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  “You guys love each other,” I say. “When you fight, it’s never serious.”

  Cam, holding onto my hand, reaches up with his other hand and pushes a piece of hair behind my ear. “You think too highly of us, Zara. I’m worried that one of these other teams is going to win you over and you’ll leave us.”

  “I’ve already told you I would never do that,” I say. “I love you guys too much for that.”

  “Do you mean that?” he asks. “That you love us?”

  I nod. “I do.”

  Cam doesn’t say anything in response, he just looks at me, as if he’s studying me—like he’s trying to figure out if I’m telling him the truth or not. I know the second that he’s made up his mind about believing me, because he smiles.

  Camden doesn’t smile a lot. It’s not that he’s always grumpy or frowning, it’s just that he’s a pretty serious guy. It’s what makes him... Cam. And I love that about him. But when he smiles, his looks younger and I remember that he’s only seventeen years old, only older than I am by less than a year. His entire face just lights up and I’m reminded just how beautiful he really is.

  He has these bright blue eyes that remind me of the ocean. They remind me of home.

  “What are you thinking?” he asks.

  “Just that you’re really pretty,” I say.

  “Pretty?” he says. “Guys are supposed to be handsome. Or hot, even. But never pretty.”

  “Well, I think you’re pretty,” I say. “What are you going to do about it?”

  But I didn’t expect him to actually do something about it. And I definitely never would’ve imagined this.

  Cam leans his head close to mine and I vaguely have the thought that I am about to have my first kiss before his lips touch mine.

  He is a gentleman, so his hand doesn’t move from where it is holding onto my hand. But he has his other hand on the back of my head, like he’s trying to make sure I don’t back away from him—like I would do that! I’d be crazy if I did!

  Not knowing what to do with my own hand, I reach out and run my fingers through his hair. He hasn’t had a haircut in a while, so it’s getting a little long on the top, but I like it. It suits him.

  He’s lucky, as my mom would say. His hair is silky, smooth, and straight—like the kind of hair that girls wish they had.

  Apparently, Cam likes it when I run my fingers through his hair, because he makes the cutest noise, a growl, maybe? But softer. And he leans in closer to me and I like that I’ve somehow affected him. It makes me feel powerful.

  I never thought I’d use the word soft to describe Cam in anyway, but his lips are soft. They’re so soft, and they feel so warm against my own mouth.

  I’m not sure how long we kiss, because time has ceased to exist, but eventually Cam does back away from me—too soon in my opinion. His lips are swollen and his hair is messed up, yet I’ve never found him more attractive than I do in this very moment.

  But now my stomach is in knots and I am nervous.

  Why am I nervous now? The kiss has already happened! I don’t have a reason to be nervous!

  “Was that okay?” he asks.

  I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. I’m fairly certain that I’m grinning like a madwoman. I nod, closing my mouth because I realize I must look like a completely idiot looking at him with my mouth hanging open like that.

  “Do me a favor and don’t tell any of the guys that happened,” he says.

  Maybe I should be offended by what he’s saying, but instead I’m relieved. The idea of Tristan, who is in the next room, knowing what I just did makes me feel sick to my stomach. Or any of them...

  “And before you get any ideas in your head, I’m not ashamed or embarrassed by what happened,” he says. “That was literally the best kiss I’ve ever had in my life. I’m pretty sure you just ruined my lips, because how could anybody compare to you?”

  Still not knowing what to say, I nod again.

  “Are you okay with what happened?” he asks. “I mean, you kissed me back, so I assume you are. Are you?”

  “Yeah,” I say, nodding my head way too hard now.

  “Okay, good,” he says.

  “Okay,” I repeat.

  And that is how I had my first kiss. With Camden Miller of all people.

  I didn’t even realize he liked me like that.

  I am in way over my head with these guys.

  Saturday, October 6

  Boy problems?

  On Saturday morning, I wake up with one thing and one thing only on my mind.

  Cam.

  His lips.

  That kiss.

  I smile at the memory, but I’m also panicking over the fact that I have five guys that I like. And I’m fairly certain that some, if not all, of them like me back. Which could potentially cause a lot of problems for my team. Not knowing what to do, I decide to seek parental guidance. Not from my dad, he would never understand. Not from Zach, because I’m pretty sure he would murder Cam if he knew what happened on the living room couch last night. My face grows warm just thinking about it. With only one other option, and the only logical choice, I call my mother.

