The Vanishing Girl

  “So why did the mark only appear once I turned eighteen, and what does this have to do with the facility finding adult teleporters?”

  “I don’t know, but I have a theory.” His eyes shined. “Each one of these imprints is different, which makes me think it’s some kind of teleporter fingerprint, a way to identify each individual. Combine that with its magnetic properties and now, if you’re the project, you have a way of locating adult teleporters.”

  I leaned back and stared at the ceiling, thinking about what Caden said. I chewed on my lip, letting Caden’s disturbing theory sink in. It seemed so highly implausible, but if it were true … the project could always control where I teleported to.

  The bed shifted, and a still shirtless Caden replaced my view of the ceiling. “You okay?” he asked.

  I shook my head, not meeting his eyes. I’d worn unease like a second skin since I arrived. This entire elaborate program was built upon secrets, from the missions we went on to the very nature of our DNA. And what I’d learned so far about those secrets was that they protected very disturbing truths.

  “Hey,” he said, brushing a piece of my hair aside, “whatever it is, know that we’re in this together.”

  I gave him a sad smile. Even if Caden didn’t share my cynicism—and I wasn’t sure he did—he was the one person who I could trust.

  I snaked my hands around his back and gently pulled him to me. He lowered his torso slowly and brought his lips to mine. His kiss was exactly what I needed, and without meaning to, I moaned into him.

  I felt him smile against me at the sound. “God you are sexy,” he whispered.

  At his words I pulled him even closer to me, and he deepened the kiss, brushing his tongue against mine.

  I pushed myself against him as my lips responded, and my hands scoured his back, taking in every rippling muscle and rough scar.

  Caden moved a hand to my waist, his fingers skimming over the exposed skin just below the hem of my shirt.

  For a second his hand hesitated before slipping under. His hand moved up my stomach and dipped below my bra. I gasped when he began to massage my breast.

  Heat pooled in my stomach; I wanted more. I moved my own hands to the button of his jeans, and with a deft yank, undid it.

  Caden broke away from the kiss and slid his hand out from under my shirt. We were both breathing heavily.

  His body was still flush against mine, but his head was bowed and he wouldn’t look at me. “I can’t do this,” he said.

  I could read his worries from his body language. That he might die, and I’d fall apart like Desiree had. Or I might die, and he’d have to go through the same turmoil that Serena was going through now.

  The thing was, sex wouldn’t change the awfulness of that situation. It would still suck, regardless.

  I clasped my hands behind Caden’s neck, letting my fingers trace the upraised skin of his imprint. “There is no one else I’d even considered doing this with,” I said. “Please, I want this, with you, right now.”

  “I have a secret,” he said, still not looking at me.

  I watched him, saying nothing. Inside though, my heart hammered away.

  Finally his eyes met mine. “I think I might be falling in love with you.”

  If it was at all possible, my heart sped up even more as adrenaline surged through my veins.

  Caden Hawthorne was falling in love with me. With me. My stomach tightened happily at the thought.

  I pulled him closer and brushed my lips along his. His hands moved to my temples, his thumbs stroking the loose tufts of my hair.

  “If you really want this—” His lips moved against mine as he spoke.

  “I do.”

  “Demanding princess.” He smiled against me.

  “Please Caden.”

  He groaned. “Jesus …” He kissed me again, this time rougher and deeper than before. Warmth pooled low in my abdomen.

  I pushed him off of me and rolled us so that I straddled him. Grabbing the edges of my shirt, I pulled it over my head. I didn’t think I could get naked fast enough. My body swiveled to toss the garment aside.

  Caden’s hands glided over my stomach and rib cage, but it was my tattoo that caught his attention. He ran his fingers over the inked feathers. Unlike me, he seemed like he was in no rush; he was going to take his own sweet time exploring my body.

  I leaned down and kissed him, and his fingers lightly raked across my back, the sensation making my muscles tense.

  The feeling bubbling up in my chest made me feel giddy. It wasn’t the burning desire that had me peeling off my clothes; it was something purer.

  Caden had been genetically modified to match me, and I him. That thought, which had initially disturbed me, now filled me with lightness. I remembered my earlier words: I could easily love you.

  Caden wasn’t the only one falling in love.

  His hips moved against mine, and he flipped us. He reached under me and unclasped my bra.

  My bra slipped off, and I shivered from the feel of cool air tickling my flesh and the way Caden drank me in. “You are so goddamn beautiful it kills me,” he said. He recaptured my mouth with his and I moaned again as I felt his pelvis push against mine. Why did we still have any clothes on?

  As if reading my thoughts, he rolled off the bed and stepped out of his pants. He hooked his fingers under his boxers and slid those off. And then he stood there, looking like he’d been chiseled from marble.

  I felt wetness pool between my legs, and my heart rate increased.

  Caden pulled a condom from his jeans’ front pocket and set it on the bed, before coming over to me. He smiled mischievously as he rested his hands on the waistband of my cotton shorts. Nervous excitement coursed through me. His hands lingered only for a moment, and then he slid the shorts off.

