A/N: Chapter is a little late, I know, I'm sorry, don't at me. I went on an unexpected family vacation and didn't have time to update! But here's a chapter for you, I'm working on the next one as we speak. Anyway, hope you enjoy this, can't wait to hear what you think!

xxx

Perilous

Chapter Nine

Cammie POV

That night, after tailing Prince to several restaurants, houses, stores, and parks, we finally retired back to the hotel.

We all gathered in Zach and I's room to regroup.

Liz and Jonas were still on their way back from sitting outside of Prince's house all day and we were waiting for their return.

"Hey," Macey called from the phone where she was talking to room service. "I'm ordering a drink and snacks, anyone want anything?"

"Wine and cheese please!" Bex replied.

"Scotch on the rocks," Zach said absent-mindedly, scrolling through the case file.

"Johnny Walker?" Nick and Grant spoke at the same time, sharing an "aye" and a bro-hug afterward.

I sat leaning on the wall with my legs bent, my arms hugging them to my chest as my chin rested on my knees. I had pulled my hair out of the braids and let the waves fall around me like a caterpillar trapped in its cocoon. The contacts were gone also, so it was my lifeless blue eyes that stared into space, hoping to just fall through the floor.

"...shade? Nightshade? Hello? Snap out of it. Nightshade!"

I blinked twice, finally looking up. Everyone was staring at me. "Yes? You don't have to fucking yell, you know. I have ears. And stop staring at me like I have a shark for a head."

Macey raised her eyebrows slightly. "I was asking if you wanted anything to drink."

"Oh, well, a bottle of bourbon, please. And I do mean the whole bottle."

After she placed the order, I assumed my previous position, falling back into the memories.

Suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder. "Hey, are you alright? Liz and Jonas got here ten minutes ago and you hardly blinked."

Seeing Bex and snapping out of my reverie, I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I'm fine. Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

As I stood up and brushed myself off, she raised her eyebrows at me questioningly. I ignored it and instead gestured to the bottle in her hand. "That the drink I asked for?"

Sighing, she handed it to me. "Yeah. Enjoy."

"Wow, 1987. They've got the good stuff in London."

"Oh yeah. London's awesome. I'm actually from here, you know." She smiled, shurgging with slight pride.

I nodded, popping the top of the bottle off and throwing my head back as I took a swing. I hummed, wiping my mouth. "Yeah, I figured, with the accent." I also spent many summers at your parent's house.

"Hey, you guys coming?" Liz asked, looking over her shoulder.

The rest of the team was gathered around the breakfast nook, and they were waiting for us.

"Hell yeah. Let's get this show on the road." Taking another swig of bourbon, I followed Bex over to the group.

"Alright, so what did we learn today? We tailed Mr. Prince around for the entire day. What'd we get on him?"

"Well, based on our surveillance from our first day here and several credit card transactions we found in the computers, Prince gets his daily coffee at Rosslyn Coffee, where Liz and I saw him an hour before brunch," Jonas explained, showing Zach documents of evidence he'd printed.

Liz nodded as we all surveyed the papers. "He knows all of the workers by name and is even friendly with some of the regulars. Yesterday, we saw him mingling with tourists and suggesting places to visit. From what we've found, he has an almost daily routine of where he eats, who he meets, and where goes. According to past security footage, he does most of his business work during nights and weekends, excusing the holidays and when he has functions to attend."

"But that's impossible. How would he even have time to handle terrorist work?" Nick asked, flipping through the transaction documents.

Liz winked, smiling. "Exactly, he wouldn't. But get this: I had Macey tap his phone today, and in the past couple of hours, I was able to have access to his and his colleague's phones. Turns out, his team constantly has to lie to the press and the community at least twice a month, saying that 'Mr. Prince is busy with work and is stuck in the study', or that 'Mr. Prince is out of town on business and won't return for at least a week.'"

"So he disappears for weeks on end, claiming to be working. Not gonna lie, the guy's smart." Macey nodded in approval.

