Cammie POV

I woke up with a slight headache, a usual occurrence when I've had a bad dream or had a bout of sleepwalking. I sat up and stretched.

'How are you feeling?' I glanced over to the other side of the double bed where Bex was laying.

After we'd come back, she stayed with me; there was one occasion (only one I promise you) where a few hours after I was woken up from a sleep-walking incident, my body had gone into severe shock. I was absolutely freezing and couldn't stop shaking. That's why the girls have learnt not to wake me up unless it's absolutely necessary...and I guess running into traffic last night was one of those absolutely necessary circumstances.

'I feel okay' I clicked my neck. Ah, satisfying. 'How was I during the night?'

'Slept like a baby. Unlike me' She sat up and stretched, her joints clicking louder than mine

'Sorry about that' I cringed. Bex waved it away.

'Don't be. You're safe, that's all that matters' Bex stood up.

'Do you think we'll ever get answers to what happened to us?' I asked 'I mean, they must have found something when we were ten and someone came after us. Abby got shot and I killed someone. Then my family went missing; I woke up in Rome; Boston then Preston was murdered! And now Abby's in a coma! Someone is playing an awful long game of cat & mouse. It's only a matter of time before something else happens'

'Cammie, breathe' Bex came around the bed and held onto my shoulders. 'Townsend will be here soon. Macey has our bags packed. Liz and Jonas have got us new cell phones, swapped us to a new comms signal. Grant and Zach have done...something' I chuckled 'So we're good'

'Abby was tortured' Bex dropped her hands in shock. 'She has bruising all over like I had'

'Do you remember anything else?' Bex asked 'About what happened to you?'

'I woke up in the mountains. In a convent'

'In Italy?' She asked. I nodded.

'You should tell Tina and the girls. It'll help them' I walked towards the door.

'Cam, are you okay?' She asked. I paused.

'Honestly I don't know Bex' I looked at her blank but worried expression 'I don't think I've been okay for a while'

And with that I left the room.

.

I made my way downstairs to hear a hushed discussion between the guys happening in the kitchen.

'So she didn't remember anything?' Jonas asked.

'Not much. It seems to almost be coming in blips' Zach said

'That's perculiar. I know that there's been many cases where people block out memories after a traumatic experience, but twice?'

'What if she's making it up?' Grant asked. There was a bit of movement and the scrapping of chairs.

'Hey, hey, hey' Jonas said with urgency 'Put the knife down, Zach'

'Take it back' Zach hissed.

'Why are you getting defensive for?' Grant snapped 'Dude, we don't know her or any of them. They could be lying for all we know'

'You're right' I said, creeping into the room. All of them froze. Grant was pinned against the counter, Zach was leaning over him, a knife in hand. Jonas was pulling on Zach's arm, trying to get him away.

'I could be lying' I stalked towards them. They eased up. Jonas let go of Zach, Zach let go of Grant and Grant was able to stand up properly.

'But then again, so could you' I stared at Grant. I ran my eyes over him, assessing him.

'You were a wrestler in highschool' I said. Grant's eyes widened.

'How did you-'

'I'm not done' I stepped forward 'You wanted to go pro but you got injured. You thought your whole career was over. It's what you worked your whole life for. And of course you had anger issues but you had wrestling to help manage that and then when you got injured, your release suddenly stripped away from you. So you began to be reckless, you got into trouble, you didn't care anymore. Then one day, you're sitting in a jail cell, wondering where you went wrong and how the hell are you going to get out of this. But no fear, your bail is posted, the charges dropped, then you get a note. You pack your bags and leave for a mysterious institute in the middle of nowhere. Eventually, here you are, a Blackthorne Boy'

Grant's face was pure thunder. He looked like he wanted to punch me. I tilted my head

'But still the same little boy with anger issues and resentment'

Quick as a flash, Grant threw a punch. I knew he would, so I had readied myself the whole time and I caught his punch. Countering my weight and being able to push his arm back until he fell back onto the counter with a bang. I stepped forward and Zach caught my wrist.