  He studied the pink panties I wore, the last piece of clothing left to remove. My heartbeat sped up when a moment later he peeled them off my hips.

  He spent a moment just taking me in. “You are perfect,” he said, his voice reverent.

  He got back onto the bed and cupped my face, drinking me in. He kissed my lips, then my chin, and then my neck. He trailed them down my chest, stopping to give each breast a bit of attention before continuing down. He kissed down my stomach and past my navel.

  “Promise me you’re okay with this,” he whispered against my skin.

  I swallowed, wetting my dry mouth. “I promise.” I was more than just okay with this. It felt like the rightest thing in the world.

  Caden grabbed the condom and tore the wrapper before sliding it on. My whole body shook, from tension, from arousal, from anticipation.

  He leaned over to kiss me, and when he pulled away from the kiss, he gently pushed into me, watching my eyes widen as I felt him enter.

  My legs spread wider in response. I bit my lip at the initial pain.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, starting to pull away.

  I wrapped a hand around his arm. “Don’t stop,” I breathed out.

  His eyes moved over my face, his brows furrowed in concern. He moved in and out of me gently, watching my expression. After a few strokes the pain passed, replaced by the first threads of pleasure.

  Oh God, this is what I’d been missing out on?

  As if reading my mind, Caden’s pace picked up, his thrusts deeper than before. I moaned at the feel of him buried inside of me. My hips moved to meet his, and I grabbed his ass to pull him closer.

  He slid in and out, his gaze never leaving my face. My eyelids closed, and I felt a series of light kisses along my cheeks and chin.

  When I opened my eyes, beautiful hazel ones stared back at me, full of awe. “I’m trying to remind myself that this is real,” Caden said.

  I rose up to kiss him. “I
promise you, it is.”

  Our tempo increased, and a sensation inside of me was building on itself. My hips met his each time he thrust, feeding my desire.

  My breath came faster and faster, until the sensation peaked. I clutched Caden to me and buried my face in his shoulder to muffle my cry as the orgasm racked my body.

  Caden’s eyes closed and his hands pull me closer as he finished, his face the image of sweet relief.

  After he pulled out and discarded the condom, Caden fell into bed next to me, and gathered me into his arms.

  He kissed the top of my head as I wrapped my arms around him.

  Our lives were a mess in so many ways, but maybe that was what made this moment particularly wonderful. Because right now, all was right in the world.

  Chapter 24

  “I can’t believe no one told you about early bird breakfast,” Caden said as we walked hand in hand down to the dining hall. He hadn’t really let go of me since back in my bedroom, but I wasn’t complaining.

  “That’s supposed to be your job, partner,” I said. Although, in all fairness, Debbie hadn’t mentioned anything about it when she gave me a tour of the facility.

  He used our intertwined hands to pull me to him. “I sort of like it when you’re sassy,” he said, leaning in and kissing me in the abandoned hallway. Distantly I could hear the clatter of utensils as the cooks prepared food.

  “You know you’re rewarding bad behavior, right?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Would you rather I punish you?” He leaned into my ear. “Because we can arrange that,” he whispered.

  Just as his words brought goose bumps to my skin, I heard a gasp. I flinched at the noise, startled that someone had snuck up on us while we’d been distracted.

  Caden recovered before I did, his face turning towards the source of the sound. “Desiree …”

  As soon as the words left his lips, my head snapped up.

  She watched the two of us, her cheeks flushed and her eyes too bright.

  As Caden and I parted to face her, she took in my tousled hair, heated cheeks, and rumpled clothes. Her eyes widened and her gaze flashed to Caden only for a moment, but long enough for me to see that something about her world had just crumbled.

  Her throat worked. She turned her focus back on me. “You,” she said. She began to move down the hall, her steps getting faster as her emotions fueled her.

  Caden stepped in front of me protectively. “Desiree, what are you doing?”

  She stopped just in front of him, so close I could see fresh tears glittering in her eyes. “How could you Caden?” she said, her voice full of betrayal.

  “You know why Desiree,” he said quietly. “You experienced it once before.”

  Her lips curled in disgust and her body shook as she stared at me.

  Hate. Had Debbie asked me to place the expression Desiree wore, that’s what I would’ve told her. She hated me. And by the look on her face, I could tell she was going to do something about it. Not now, but soon.

  To her, she had lost a critical battle, but the war had just begun.

  A cellphone alarm went off next to my bed, and the warm body beneath me sat up and rubbed my back. “Time to get up, Sleeping Beauty.”

  I stretched, a smile blossoming on my face. I didn’t want to open my eyes and face the day. After our run-in with Desiree, we’d grabbed breakfast and made it back to my room, where we enjoyed each other again. Sometime after that, we’d managed to fall asleep.

  A kiss brushed my lips and my eyes fluttered open. Caden leaned over me, shirtless, and I traced one of his scars with my fingers.

  “Our debriefing for yesterday’s mission is in thirty minutes,” he said. At the reminder I snapped out of my daze. Mission. Debriefing. Facility. I couldn’t pretend to be a smitten schoolgirl all day, unfortunately.

