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The next morning, I woke up with Justin in front of me and Cameron snug at my back with his dark comforter over us. Damn. Two guys in bed with me and my hormones were up. I wanted them. Maybe I could... try?
I leaned in and kissed Justin's soft lips, coaxing them open and demanding his participation.
His lips caressed mine, sweet and slow until they drifted away. His eyes opened, and a grin crossed his lips. "What was that for?" he asked, dragging me away from Cameron into his arms.
I shrugged before resting my head on his shoulder. "I don't know. You being cute as you sleep."
His chest rumbled with a mock growl. "I'm handsome, not cute."
My lips quirked. "Aww," I responded softly as to not wake Cameron, and I patted his chest. "Do you have a cute complex? Did someone tell you that you're a pretty boy?"
The arm that draped over top of my shoulder slid down so his hand could swat my thigh. "Stop."
I hissed, and I put my fingers together to pinch the skin on his arm in retribution.
"Hey-hey."
A hand shoved at my back, pushing me more into Justin. "Will the two of you please shut it?" Cameron grumbled, "I'm trying to sleep here."
I rolled over and leaned over Cameron, squishing my cold hands on his cheeks.
"No," he groaned, snagging my hands and yanking me to him. "Stop. I want to sleep."
Justin came in close, snuggling up to my back. "It's early morning." His warm breath tickled my neck. "Cameron has a point. We should go back to sleep."
Cameron groaned again, shifting his face downward into my chest. Or was it a boob snuggle?
"I got you," he mumbled into my breasts, causing them to vibrate. I squirmed and leaned back more into Justin, but his face sunk lower. He angled his head to the side and sighed. "This is nice."
Justin moved to peer over my shoulder. He had his phone, and he pushed the button so the light shined on us. "Hey." He pushed Cameron's head away from me. "Use your pillow."
Cameron winced at the light. "Why? Hers were just perfect." Then he buried his head into his pillow.
"He was fine," I defended.
A snore greeted us. Cameron was back to sleep.
"Yeah, I know. Cameron's just a heavy sleeper. Sometimes he does things without thinking when he’s half in dreamland, you know?"
Cameron was pretty reserved, and what he did just now was unusual for him. I guess what Justin said kind of made sense. He didn't want Cameron to embarrass himself further.
I eased myself out of Cameron's hold while Justin backed up, letting me draw away from him, and then I scooted down to the end of the mattress.
"Where are you going?" he murmured into the dark as I eased off the side of the bed.
"I'm not leaving if that's what you’re thinking," I stated simply.
"Fine, you caught me. But you have to admit, all you've been doing is leaving or hiding. So... what are you doing, now?"
I sent him a nasty glare, which he couldn't see since it was dark, and replied, "What do you usually do when you first wake up."
Silence.
I stood there and rolled my eyes. Oh brother. "Besides jack off."
He grunted. "You need to use the bathroom."
"Hm-mm." I whisked past him but paused at the door. "I promise I'll be back."
He grunted. "How about I meet you in the kitchen? I can make us some–"
"Cereal?"
He chuckled. "Yeah. I might even make toast."
With my eyes slightly adjusted, I saw Justin's frame sitting up in bed. A moment later, I watched as an object flew through the air and hit him; he wasn't fazed when he twisted around and picked the item up and threw it back. "Cameron," he growled, "keep your pillows to yourself."
I took the moment to flee to where I needed to be the most.
Wandering out of the hallway after I had done my thing, I found Justin in the lit kitchen with bowls set on the counter and a few boxes of cereals out for choice. His back was to me as he reached into the refrigerator for the milk. The sleepy gleam in his eyes and messy hair made him look rugged and less approachable. He gave me a slow grin as I drew near as if he knew what I was thinking. Milk in one hand, he nodded to the empty bowls while he scooped up the cereal boxes in his free arm. "Grab those and we can head over to the bar top."
I did as he asked and stacked the bowls before making my way out of the small kitchen and to the bar that overlooked the inside of the kitchen. He sat on one stool, and I chose another.
