Chapter Fifteen

Cameron

Abbie stared through the windshield of my pickup with something akin to trepidation lingering in her gaze. I sat patiently, waiting for her to be ready to see the doctor—a doctor who would run STD tests, perform a gyno exam, and see just how badly the tearing was in her anal passageway.

Since I'd lifted her into my arms in that fucking building, patience had become easy for me… at least when it came to her. It was endless. Through every nightmare, every flashback, every panic attack, I was with her. Through her trying to regain her strength, I was with her.

When Trent's family pulled the plug on him two days ago, I was with her then too, holding her as she cried and mourned the loss of her friend and partner. His family didn't blame her for what happened to him, but I knew she blamed herself. But she was trying to work through it, and when she'd suggested therapy for herself, I'd paid out of pocket for her first appointment since her insurance through her job was shit and didn't provide decent therapists.

And that was another thing I'd become patient about—her job. She'd told me she wasn't quitting, that she was determined to help us dismantle this ring from the inside. I hadn't liked it, but we'd come up with a plan for her to always have her location turned on for her personal phone, and she would carry a burner, too. And on top of that, she'd wear an anklet beneath the uniform of her pants so I could find her if her phone ever went offline.

Abbie was strong, and the hell she'd endured and her recovery over the past few days were proof of that. She didn't give up easily, and she fought with everything she had.

She was goddamn perfect for me, and I'd been stupid to ever think otherwise.

"You promise you'll be in the room with me?" she finally asked, turning her head to look at me.

I nodded. "I'm not letting anyone that close to you without me present," I reminded her. "Not again. Not ever fucking again."

A small smile tilted her lips, and then she drew in a deep breath through her nose before slowly releasing it from between her lips. "Okay," she said quietly. "Let's get this over with."

I pushed open my door before sliding out of the truck and rounding the hood to help her down. With our fingers laced together, I led her across the parking lot and into the building. I stood by her side as she filled out the paperwork as a new patient, and I paid the upfront cost, nodding my head when the receptionist informed us we would receive a bill in the mail for anything extra.

When we sat down, Abbie's leg began to bounce, too jittery to be able to sit still. Without a word, I grasped her hips and lifted her into my lap, pulling her back to rest against my chest. Immediately, she relaxed, her fingers curling into my leather cut. I pressed a kiss to her temple. "Better?"

"Mhm," she hummed, tucking her head beneath my chin. "Doctors have always freaked me out, and it didn't help that in there—" Her voice abruptly cut off. I squeezed my arms around her, understanding what she didn't say out loud. She blew out a soft breath. "Growing up, it was just me and Dad. Mom passed away when I was a baby—drunk driver ran her off the road, and her car twisted around a tree. Dad… lost himself. And in his drunken rages, he…" Her voice trailed off. I gritted my teeth.

He hurt her.

"Is he dead?" I rumbled.

She nodded. "Liver failure," she said quietly. "Died four years ago. I was nineteen. I cremated him and stuck his ashes in a storage unit." She shrugged. "I didn't know what else to do with them, and I didn't want them in my house."

I ran my hand down her spine. "What made you afraid of doctors?"

"I only ever went to see one when I was too badly hurt to just heal at home. And they always believed Dad's lies about me hurting myself over me."

I gritted my teeth. "They're just as horrible as your father then," I said quietly.

She nodded just as her name was called. She stood from my lap and reached for my hand, her fingers trembling. I clasped it in mine and led her over to the smiling nurse. "Hi, hun. My name is Jessica. I'll be your nurse today," she introduced herself. "Let's head this way." We followed her down a hallway to a small area where blood pressure machines, a scale, and other vitals stuff were sitting around. "You can sit here," she said, patting a chair.

I released Abbie's hand, letting her sit down, but I rested my hand on her shoulder, digging my fingertips into the soft flesh so she'd still be grounded. I remained silent, listening as Abbie gave the fabricated story we'd all come up with. She didn't want anyone to know she'd been kidnapped since it would jeopardize everything we'd worked hard to do so far. So, she was going with she was mugged and raped, and she didn't tell me until she woke up from a flashback and I forced her to tell me what was going on.

