Into the Fire (Flame in the Shadows Trilogy #1)

14. Tommy

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

TOMMY

Footsteps thunder out in the hall, shattering the spell that’s settled over Mel and me.

Bill’s team is stopping an arms deal tonight. Something might have gone wrong.

I’m about to unwind my arms from around Mel when Cait slams her way into the room, Sam on her heels. Her gray eyes spark. “And just what is going on here?”

Mel leaps away from me, palms by her shoulders. “Nothing! I was, um, remembering my parents.” She sniffles, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Get out.”

I frown. Cait might not trust Mel, but she doesn’t need to be so mean. Mel’s had enough of that from me over the last few weeks. “Cool it, Cait. Mel can stay.”

Cait gawks at me like I’ve grown an extra head. “No. We need to talk. Alone.”

I want to object, but worry trickles into my chest. Cait must be here about her dad’s mission. Why else would she be so worked up?

With an apologetic glance for me, Sam extends a hand toward Mel. “Come on. Let’s get dinner.”

Eyes cast down, Mel takes Sam’s hand, still sniffling as she disappears into the hall. The last of the warmth from our moment goes with her.

A frisson passes over my skin. “The mission?”

“The mission was fine,” Cait snaps. “They got back an hour ago.”

Good. But then why is she here? And angrier than a bear in winter?

Bewildered, I watch as she stomps my way and falls into the chair Mel vacated. She doesn’t look at me. Instead, she scowls at the CCTV screens like they’ve done her a serious injustice. “Guess I need to make sure the feeds are monitored, since you can’t be bothered to do it yourself.”

I sigh. “Don’t be like that. Mel’s hurting. She needed comfort. Why are you so mad, anyway? You and I goof around in here all the time. You don’t have a problem with distractions then.”

Cait rolls her eyes, still watching the dark campus. “It’s not really about that.”

I turn my attention to the screens too. Cait’ll spit her issue out when she’s ready.

She swivels her chair back and forth. After a minute, she spins to face me. Her eyes are hard. “You’re such a hypocrite, Williams. I thought you were smarter than this.”

I kick my feet up on the counter and cross my arms, glancing at her with an eyebrow raised. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“When Sam met me in the mess hall just now, he told me he left Mel on her own. I ran to find you right away. I thought we could track her down, maybe catch her doing something wrong, finally prove the Organization sent her. Little did I know she was in here, playing you for a fool.”

She leans forward, brows pulling together. “Did you learn nothing from what happened with June? Mel is dangerous. What are the chances you randomly found her in the woods that day? She was looking for us, I know it. I thought you knew it too. You’ve kept her under watch 24/7 since she got here.”

Cait’s mistrusted Mel from day one. Given Cait’s history, I understand why, and it suited my plan not to discourage her suspicion. Now, though, I’ll have to convince her there’s no reason to doubt Mel after all.

This is going to be difficult.

Wanting something to keep my hands busy, I grab my sketchbook from the counter and start shading. “I was wrong about Mel. She’s Reyna and Max Snow’s daughter. You know that, right?”

“So?”

“So why would she help the people who killed her parents?”

“Don’t ask me to fathom the way a criminal’s mind works.” There’s no trace of sympathy in Cait’s hard tone. “Why the one-eighty? Is it the pretty face? She pouts and has you in the palm of her hand?”

Anger boils through me. Seriously?

“This has nothing to do with her looks. Mel’s genuine. You should see the pain in her eyes when she talks about her parents. It’s so real, it just about breaks me. It’s my pain. In her.”

My ravaged soul found its twin in hers. I didn’t know such a thing was possible.

I look up at Cait, hoping to get a read on her reaction. “She came here for answers, and I don’t blame her one bit. Honestly, I’ve trusted her all along. The only reason I watched her so closely was to keep her lonely and frustrated. I thought if she were miserable enough, and if she didn’t find answers, she’d leave this place while she still could. I was trying to save her.”

Cait shakes her head, eyes sad. Pitying, even. It’s insulting. “Can’t you see? She’s using your sympathy against you. You’re playing right into her hands.”

