Chapter Six

Cameron

TWO NIGHTS AGO

"First of all," I started, sneering at Ace, "you're a fucking little shit, and I have half a mind to punch you in the face."

A cold smirk tilted his lips. "Bring it on, dickface."

I stepped forward, but Jax moved quicker than I could, pressing his hand to my chest. Konrad waved the phone at me, fury burning in his eyes. "I'm two seconds away from bashing your skull in, Cameron," he warned.

"Family above all, huh?" I snapped, feeling backed into a corner. Every one of my defenses was slamming hard into place. Every old instinct I'd used as a kid to protect myself reared its ugly head. I was nothing if not destructive when I knew shit was going south. If I went down, I was tearing everyone apart while I sank. "I go on a date with a cop, and suddenly, I'm being treated like I've betrayed the fucking family."

"We run on the wrong side of the law, Cam," Shaw coldly reminded me as if I didn't remember that. As if I didn't live my life around that one fucking fact.

"And in case you've fucking forgotten," Konrad growled, "those same fucking cops are the reason my boy and my girl were held captive for years. They're a huge part of all this bullshit."

"And they're part of the reason Amaliya was kidnapped, too," Shaw said as if I could fucking forget the reason she was here. "You're shacking up with an enemy, brother. We just want an explanation."

"And none of us here have forgotten how pissed you were about coming back home," Konrad coldly said as if I would ever betray them as some way to get back at them.

I scoffed. "I came home for Ace," I bitterly reminded him. I swung my dark eyes to my brother—the one I would've done anything for. The one I had done everything for. I'd given up my dreams and come back to this shit-hole town for him. Just for him to turn around and not trust me. To not give me the benefit of the doubt. To turn our family against me.

Ace's expression remained flat and emotionless.

"Can we stop pulling our dicks out?" Blakely suddenly spoke up, glaring at my brothers. Konrad shot angry eyes at her. Jax, the overprotective son of a bitch who hadn't said a word this entire time, wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her closer.

"No one asked for your two cents," Konrad snapped at her.

"Easy!" Arlo barked, glaring at Konrad. "You want Jax to slit your fucking throat, brother? How would you like it if any of us snapped at Blu like that, huh?" He snatched the phone from Konrad and locked it before shoving it in his pocket. "We agreed to talk to Cameron and find out what's going on. Instead, the moment he walked in here, you three—" he pointed at Shaw, Konrad, and Ace—"cornered him. You expect him to cooperate?"

"Well, he's not fucking speaking!" Konrad shouted at Arlo.

"I wouldn't open my fucking mouth either if I were him!" Arlo snapped back at Konrad. "I know tensions are high. I know you're overprotective of Blu and Grey. But goddammit, brother, Cameron was ready to go in guns blazing with just you and him to take out fifteen guards and take out the sick son of a bitch who sold your boy and girl. Someone who wanted to betray you wouldn't do that."

"He's right," Jax said, his voice gruff. "If you'd come at me like you're coming at him, I'd have destroyed it all, and you know that." He looked at me. "You, me, and Arlo—chapel. That cool?"

"Jax—" Shaw growled.

"No," Arlo snapped. "You three had a chance to talk to Cameron like sensible human beings, but instead, you came at him sideways. Jax and I will talk to him, and after you two apologize to Cameron, then we'll let you know what's going on."

With that, Arlo pressed a hand to my upper back, nudging me in the direction of the chapel. "Go on. I'll bring liquor."

I flipped Konrad the middle finger as I passed him. "For two men who served in the military, you two sure are dumb as fuck," I called over my shoulder.

"Goddamn him," I heard Shaw mutter under his breath before I shut the chapel door behind me.

Jax and Arlo came in a few moments later, and Arlo poured me two fingers of vodka before setting the glass in front of me and taking a seat. Jax took his as well.

"What's going on?" Jax asked me. "You've never liked cops, Cam."

I swallowed down the vodka in my glass before setting it back down. Arlo poured more in. I wrapped my hand around it, tugging it closer to me, but I didn't drink it. "I overheard her talking to her partner while I was getting coffee a couple of weeks ago. She thinks we're doing shady shit, and she's intent on taking us down, starting with you since she thinks you'll be the easiest target," I explained.

