Chapter 8

Eight

Cam

"You can stay here if you want. Be here when I get home?" I suggest as I"m getting ready to go help serve a warrant. I can"t tell her where I"m going, or that her suspicions about Brandon are correct. I have to hope that she"ll forgive me once she finds out, because she will. Bellehaven is small enough to know what everyone is doing, all the time. After we hit this house, word will be around before we get back to the jail.

Troy is coming to pick me up and we"ll meet the rest of the team out on Hollow Holler Road.

"I really should go home, Cam. I"ve been here for two days. I have to work tomorrow." She stretches against my pillow as her eyes rake my body.

"I know, I"m just saying, you"re okay to stay here if that"s what you want to do. Go grab some clothes and whatever you need to get ready for work." I swallow hard, about to say something I wasn"t sure I"d ever be able to admit to anyone, much less her. "I like you being here. I like sleeping with you tucked in next to me. If you really want to go home, then do, but if you"re scared because whatever this is between us feels big; stay with me."

"Who are you and what have you done with Cam?" She pulls the blanket up over her mouth, almost to her eyes.

I recognize the self-preservation tactic. "I told you I wanted a second chance, fuckin" begged for it if we want to be realistic. I"m not going to do anything to screw it up if I can help it. I messed around, wasn"t honest, and played with both our feelings. When I told you that I know what I lost? I wasn"t playing. I"ll still mess up, because that"s me. I"m not a perfect man, and I will never act like I am. What I definitely am, is ready to give whatever it is that"s growing between us a shot."

Her eyes are soft, filled with a small amount of water in them. "I am too," she agrees quietly.

Glancing at the clock that sits on my bedside table, I don"t have much time. I grab the long-sleeve shirt I"m going to wear under my vest and shrug it over my head, before lifting it up and making sure my belt is holding my jeans up. Typically, we"ll go in dressed in uniform, but the house we"re hitting today means we need to dress inconspicuously except for the protection and badges we"re going to be wearing. Once the belt and shirt feel good, I reach over and pick up the vest, placing it over my shoulders.

She flinches when I velcro the edges together.

"What?" I question, rolling my lips together. "Talk to me, Cass."

"When I watch you doing this, I"m reminded of how dangerous your job is. It"s not something I like to be reminded of, is all."

"Yeah, but let"s not pretend your job isn"t dangerous too, sweetheart. Hospital violence is on the rise, and it"s scary to me, knowing that you"re there. That you"re alone with these people, and they could do whatever they want with you. I think about this shit, although I try not to." I admit, shaking my head at the way that sounds. Like she can"t take care of herself.

"I can defend myself, Cam." She refutes, just like I knew she would.

"I know, trust me, I know you can, but that doesn"t stop me from worrying. It doesn"t stop me from going to the hospital for no reason at all to see what and how you"re doing. I make up some stupid excuse, and somehow everyone believes it, but I"m there to check on you. Not up on you, but to check on you. I have this need to know you"re okay." I hook my fingers in the straps of the bulletproof vest to keep from reaching out and grabbing onto her.

She sucks her lip in between her teeth, before sitting up, and letting the blanket fall. On her knees, she walks over toward me. A smile spreading across my face, I take a few steps closer so she can put her arms around my neck. "You"re a really sweet guy, Cam. You don"t want people to know it, but you"re an amazing man. You might"ve made some mistakes, but you"re redeeming yourself pretty well."

I snake my arm around her waist, holding her close. "Thank you." I lean in, kissing her softly, digging my fingers in her hair.

When we pull back, she has a smile across her lips. "So, if I wanted to go get my stuff and come back here for a nice, quiet night. I do mean a nice, quiet night." She raises an eyebrow in a threat. "I can"t have sex with you again tonight, Cam. I"m sore, my legs are killing me, and I"m exhausted." She laughs. "Like if I could get one of the EMS guys to come out here and give me a banana bag ..."

I laugh loudly, throwing my head back. She mentions the bag that all of us try to get once we"ve been out drinking hardcore the night before. "I"ve gotten you to the point where you need vitamins, hydration, and minerals?" I burrow into her neck, dropping my lips to her skin.

"Yes." She chuckles deep in her throat. "I need one, but if I can get a good night"s sleep tonight, I think I"ll be alright. If not, I"m gonna hook myself up tomorrow."

