Page 26 of Sutton's Shadow

“You gave them a day of fun and allowed them to see themselves as the strong women they’ll become. They had you take so many pictures of them,” he said with a fond smile.

Sutton returned his smile. “They were relentless.”

“I remember one girl who’d separated herself from the rest. Remember her? What was her name? She was tall for her age and a little gangly.”

“Ameera,” recalled Sutton.

“Ameera, that’s right. What you did for her was nothing short of a miracle,” he stated, remembering the moment fondly.

“I wouldn’t go that far. I just took her picture.”

He could see that girl so clearly. While the other girls crowded around Sutton, clamoring to have their picture taken, Ameera had hidden herself in the shadows of the school building. She was in that awkward preteen stage and felt graceless, unworthy, and unsightly.

Wyatt had watched Ameera as she observed the rest of the girls preen and smile coquettishly at the camera like he’d seen American preteens do on social media. He could see the miniscule amount of self-esteem she’d had float away on the warm Afghan breezes. It was like watching her fold herself up to fit into a tiny, dark box. She’d crouched with her back against the wall, her shoulders hunched, and her chin dropped to her chest, causing her hair to hide her face just as he’d seen Sutton do often.

Sutton had also been watching the girl shut down. After she’d finished with her classmates and they were all happily kicking a ball around, she had plopped herself down in the dirt beside Ameera. They didn’t speak. Sutton brought her camera out and began scrolling through the images she’d captured of the other girls, drawing Ameera’s attention. That’s when the questions started. Whatever Ameera had seen in those pictures had piqued her interest.

Sutton had lured her out into the sunshine to have her own portrait taken. Wyatt would never forget the look on Ameera’s face upon seeing her image on the tiny viewscreen. Pure wonderment. Joy. And then the confidence seeped back into her, straightening her spine, raising her head.

“It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” he mused. He’d watched Sutton bring out an astonishing reaction in that girl from a simple picture, and he’d developed a bit of a crush on the photographer that day. He’d briefly wondered “what if” as he regarded her—until his best friend caught his eye. Liam had also been gawking, and if the smitten expression on his face had been anything to go by, his friend was a goner.

“It was just a photograph,” she murmured, swiping that errant strand of hair behind her ear again.

“It was more than that to her. You showed Ameera her true self. Her inner beauty. Her fierceness. Her future as a strong, Afghani woman. You changed her that day. For the better.”

She lowered her head as her cheeks flushed adorably again. More hair fell forward, shielding her endearing blush from view. “It was nothing special,” she insisted.

“It was remarkable. And I, for one, would love to have seen that photograph.”

Her head shot up. “Oh, I think I still have it somewhere on an old SD card. I’ll see if I can find it for you.”

“I’d like that,” he assured, grinning down at her. Caught in her gaze again, he couldn’t help himself anymore. He angled his head down and brushed her lips with his. A simple touch that lit a fire in his blood. He nipped at her lips, his persistence paying off when, with a whimper, she opened to him. He wasted no time sweeping his tongue into her mouth, her sweet taste filling him so completely.

His hands went to her hips to pull her in closer. With a cry, she broke the kiss and stepped back, her wide eyes conveying he had overstepped.

“I... I can’t,” she whispered in a cracked voice. Her hand went to her lips as her chin quivered. Her emotions flitted across her pale face. Confusion, guilt, longing, shame. It was the shame that had him taking his own step back.

“Sutton...” The apology died on his lips when a chime sounded in her pocket. Sutton pulled out her phone to turn off the sound, a slight tremble in her hand.

“I’ve gotta go. I have a job in a little while. Let me know if you hear anything about Bethany, please.”

“I will. Thanks for sticking around to distract me,” he attempted to tease, only to have it fall flat.

She took a deep breath and attempted a smile before turning to walk away, only to spin back around a few yards later. “Anytime you need more of a distraction, let me know,” she called while walking backward. She froze when the hidden meaning behind her words sank in. That sweet blush was back. “That sounded way dirtier than I meant it to.”

He burst into laughter. “No worries. I know what you meant.” Turning back around with a wave, she trudged through the sand to the parking lot. He watched her go, realizing how much he’d laughed in just the little time he’d spent with her. It was something he hadn’t done since the night he’d rescued Bethany from the woods.

And that kiss... even though it may have ended badly, it was one he would never forget.

Sittingonthebedin the corner of the room she shared with four other girls, Bethany clutched her legs to her chest and opened her senses. It was a trick she’d learned after years of living with her volatile mother. She’d sit in her room, close her eyes, and open her other senses. It was the only way she knew to keep herself safe. She’d concentrate on the sounds, disregarding the normal noises a house made through the night, focusing on the unusual. She knew what her mother was doing by the smells as well. The pungent odor of alcohol, the noxious fumes from the drugs; she knew those scents well. And she knew when the latter floated through the nasty air that life was going to get increasingly more difficult. And the best she could hope for was to remain unnoticed, locked in her room.

When her mother was “entertaining,” as she called it, Bethany strained to listen even harder, forgoing sleep in order to remain vigilant. She knew the floorboards in the hall outside her room would creak, alerting her to someone’s approach. Her biggest fear as she’d gotten older was one of Ronnie’s guests deciding to visit her in the middle of the night. A fear that had become a reality only a few short days ago.

She’d never been as scared as she was when she’d pulled the taser Wyatt had given her out from under her pillow the second that floorboard creaked, a sound she was sure would remain with her forever.

Bethany knew exactly who was creeping down the hall. He’d been coming around for months to party with Ronnie. And each time she’d had to interact with him, she’d noticed his interest in her changing. The way he’d looked at her freaked her out, so she’d taken to sleeping with the taser under her pillow.

Even though she was young, she was too familiar with that gleam in his eyes, thanks to her mother. The gleam that said he only wanted one thing from her. Bethany had been determined not to let him get the chance.

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