The Mind Games Read Online Free PDF

under the tide.
    I felt someone approach and I immediately stiffened, annoyed that they were interrupting. Nora paused beside me, her blond hair pulled into a preppy ponytail, a large bag over her shoulder. She looked like a freaking all American cheerleader.
    “Deborah’s been imprisoned at the S.P.I. camp,” I said, assuming she would know the woman who worked with Aaron, the man who had erased my memory. The man who had destroyed my life. They were like one big incestuous pool. Enemies, friends, they all seemed to know each other.
    Nora nodded. “We know.”
    I swallowed hard. Deborah had been in charge of the children at Aaron’s estate. If she had been captured… “The children?”
    Nora sighed and shoved her hands into the back pockets on her shorts. “They were taken captive.”
    I felt ill. “I’d promised Caroline I’d come back for her.”
    My father had them, and who knew what he would do to innocent children. I looked up at the sky, fighting my guilt. Why had I ever promised Caroline that I’d save her? Why had I ever left her in Aaron’s obviously incapable hands? Now she was gone, perhaps for good.
    “Life constantly changes,” Nora said. “You can’t take things personally. You made a promise and sometimes you have to break them.”
    I jerked around, facing her. “No, you don’t understand. I made her a promise and I keep my promises. Maybe I haven’t saved her yet, but I will.”
    Nora narrowed her eyes. I’d obviously pushed her too far. “Listen Miss High and Mighty, before you put yourself on that pedestal, let me tell you something. You have no freaking idea what my life has been like, so stop judging me based on your saintly ways.”
    I wanted to snap back something sarcastic and mean, but I didn’t because Nora was right. I hadn’t a clue what her life was like. But I knew one thing, she had been tortured by her own father. I had no right to judge what she did and didn’t do now. My sudden compassion flustered me.
    “Whose house?” I asked, deciding to change the subject for both of our benefits.
    The cottage was small, but I knew it had cost a pretty penny, being right on the beach. Up on stilts, there was a deck that ran the length of the back. A variety of plants stood in pots and swayed on the ocean breeze. And there, in the middle was a stone statue of Buddha.
    Nora’s gaze softened a little as she focused on the cottage. “Sierra’s place.”
    An older woman with tanned skin and long, white hair stepped from the French doors followed by my mother. They paused on the deck, looking out at us as they spoke softly. I could only imagine what Mom was telling her.
    “She’s sort of a grandmotherly figure for us all,” Nora explained.
    But I didn’t need another grandmother. Funny enough, I wanted my old one back. Mom and Sierra moved down the weathered steps and started toward us, Sierra’s long, white dress whispering across the sand. The old woman’s gaze was on me and although I should have felt uneasy, there was nothing malicious in her faded blue eyes.
    “Cameron,” Sierra said, a light accent to her voice, although I couldn’t place it. She took both my hands in hers and looked unflinchingly into my eyes. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”
    Her smile was natural and warm and I felt like she meant it…she actually was pleased to see me, which was more than my own mother had seemed. Still, I wasn’t here to make friends and small talk.
    She pulled back, dropping her hold. “Shall we head toward the water?”
    I slid Nora a glance, but she was oblivious to my confusion, following after Sierra and Mom like a little lapdog. Irritation fought to the forefront. How would we train on a beach with tourists strolling by?
    Reluctantly, I followed them to the shore. My leg muscles pulled, tightening as I stepped through the sand, but quickly found a natural rhythm. My body and my mind remembered the beach. Nora threw some towels upon the ground and we settled in