Page 78 of Covert Mission

I’m surprised to hear a woman’s voice call out to me. “Are you Camile?”

I spin and find a smiling woman. She’s wearing a long gray skirt with sturdy boots, and a bright yellow t-shirt.

“Yes, I’m Camile.”

“The red hair. I figured.” She smiles, then tips her head to the left. “There’s a man over there asking for you.”

“Oh!” My chest squeezes. “A big guy with dark hair?”

“Si. That way.”

“Is he injured?”

She blinks at me over the big box she’s carrying and offers a little shrug. “He looked fine. But, I don’t know.”

“Thank you.” I take off like a rocket toward the area where Belle and I had been waiting. When I get there, it’s crowded. There’s a nervous buzz of conversation in the air.

Where did all these people come from?

Santa Rosa doesn’t have this many residents. People must be coming from the surrounding communities.

I slowly work my way through the crowd. My nerves are jangling. After this morning’s skirmish with the gun-toting maniacs, I’m rattled.

Come on, my beastly friend. Where are you?

Beast is well over six feet. The crowd isn’t a particularly tall group. I should be able to see him.

Damn. I spin around standing on my tip-toes.

“Camile!”

My anxiety and eagerness to see Beast slam together. I twist around, holding my breath, searching.

“Camile!”

A man in a black baseball cap is smiling at me as he pushes his way between people to reach me. His face is shadowed by a thick, tightly trimmed beard. His eyes are hidden by the brim of his hat.

Disappointment and confusion halt me in my tracks.

I can’t stop the frown that transforms my hopeful face to an annoyed one. “Do I know you?”

The crowd jostles around, and I stumble into the man’s barrel-chest. He grumbles and glares angrily at some guy who knocked into us. “Watch it, idiot.”

His attitude rubs me the wrong way. I demand again, “Do I know you?”

I startle when his hand latches around my wrist. I squeak, “Let go.”

His voice is gruff. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

With a violent yank, he snaps my head back as we burst out of the crowd. I scramble so I don’t lose my footing.

This asshole is seriously pissing me off. “Wait! No. I can’t leave?—”

ChapterTwenty-Four

Evan, Justice, and Scout crowd around the stretcher once we’ve reached the road. Damn, it’s good to finally get on stable terrain. We lower the stretcher and Truck to the ground.

Evan shakes his head at Truck. “What now?”

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