  It’s ten o’clock on Friday night in LA, so I am certain she will be awake, possibly at a Hollywood party, who knows. But I’m hoping she can take a few minutes to talk to me about my boy problems.

  “Zara, hey,” Mom says.

  There is no noise in the background, so she must be at home tonight.

  Thank goodness.

  “Hey, Mom,” I say. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

  “I always have time for my beautiful daughter, what’s up?” she asks.

  “I need your advice on something.”

  “Oh, no. You’re not pregnant, are you?”

  “Pregnant! Oh, my gosh. Mom, no. Ew,” I say.

  “I’m just checking,” she says. “If you’re calling me and not your father, you must need boy advice.”

  “Kind of,” I say.

  “Do you have a boyfriend now?” she asks. “What happened with that date you were going on?”

  “I don’t have a boyfriend,” I say. “But I did kind of kiss a boy last night.”

  “That’s a good thing, right?”

  “Yeah,” I answer. “Kind of. Except, I kind of like more than one guy and it’s complicated, especially now that I’ve kissed this guy.”

  “You can date and kiss two guys, Zara,” Mom says. “You’re only sixteen. Now is the time to date a lot of guys.”

  “There are more than two,” I say, now nervous to tell her the truth.

  “How many?” she asks.

  “Five,” I answer, biting my lip as I wait for her answer.

  “You have a crush on five guys?” she asks.

  “Yes.”

  “And they like you back?”

  “I’m pretty sure, yeah.”

  “Okay,” she says. “And why are you calling me?”

  “Because I don’t know what to do. They’re my teammates. I need to choose just one of them.”

  “Honey, you’ve got the rest of your life to be tied down to one man, date them all,” she says.

  About ten minutes later, I get off the phone with my mom. I still think she’s crazy for telling me to date them all—there is no way. We’re all too close. If I dated them all... kissed them all... it would be too weird. The guys would get jealous and I wouldn’t blame them. Plus, can you imagine the gossip around Spy School? It would be a complete scandal.

  So, I can’t do that.

  I refuse to hurt them.

  They mean too much to me.

  I get out of bed and get a shower before heading downstairs. Tristan and Cam both stayed over last night to make sure that I was okay. Zach requested that more than one guy stay. I think he was mostly afraid of me being alone overnight with one boy in the house, but I know he has nothing to worry about.

  I touch my lips, thinking about the kiss.

  Well, maybe not nothing.


  Just as I am about to walk out my door, I notice an envelope slipped under my door. My name is written on the outside. I open it, thinking it’s from one of the guys. Inside, there is a photograph, it’s of Tristan and Cam asleep in the living room. I turn it over and see something written in a Sharpie on the back.

  You won’t always have somebody around to protect you.

  I scream, dropping the envelope to the ground.

  Somebody was in my house.

  Somebody might still be in my house.

  I hear footsteps running up the stairs Cam and Tristan both run towards me.

  “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Tristan says.

  I point at the envelope on the floor, not able to say anything. Cam picks it up. He and Tristan both look at it.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Tristan says, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. I know he’s trying to comfort me, but I’m not sure anything could comfort me right now.

  Somebody took a picture of them while we were asleep. How easy would it have been for them to have just taken me?

  “Everybody, get to Zara’s house now,” Cam says, speaking into his phone. He doesn’t say anything else. He just ends the call. I feel a little safer knowing that the rest of the guys are on their way. I will feel better once I see them in person.

  “You should call Zach, too,” Tristan says.

  Cam nods, leaving the room to call him.

  I understand why he’s leaving the room. There is probably going to be a lot of yelling. But I still don’t want him to leave me in here without him.

  “Everything is going to be okay,” Tristan says. “I promise we aren’t going to let anything happen to you.”

  “But what about you? Will you guys be okay?” I ask.

  He smiles at me. “Zara, we are going to be okay. I promise. We are trained for this and have been our whole lives.”

  Tristan puts his arms around me, so I rest my head on his chest, just needing to be close to him right now. Feeling him here with me is comforting somehow.

  I hear Cam walk back, but I don’t pull back from Tristan. I just don’t have the strength to right now.

  “Is she okay?” Cam asks Tristan.

  I’m glad he’s not asking me, because I’m not sure that I have an answer for him.

  “She’s going to be okay,” Tristan answers. “I think she’s just in shock.”

  “Just... hold onto her,” Cam says. “I’m going to meet the guys downstairs and catch them up on what’s going on.”

  I hear Cam leave the room and I just stand there, letting Tristan comfort me.

  What would I do without my guys?

