She doesn't know why she was in the woods, broken and dying. She doesn't remember her past or what happened to her. But because of two boys and a camp full of refugees, she's learning about who she is - possibly for the first time.
There could...
James was fed up with the circus Odessa's training had become. She had told him that she felt like Liam, David, and Adam were grading her on what she could do rather than trying to teach her anything new. He was starting to agree with her. It had gotten to the point where at least one of them sat in on every self-defense training session, which had almost entirely been switched over to hand-to-hand combat instead of her assigned archery.
Then yesterday while they'd sparred, he'd noticed Liam and David whispering together as they watched her, and felt the pressure placed on her to demonstrate, like she was being tested.
Odessa told him and Tai that morning that she had been having nightmares again – worse than ever before. It had started when they'd begun treating her like an exhibit, and it needed to stop. Yes, she needed to remember her past, they all agreed on that. But they needed to let her go at her own pace and stop making her miserable.
James wanted to help her heal and find herself, not contribute to her further torture. So yeah, he was fucking over it. He was pissed at being kept in the dark about whatever nonsense they had dragged him and his friends into. It was about time Odessa got some answers, and he was going to get them for her.
He stormed into Town Hall, nodding at Sarah, the pretty clerk at the front desk, but didn't stop until he'd made it down the hall to his brother's office. He halted at the closed door and raised his hand to knock, then paused when he heard a familiar voice inside.
"You really think it's the same?" It was Adam's unmistakable rumbling timber. "I mean, she's a long way from there."
"I'm almost positive," The answer came from the booming, militaristic voice of James's sensei, David Graham. "We don't know how long ago she could have escaped." James's attention snagged on that word: escaped. Like a prison? His mind raced through a myriad of possibilities as he listened intently, trying to follow the conversation.
"But she seems so small and delicate," Adam protested. "And well, sweet."
Liam spoke up then. "She's about the same size as Mina. Same height, similar build... they're both lean but strong. If Mina can handle the program, so could Odessa. And 'sweet' could be a façade or a byproduct of her amnesia."
And there it was. James couldn't not eavesdrop on this conversation now that he knew for a fact that they were discussing Odessa. But why did the bring up Mina? He wondered. What the hell is going on?
Adam began speaking again. "Can you find out if Odessa was enrolled?"
"No," David replied, his voice hard. "My contact doesn't keep me informed of everything that happens there, and I don't want to give anything away by looking into it. If she was a student, then we shouldn't even know she exists, and I can guarantee they wouldn't want her running loose. Mentioning her name paints a target on her back and asking if they're missing anyone paints one on ours. I won't risk her, or the camp's, safety by inquiring."
James barely held in a snort. One point to team Nosy Old Men for not handing her over. But what the fuck were they talking about? Words like 'school' and 'enrolled' should not be linked with words like 'escape' and 'painting a target on her back.'
It was silent on the other side of the door, and he started to lean in closer, but he heard a chair leg scrape against the wood floor and his hackles rose. Time to bounce.
As much as James told Odessa he never snuck up on her, the truth was that he did it every chance he got. He was surprisingly skilled at creeping and skulking around considering his size, and he put all his finesse into escaping down the hall and around the corner just as Liam's door clicked open.
Pleased with himself, James stopped at the front desk to flirt with Sarah, hoping to remove any suspicion she might have formed while he stood in the hall and eavesdropped. Not that he minded taking a minute to talk to the twenty-year-old blonde with the big brown eyes. They'd gone out a couple times and she was nice, though a bit too quiet in his opinion. He liked girls who could hold their own against him in a conversation and keep him on his toes.
So, James teased and joked with Sarah, knowing just what flirty bullshit to say to make her bite her lip and blush. But he kept one eye on the hall from which he'd come, and the majority of his attention on the office at the end. No one emerged.
"Hey," he purred, leaning in conspiratorially and gazing at her with smoldering green eyes. "Don't tell Liam I was here. He was busy and I didn't want to disturb him, so I'll just catch him later. I know he has a lot going on right now." He gave her the slow, sexy smile he considered his panty-melter, and she nodded.
"Sure," she twinkled up at him, interest lighting up her eyes. "And maybe I'll catch you around sometime?" Hope tinged her charming voice.
"Maybe you will," he answered, watching her mouth as her tongue darted out subconsciously to wet her lips. He winked and turned to walk away. Maybe getting a little closer to her isn't such a bad idea, he thought. Receptionists overhear many things, and it's not like it would be a hardship to spend some time with her.
Once outside though, James dropped the charade. He clenched his jaw while his eyes darkened and narrowed. He wanted to find out who Odessa Lund really was, but more than that, he wanted to protect her. Even though he'd argued with Tai over whether or not she needed it, somehow, his feelings had changed. Maybe it was the creepy guy at the fair, or maybe it was how strangely Adam, David, and Liam were acting, but things were different now.
James trusted Odessa. Wherever she was from and whatever her past, he knew that she had left it behind for a reason. He wasn't going to risk causing her more pain as a means to an end, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let her be treated like an animal. From what David said, it seemed like she'd already had enough of that.
No, James was going to be her shield against the world – the very thing he'd told Tai she didn't need. But it was her strength, that tenacity that he wanted to shelter. If she required someone to help her sleep, well, she had Tai for that. But James would be her rock, her anchor in the storm he sensed was coming.
*****
A/N: And that, dear readers, is the end of chapter 16. Next week, I have a fun little intermission for you before jumping into chapter 17 in (hopefully) two weeks.
School is about to start back up for my kid (she's going into 6th grade! She was 8 or 9 when I started posting this!!) so things might get crazy and slow for a couple weeks coming up, but I promise that it's only temporary. I'm actually already working on writing chapter 18 and I'm putting my design job on hold for a while, which will give me more time to write.
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