Chapter 16

Sixteen

Cam

My stomach sinks as I watch Cassie basically run from the lobby of the Sheriff"s Office. My eyes travel over to where Lucy stands, arms crossed in triumph over a chest that is way too big for her stature. I"m disgusted with myself that I once bragged about having bagged her. "Why"d you do that?"

She bats eyelashes that are definitely fake, given how long they are. "Do what? I was just hanging out with a friend. That"s what we are, right?"

I rest my fingers along my hips, gripping so that I don"t reach out and strangle her. "We were never friends, and you know that. What we were, was convenient." I"m fully aware of how much of an asshole this makes me sound. "You wanted someone to spend the night with, and I wanted someone to take my mind off of who I really wanted to be with because I was catching feelings. You knew that."

Tilting her head to the side, her mask falls. "Maybe I did, but if it benefits me to pretend like I didn"t? There"s a chance I might do that too. I mean, I"m just a stupid woman, right? That"s what everyone around here thinks because I have fake breasts, eyelashes, and lip filler."

"No one ever called you stupid, especially not me. I know how smart you are, because I just witnessed it, Lucy. Here"s what I will tell you. Don"t do this for Brandon and his fucked-up family. Cassie had nothing to do with what went down. Brandon has been on our radar for months. He wasn"t nearly as slick as he thought he was, and neither are you." I fold my arms over my chest. "Yeah we had some fun. I got my dick wet, and you got off, but that"s all it was. All it will ever be. There"s nothing against two consenting adults having a good time."

Her fake smile snarls into an ugly frown. "It"s not like you had me sign some piece of paper that said I consent, Cam. That can turn around for you real quick."

I blow out a breath, sighing deeply and heavily, before reaching up and pushing my fingers through my hair. "Yeah, it can, but you know what can also turn around real quick?"

She acts irritated and is if I"ve put her out, tapping her foot against the ground. "Oh, I"m sure you"re going to tell me."

"See there"s something that you seem to have forgotten about when dealing with police officers. Twenty-four seven, we wear body cams. They aren"t always on, but I make it a point to turn mine on when I"m at the station with any female dispatchers and there"s no one else around. I don"t trust people, not after how I grew up, and I trust you even less. So everything you"ve threatened me with, Lucy? It"s right here." I tap the lens on my body cam. "I will not be a pawn you play in your little fucked up game. I"m not the one and now isn"t the time. You wanna fuck around with someone"s life? Go ahead, but it"s not going to be mine, and sure as fuck isn"t going to be Cassie"s. She"s never done anything to you. Be mad at me. I fucked and ducked. Not her."

She"s sputtering, trying to react to what I"ve just told her, but I hold up my hand, stopping the words before they come out.

"Don"t dig this hole any deeper than it already is. I don"t have time to mess with you, because I need to go fix what you broke, but trust me on this. Leave her alone. Tell Brandon"s family to leave her alone. Tell Jenna to blame the person who made all the stupid decisions—Brandon. I promise you. None of you will like what happens if you don"t put an end to this, and do it soon. More people are going to get hurt, and it"ll be for absolutely nothing."

I turn on my heel and head out into the dark night, jogging to my SUV. When I get in, I debate on how I should deal with this. Should I make a big deal about what"s happened, and offer some grand gesture to make up for hurting Cass? I know I did, although she kept it together really well, I know without a doubt the way she hurried out, it didn"t feel good to see me in that situation with Lucy. Or do I go with what I know, and tell her how sorry I am, and I know what it looked like, but it definitely wasn"t that?

By the time I get to her house, I"ve decided I"m going to wing it. Whatever comes out of my mouth is what I"m going with. Taking the steps on her porch two at a time, I knock quietly and wait for her to come to the door. When she opens it, I hate to see that her eyes are red, and she"s definitely not as happy as she was this morning. "I"m sorry." I rush out. "I know what that looked like, and I can assure you it wasn"t what you thought. Lucy is pushy, doesn"t take hints, and assumes everyone wants her, no matter their gender or sexual orientation. I think you know that."

I"m rewarded with a slight smile from Cassie.

"I"m not perfect. Never have been, never will be. I"ve done shit I"m not proud of, and been a major asshole when it comes to you. What I can promise you are two things. Since you gave me a second chance, I haven"t lied to you, and I"m in this for the long haul. Whatever that means with us. I"ve never seen myself getting married, never even thought about it because of how I was raised, but with you? I do. I think about you having my last name, and us staying up late rocking a baby because they have their days and nights mixed up. I think about all of it with you." I stop, take a breath, and swallow hard to stop my heart from pounding so hard. "I understand how much that hurt you, it would"ve hurt me too, but I want you to know something. I had my body cam on the entire time I was with her. I typically do when I"m in the station by myself with only female dispatchers. It"s to protect all of us, and I can show you, Cass. I can show you what happened." My voice goes hoarse. "Please believe me. I"ve had cause to lie before, but I don"t this time."

She rolls her lips together and blows out a breath. "I don"t need to see the body cam, because I know you, and I know you wouldn"t be here saying all these things if they weren"t true. I"ve asked you to be open and truthful. When you do that, I can"t blame you, or second guess you for it. I trust you, because I love you, and I"ve loved you a long time. You don"t have to tell me the same, but I want you to know how I feel." She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, before smiling softly. "I"m not perfect either and we"re both going to make mistakes, but what we don"t want is to keep harping on them. I believe you, I trust you, but rest assured, Camden." She reaches forward, grabbing hold of my bulletproof vest and pulls me forward. "If I see her that close to you now that she realizes what we are to each other, her boobs purposely touching your arm?" She tilts her head to the side. "I"m going to yank that fake-ass hair out of her head."

I chuckle, chin hitting my chest. "Trust me, you"re not going to have to do that. I think Lucy gets it."

"But if I do; just know that I can."

Reaching forward, I grab her chin in my fingers and pull her mouth to mine. I"m slowly coaxing her lips open when a voice over the radio interrupts us.

"Cam, I need you to go out to Dixie Plaza."

I stop kissing Cass, and key my radio. "Martin? Is that you? You"re not even on tonight."

"Yeah, Lucy walked out. I"m tryin" to get my damn bearings. I ain"t done the night shift in years. Bear with me."

Cassie and I shake our heads. "Leave it to her." I roll my eyes, before keying the radio again. "What"s going on out there? I"m not far away, and you can show me as responding."

He groans and there"s noise of him shuffling papers and hitting keys on a computer. "Teenagers are racing up and down the main road of the trailer park. Ford"s gone out there and threatened to bust some ass because one almost hit his daughter. Go over there and make sure no one gets hurt, please. I got enough to deal with here, the parents are calling in about Ford, and he"s cussing on the other line."

"Be out there in a sec." I wrinkle my nose as I look at Cass. "Sorry I have to go back to work. Didn"t plan this very well, did I?"

"We have demanding jobs, and sometimes those take precedence, but I wouldn"t be upset if you stopped back by after you get done tonight." She raises her eyebrows suggestively, hooking her arms around my waist.

"I"ll do my best. Just hope I don"t have to get in between this situation with Ford and these teenagers. If there"s one thing he doesn"t stand for, it"s someone messing with that little girl, and sometimes he"s not willing to listen to reason."

"Good luck and be safe."

I tilt my head down to kiss her on the forehead, and the words I love you are on the tip of my tongue, but I can"t make myself vulnerable enough to say it. "I will. Thank you for believing me."

"Always, Cam. See you later." She winks, and I know I don"t stand a chance of trying to keep my heart out of what the two of us are building. Even if I wanted to, I"m too far in, and I"m not sure I ever want to climb back out.