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Cameron

S uffocating. I was suffocating. My face and mouth were fully covered, cutting off all oxygen. Panic flooded me, and I thrashed out against whatever was pressing against my face.

My sheets and blankets tumbled away, and blessedly cool air washed over me.

Sitting bolt upright in bed, I glanced around my room, my breath coming in hiccupping gasps.

A staccato rhythm beat in my chest as my heart tried to tear free from its cage.

I covered my face with my hands, and tears worked their way through the cracks between my fingers.

It took several minutes before I got myself under control. The dream had been so vivid and weird. So terrifying.

Once I got myself mostly under control, I looked at the clock on my nightstand. Still an hour before my alarm went off. There was no way I would be able to go back to sleep after a dream like that. With a dejected sigh, I threw the rest of the covers off, then got ready for the day.

The shower water, hot enough to sting my skin, washed away the last vestiges of the chaotic dream. The madness that had taken place in my mind faded into a distant, albeit frightening memory.

Once I was dried and dressed, I called Nate to see if he was ready for the hearing, but he didn’t answer.

He was probably still asleep. That, or he was still processing what he’d learned the day before and didn’t want to talk.

Both scenarios were very likely and understandable, but now that I was awake, I wanted to talk to someone.

I considered calling JC, but he was probably busy setting up for the hearing. I’d also interrupted his night to come to my apartment and talk. No, I decided. I should leave him alone.

Instead, I sent a text to one person I was pretty sure would be awake. Ollie.

Me: Hey, can you come to the apartment?

Ollie: I can. Is something wrong?

Me: No, it’s just the stuff I compiled for the hearing today. I wanted to bounce a few things off you, and see what works and what I should leave out.

That was true, and I wanted to talk Ollie into giving me a ride to the hearing, too. The men watching my place were trustworthy, but I knew Ollie. I’d feel safer and much more comfortable with him.

Ollie: That’s fine, but it’ll be at least two hours before I can be there. I have some work stuff to get out of the way first. Is that okay? That would still give you an hour or so before the hearing.

I still needed to run to the office and see what my coworkers had been able to dig up. That would only take me about an hour. Plenty of time in between to download or print any of the research that was applicable.

Me: That should work. I’ll see you then.

Ollie: Okay. See you in a little while.

It was a little before seven. Mom had already left for her shift at the hospital, and from the sound of it, Gael was still asleep. I could hear him snoring through his bedroom door.

I scrawled a quick note and slid it under his door so he wouldn’t worry when he woke up to an empty home. Once that was done, I grabbed my backpack and slipped outside. The same guy I’d seen yesterday stood there, awake and alert.

He glanced over at me in surprise and straightened. “Miss Torres? Is something wrong?”

“I’m fine,” I answered. “Also, please call me Cameron. Miss Torres is my mother. Speaking of, did she make it to work all right?”

He nodded. “Brandon followed her there, and once she was inside the hospital, he came back. We’ve got a pack member who’s on staff in security at the hospital, too, and he’s been made aware of the situation. He’ll keep an eye on her while she’s there.”

“Good. I need to go to the Toronto Chronicle offices. I have some things I need to get before I go to the hearing.”

He cast a worried look at the stairwell. “Uh, I’m not sure about that, Miss—uh, Cameron. JC made it clear that we needed to keep you as safe as possible until after the hearing.”

“I won’t take my car. I was going to order an Uber. That way, no one will realize it’s me driving away. If anyone is even watching, that is,” I added.

The guy chewed at his bottom lip, then seemed to come to a decision. “All right, but I’m going to order it on my phone. That way, if someone is tracking your credit card or phone, they can’t trace it to you. And one of us will follow behind.”

I hadn’t thought of anyone tracing my phone usage. I’d planned on using the credit card JC had given me for payment, assuming that would be enough to keep anyone off my trail. It looked like JC’s men thought of everything.

Flashing him a grateful smile, I nodded. “That works.”

Ten minutes later, a small hatchback sedan pulled up outside. The guard at my door walked me over, scanning the area around the apartment parking lot for danger until I got in. Once I was in the car, he leaned inside, keeping his voice low so the driver couldn’t hear.