'That's enough' He hissed. The look in his eyes was anger I had never seen before. And it was this moment, I knew whatever dynamic we had was now changed forever.

'What the bloody hell is going on in here?' Bex hissed. I glanced back to see Macey and Bex staring at the whole scene ready to attack.

'Nothing' I pulled out of Zach's grasp and moved away from him. My phone buzzed. It was a message from Townsend.

'Wheels up in ten' I informed everyone. I turned back to the boys, folding my arms 'You can either join us or leave'

'We're not leaving until we find Joe' Zach said.

'Let's find him soon then' I turned away, leaving the room. I made my way back upstairs to grab my bags when I saw Liz hovering in the hallway leaning over the banister, observing the argument from upstairs.

'What was that all about?' She asked

'Liz, I need you to come up with an escape plan'

'For who?'

'Us. Them. I don't know. We need a way out if everything goes wrong. We need to be sure that we can cover our tracks and disappear'

'Why?'

'They don't trust us. It's only a matter of time before they stab us in the back'

'Cammie…' Liz thought carefully about putting the right words together. 'I don't think that they're going to betray us'

'I don't think so either. But we've got to be careful. There seems to be much more at play that we expected. Joe apparently restarted the Blackthorne Boys, My dad's journal is still missing, Abby's in a coma & we have no clue where my mum is. We've got to be prepared for the worst' I reached my door 'Oh, and Liz...don't tell the girls. Keep it between us, okay?'

Liz nodded reluctantly.

I slipped into my room, resting my head on the door frame. Things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.

.

Zach POV

'How did she know that?' Grant barked as he punched the wall. He was angry, we all were. Somehow Cam had managed to read Grant perfectly, finding the chink in his armour that even I didn't know about. 'She got into my files didn't she?'

'She didn't' Jonas adjusted his glasses 'She knows our names probably from all the receipts and IDs we had but she knows nothing else. Our files were burnt. Our lives before Blackthorne don't exist'

'Then how did she know about me' Grant hissed.

'She's good' I found myself saying. The guys turned to me. I shrugged. 'She's talented and smart'

'Aw Zach, do you have a crush?' Grant mocked. I glared at him.

'I mean that we shouldn't underestimate her or any of them'

The doorbell rang.

'It's time to go'

By the time we made it to the car, the girls were already settled in. Bex was sitting in the front seat with Agent Townsend talking about her parents and other British things. The van door was open and we slid in. Cam was at the far end with her Aunt who was still out cold. Cam's face was full of concern, her eyes never wavering from Abby. All the anger dissipated from my body in that moment.

Even when we got to the plane and transported Abby's body on the medical carrier extremely carefully, Cammie stayed focused on her family.

'What kind of plane doesn't have a television in it?' Grant moaned as he spread himself out on the sofa

'The kind that costs more than you'll make in a lifetime' Macey whacked his feet 'No shoes on the leather, thank you very much'

'So what am I meant to do for the next few hours?'

'Maybe learn how to tail a target?' Bex quipped. Grant glared at her

'Listen Britbox, I have no problem tailing a target, got it?'

'You lost Cammie in the ballroom, and she was wearing a red dress'

'That's because she's sneaky'

'No. It's because she's trained properly' Bex folded her arms 'When tailing a target, you take your time. You don't make eye contact and then beeline directly towards them! You backtrack, you reposition yourself, you always keep them in your field of vision but most importantly, you blend in'

'And who taught you that?' Grant asked

'Joseph Solomon' Macey added.

The boys and I remained silent, not because we didn't have a comeback, but because Joe Solomon didn't teach us that. I glanced at Jonas and he shot me the exact same look, wondering what part of the puzzle we're missing.

