Page 51 of Sutton's Shadow

The couples called it a night, heading to their respective homes. Wyatt laughed, seeing the blush develop in his sister’s cheeks when Marcus hugged her and told her how happy he was that she was home. She still had trouble believing he was friends with a mega movie star. She’d just have to get used to it, because now that she was with him, she was going to be seeing a lot more of Marcus Rayne. He was, after all, now a member of the Nighthawk family.

After the door had closed behind Marcus, she collapsed into the chair next to Sutton. “You have the best taste in friends,” she sighed.

“Thanks, Little Bee,” Jude responded, puffing out his chest.

“I wasn’t talking about you, Giant J,” Bethany deadpanned.

Jude scoffed, feigning indignation. The pair had a special relationship that was as surprising as it was charming. Their teasing was hilarious to observe. And he hoped they never lost that special connection. It made him wonder, though. Jude acted so at ease with her, yet Wyatt knew he didn’t have any siblings. He speculated about where the ease came from. Jude didn’t talk about his past much, so it was anyone’s guess.

“You’re okay too, I guess,” Bethany conceded.

Wyatt laughed, listening to Jude grumble about how he was more than just okay, but Bethany had moved into a conversation with Sutton and wasn’t paying attention to the former Delta gripe.

“Can you teach me photography?” Bethany asked Sutton.

“Sure. I’d be happy to. I’ll tell you what, there is no better way to learn than hands on. If it’s okay with your brother, you can be my assistant.”

“That would be so cool. Can I do it, Wyatt?” she pleaded, bouncing on her seat.

“I don’t see why not. But when the school year starts, we may have to reevaluate. We wouldn’t want your grades to suffer.”

She scoffed. “Dork. You sound like a dad already.”

“Better get used to it, brat,” he teased.

She groaned as Sutton laughed. “This will be perfect. I’m doing some work for the Nighthawks. They want to update their website and need new photographs. You can help me with that.”

“Excellent,” she enthused. “When can we start?”

Sutton laughed at her enthusiasm. “Tomorrow’s Saturday. How about we start then? Can you meet me at the Nighthawk complex around one?”

Bethany turned pleading eyes on Wyatt, and unable to resist, he nodded, then winced at the squeal that erupted from his baby sister.

Chapter 16

Suttonmovedaroundtherubble, her camera up to her eye as she framed the scene. The urban search and rescue training exercise taking place on The Pile was an undertaking requiring great attention to detail, strength, and discipline. To her, The Pile looked like a hopeless mass of concrete, wood, rebar, broken furniture, and other such debris dumped into an enormous heap. But to the Nighthawks, it was a necessary teaching tool.

The various trainees took their time on The Pile, implementing the skills they’d learned in the classroom as they searched for “victims” among the rubble. Fat piles of debris formed uneven outcroppings and crags that the trainees had to traverse carefully as they searched. Suddenly a shout cut across the expanse of The Pile. A victim had been spotted.

Cautiously picking her way over to the group, Sutton clicked away with her camera. A group of three helmeted men stood on top of a layer of two by four wooden boards that looked like a massive game of pick-up sticks. One crouched down, inspecting the dark maw exposed between mounds of debris.

Turning to Bethany, who followed dutifully behind her with her camera bag thrown over one shoulder, Sutton gestured for a different lens, handing off the one she’d been using. Snapping the new lens in place, she squatted to get shots from the ground up of the trainees assessing the hole in the debris. She took image after image of the men as they discussed the best plan to rescue whoever was trapped in that hole.

“Had this been a real emergency, wouldn’t you just be in the way of the rescue teams?” Bethany asked, peering over Sutton’s shoulder as she flicked through a few of the more recent shots she’d taken on the camera’s little screen.

“I try to stay out of the way as best as I can, as well as move carefully so I don’t become another victim. It’s a fine line to walk. I don’t want to become a hindrance. I admit that my ambition in the past has gotten me into trouble with that. I can lose myself in the zone, in the need to get the pictures, and lose track of time and space.”

“I can see that happening. I’ve been engrossed in the action several times today and have forgotten where I was.”

Sutton laughed. “It happens.”

As they talked, the trainees had assembled a tripod and attached a cable winch to one leg. One trainee had donned a harness and had clipped onto the cable. Slowly, the man disappeared into the hole, the light from his hard hat lantern the only illumination in the deep maw of empty space. Even though she knew this was only a simulation and not a real disaster, Sutton’s heart pounded against her sternum as they waited.

She continued to take pictures as the men communicated with their colleague through a radio. As the time stretched, the anxiety ramped up for the condition of the victim. She kept telling herself that it wasn’t real. She knew the “victim” was given a set of injuries to portray, but she still felt the tension build as they waited.

“What do you look for in moments like this for your photographs?” Bethany asked, taking advantage of the break in the action.

Sutton crossed over to Bethany, holding her camera out so she could view the screen better. She clicked through the images. “For things that tell the story. Facial expressions are one of the biggest draws.” She pointed to an image of the man who’d been lowered into the hole. “Notice his concentration. What else can you see?”

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