“Of course it does. I’ve been known to be clever on occasion.”
She slowed her pace as they approached the area where they’d stashed their packs up in the trees. As Jacek knelt on the ground to let Zalika down, Cam decided to get them focused again. “Besides, Zalika and I found something inside the observatory, and we need to focus on that.”
Jacek stood up and said, “Please tell me it was an address and phone number, complete with the first and last name of the person who left it there.”
Zalika shot him a look. “That sounds like something from a B movie, right before the star walks into a trap.”
Jacek shrugged. “Hey, not everyone is a creative mastermind.”
“Enough,” Cam said, aware from experience that their banter could go on for hours. “There was a message, but I need help translating it, so we’re heading back to Merida.”
Zalika raised an eyebrow. “Was it in Spanish?”
“No, in the old language.”
Jacek blinked. “As in the old, punishable by life imprisonment if you’re heard speaking it Feiru language?” Cam nodded, and Jacek continued. “And you just happen to know someone willing to admit they can read it?”
Cam tapped her temple. “Well, I have an idea of where to start.” She slung on her pack and said, “Zalika, if you lean against Jacek, can you walk?”
“Sure, I guess.”
“Okay, then let’s go. But make sure to tell me when you need a rest, because I don’t want you to hurt yourself any more than you already are.”
As Jacek and Zalika managed to put on their packs and started walking, Cam brought up the rear. Merida was the last place she wanted to be, but hopefully her good luck would continue, and she’d avoid running into him. Neither Zalika nor Jacek knew the full extent of her past, and Cam wanted to keep it that way.
She sent Marco a clue via text message. It was time to see if he was as good of a tracker as he was an actor.
Chapter Eight
Marco walked with purpose down the crowded streets of Merida. Cam had sent him a text asking him to find her, and thanks to his affinity for technology and his web of contacts, he knew her location. And not only that, he’d lucked out—she should be alone, which meant that he could finally talk with her one-on-one.
She’d claimed to have found something inside the observatory, and he wanted to know what.
He entered the main plaza. Music was coming from near the town hall on the west edge of the square. The glow of twilight gave the maze of food stalls and handicraft vendors in the square an almost magical quality. But he didn’t give the scenery more than a cursory glance so that he could keep an eye out for anything suspicious—shadow-shifter or otherwise. While there’d been one fire here already, this city had one of the largest Feiru populations in the area, and if he were the one wanting to make a statement, then Merida would be the perfect place to do it.
While he didn’t know exactly where in the plaza Cam might be, he headed toward the salmon-colored town hall. There was a big crowd in front of a group of musicians. That was as good as any place to start looking.
Zalika had been the last person he’d talked to, and she was the one who’d told him about Cam going out to listen to some live music. While he was grateful that Cam’s team was starting to trust him, he wondered yet again about Zalika’s odd request. Show Cam a good time. She deserves it. Sure, Marco had a reputation for doing just that, but after what had happened between him and Cam in the jungle the day before yesterday, Zalika had to know what Cam thought of him. He wasn’t exactly high on her list of people she admired.
But whatever she thought of him with her mind, Cam’s body had reacted to his touch at the observatory when he’d climbed over the wall and ended up hauling her against his side. She’d leaned into him at first, before pulling away. When she’d tickled him and escaped his grip, he’d wanted to haul her back and tickle her in return. But his chances with Camilla Melini were about as good as him learning Chinese in the span of a week. In other words, it wasn’t going to happen.
He’d tease and challenge her as long as they were working together, but then he’d just have to forget her and move on. He couldn’t afford to allow anyone to get close to him. Too many other people’s lives depended on his ability to keep mum about the Elemental Masters, and he couldn’t risk a relationship, no matter how much he might want one.
As he got closer to the crowd, he spotted an open section in front of the building set aside for dancing, with the musicians set up under the ground-floor veranda. People packed the outer edges of the dancing space. Some bobbed
their heads while others swayed in place. If Cam had told her team members the truth, and she’d gone out to enjoy some music, this would be the place to go.
He scanned the crowds, looking for Cam’s braid and lighter skin tone. Since she had her fair share of experience with blending in—a necessary trait when it came to working for DEFEND—she wouldn’t stand at the front of the crowd. He moved to get a better look at the people standing in the middle or toward the back. He’d nearly reached the veranda before he spotted her.
She was wearing a tight black tank top and a flowing dark blue skirt that swayed as she moved her body to the music. Her braid swung back and forth across her breasts in time with her hips. The harsh look she always had on her face, daring people to cross her, was gone. It had been replaced with a dimple-filled smile and crinkles near the corner of her eyes.
This version of Cam was softer, younger, and almost vulnerable. This was the woman who would tickle people to try to escape their hold.
A man approached her and motioned toward the dancing square, but Cam shook her head as she said something to him. The man nodded and left her, probably to find another woman willing to dance with him.
She resumed swaying to the music. Marco watched her another minute, mesmerized by her movements. He suspected she had a weapon or two strapped to her thigh, but he’d bet his own life that Cam rarely let herself smile, let alone sway and just enjoy herself. This was a rare glimpse of the woman hidden beneath. No doubt, there was a reason for her defensive walls, and he wondered what had caused them.
The music ended and the crowd clapped, Cam included. He drew in a breath as she clapped and let out a whistle before grinning with unadulterated joy on her face. If he didn’t have a million other responsibilities resting on his shoulders, he would be tempted to see how long it would take before he could make her grin that way while in his company.