Grant shook his head in disgust. "So he plays with children and donates to charity and mingles with tourists just days before disappearing to commit murders and torture innocent people. That is appalling."

I pointed at him. "I'm with you. It makes me sick."

"You actually know what appalling means?" Zach asked, surprised.

Grant rolled his eyes. "Yes, Zach. I'm no genius but I did go to the same school as you idiots."

There were murmurs of "true, true" and if I wasn't absolutely messed up at that moment, I would've smiled.

But instead, I just sipped my drink, waiting for the night to end.

"Anyway, back on topic. I think that gives us a general idea of how he is with people. Everything else, we'll find out in the stakeout and the break-in. Tomorrow just as the sun rises, I want Bex and Grant parked outside of Prince's mansion, watching every square foot of the place. Liz and Jonas will give you access to the security footage, but other than that, you just watch. Then at dusk, we'll switch and it'll be Nightshade and I. Macey and Nick, you will have to keep Prince busy for the next two days, during the stakeout and the break-in. Is everyone good with the plan?"

We all looked at each other and mumbled different confirmations.

Zach nodded. "Alright, guys. Go shower and rest up. Bex and Grant, dawn- don't forget."

Later that night, the barn doors slid open as Zach stepped out of the bathroom.

With his hair wet, his sweats hanging low on his hips, beads of water scattered across his abs and chest, he looked like some sort of God emerging from the steam.

"Hey, you. Your turn to shower." He smirked, throwing my towel at me.

With a slight smile, I pushed the cotton down from covering my face. "Yeah, okay. I'm going."

Just as I walked past him toward the bathroom, my body shivered as goosebumps crawled across my skin.

Turning, I looked down at Zach's hand grasping mine. My eyes carefully blinked up to meet his. "Zach..."

He swallowed hard as he gazed into my eyes before he seemingly realized why he'd stopped me. "Are you okay? You've been sort of out of it since the warehouse and-"

I sighed. "Don't worry about that, I'm fine, really. It's just that I remembered a lot of unpleasant things and some of them...are difficult to keep from resurfacing." Shaking my head, I looked at him again. "But really, I'm okay."

I could tell by his expression that he was skeptical.

Zach stepped closer, and I couldn't help the pause in my breathing as he entered my personal space. My heart was pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it.

And then his eyes connected with mine and suddenly my stomach erupted with butterflies.

"Are you sure?" Zach frowned, and I could see that he was genuinely worried.

I fought hard to calm the feelings erupting within me as I stepped closer, pulling him into a hug.

He held me tight and I held even tighter, trying to hold onto that feeling. It was relieving, that safety. I didn't want the hug to end.

But then we pulled apart and I placed my hand on the bathroom door, smiling at him. "I'm okay, I promise."

Then the barn doors shut between us.

As soon as they were closed, I leaned my back against them, breathing heavily and running a hand through my hair.

"Holy shit, " I held my core, trying to calm the satisfying flutters that rippled through my stomach.

"What is wrong with me?" I whispered, turning the knob on the shower as hot as it could go. "I need to get it together. There is no way I-"

I paused, staring into oblivion in front of me.

But then I snapped out of it, shaking my head and laughing at the absurdity.

"As if, " I muttered, amused, before I climbed into the shower.

I stared at the ceiling, listening to the soft rhythmic pattern of my breathing.

It was around 3am, my internal clock told me that much, and I still hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. It was as if for the first time in my life, I couldn't shut my brain off.

Rolling my eyes in frustration, I turned over onto my side which led me to be barely 4 inches from Zach's face.

My lips parted in a slight gasp and once I got over the shock of the closeness, I was able to scoot further away from his sleeping figure.

Though I continued to observe him- his eyes moving slowly beneath his eyelids, his bare chest as it rose and fell with deep, calming breaths, and his chocolate brown locks as they obscured most of his face from view.

Back when I was with the Circle and Catherine stopped keeping me in a cell, I'd been forced to sleep in a bed with Zion. And considering that I was his pawn, I also had no choice but to let him kiss me or do whatever he wanted. So even if they weren't pleasurable, I had experienced acts of the romance genre many times.