"Well, if you do, call me, and hook me up too. I"m just as tired as you are, and I"m about to have to do some seriously strenuous stuff."

"Will do." She gets up. "So, how am I supposed to get back in when I come here and you"re still out?"

I"ve been waiting for her to ask this question. "I"m going to give you a key. That good with you?"

Her eyes widen with surprise, mouth forming a circle of surprise. "Are you sure?"

"More than sure. There"s nothing that"s ever felt as normal as you being here with me, Cass." I hope like hell she realizes this isn"t some line. These are the real feelings I"ve been scared to articulate. "I understand if you need to go home and have some time by yourself because your social battery is drained, but if you want to come back, there"ll be a key on the counter waiting for you." My phone buzzes next to me. "Right now, I gotta go. Troy"s here. Whatever you decide about staying, I support it. I don"t want you to do something you"re not comfortable with, okay?" I cup her cheeks in my palms.

She surges up, capturing my lips with hers. "Thank you, Cam. I appreciate you being understanding more than you know."

My hand travels down her back to smack her ass, before nodding. "You"re welcome. I"ll see you soon." As I leave, I can"t help but feel like I"m leaving a piece of myself behind too.

"Are you nervous about this?"Troy asks as we sit next to each other in his SUV, heading in a long line of other vehicles to the house we"re going to serve the search warrant on.

"Slightly. I couldn"t tell Cassie whose house we"re going to hit, and you have to admit how unusual it is for us to do this in civilian clothing and in unmarked units."

He does a double take. "Cassie was there?"

"Like you didn"t see the goddamn pink monstrosity she drives around? I parked it in the back, but you had to have seen it."

He chuckles. "I didn"t, but now I wish I was paying more attention. How long has she been there?"

"Two nights." I rub my palms against my jean-covered thighs.

"Longer than you normally keep them around. Does she know where you"re going?"

"Fuck no." I glare over at him. Hopefully no one in Bellehaven knows where we"re going so that we can get the jump on the other side of the Stevens family. "Which is weird because when she showed up at my house, she had seen Brandon and Joseph together."

"No shit? They"ve been pretty smart about not being seen together."

"Yup, they obviously think that they"re under the radar." I whistle through my teeth. "Which is gonna surprise the hell out of them when we hit that damn door."

We"re a few blocks from Joseph"s house when we pull over and begin getting our plan of attack ready. Reaching into the backseat of Troy"s SUV, I grab my department issued AR-15. At my back, Chief Wellington is barking orders.

"Fellows and James—come around the back."

"Got it," I answer, tucking the butt of the gun into my shoulder and clearing the spaces around us. This is exactly how we practiced, but it"s different in the moment when the adrenaline is pumping and there are so many other factors that can make shit go sideways quick.

When we get to the rear of the house, my eyes are pinned to the back door, waiting for some kind of movement. I have no doubt someone will be coming through this exit, I can feel it, and my finger is twitchy on the trigger. The sound of the other officers breaking through the front comes through to us, and that"s when I see it opening.

"Hands now!" I yell, as does Troy. Nobody"s getting by on our watch.

"Down on the ground," Troy commands. "Face down, hands behind your back."

I stay on his point, covering as he releases his gun, and moves to put cuffs around the person"s wrist. When he"s done, he pulls the man up, and that"s when I see who it is.

Brandon.

Cassie"s ex-fiancé and the motherfucker who left her at the altar.

"Good to see you, B." I get behind him, and push so that he heads toward the front of the house, where we"ve set up a makeshift interrogation unit, taking names of all the people inside, and getting them situated as to where they need to go based on the charges we can file.

"Cam." He winks. "Heard there was a pink caddy at your house last night."

I squint, acting like I"m a dumbass for his sake. "That a threat?"

He smirks. "Take it as whatever ya want, Cam. Just letting you know you aren"t as slick as you think you are."

I scoff, giving him a smile, but I don"t say anything, because he isn"t worth my time. "Never said I was slick, and never wanted to be. Last I checked you left her at the altar, which made her fair game, and if she wants to spend her time with me, then she"s more than welcome to do that. Regardless of whether you like it or not." I level him with a glare. "Now, before we talk about what happened inside that house, I have a few rights I need to read to you ..."