He slid the cereal boxes my way, his sleepy gleam more awake than it had been before. "Pick," he said on a yawn. It was cute. A grin snuck up, and I switched my attention to the boxes. "Wait. What was the grin for?"
My gaze shot up to his as a full smirk crossed my lips. "You’re cute."
He groaned. "Aw jeez, not that again." He reached for me, like he would do something, but then Cameron came out from the hallway with a yawn, and he moved away.
"Hey, I want to check and see if your contact emailed you,” Cameron threw my way as he shuffled into the kitchen.
I paused my eating and glanced over to him. He didn't seem to be aware of my hesitation. Justin didn't immediately notice either as he took another bite.
“Oh,” I offered casually, “what if there's nothing there?”
Both of their gazes shot to mine. Justin spoke first. “Do you think there won't be anything there?” His eyes narrowed. “Or do you already know?”
I grimaced, knowing I was caught. “I might have kinda... you know...” I explained, my voice raised slightly with guilt, “checked on it last night.”
At that moment, Thad came out of the hallway shirtless. I paused to watch him and his muscles move as he ignored me and headed into the kitchen. The shorts he was wearing were riding low. Despite being a rude asshole, he was hot.
Justin snapped his fingers in front of my face to grab my attention. “Hey, what did it say? Does she want to meet?”
I shook my head, trying to get out of this haze I was in. “No, she said, ‘Goodbye.’ That was it. Nothing else. I guess I alarmed her by asking to meet.”
“Have you ever met her?” Thad tossed the question my way when exited the kitchen with a cereal bowl in hand.
“No. She was interesting, you know. Was the first one to contact me when I went asking around about Hannah's disease for research purposes. Thought there might be another case, but there wasn't. Said she owed me one. I didn’t think she did. But when I needed help finding out about another case on how to find a man because it was a dead end, I asked her if she had any ideas on where I could go. She was able to get me on to this black list site where I could find the information I needed. After that, the two of us continued to share information with one another. But she didn't ask for much help."
"Well, what help did she ask for?" Cameron questioned, his gaze guarded.
I shrugged, deliberating if telling would go against the main sleuth code or not, but my contact did split at the mention of meeting me and Lydents. And she did lead me to them. And she might be in trouble, so with that knowledge, I wasn't feeling too bad for giving them some background that might or might not mean anything.
I bit my lip trying to remember what the first thing she had asked me about was. "It was to drop something off at a corner. I don't know who it was for, but it was a prepaid phone. In return, she gave me access to the black website with her access code."
As if it dawned on the three of them, they glanced to one another.
Thad spoke again, "That's how you could solve all those cases. That access got you into places you never dreamed of getting into."
I cringed, now feeling ashamed. "Yeah, but she took it back a few months ago. Said feds were snooping around. I didn't want to get caught. The last thing I used it for was to find Hannah's family."
Cameron tilted his head to the side. "Your friend?"
"Yeah. When the investigator hit a dead end, he came asking for help. I went on there and was able to access files from the Department of Social Security and find out who her mom's parents really were. From there, I was able to find Hannah's grandfather living in Idaho."
Cameron narrowed his gaze on me. "You mean you could tap into government websites?" I nodded. "Jeez, fuck." He twisted away and ran a hand through his hair.
Justin spoke next. "No wonder the girl shut down and split. I would too if I thought people were coming after me for having that kind of information."
Cameron turned back to me. "Wait, was she just a member or was this her website?"
I glanced between them all. "I-I'm not sure. There were others on there, but she seemed pretty well versed and in control of it. I mean, if she had that kind of set up, she'd be in one place, right? In order to accommodate all those people and links? That would be a mass of information that no laptop could handle. So... she couldn't be your runaway,” I concluded.
“Great,” Justin answered, moving back. “One more thing to go down the drain. Who wants to tell the council?”
Cameron glanced to me and answered, “We can’t. Trace is coming with me to my reunion.”
Justin shot me a questioning stare with a raised eyebrow. “Oh? It’s today?” He drifted his gaze back to Cameron for confirmation.