Arlo frowned. "Then why didn't you create distance?" he asked.

I arched a brow at him. "Why do that when I could get closer and find out what she knows? And maybe, in the meantime, I might find out more about this sex trafficking ring bullshit while I'm at it? Kill two birds with one stone. My goal was protection. To keep all of you safe in whatever way I needed to."

Jax scratched at his jaw. "Brother, we don't need you to get your ass in trouble by fucking around with a cop." He sighed. "But I know that's not your style." He regarded me for a moment, and I didn't say anything. Arlo chose to remain silent as well. Finally, he asked, "Do you plan to continue seeing her?"

I smirked. "Well, the sex is pretty fucking fantastic."

Arlo barked out a laugh. "As good as she is beautiful?" he asked, leaning back in his seat with a smirk on his lips. The tension bled from the room just like that, and my shoulders dropped a fraction.

I licked my lips, the image of her naked beneath me on her bed flashing through my mind. "Fuck yeah."

Jax chuckled, the sound low and raspy. "We'll talk to Shaw and Konrad?—"

"And I'll deal with Ace's prying, bratty ass," Arlo added.

"You do what you want," Jax finished, cutting Arlo an annoyed look at being interrupted, which Arlo chose to ignore, making me snicker. "Just… be careful, yeah? Prison isn't all fun and games."

I nodded. "I'm always careful," I promised him. "We done here?"

Arlo nodded. "Yeah, we're done here."

We stood from the table, and I finished my drink before carrying the glass out of the room and heading for the kitchen. Konrad walked in as I was rinsing the glass out to put in the dishwasher so Blakely wouldn't have to clean up after me. She did enough around here for all of us as it was. I knew she was getting paid, but still. She was Jax's woman—not our maid.

"Fuck off," I told him, my tone bitter.

He sighed. "I, uh… Christ, I feel like I'm losing my shit more often than not these days," he confessed. I glanced at him, watching as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. Ace had no right to pry into your personal shit like that, and Shaw and I had no right to come at you like we did. Arlo explained it to us. I…" He sighed heavily, his broad shoulders rising and falling. "I don't like it. I won't lie. The cops here are slimy, and it makes me worry about you. But I trust you to know what you're doing."

"I'm not fucking stupid," I reminded him.

He nodded. "Yeah… I know. But still, be careful, yeah? Visiting people in prison gives me the creeps."

I snorted before nodding once at him. He left the kitchen, and I reached for a dish towel to dry my hands on before I headed out of the kitchen. When I got to my room, Shaw was sitting on the chair in the corner.

"Christ—first my date and now my room," I muttered, shutting my door behind me hard enough to make it slam.

"I made a mistake," he told me. "Not my most shining moment, for sure." I only arched a brow at him. "I'm sorry. Arlo is handling Ace. I doubt he'll apologize to you—" Yeah, I doubted that, too— "but maybe this will teach him a lesson. I know it certainly taught me one. Tensions are high, and I have to protect Amaliyah, but that's no excuse. I should have trusted you."

"Yeah, you should have," I quietly said. "Don't make this shit a habit."

He shook his head. "I won't. You have my word." He glanced up at me. "Is there any chance of feelings becoming real between you and this cop?"

Scoffing, I shook my head. "Nah." Even if they did, I wouldn't act on them. Outlaws and cops didn't mix.

He hummed and stood from the chair. "And if feelings do become a thing?"

I shrugged. "Won't matter. Family first. Always."

He sighed and clapped a hand to my shoulder as he passed me. "Yeah… we'll just re-evaluate that if we need to."

I frowned at his back as he opened my door. "The fuck is that supposed to mean, Shaw?"

He looked over his shoulder at me. "Look at Jax and Konrad, Cameron. Their priorities, their lives, their goddamn personalities have done one-eighties since they met their significant others. I want you to know if you get attached to her… we'll support you. So long as she never hurts this family."

With that, he left my room, quietly shutting the door behind him. I continued to stand there and stare at the plain, wooden door, a frown on my face.

What the hell had he meant by that?