Tilting her chair back, Cait covers her face. “Ugh. I don’t understand why Lisa let her stay. The second Mel finds whatever she’s really looking for, she’ll expose us. I should’ve killed her when I had the chance.”

My pencil tip snaps. “Cait! We are not cold-blooded murderers.”

“No. You’re right, and that’s why I didn’t. It’s just, I’m so afraid of what’s been unleashed here.” Cait drops her hands. “What if my moment of weakness gets us all slaughtered? Or worse?”

Real fear flickers in her suddenly vulnerable eyes.

She doesn’t want her family’s blood on her conscience. I understand that all too well.

I reach out and pat her knee. “I get how you feel, I really do. But Cait, Mel isn’t June. And June wasn’t your fault.”

“You know that’s not true.” Cait bites her trembling lip. “I was closer to her than anyone, besides Hunter, and he was too in love with her to catch the signs. I should’ve seen … I … I don’t want you to get hurt. Mel’s a spy, Tommy. The first time you met her, she was close enough to the caves to cross our patrol route, and now all her coworkers and guards report her asking lots of probing questions. We need to watch her so we can act on a moment’s notice when she steps out of line.”

June’s betrayal left a deep scar on Cait’s heart, but I’m no fool. I thought she trusted my judgment a hell of a lot more than this.

“The Organization’s never found us. How would they know where to send Mel?”

“They must’ve figured out we’re in the woods, so they sent her to find out where. You made that job only too easy for her.”

I want to roll my eyes, but I ignore the jab. “You’re forgetting they had a tail on her. And what about the warrant for her arrest?”

“They’ve got to make us believe she’s not one of them. Obviously, they’ll act like it.”

“You really think Lisa would let her stay if she were a threat?”

Cait’s already shaking her head. “Lisa’s only human. She makes mistakes, just like anyone. In this case, I suppose she’s blinded by her love for Reyna. I mean, they were best friends. But you have to look at the facts. Mel worked at Levett Tech. She wasn’t far from the caves when you met her—looking for us . Ever since she got here, she’s been poking around, even under watch. Asking weird questions. Exactly like June did.”

Cait rests her elbows on her knees, fixing me with a blazing stare. “She’s June all over again. You can’t trust her. Even if she is a good person, we don’t know what the Organization might have on her. They could be controlling her, making her do things she doesn’t want to. Please, help me keep an eye on her. Hell, if she’s being coerced, maybe we can even find a way to help. But first she needs to be exposed.”

I drop my eyes to the sketchpad, twirling my ruined pencil in my hand. If Mel were a spy, we would be in grave danger. Could Cait be right?

I’ve seen my own anguish in the tortured depths of Mel’s eyes, in the horror-struck twist of her mouth, in the quiver of her body while she cried on my shoulder. I might not know her well, but I’m sure, all the way to the center of my bones, she wouldn’t use something as sacred as her love for her parents to deceive us.

Yes, June fooled us all, but her situation was completely different. Mel deserves a chance to prove herself.

“I understand your concern,” I say, glancing up at Cait, “but Mel’s trustworthy. You should back off.”

Cait’s face puckers. “I know you find her attractive. Don’t let that blind you.”

I huff a laugh. Wow. Who knew Cait thought so little of me.

“You’ve got me all wrong. Sure, she’s hot, but there’s nothing more to it. We’re going to try to be friends, that’s all. Don’t give yourself an ulcer. I’ve got a brain. I can use it.”

“Fine!” Cait shoots to her feet. “Don’t come crying to me when she stomps on your heart! I’ve been through this before, Tommy. When I get proof, you’ll be eating your words, begging me to forgive you, but I’ll remember. I’ll remember you chose her over the entire Resistance. Over me.”

She whirls and storms from the room, slamming the door behind her. I gape at the shivering wood.

Talk about an overreaction.

Annoyed, I snap my sketchbook shut and toss it on the counter. Cait’s fears about Mel are based on Cait’s own issues. Nothing else. If she would just trust me, she’d see Mel hasn’t done anything wrong. Of course Mel wants to know what happened to her parents. Who wouldn’t?

Mel is second-gen Resistance. She earned her place here as soon as Max and Reyna gave their lives for the cause.

Cait will have to deal.