  “I don’t want to leave you,” he said, “but I need to run to my room to grab a quick shower and change clothes.”

  “No problem,” I said, pushing back my hair.

  Caden dressed next to me and, before he turned to go, he came back over to me and pressed a kiss to my lips. “I’m still waiting to wake up,” he whispered against my mouth.

  I smiled against him. “I guess I’m just going to have to convince you over and over again that this isn’t a dream.”

  At that, he pulled away and flashed me a mischievous grin. “I’m pretty skeptical, so more convincing is always better.”

  I laughed and pushed him gently. “Get out of here before I decide to try to convince you here and now.”

  Once Caden left, I took a quick shower and changed, making it to the debriefing room with only a few minutes to spare.

  Caden was already there, along with almost everyone else from last night’s mission. I took a seat next to him, my heart stuttering when I saw all the happy emotions playing out on his face.

  I sat down next to him and he took my hand in his. I savored the warmth of his palm and his rough, calloused skin.

  Across the room Desiree flashed me a dirty look. She made a disgusted sound at the sight of us leaning towards one another, hands clasped. Some of the other teleporters in the room noticed and glanced back and forth at the three of us.

  I’d never been so excited to see Dane Richards as when he entered the room.

  “Fantastic job you all,” he said as a way of greeting.

  He dropped a file on the flat table at the front of the room. “The mission was a sweeping success, and every one of you in this room did superbly.

  “After we bugged Santoro and Zhirov, we found that another meeting between the two is scheduled in two weeks at Santoro’s estate. So far, only information has been exchanged between the two, but at this meeting they’ll be finalizing a contract for the shipment of military grade weapons from Colombia to North Ossetia, a region located on the southwestern edge of Russia.

  “Because you all worked so well together back in Mexico City, we want you eight to do this again in Colombia.”

  Richards glanced around the room, searching for someone, until he caught sight of me. “Ah, Ember, a special congratulations goes out to you. After you left, Santoro had his men do some digging around on who you were. It seems as though he took a liking to you.” Out of my peripherals I saw Caden stiffen.

  I gave Richards a pained smile. I’d have to see him again? I was a one-hit-wonder when it came to these trips. Adrian was the prime example of what happened when I visited someone more than once. Who knew how the next meeting with Santoro would turn out?

  “We’ve created a fake backstory for you,” he continued. “Someone will send it to you later today. Memorize it—because he probably will.”

  There was a knock on the door and a second later Debbie came into the room.

  “Ah Debbie, good to see you,” Richards said. He turned his attention back to the room. “Now, let’s go through a recap of the evening, starting with Jeff, Bryce, and Lydia.”

  The group of us spent the next hour discussing and analyzing what we did and didn’t do, what seemed to work well with our targets, and what didn’t get us anywhere.

  Because no one got hurt, the counseling aspect of our meeting was minimal, but the eight of us teleporters still had to share our thoughts and emotions about the mission.

  The lies and half-truths came easily when it was my turn to share my feelings. I’d been covering my tracks for years. And even in this I didn’t want the project understanding how I worked. The more they understood me, the more they could manipulate me.

  From their faces, I’d managed to convince almost everyone—only Caden saw through it. I could tell by the way he watched me for a beat too long after I’d finished talking. I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse.

  When the debriefing finally wrapped up and
we got up to go, Richards called out, “Ember, Caden, stay back a moment, will you?”

  Caden and I exchanged a look and walked towards Richards. He put his arms around Caden and me and pulled us in close. I fought the urge to shrug off his arm.

  “I have a small mission for you two—another distract and extract procedure. This one’s fairly simple and harmless. A few days ago a group of individuals broke into the Smithsonian and stole several particularly rare gemstones.

  “Jacque Mainard, the Frenchman behind the robbery, is speaking at a convention held at the end of the week in a seaside hotel in Toulon, France, where he is staying at the moment. Because the subject of the speech concerns these stones, we believe he’ll have the stones on or near him.

  “Both of you will be sent into his hotel room where the gemstones are most likely to be located. If they’re not there, then another distract and extract pair will follow you both to check out other locations. But, our sources suggest that the hotel room is the likeliest place these stones will be.

  “Ember, you are the distraction. You’ll go in first, grab the case that contains the stones, empty it, and leave the room with the empty case. Your job will be to draw attention to yourself. While you are distracting your targets, Caden will teleport into the room and pick up the stones, then slip out of the room and rendezvous with the team outside of the building. Ember you’ll likely be handcuffed and held in custody until you teleport back.”

  He looked at Caden and me. “Think you two can handle this?”

  “Yes,” Caden replied for the both of us.

  “Great. You’ll be sent the necessary information later this week. You two may go.”

  I took in the vaguely familiar family pictures and homely furniture of the living room I stood in.

  “Finally you’re back. Took you long enough,” Adrian said from where he lounged on his couch. He closed the laptop on his lap and set it on the coffee table next to a steaming cup of coffee.