So in other words, I was used to it. Nothing could faze me. Not middle-aged men flirting at whatever ball my next kill brought me to, not the kind guy in the coffee shop who paid for my drink once when I didn't have enough money (of course, he was my target, so he ended up dead, but you know).

But given this, every time we were alone, I couldn't ignore the shivers that went down my spine every time Zach whispered in my ear. I couldn't help but feel flustered every time his light touches prompted goosebumps to form on every inch of my body. Every smile he sent my way forced me to smile back. And every time those luscious green eyes connected with mine, overcast by those wild curls of his, I had no choice but to surrender to the butterflies that demanded to take over my organs.

Zion was lustful, whereas Zach was slow, sweet, and overall intoxicating.

My heart hammering in my chest, faster than a hummingbird can fly, I sat up quickly, fighting the heat that enveloped my features.

I buried my face in my hands, trying to calm my erratic breathing. What is wrong with me? I shouldn't be thinking such thoughts, especially not about him.

Sheepish, I threw a glance at Zach, watching him shift in his sleep.

With a childish whine, I threw the covers back and jumped out of bed, pulling on my silk robe.

After pacing for minutes on end, I decided I better do something productive, or at least something that could distract me.

And then my eyes connected with the duffel bags that sat near the door.

Images suddenly poked at my consciousness, begging to breakthrough. My head throbbed, trying to fight the memories, but it was no use.

The screams filled my ears, the blood pooled in my eyes, the giggles accompanied by whispers probed at my brain.

I gasped, forcing myself back into reality.

Curiosity got the best of me, and I couldn't help but make my way toward the duffel bags.

I threw one over my shoulder before sliding open the balcony doors, letting in the cool air of night.

The view of London was breathtaking, and it brought a smile to my face.

Setting down the bottle of bourbon I planned to sip on, I pulled on the zipper, revealing endless piles of pictures, music records, amateur medical supplies, and blood-stained clothes.

This time, no memories forced their way into my head, so I continued to pull things out of the bag, examining them, hoping to uncover the secrets of my past.

Zach Pov

My eyes opened, pulling me from my sleep.

Looking around, I concluded that it was just after dawn, meaning Grant and Bex had just set off toward Prince's.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, yawning.

Then suddenly a gust of wind blew through my hair and I looked up in confusion.

Cammie wasn't lying next to me, as she usually was when I woke up.

I was an early riser, unlike her, and disappointment washed over me as I looked at the empty space in the bed.

I'd come to enjoy watching her sleep for the first few minutes of my waking hours. It was probably my favorite part of the morning.

After disappointment came worry.

Where would she have gone? She doesn't leave the suite very often unless we have mission work to do, she doesn't run alone, at least not while we've been here. And most importantly, she never wakes up early.I started to panic until another gust of wind caught my attention.

And that's when I looked up, finally noticing the open balcony doors.

I stood slowly and moved with caution as I pulled on a sweater to block the September chill.

My fear increased as I noticed several items sprawled across the surface of the balcony, and then escalated more when I caught sight of Cammie's robe.

Silently opening the second door, I jumped into sight of whoever was there, prepared to fight.

But all I saw was an empty duffel bag, the contents being the items on the floor, and Cammie's sleeping figure, wrapped in that simple silk robe.

I released a breath, calming down. Then I noticed a note taped the bag, exquisite handwriting sprawled across it.

Crouching, I picked up the slip of paper, reading this:

Goodmorning Zach,

I couldn't sleep, so I came out here to look at some of the things we brought from the warehouse, just to clear my head and maybe uncover more of the past.

Sorry if I worried you,

Cammie xxx

Smiling, I shook my head, dismissing the note, and brushing her hair from her face. "You never cease to amaze me, you know."

After watching her for a few more moments, I sighed, lifting her into my arms. "Alright, love. Let's get you out of the cold."

I walked back into the suite, placing her on the bed and covering her with the blankets.

She stirred only slightly before settling back in a peaceful state of rest.

