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 Just do it. Please?
The please must have convinced him. Still frowning, Cam
blurred and shifted into the image of a television actor. That surge
of emotions hit Tristan again, this time tinged with confusion.
He took his hand off Cam s face and grabbed his hand.  I could
feel you. When you shifted, for just a second, I could feel you.
Cam s frown deepened. He pulled his hand from Tristan s and
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ran it through his hair.  What do you mean, you could feel me?
 Your emotions. I felt them. Excitement coursed through
Tristan. He reached for Cam s hand again, but Cam shifted back to
himself before Tristan could reach him.
 That s unexpected. Cam s smile appeared to be forced.
Tristan forced a smile of his own. Of course Cam would be
surprised, after thinking nobody could read him.  I guess so.
Maybe he didn t want Tristan to be able to read him. The thought
was more than a little troubling.
They sat silent for a few seconds. A brittle awkwardness
formed. Tristan looked down at the bed.
After a moment, Cam tipped Tristan s chin up.  Hey. Thanks
for trusting me earlier. That was incredible.
 It was. Tristan caught Cam s hand and kissed the fingertips.
 Will you stay?
 Of course.
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CHAPTER 18
Four A.M., and Cam couldn t sleep. After such a long, tiring
day, and the little game he and Tristan had played earlier, he
should have been asleep the instant he rested his head on the
pillow. He was exhausted, yet he couldn t stop thinking.
Tristan s comment about wanting to be with him had really
struck home. He knew he ought to be happy that Tristan wanted to
be with him instead of always wanting him to shift into different
incarnations of the perfect man. Instead, anxiety, guilt, and
confusion roiled through him. Tristan didn t know what he was
asking for. He didn t really want the real Cam. He d proven that
without even knowing it.
Tristan s elation about his ability to sense Cam s emotions
when he shifted also weighed heavy on Cam s mind. Tristan was
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worming his way into every facet of Cam s life. Cam dealt with
dangerous situations all the time for the field team, but nothing
scared him as much as the thought of Tristan seeing him for who
he was. Especially after what had happened earlier.
He closed his eyes and breathed slow and deep, trying to calm
the sick, scared feeling in his stomach. Pretty soon, Tristan would
get tired of Cam s evasions. Tristan deserved a man who would
share everything, not the masks and half-truths Cam gave him. The
problem was Cam didn t know how to do anything else. He didn t
want to do anything else.
Did he?
Not everyone approved of the way he led his life, but Cam had
gotten along just fine. He d been happy. Okay, maybe not happy.
Content. Did he want to risk that for something that probably
wouldn t last?
He was still asking himself that question when his cell phone
rang at five A.M. A glance at the display revealed Claudia s
number. He slipped out of bed and into the hallway to take the call.
 Hello?
Claudia s brusque, businesslike voice would have told him it
wasn t a social call even if the early hour hadn t.  We have an
emergency retrieval. Can you be in briefing room four in fifteen
minutes?
 I ll be there.
 Good. Claudia disconnected the call without a goodbye.
Work was yanking him out of his lover s bed at an ungodly
hour. Cam should have been unhappy. Part of him was, but another
part was grateful for the reprieve. If he was on a mission, he
wouldn t have to worry about disappointing Tristan.
When Cam went back into the bedroom, Tristan mumbled,
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 Everything okay?
 That was Claudia. We ve got an emergency retrieval.
 You have to go? The bedside lamp clicked on. Tristan was
sitting up, blinking like a sleepy owl, his hair in disarray.
Cam paused in the act of buttoning his shirt.  Yeah, I have to
meet everyone in fifteen minutes. He crossed to the bed and sat
on the edge, beside Tristan.
Tristan touched his hand.  Be careful.
How long had it been since someone had really cared if he was
careful, if he was safe? Cam swallowed against the sudden lump in
his throat.  I will. He brushed his lips against Tristan s. The brief
contact wasn t enough, but it would have to do. Not sure what to
say, he murmured,  Bye.
 Bye, Cam.
Tristan s voice, soft and full of emotion, haunted him all the
way back to his room, and then to the briefing room.
* * *
The emergency retrieval more than satisfied Cam s desire not
to think about Tristan. A mother and child, both with abilities, had
been kidnapped in Mexico. They were being held for ransom. The
group that held them didn t know what they had, yet, and the field
team needed to get the woman and her little girl out before the men
figured it out. If the bad guys clued in, they would be able to offer
their captives to one of the many organizations that collected
people with talents.
Cam had been on dangerous missions before, but not often
involving children. The addition of a child added urgency to the
field team s work, and made planning more difficult. Five grueling
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days went by before they were able to rescue the woman and her
little girl. Cam went in first, taking out one of the kidnappers and
assuming his form. Convincing the victims to come with him was
hard, even after he shifted to show them he wasn t really one of the
men who d taken them, because they were terrified.
Finally Cam convinced them, and he led them out. By some
miracle, nobody shot at them or sounded the alarm. He let the rest
of the team take charge then, grateful his part was done. All he had
to do was ride along while Hacker drove them to a safe location to
await pickup by the woman s husband, who would be bringing
armed guards.
Grateful, the husband offered to put them up at one of his
hotels for the night. It was too late to start home, so they agreed.
One more night in Mexico would be better than trying to travel.
After a mission, Cam was always tired, but keyed up. The
team s usual method of unwinding after finishing a job was to go
to a bar or a club, and despite their exhaustion they voted to go out
and celebrate. Only Evan and Spoons elected to remain at the
hotel. Cam, Uri, Myers, and Hacker hit the first club they came to.
The moment they walked inside, Hacker made a beeline for the
dance floor. Hacker was a terrible dancer, but nobody could tell
him that. He thought he was awesome. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]