Cameron nodded. “Yeah, I thought it would be good for her to get out for a little bit while you and the others do... you know.” Then he grimaced. “But now this...”
My gaze darted between the two of them. “I already said yes.”
“Good. Great,” Justin answered, getting up and rounding the countertop to put his bowl in the sink. He moved out of the kitchen to head down the hall. “I’ll just get ready for work and deal with this shit.”
I peeked over to Cameron who was already staring at me. He gave an encouraging smile. “He’ll be fine.”
“You hope,” Thad muttered, startling me. I had forgotten he was even there.
***
We drove up to a large park where the reunion was held. “They’re not Lydents,” Cameron informed me, “so no talking about it. I want you to meet my foster parents who raised me and my siblings.”
“Okay, sounds easy enough,” I answered with false bravado.
The two of us got out and linked hands as we made our approach to all the people who were there. Picnic benches and some folded tables with chairs made me realize there weren’t just a few, there were a ton of people. The grass crunched beneath my feet as we made a beeline for a picnic table where a couple sat with a few teens.
“Mom?” Cameron called out.
A woman shifted around on a picnic bench and smiled when she saw us. Others did the same. One teen, who seemed to be my age, stood up and raced towards him. “Cameron!”
Her body hit his as he let go of my hand and gave her a hug. “Marcy!” He chuckled. “How are you?”
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous, because I was, but I refrained from acting on it when she drew away from Cameron and gave me a quick hug too. “It’s so good to meet you!”
I had no idea who she was, but even so, I accepted her hug. I’d be a bitch if I didn’t.
She grabbed my hand and led me straight to her mom, who was waiting. “You are so cute.” She turned her attention to Cameron. “You’ve got a good one, this time. I can tell.”
I shot him a 'what the fuck' look. He shrugged, letting his foster sister do what she wanted with me. “Mom! He’s brought a live one!”
Okay, that had me laughing. Somehow I didn’t think Cameron brought girls to this kind of event—ever. In fact, if I had it all figured out, he didn’t bring girls around period. But then I wondered about his other girlfriend he and the others had a relationship with. Did she come around when they were together?
When we reached his mom, she folded him into a hug and put a hand out for me to shake. I took it. “Tracy Dolton.”
She smiled. “Abigail Kneed. Welcome to our reunion. There’s food over there and drinks.” She pointed off in the direction of the folding tables. “The games won’t start until later, so we’ll have time to chat.”
I stayed by Cameron, unsure what to do as we selected our food. “They seem nice.”
He sent me a smile. “They are.”
“How long did you live with them?”
“Since I was fifteen.”
I quirked an eyebrow, realizing that didn’t answer my question since I had no idea how old he was. “So how old are you now?”
He grinned. “Older than you.”
I pouted. “Come on.”
“I’m twenty-one. You?”
“Eighteen. So, before you lived with them... where did you live?”
“In the foster system. I had an idea that I was different, and when I turned that magical age, I had no doubt. I didn’t know who to find to help me. Caleb went to my school. He was in an older class, but one time, in the locker rooms, he had shimmed. It was then that I approached him about it. He told his parents, and they were able to put me with the Kneeds.”
"What happened to your real parents?" I asked softly.
He paused and glanced at me. "I don't know. The earliest memory I have of them is in this room." He bit his lip, staring off across the park where others were playing soccer. "I think it was a hotel room. Must have been two or three at the time. We shimmed there, and my parents were getting ready to go out." He turned back to me with a shrug. "That's all I know."
He continued piling on food as he explained, "My first foster family told me I was found in a library between the horror and mystery section." He cracked a grin. "That was a good place for me to be at. I love those genres."
My heartstrings tugged for him so lost and alone as a little boy. "What happened after that? Why didn't you stay with your first family?"
"I-I'm not sure. They said it was because they were moving, but I later found out they ended up staying in town."
That made me burn.
He gave me a sad, forced smile. "Can we not talk about this? It's not something I like to remember."