Leaving her there, I made my way back to the balcony, carefully refilling the duffel bag with items of the past.

After placing the bag with its identical copy, I shut the balcony doors and retreated back to the bed.

Slowly slipping underneath the covers, I lay watching Cammie sleep.

Her long blonde hair fell gracefully, one arm holding her stomach and the other tucked neatly beneath the pillow. Her long eyelashes barely fluttered as her eyes moved beneath the lids. I'd recently noticed that she had a habit of diaphragmatic breathing, so instead of her chest rising and falling with the rhythmic pattern of her breathing, it was the movement of her core that portrayed the truth of her liveliness.

I longed to touch her, to hold her in my arms and protect her from all harm. But I fought the urge, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable.

My heart was beating so loudly I feared Jonas and Liz could hear it in the next room.

I suddenly sat up, interrupting my reverie.

I can't be...no, it's impossible. But...I glanced at Cam.

I need to tell someone about this. Jumping up, I practically ran for the door, planning to go to the one person I knew could reason with me.

But as soon as I opened the door, my eyes connected with just the person I was going to see.

Jonas was breathing heavily. "Zach, good, it's you. I was just coming to see you. We need to talk."

He glanced over my shoulder, seeing Cam asleep in the bed before looking back at me. "Urgently."

We were on the roof, the safest area to have private, classified conversations.

The wind was strong, so you could only hear if you were extremely close to the person. There were no cameras, and after we swept for bugs and found zero other threats, we decided to get down to business.

"So, " I stood only a foot away from him as I watched the London skyline, ensuring that he could hear me. "What's the urgent matter? Did something happen to Bex and Grant?"

Jonas shook his head. "No, they're fine. Lizzie is helping them as we speak. This is even more urgent than that if it were to happen."

"Get to the point, Jo. I don't like to beat around the bush."

"Right. I know who she is."

Something in my brain clicked, and I began to panic, even though I didn't show it. "Who? What are talking about?"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't screw with me, Goode. We both know what I'm talking about."

Moments passed with no words exchanged.

"You're right." I turned to him, squinting in the sunlight. "How?"

"The blood sample Nick gave me last night."

THE NIGHT BEFORE

Everyone was filing out of the room after the discussion when Nick suddenly came to talk to Cam and I.

"Hey, Nightshade. Are you doing alright? Any memories coming back?"

Cam nodded, snapping out of whatever mental world she was trapped in. "Yeah, just a slight headache. And I have gotten some of my memories back. Whenever there's some sort of trigger from my past, there's this surge of images and sounds."

Nick smiled. "That's good, everything is going well. Still, I'd like to take a blood sample, run a few more tests to make sure the drug is out of your system. I'd have Jonas test it, and we should have the results by tomorrow night. If this is okay with you, of course."

I looked at Cammie just as she looked at me, shrugging. "Your call."

Turning back to Nick, she smiled, winking. "Sure, let's do this."

PRESENT

"I tested the sample. The drug is all out of her system, which is good news. But before I could take it out, the computers found a match. It was the same DNA we found at the scene of Matthew and Rachel Morgan's home the night Matthew was killed and their daughter was taken. It also matched DNA found at several old Circle bases over the past ten years."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Not good, not good at all."

"Cameron Morgan, right under our nose. I can't believe you knew. How do you know? Does this have something to do with why you two are so close?"

To stop his never-ending questions, I had no choice but to tell him the story. The story of how my mother had punished me by forcing me to watch as she tortured her most recent prisoner, a girl my age. How after every time she messed up, she would have to watch me be cut over and over. How we were once put in the same cell, where we nursed each other's wounds and bonded over our shared pain. And then how I continued to tamper with the cameras to see her. I told him all that we had done for each other in the three years we managed to sneak around before being caught and permanently separated. I told him how neither of us remembers much, me because it was so long ago and her because of the drug Catherin fed her. I told him how I realized that it was her the night before the mission, why she'd really passed out that night, and then I put the pieces together for everything else that had happened the past few days.

