Summer Wishes (Desire #1.5) Read Free Page A

Matthew added.
    Committee members never visited the Ruby District, at least not for innocent social calls. If they venture into the neighborhood it was usually because they had business to attend to, usually unpleasant business.
    Jocelyn turned to Melanie.  “They’ve come for you, haven’t they?”
    “Any other reason they’d leave their cushy and affluent Diamond District to roam our crumby streets?” Matthew sounded bitter and angry as he continued to stare out the window.
    “We have to hide you.”  Jocelyn reached out to grab Melanie’s hand to take her… where?  Where in the world could she hide a human being effectively enough to fool the all-knowing and all-seeing Committee?
    Melanie quickly settled the questions with a firm yank of her hand and a firmer, “No.”  The single word seemed to grate up her throat where once a beautiful feminine voice rang out.
    Jocelyn looked at her, mesmerized by the changes brought on in such a short amount of time.  Beyond the changes to her appearances, Melanie was dramatically changed from the girl Jocelyn remembered.  Hardened, her eyes were no longer wide with innocence.  They lacked the eagerness to discover the world and were left with only the darkness of desperate determination.
    Glancing down at their joined hands, Jocelyn could feel Melanie’s hardening right down to her hands.  Once so soft and perfectly manicures, they were now rough and callused. Even her grip was strong, almost painful.
    “They’re going to come here, Melanie,” Jocelyn whispered. “They know you left with my brother.  I can’t let them find you.”
    “They were here just before you arrived,” Jocelyn said. “I was hiding down the street. They were in here for a while, so I finally left.”
    Jocelyn could not hide her anger. She felt violated. Why did she not even know? They could walk in just like that when they felt like it without a knock or papers. Jocelyn walked from one bedroom to the other checking to see what had been touched. How dare they just enter a home on vague suspicions. How dare they go through her parents’ things. She breathed a sigh of relief. It appeared nothing had been touched.
    “I don’t even see where they could have been here,” Jocelyn finally said to Matthew and Melanie. And then she saw it when she lifted an old flower vase on the bookshelf. The indentation of where the vase had stood for years was slightly out-of-place. It was so subtle, so slight, no one would have been able to notice, if they were not as familiar as Jocelyn was with her own home. She looked up, the realization that the Committee members were in her home, dawning on her. She, her parents, and her sister Jade were not safe.
    “They can be undetectable,” Jocelyn said. “These are the Committee members we don’t see on panels. They’re the ones we don’t know much about. All I know is they wear these leather bands, which Jacob and I have been trying to figure out. If only we can get one of those bands to take a closer look…”
    “Mel,” Jocelyn said. “What are you doing here, in Arcadia, in my house?  How did you get back?”
    “Jacob has honed his navigation abilities and was able to guide us back.  Many of us made it in.”
    “Many? Who came with you?”
    “Others who’ve been banished. They all wanted to come back.”
    Jocelyn shoved her fingers through her damp bangs, clearing her forehead of the sticky strands.  “My God, Melanie. Do you realize how dangerous it is for you to be here? People who have been banished are never heard from again.”
    “We’re not afraid.”
    “Why is Jacob not with you? Is he safe?”
    “He wanted to be here, to see you. He has so much to tell you before you turn eighteen.” Melanie sat down on a chair, a look of exhaustion overcame her delicate features.
    “Then why isn’t he here?” Jocelyn fought the panic that slowly brewed in her gut. “Why did you make it here and he didn’t?  Is it because of them?” she