Pain speared my heart. Fuck me. I was causing him to hurt. Putting a hand to his arm, I squeezed for comfort. "I didn't mean to bring all the bad up. We can talk about books for a while if that would make you happy."
A grin swept across his face as he let out a chuckle. "Maybe later, hmm? And do you even read?"
We had moved from the food line and were starting back over to where his foster family was sitting when I sassed back, "I'm offended. I take romance reading very seriously."
"Well, okay then," he teased, bumping his shoulder against me gently.
When we were back at the table, Cameron's foster father had joined the group, along with a guy about the same age as me. His foster sister wasn't there.
"Hey, Cameron!" The man stood as Cameron put his plate on the table and gave him a hug.
"Dad," he answered back.
The guy who sat beside his mom didn't move but offered a fist bump from across the table. "Hey man, who's the chick?"
Cameron put an arm around me, and my nerves rattled. "This is Trace. My girlfriend."
His dad, as he called him, put a hand out, and I took it. "Hi, Trace. I'm Austin. That loud mouth over there is my son, Rice, and–"
"She's met us dear," Abigail interrupted.
I gave him a smile, said, "Nice to meet you," and let go of his hand.
Cameron had us sit down while his dad sat by his wife. It was then that the questions came pouring in. Ones we hadn't expected.
"So..." Rice started out, pointing between the two of us. "When did this happen?"
I was in the middle of taking a drink when he asked this, so I was glad I didn't choke. I swung my gaze toward Cameron hoping he’d take over. He did.
Without missing a beat, he answered, "We met nineteen days ago."
"Down to the day, eh Cameron?" his brother razzed him.
Abigail swatted him while his dad chuckled. "Will you leave him alone? It's cute."
I had to agree with her. It was fuckin' adorable. Then she had to ask the next question that would naturally follow it.
"Where did you meet? Was it some place fantastic?"
"Mom, you'd think the supermarket was fantastic," Cameron teased her.
His dad chuckled again; I could tell he was prone to laughing often. "He has you there. You and your romances."
"Oh shush." She waved him off before bringing her gaze back to us. Me specifically. "Trace, why don't you tell us? It's always better when the girl does it. Guys can be so unromantic."
Fuuuck. What did I say to that? I cast a brief glance to my boyfriend before I skated the truth. "Well, it was kind of by surprise. I wasn't expecting him."
"But where dear?" she insisted.
I opened my mouth and what came out was not what I was thinking. "A salon."
His mom drew back as Cameron's hand met my leg from under the table in warning. Shit. He's the one who let me loose.
"Let me stop you there before you have my family thinking I'm crazy. It was at the mall, Mom. You know those salons that have the window where you can see in? She was in there getting her eyebrows waxed."
I gasped, and they all looked to me. Shit again. Cameron squeezed my leg, and I leaned in and whispered loud enough for them to hear. "You said you wouldn't tell people that part."
"I couldn't help it," he answered smoothly. "Anywho, that hair of hers could capture anyone’s attention, and I was stunned. I swear, I couldn't move."
Damn. Cameron wasn't a bad romantic storyteller.
"When she sat up from the bench they had her on, I saw red. Red eyebrows and that fuckin’-"
"Hey, language," his mom warned.
"Sorry."
Rice was laughing. "He sounds like a douche. All this lovey dovey shi-"
"Language!" This time is was both parents that issued the warning.
Rice just shrugged and turned his attention back to us. "So, what happened from there?"
"He said, 'I love the eyebrows.'" I couldn't help it.
His mom's gaze went straight to his. “You did not!"
Cameron shrugged, going with it. "It got her attention. I asked for a date and she refused, but I gave her my number. She called me the next day. And the rest is history."
Okay, not so great, but it was funny.
"Well, that sounds... eventful."
I grinned. "It was."
We finished up eating, and when the games came around, the two of us joined in. I saw Cameron in a whole new light. He wasn’t just a Lydent. Wasn’t just a warrior. He was a guy who had lost and found a family... and he had me now, too.