“Brandon and I will stay here to watch your brother. Sam will follow you at a distance until you’re in the office, then wait outside. Here’s my number.” He slipped me a piece of paper. “Let me know when you’re done, and I’ll call another car for you.”

“Got it,” I said, taking the paper and tucking it into my pocket. “Brandon and Sam. So, what’s your name?”

He grinned. “Julius,” he said and closed the door.

The Uber pulled away. Trusting Julius, I didn’t bother looking back to see this Sam guy who was tailing me. He’d be there. It made me feel a little more secure, knowing I wasn’t all alone.

Blessedly, the driver wasn’t talkative, and I managed to zone out for the ride.

“We here,” the driver said in thickly accented English.

“Thank you.” I got out and texted Julius to let him know I’d arrived.

I gazed up at the building. It had only been about a week since I’d last been here, but it felt like I’d been on vacation for weeks. Stepping inside, I let my shoulders relax. This place was my second home. It gave me a little relief to be somewhere familiar.

“Good morning, Cameron,” the security guard at the entrance desk said with a smile. “How was your little getaway? Brent said you were out of town for some R-and-R.”

I suppressed my sigh of relief. Brent hadn’t told everyone what had happened. Ollie had pulled strings to keep most of the info classified, and my editor was the only one who had any clue about what had happened.

“It was… uh, it was great,” I said, scanning my ID card to get in.

“Good to hear. Getting an early start, I see.”

“Got to catch up,” I said. “Have a good one.”

Hurrying down the hall to the bank of elevators, I glanced at the time on my phone. Still several hours until the hearing. I had plenty of time.

The newsroom was fairly quiet when I stepped off the elevator, but then again, the news never slept. Several people were already at their desks. Brent called out to me as I walked across the room toward my cubicle.

“Cam?” He came hurrying out of his office and moved toward me, a look of concern on his face. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on some research. Brianna and Richard were looking into something for me,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t pry too much.

“Oh, so that’s what they were doing in the archive room yesterday. I saw they’d put a bunch of files there with a post-it that had your name on it.”

A sizzle of excitement ran up my spine. Had they found something?

“ Great ,” I said. “I’ll head there now. I have an appointment in a couple of hours that I can’t be late for.”

Brent’s frown deepened. “Are you sure everything is all right? I mean, after what happened? I’d think it was better if you were home resting rather than running around here.

Your job is safe,” he added, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“There’s no need for you to do this. I’m not going to cut you loose.

Especially not when this is all out of your control. ”

Brent could be a hard-ass sometimes, but he was always kind and fair to me. That was a rare thing in the news world. Most editors were cutthroat savages. Part of me wondered how Brent had managed to get so far with his personality, but I was grateful he had.

“Thanks, Brent,” I said. “Seriously. I’m gonna go see what they found for me, then head straight home. Sound good?”

He made an irritated sound in his throat but nodded.

“All right. But you should get some rest. I’m heading out for coffee.

If you need anything else, I’ll be back in twenty or thirty minutes.

” He pointed at me. “But you better be out of here by the time I get back. When I say you need rest, I mean it.”

“Thank you.” I patted his shoulder and hurried off to the archive room.

The room, a holdover from the time before the electronification of everything , held a bunch of old newspapers—physical copies and microfiches.

Though, even this room had begun to change with the times.

A bank of three computers sat at the back of the room where we could work on big stories without the chaos and prying eyes of the main newsroom.

It was only used sporadically, and there was a rumor it would be renovated into a new break room, complete with a coffee bar and a staffed barista.

All the papers and microfilm would be stored in the basement.

A pile of folders sat on the desk at the back, my name scrawled in pen across a sticky note on top.

The file folders were stuffed with printouts of old newspaper clippings, along with several stacks of handwritten and printed notes on various stories that never came to fruition.

Greedy for information, I began leafing through everything.

“I wish it didn’t have to be like this.”

A yelp of surprise burst from my lips, and I spun, knocking the pile of papers from the desk. Rick stood behind me, arms crossed over his broad chest.

“How… what? Rick?” The words came stammering from my mouth, confusion short-circuiting my mind.