situated around the low coffee table, seated on the ratty couch and in whatever chairs they could find.

”Welcome back,” Holt said with a broad, inviting grin. He had an open soda can in front of him, and there were playing cards on the table. Jones had a small pile of candy and wore a friendly smile. It looked like they were playing poker.

”Your friend is built like a tank,” Jessie said. ”Any chance he wants to join the team? Evans is terrible at poker, so I hope he”s better.”

I stared at them in disbelief. The air was light and friendly. Soda and cards? I’d walked in expecting emotional warfare.

”I don”t like poker,” Evans said, rolling her eyes. ”This nearly middle-aged woman prefers solitaire, thanks. Sue me.”

Nobody glared at me or gave me that familiar look of disappointment that teammates and authority figures had favored in the past. I would have asked one of the twins to pinch me to see if I was dreaming, but they would actually do it, and I was already sore all over.

”Tell us everything,” Holt said.

So, I did. I explained how Colin was right about trusting the beast to take us to Kane, counting on the connection that I somehow had with Kane. Talking about it out loud made me realize that hearing someone”s thoughts from the Pocket Space didn”t sound so wild compared with everything we saw in the Leftovers. I strove to keep my voice steady and calm as I related Kane’s condition when I’d found him, hating to let on that there was anything between us. There”s nothing but friendship. Totally just friendship.

”The hooded figures were trained?” Jones asked, genuinely curious when I got to the aftermath of meeting up with Lyra”s group. Colin made a ”sort-of” motion with his hand.

”We”re not sure who those people were or what they were,” I confessed, secretly grateful that Jones was acting friendly and engaged. He obviously hadn”t called Hindley. The rest of the story came out, with plenty of interrupting cheers and gasps from the twins at appropriate intervals. I relayed the story of the Ghost’s unfortunate demise, pointing out that it effectively cut off our way back into the Pocket Space.

Jessie let out a little gasp. ”Wait. If they didn”t know how to control the monster and just started lashing out at it, then there has to be another way in. You said that there were likely humans with powers among them and definitely vampires in the group. So, they either got in somehow, or they’ve been there since the beginning of the meld. Also, bringing someone back to a leader insinuates that this leader might be somewhere else and there’s more to the Pocket Space than you thought.” She smacked her fist into the palm of her other hand. ”There has to be a way back in there somehow. I bet you we could find a back door of sorts.”

I lifted a hand. ”I”m not sure we want to go running back there just yet, even if we had a way in. There”s still the matter of dealing with the fallout from the mission. The Ghost won”t be bothering anyone else from this town, but the Leftovers are still here.” And we had the odd group of mysterious people to deal with. What did they want?We would figure that out later.

”You know, I did a bit of work in religious extremist groups before joining the supernatural division.” Jones cleared his throat as all eyes turned on him. I was actually surprised. I hadn”t known that about him, and I wouldn”t have expected it. ”It”s not something I put on my resume, since it was just a short stint in a tiny fringe Bureau branch. All our funding eventually got cut as the program went to the federal government”s jurisdiction. Still, it does strike me that they”re using some of the same terminology as the cults I used to work with.”

I leaned forward, genuinely interested. Holt had moved, making room for Colin and me to sit on the faded couch. ”What parts?”

”The promise of a grand truth,” Jones said with a firm nod. ”They always sell you on something large-scale and seductive like that. It sounds like, in some ways, Jessica was really looking for answers, but she went about it the wrong way.”

Holt frowned. ”She was clearly suffering from something, to go to all this trouble.” Their comments made my skin prick with anxiety. But… hadn”t the Leftovers affected all of us, on a tiny level? I could tell when the Ghost was going to open a portal. My tongue felt like a heavy weight in my mouth. After their reaction to my confession about hearing Kane’s thoughts, I wanted to wait to ask Colin in private if he’d felt the creature’s portals, too.

”You know, I didn”t think you guys would come back,” Jones admitted after a small pause. He gave me an approving gaze. Up close in this room, he seemed less intimidating and frustrating. Something about him had changed… or something in me. ”Glad I was wrong.” Evans watched him, hiding a small quirk of her lips behind her cards. She had two aces, from what I could see. Solid hand. Somehow, things had worked out. I made a mental note to ask Holt what had transpired earlier in the day, but my brain was tired and sluggish.

The other Hellraisers took the hint. The twins demanded to stay in my room, although Jordan valiantly offered to take the couch so I could sleep in the bed without him shoving his feet in my face. Some things never changed. The minutes ticked by, and I settled into bed, but my eyes stayed wide open. Funny, how after such an exhausting mission, I could be up for hours, too wired to sleep.

I slipped out of bed and into my coat, then tiptoed quietly out into the corridor. Jessie never stirred. Jones and Evans were bunking with the other soldiers, since the twins had muscled their way into my room. Holt and Sylas shared the room next to mine, but this inn was tiny. I made my way down the stone path from the tiny inn to the medical tent, lit by a lantern in the distance. The soldiers on guard greeted me, congratulating me on my return.

Lyra”s team must have made camp with the other soldiers nearby and gone to bed already. It was late. Or early, I guess, depending on your perspective. Right now, there was only one perspective that I was interested in…

The medic on duty came out as I walked up. She pushed her square black glasses up her nose. ”Are you here to check on your survivor?” Survivor. She was right; Kane was a survivor.

”Yes,” I said. ”Is that okay?” I was hoping to sneak past any medical staff. She looked tired as could be, though.

”You”re the captain.” She shrugged. ”I”m off duty now, but alert the guards if there”s any trouble. The next medic will come back on in a few hours. We”re a bit short tonight, since my other guy had to go grab some supplies from the nearby clinic, but he’s stable enough that I’m not worried about him.”

I promised to keep an eye on him. Inside the tent, only a few lights were on, but they meant that my shadow was probably prominently displayed on the outside of the tent. I settled in a fold-out chair at his bedside. He looked better than he had when I’d found him.

Suddenly, I was so aware of him. His presence took up the entire tent, even while sleeping. He was beautiful—not like Dorian”s dark elegance, but in his own savage way. Everything about him was sharp. My throat dried as I studied him.

Why did you kiss me?

”I can”t get it out of my head,” I whispered. There was nobody awake to hear me. Kane”s chest rose and fell with long, gentle movements. I would”ve thought he’d sleep fitfully, knowing him. What was going to happen with us?

He’d been delirious when he’d kissed me, on death”s door. My heart slammed against my chest. A part of me, deep inside, whispered that I didn”t want the delirious excuse to be true.

He could”ve mistaken me for anyone…

But there was nobody else”s voice in my head but his, and my voice in his head. Didn’t that mean something?

I pushed the thought of dramatic brink-of-death kisses from my brain. More than anything, I wanted Kane to wake up in good health. I needed to know everything that had happened to him in the Pocket Space. He’d mentioned a few things that he hadn”t been able to explain. What had happened to him during his time there? It was worse than the Ghost, whatever it was.

I leaned back in the chair, finally feeling sleep tug at my eyes. He always made me feel safer, even when he was the one in the freaking medical cot.

What could all this mean? I lapsed into sleep with the question fresh on my mind.