Roll of the Dice
Chapter 12
What the hell?
It took every inch of chameleon-ness in Cammie no to jump out of her little corner, flip Stephanie, and yelled at her to stay the hell away from her fiancé.
But, no. She had to remain hidden. What kind of spy would she be if she lost control now?
"Deal," Ruby said. "Let's get back to the ball."
This jarred her back to reality. She quickly – and as invisible as ever – made her way back to the ballroom.
~*:*:*:*~
Zach greeted her with a warm smile, instantly sliding his arms around her waist and pulled her to the dance floor.
"What took you so long?" he whispered to her ear.
"I need to tell you something," she said seriously.
"What?"
She shook her head, giving him a meaningful look. "Not here."
He nodded, "Let's talk later. I want to enjoy the night."
She started to protest. She wanted nothing more than tell Zach what she had heard. That they should leave as soon as possible. That she had to protect him, no matter what. And this crowded ballroom obviously wasn't the right place to say those things.
So she simply nodded, and tried to focus on the ring on her finger, reminding herself that this night should be the best night of her life. That Zach was – or soon would be – hers, and Stephanie didn't have a chance on him.
Or so she thought.
~*:*:*:*~
"So, what's gotten into you?"
They were back in their apartment and Cammie had just stepped out of the shower, hair wet, and Zach was laying on their bed in his old t-shirt and pants. He was frowning, unable to find the source of her anxiety.
He thought she would be happy – scratch that, he knew for a fact that she was happy. It was their engagement night, and he saw the way she smiled, before she went to the bathroom. So he concluded that something happened in the bathroom that troubled her.
She made her way to the bed, and sat cross-legged beside him.
"Stephanie's a bitch," she stated simply.
He looked at her in shock. Cammie wasn't one to cuss, so Stephanie must've done something really bad to provoke Cammie like that. "What did she do?"
Cammie sighed and ran her fingers through her wet hair. "She said she wanted you."
"What?"
"Yeah," she agreed. "I know. She seemed so nice to us. Who knows she'll stab us in the back?"
"Tell me everything," he said, sitting up.
So Cammie told him what little she knew. That she overheard Stephanie and Ruby talking, that they seemed to make a deal, and most of all… "And she said – quote – 'When our plan succeeded, I want that Zachary for myself.' Now, that can be translated to a lot of things, don't you think?"
Zach pulled Cammie to him, held her close, and whispered, "Don't worry. I'll never choose her over you."
Cammie gave a small smile, and kissed his neck, "I know. I'm not jealous of her. But I just… I don't trust her, not anymore. I can't shake the feeling that she makes a very dangerous enemy."
He smiled back at her. "Why don't we simply forget this? At least, just for tonight,'' he quickly amended, seeing Cammie's glare. "This isn't exactly how I imagined our engagement night to be, you know," he said, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Cammie laughed, and pulled him to her. "Come on, then."
~*:*:*:*~
Even though it was three in the morning, Stephanie was as wide awake as ever. She knocked the doors, and placed her finger on the scanner in front of her. She felt a sharp pain as a needle pricked her finger, scanning her DNA.
A mechanic voice blared, "Welcome, Queen."
The doors slid open automatically, and she stepped into Beryl's office, and sat down in front of his desk.
"I told you not to underestimate them, Queen," Beryl scolded her.
She raised an eyebrow coldly. "I don't."
"Apparently, you do," Beryl said curtly. "Having such a clandestine conversation in the middle of a hallway. Really, Queen, really? I thought you were better than that!"
She frowned. If Beryl was this upset, that means her conversation with Ruby had been overheard, and she was sure she knew who had heard them, "So, they know?"
Beryl nodded. "She knows about your promised reward. You're lucky, though. They decided not to discuss it tonight. They were… celebrating… their engagement night."
Stephanie crunched her nose in distaste. "I really don't know what's so special about them, Sir. They're top agents, yes, but our agents are as good as them. They're so naïve."
Beryl fixed her a cold look. "My motives are my own concern, Queen."
Realizing her mistake, she quickly apologized.
Beryl continued, "You have to do it tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" she blurted, taken aback.
"Yes. I'm sure agents as talented as you and Ruby can pull it off?"
Stephanie gulped. The thing was, she wasn't completely sure of the plan herself. But she realized she had no choice, so she nodded.
"Yes, Sir."
~*:*:*:*~
Zach was off to the casino. He had asked Cammie to come with him, but she had declined. The girls had promised that they would have a video conference that morning, and she had kicked him out, needing a girl talk.
"Liz, I need you to hack into the hotel's security camera. Get the surveillance tape of the ballroom last night at about… 9 o'clock?" Cammie said, estimating the time.
"That's easy. Give me a minute," Liz said, before turning to her other laptop.
"So, honey, what did you wear yesterday? You promised me a picture, you know. I need to judge whether you passed being my apprentice or not," Macey said teasingly.
"Soon," Cammie nodded. "I'll simply show you last night's tape, okay? Are you done, Lizzie?"
"Not yet," Liz called back, her fingers flying on the keyboard. "Their security is better than I thought, but… here it is!" She leaned back, and typed something on her keyboard.