  I hope I never have to find out.

  How did I go from so happy one minute, thinking about my kiss with Cam, to scared to death the next? This isn’t right. This person shouldn’t be allowed to torture me like this. It’s as if they like the thrill of freaking me out. It’s like they want me scared.

  “Tristan, I don’t want this person to get me,” I say.

  “They won’t,” he says. “I promise you, whoever this is, they won’t be coming near you. Ever.”

  And I believe him. I have to believe him. Because the other option is just too unfathomable.

  My guys will protect me.

  Always.

  Go through me.

  Cam.

  I kissed Zara last night.

  I know I shouldn’t have. The guys and I all agreed not to pursue her, but last night, when she was looking up at me through her long lashes, I just couldn’t help myself. I leaned in and I kissed her. And she kissed me back, which is honestly some kind of miracle.

  It was the best kiss of my life. I know that after kissing her, I will never be able to kiss another girl again. It wouldn’t be the same. How could they ever measure up?

  The way she ran her fingers through my hair...

  The way she fit perfectly in my arms...

  The way she pouted when I backed away from her, because she wasn’t ready for the kiss to be over... I wasn’t ready for it to be over, either. I could’ve spent the rest of the night kissing her.

  But I can’t think about all of that right now.

  Right now, I have to focus on protecting her.

  Leaving Zara upstairs was hard, but I am comforted by the fact that Tristan is there with her. I’m glad that he’s holding her. As much as I wish I could be the one to hold her, I just can’t right now.

  I called Zach to tell him about the note. He yelled at first, but then after he calmed down he was able to give orders for us and book his flight back. He’s not going to be back until late tonight, his assignment has run later than he expected, but he’ll be back as soon as he possibly can.

  Our orders are simple, and are what we would’ve done anyway—give Zara around the clock surveillance. There is always going to be at least one of us with her at all times, this time we will be awake. I don’t know how this person got into the house undetected, but it will not happen again. We will never take this person for granted again.

  All the guys show up minutes after I ended the phone call, all of them freaking out. I don’t blame them. I would be freaking out if I were them, too. I didn’t give them any information on the phone, just that they need to get over here.

  “Is Zara okay?” Stefan asks.

  “She’s fine,” I say. “Just in shock.”

  “What happened?” Dylan asks.

  I hold out the envelope for the guys to all look at. The three of them circle around the envelope to look.

  “Somebody snuck into the house last night?” Austin asks.

  I nod.

  “We’re going to up security,” Dylan says.

  “One of us will be with her all the time,” Austin says.

  “Absolutely,” I say. “Zach has ordered it, too.”

  “How did they do this?” Stefan asks.

  “I don’t know,” I answer. “But it’s never going to happen again.”

  Not to Zara.

  Not to us.

  Zara means too much to me, now. And if they want to get to her, they’re going to have to go through me.

  The End!

  Zara Book 5 is coming soon!

  Letter from Scarlett.

  Hey! Thank you so much for reading the fourth book in my series, The Zara Chronicles. This book was so much fun to write! Actually, I just love writing in the Spy School world, if you couldn’t tell! I have a lot more planned for Zara and her guys, so I hope you look forward to a lot more books with them!

  If you did enjoy this book, it would mean a lot to me if you left a review wherever you picked this up. As a self-published author, it helps me out so much!

  For more information on this series or any of my other books, be sure to check out my blog https://scarletthaven.net!

  —Scarlett Haven

  More Books By Scarlett

  The Zara Chronicles:

  Loyal (Book 1)

  Truth (Book 2)

  Toxic (Book 3)

  Trust (Book 4)

  East Raven Academy Series:

  Ever After (Book 1)

  Never Ever (Book 2)

  Never Say Never (Book 3)

  The Spy Chronicles:

  Finding Me (Book 1)

  Keeping Me (Book 2)

  Losing Me (Book 3)

  Stand alone books:

  The Bucket List: Famous Online

  The Day My Life Began

  Bayside Academy Series:

  Gracie (Book 1)

  Unraveling Gracie (Book 2)

  Hating Gracie (Book 3)

  *This series is completed.

  New Hope Academy Series:

  Luck (Episode 1)

  Fate (Episode 2)

  Fame (Episode 3)

  Wish (Episode 4)

  *This series is completed.

  Find Me Online.

  Blog: https://scarletthaven.net

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scarlett_Haven

  Facebook: https://www.faceb
ook.com/AuthorScarlettHaven/

  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorscarletthaven/

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