The exam went smoothly. Abbie didn't panic, and she listened to everything the doctor had to say about the healing process. There was some tearing, but it would all heal over time. When she suggested therapy, Abbie quietly informed her I was already on top of it, and she'd already had her first therapy appointment.

"That wasn't… terrible," Abbie finally settled on as I backed out of the parking spot.

I chuckled, glancing over at her. "You feeling okay?"

She nodded and reached over, grabbing my hand. I instantly laced our fingers together before bringing our joined hands up to my lips so I could press a kiss to the back of her hand. She relaxed back into her seat. "I want coffee."

I grinned over at her. "Usual place?"

The smile that lit up her face made my heart clench in my chest. It was the prettiest fucking smile she'd given me since she'd been back with me.

"I like the sound of that… our usual place," she murmured. "Yeah, Cam. Our usual place."

I winked at her. "Want a donut, little devil?"

She scoffed. "Still an ass, I see."

I snorted and squeezed her fingers. "Sweetheart, that's not ever going to change."

She grinned at me and leaned over the middle console to press a kiss to my cheek. "I never want it to."

A loud giggledragged me out of sleep, and then something clattered to the floor. I frowned, squinting at the red digits on my clock. It was nine in the fucking morning on a Saturday. What the hell?—

"Ace, you're going to make a mess, and Konnie is going to be mad," Blu whined.

"Shh. Abbie needs her sleep," Blakely said, trying to quiet them down.

Oh, so fuck Cameron's sleep, huh?

"Cameron gave her a sleeping pill last night," Ace said. I could just picture the little brat rolling his eyes. "She's going to be sleeping like the dead."

Growling, I rolled out of bed and padded barefoot to the door, opening it and glaring at the bathroom across the hall from my apartment. Ace looked up at me and smirked, giving me a finger wave like the sassy asshole he truly was. Blu's cheeks darkened, and she ducked her head. Grey made a small noise of fear. I ignored the two littlest ones, glaring at Blakely and Ace instead, who were fucking around with?—

Was that hair dye? Jesus Christ. It was too early for this shit.

"People are trying to fucking sleep," I growled. "Fuck off somewhere else with all this shit."

"Oof. You're a real douchebag when you haven't gotten laid," Ace remarked, eyeing me. "You should at least rub one out, man."

I stepped forward, my fist clenched, but soft hands wrapped around my bicep, halting me. I looked down at the sweet woman at my side. Abbie looked up at me with sleepy eyes, a small smile on her face. "Just come back to bed, Cam," she said softly, gently tugging me backward. "I'm sure they'll keep the noise down."

Ace scoffed, but Blakely shot him a hard look. He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Fiiiine," he groaned. "Cameron, you suck the fun out of everything."

"I'm about to?—"

Blakely shut the bathroom door at the same time Abbie tugged me into our room, making me stumble. She quickly closed the door and smiled up at me. "Come back to bed?" she asked, yawning. "I don't know what you gave me, but I'm still sleepy."

I cast one last glance at our door before nodding my head, letting her lead me back to bed. Once we were beneath the covers, she curled up into my arms, snuggling into me. Every muscle in my body relaxed.

"Blu has been working up the nerve to dye her hair for a while now," she told me quietly, her voice riddled with sleep. "Don't take away their fun, Cam."

I sighed. "I wasn't. Ace just… he knows how to push my fucking buttons."

She laughed softly, her warm breath fanning my bare chest. "Well… it's really not all that hard to push them," she pointed out.

I scoffed. "Go to sleep, little devil."

She hummed and pressed a kiss to my chest. "I love you," she said softly.

My heart clenched in my chest, and my arms instinctively tightened around her. We'd never uttered those words to each other, though I knew I'd been in love with her since the moment she was taken from me. Since the moment I thought she could die.

"Fuck," I rasped, burying my face in her hair. "I love you, too, little devil. Always."