"Play it for us, Lizzie," Bex said, grinning, "Hurry, before Cam lose it."
They laughed. Cammie was obviously giddy. She was practically bouncing on her seat. She couldn't wait to tell them that she's getting married. Liz smiled, and typed some more, before a new window appeared on the corner.
"Oh my gosh!" Macey squealed. Cammie laughed. "I can't believe it! He proposed!"
"Congratulations, Cam!" Liz said excitedly.
"Bloody hell! Cam, why don't you tell us right away?" Bex said, "He got some brains, I'll give him that."
"That is so creative! Hey, I know! The dress is going to be fabulous! I've got some ideas! I'm designing them," Macey announced. "Oh, God! You're going to look fabulous!"
"Let me see the ring!" Bex demanded.
Cammie held her left hand in front of the screen, and the girls squealed excitedly.
"I'm so happy for you, Cam! Have you told your mom? Or Abby?" Liz chirped.
"No. I'm going to, though. After this," Cammie said, grinning from ear to ear. "I still can't believe it!"
"I'm calling for maid of honor!" Bex yelled, "Please, Cammie, pleaseeee?"
Cammie laughed again. "Of course, Bex! Mace, you and Lizzie will be bridesmaid, 'kay?"
"Sure thing, darling," Macey said in a sing-song voice. "You have to tell them now. We'll talk later. Seriously, Cam! Your mother should be the first to know! She'll be so disappointed!"
"Crap!" Cammie said, hitting her forehead. "You're right. Talk to you later, girls!"
"Bye!" they chorused, and Cammie turned off her computer. She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed her mother's number, hoping that she wasn't at Gallagher because then the jammers wouldn't allow any signals got in or out of the mansion.
To her relief, her mother picked her call on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Mom? I'M GETTING MARRIED!"
~*:*:*:*~
Cammie sat in a Thai restaurant where she and Zach had agreed to have lunch, fidgeting nervously. She couldn't wait to tell him what she had arranged for their wedding. Macey would design the dress, Bex would be the maid of honor, and Joe had agreed to walk her down the aisle. She chuckled to herself, remembering Joe, Abby, and her mother's request to talk to Zach. No doubt they were going to threaten him.
Fifteen minutes passed by, and she was starting to get anxious. He was late. Zachary Goode was never late. But the consoled herself, thinking that maybe he got carried away with his game.
Thirty minutes… forty-five minutes… and then an hour passed.
Cammie sighed. No sign of Zach. She got up, paid her for drink, and went to the casino.
She went straight to the poker table, knowing that Zach would be there. But no Zach. She was starting to get worried. She had tried to dial his number several times, but he never picked up. Panicked, she ran back to their apartment room, calling for him. No Zach.
She went to the student's dorm, thinking that maybe Zach was hanging out with the senior boys, but they told her that they hadn't seen him since yesterday's ball.
She was really worried now, and frustatedly pulling her hair. She ran back to their apartment. But he wasn't there. He was nowhere to be found.
Desperate, she sank down into her bed. Worry and anxiety overwhelmed her, and she couldn't stop herself from breaking down, all the while thinking,
Zach, where are you?
~*:*:*:*~
[AN : I'm so glad I've got quite some reviews for the previous chapter, but please include your names! I want to give you a shoutout, but I don't know how since it's anonymous. Anyway, please review!
And thank you for Powerof923, Krazykid500, and WISE2013GIRL for adding this story to your Story Alert and Favorite Stories list! And big thanks for Powerof923, Krazykid500, bubzchoc, violets-are-violet, and everyone who had reviewed the last chapter! Oh, a really special thank you for irisz30 for adding me to your Favorite Author list! That really means a lot for me!
Shoutouts for:
Lizaluvsdoggies : Thank you so much for the extra long review. For this is going to be an extra long shoutout as well… I'm using some of your ideas here, the whole telling the guys and a little part of planning the wedding, because the plot's going to be a lot more serious from now on (hopefully I can make it as serious as I wanted). Frankly the story will end on the wedding, and I'm not planning on a honeymoon scene. I'll use your ideas on the wedding, though, so thanks so much again! Don't worry, I'm a big Zammie-ever-after fan! And I don't like baby stories too much, too. I think the couple should have some time to enjoy themselves, you know? Thanks so much for the review and – of course – your brilliant ideas!
Stephanie : You're welcome. I hope you don't mind me making her looks like a (quote) jealous bitch, though. I have no intention to make her character be completely evil, but she is the main evil female character, so…
Shans97 : Well, I hope her reaction pleases you… I don't think she'll go aggressive because I think Cam's a sweet girl. As for Stephanie and Arianna's plan, well can you guess what's more to come? Hehe…
SharonLoves1D : I hope you like the first section, I got the idea from you, so thank you! And, yes, this organization is very good. They work for the UN, after all. How they know Zach and Cammie will be revealed in the next chapter, so I'm so glad you asked! Can you guess? LOL.
Posideon : Really? Thanks! Oh, I've got some ideas based from your bomb and exploding bracelet thing. I'll use them sometime later, so thanks for the great idea!]