By the time I finished, Jonas was sitting on the concrete of the roof, soaking it all in. "Wow, I...I guess that's all I can say. Wow."

"Jonas, you can't tell anyone about this. She doesn't want anyone to know, and I don't know why, but I plan to honor her wishes and I hope you do the same."

"Of course but...the others will have to find out eventually, Zach. Especially the girls, and Rachel." He reminded me.

I nodded, sitting down next to him. "Yeah, I know. Haspel offered her a job at the CIA in hopes that she'll tell everyone who she is before this is over.

Jonas contemplated what I'd just said. "You think she'll take it?"

"No," I shook my head. "No, I don't. I think as soon as Catherine and Zion are dead, she's going to disappear. And that's what breaks my heart."

I stood up and turned my back to him, placing my hands behind my head. I let the wind tear at my face before I turned back to face him. "I was coming to talk to you, Jo, when I opened the door."

He stood, coming closer to me. "Well, what about?"

"Just..." I paused. "Be sure to be reasonable, and don't freak out."

Jonas nodded. "Of course, man. What's up?"

I sighed, running a hand through my hair before connecting my eyes with his, gathering the courage to utter my next words.

"I'm falling in love with her."

A/N: Haha you guys are totally going to curse me for that cliff-hanger, but it's okay because I love you guys. So, Cammie's memories are taking a toll, and it's hitting her hard. But she has Zach to get her through it, so everything will be fine. Hopefully. She is also realizing her feelings for Zach, even though she's having trouble admitting it to herself, which makes sense because she's never felt romantically attached to anyone. Zach has also realized his feelings and admitted to having them. I decided to spoil you guys with the little "Zach getting worried that she wasn't in bed and finding her on the balcony" bit, which is now one of my favorite Zammie moments in this entire fanfiction. So how do we feel about Jonas figuring everything out after testing Cammie's blood? I honestly loved it, and I liked writing about Jonas. I feel like he is the most ignored character in the entire series, mainly because he wasn't important to the storyline, and there also aren't many fanfics about him or he and Liz's relationship. So writing Jonas more into the story and giving you guys a little more LizxJonas is really fun for me. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and can't wait to read your reviews!

Archer5210: Yep I am definitely continuing this and I hope you liked this chapter as much as the last! Thanks for reading!

Duchess12: Oh hell yes bitch of COURSE we would be friends irl I love your energy and I LOVE how we're just matched perfectly it's amazing. Thank you! I try my best in my writing and to know that you love it this fucking much is so touching. Aww well normal human beings are lame so it's no problem but I am definitely NOT EVER putting ALL of my stories on hold I love writing these way too much to ever stop but I am TRYING SO HARD to focus on one at a time so I don't confuse anyone or myself. And I'm so glad you love all of my stories! And yes extremely loving this one makes so much sense like I have some that I love and some that I haven't even posted that I really really love but this one, this shit right here is my motherfucking FAVORITE and I'm glad it's yours too! And oh yeah I will be feeding you all so much more Zammie, you'll get tired of it. The cheek kisses were my favorite to write, especially because of Zach's reaction to them. Cam feeling safe in Zach's arms is a major plot point, not to mention that it's just so fucking adorable. The mission is going to play out quite interestingly, and you'll see more of it in the next chapter. There will be a lot of plot twists, I can tell you that. And oh yeah, I spoil you all more than my family spoils me and trust me that's saying something cause I don't deserve half the stuff they give me. Hope you liked this update, can't wait to read what you thought of it!xxxx

Guest: WELL I CONTINUED IT lol hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading!

Guest: Yes I'm glad to be updating again too, hope you loved this one just as much as the last! Thanks for reading!

ZG2: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING I'm glad you loved it, hope you liked this one too!

Rtp: Hey! Thanks for reading! I try to update every 7 to ten days, and if I don't just know that I'm busy and will update ASAP! Thank you!

And that's all for this chapter! I love you all so so SO much thank you for reading and following this story I hope you continue to do so, can't wait to update more!

Have a nice day, loves!

xxx