It was a few hours later, Grant had fallen asleep after failing to find entertainment. Liz and Jonas were on their laptops doing something geeky. Bex was busy piloting the plane with Townsend as her co-pilots. I shifted my gaze around and connected with Macey who was staring at me with narrow eyes.

'What?' I asked. She tilted her head.

'Nothing' She shrugged, turning her attention out of the window. I furrowed my brows.

'What is it?'

'I said it was nothing' Macey shot me a quick look before turning away again. I leant forward

'What is it?' I repeated slower emphasising that I mean business.

'God you're paranoid' Macey chuckled and looked back at me. I raised my eyebrow, waiting. 'Cammie basically figured out Grant's backstory about his anger issues, it doesn't take a genius to work out that Jonas is a genius which is why he went to Blackthorne, but I just can't work out yours'

'And you never will' I sat back, sinking into the leather. Macey was silent for a few moments.

'You're probably right. I won't work it out...but I know someone who will'

I glanced at Macey who was giving me a challenging smile, waiting to bait me. She shifted her gaze to the far end of the plane, I followed suit, looking at Cammie who was still looking over Abby. Pain and worry in her eyes.

'How did she know about Grant?' I asked, turning back to Macey. She kept her gaze on Cammie.

'Cammie's good at reading people, seeing what's really under the surface' She turned back to me 'Especially the things people want to hide'

I gritted my teeth, not liking where this conversation was going.

'I don't like you' She said bluntly

'You don't?'

'No' She crossed her arms 'I think you're hiding something. Something about who you are'

'We're all hiding something, it's part of our job description'

'Not when my best friend's parents are missing and her aunt is in a coma'

'What are you implying?' I hissed, anger building inside of me.

'You know more than you're letting on' Macey leant forward, challenging me.

'Trust me, whatever information I have, I've shared it already'

'So you don't mind me asking some questions then?' She raised an eyebrow

'Go ahead' I leant my head back on the seat, relaxing. A cocky smile tugging at the side of my lips.

'Who are your parents?'

'My father, well, your guess is as good as mine'

'You never knew him?'

'Nope. He probably doesn't even know I exist'

'And your mother?'

'Dead' I said bluntly. Macey's mouth dropped open.

'I'm sorry' She said I shrugged.

'Don't be. We never had the best relationship'

'Don't matter. It's a parent' She said. My mouth formed a thin line. I turned away and looked out of the window, ending the conversation.

I tried not to dwell on Macey's words and I also tried not to think about my past. My life before Blackthorne has been suppressed and compartmentalised so much that it's just a void. A locked box that I don't think anyone will be able to open.

Author's note: Hello everyone! Cammie was taking no prisoners when it came to ripping into Grant. Did you expect Zach to react in the way that he did? In the conversation, he has with Macey, it's the first hint at Zach's personal life. He's never known his father & Catherine is dead...but is she really? I mean Catherine is notorious for her disappearing and reappearing act, but is she gone for good? Sorry, there wasn't an upload earlier this week, I'm going to go back down to one upload a week for a while as things are getting a little hectic at the moment. See you all soon xxx

Fanfix2.0: Thank you so much! xxx

Archer5210: The kissing was very cute. I agree that the cover was probably a lie, but they're going to keep saying that the kiss was 'cover' until they admit their feelings. More Zammie very soon xxx

Smiles180: There's so many references back to the books in this series, I absolutely love going back through the books & finding which nugget of information I can use & spin to make my own. The kiss changing everything will come to light very soon. Zach has his own feelings to protect; do you think he trusts Cammie completely? xxx

4EverAGallagherGirl: Aww, glad you're back. Thank you so much xxx

Tessa Jane: Hey! No, I haven't forgotten about Cream Of The Crooks at all, I'm just in a massive writer's block with that story. Hopefully something will come soon! xxx

Rtp: Thank you so much! Yeah, I know! I'm gutted I couldn't upload when I normally do (and I've been slacking with that recently) so I'm going back to once a week for now xxx