Scarred: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Cheri Marie

  “MacKenzie?”

  Chapter 17

  Camryn

  I just stand there, stock still, unsure of what to do, or how to react, as tears stream down my face.

  “Mac? Is that really you?” I ask, still unsure if I’m actually dreaming or if this is all really happening.

  “Yes, Cam. It’s really me,” she says, taking a step towards me.

  Not being able to hold back anymore, I rush towards her, wrapping my arms tight around her as the sobs become uncontrollable.

  “I can’t believe it’s really you.” I pull slightly away from her and then hug her tight against me again. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “I’ve missed you, too. More than you will ever know.”

  Reluctantly, I release her, taking a step back to look over her once more before my attention lands on Owen. He stands a few feet away, his thumbs hooked into the sleeves of his vest as he watches our interaction. There’s a look of desperation on his face and a sadness in his eyes that I’m not sure where it’s coming from. His eyes flip from me to MacKenzie then back to me before he casts them to the ground. Then as if a switch went off in my head, the pieces start falling into place.

  The secrets, the not being able to tell me anything, his apartment when it took him forever to answer the door…it’s all starting to make sense.

  “That day at your apartment, your bedroom door was closed and there was an extra beer on your coffee table. It was her that was in your apartment, wasn’t it? You snuck her out to the fire escape so I wouldn’t see her, didn’t you?”

  “Cam, please, just let me finish up here then we can sit down and talk, and I will tell you everything.” He takes a step towards me, but I take a step back.

  “All of that shit about ‘I can’t tell you because it would ruin everything,’ that was because for months you’ve known. You’ve known all this time she’s alive! You knew that I was looking for her, that I’ve been looking for her since she disappeared, and you knew she’s alive!”

  MacKenzie steps between Owen and myself, reaching out to take my hand in hers.

  “Cam, please don’t blame him. I asked him to do this. We needed to take down Donnely’s entire operation for me to be able to get away safely. Otherwise, they would have just come looking for me, and I would have been as good as dead anyway.”

  “So, you’ve been working together the whole time to bring down Murphy and everyone?” I ask, my eyes shifting between the two of them.

  “Uhm, yeah, we have,” MacKenzie says, hesitation evident in her voice. I already knew the answer before she voiced it. I could see it written all over Owen’s face. I release Mac’s hand, stepping around her so I’m face to face with Owen.

  “How long?” I ask. He doesn’t answer, he just looks at me as he shuffles from one foot to the other. “How long, Owen?” I ask again through gritted teeth.

  “Fuck, Cam. I love you so much, so fucking much. Don’t you know that? I’ve never stopped loving you. I know how much she means to you. I just wanted to be the one to be able to bring her back to you. Alive.”

  “Answer the fucking question, Owen!” I shout at him, unable to hold back my emotions any longer.

  His eyes cast to the ground. “A little over two years.”

  “Excuse me?” I catch my breath and my hand raises to my throat.

  “You heard me. A little over two years. I ran into her shortly after I started here at Sunnyville. She told me everything that happened from the day she disappeared, and how she wanted to come home, but that it wasn’t safe for her to just leave. So, we came up with this plan to work together and take down Murphy and everyone beneath him. I’m so sorry, Cam.”

  “You’re sorry? You’ve known my baby sister was alive for over two fucking years and the best you can say to me is you’re sorry? I hate you, Owen Branson. With every fucking bit of me, I hate you. I will never forgive you for this.”

  Owen takes a step towards me, reaching out to pull me towards him. I pull back away from him and, bringing my hand up, I slap him across the face with every built-up emotion I’ve been suppressing for the last nine years. The connection of my hand to his face must have been loud because the next thing I know, I’m being dragged away and cuffed while another officer checks on Owen.

  “You okay, Branson? Want us to take her in?”

  “No, I’m okay. Let her go, I deserved that slap,” he says as he rubs his cheek where my hand left its bright red print.

  The officer holding me back unlocks the cuffs and lets me go. I rub the red marks where the metal from the cuffs cut into my wrists. Without so much as another word, I spin on my heels and dash towards my car as another round of sobs escapes me. I reach my car and collapse into the driver's seat. Hearing footsteps approaching, I look up to see MacKenzie coming in my direction.

  “Where are you going?” she asks, as she gets nearer to my car.

  “I’m going home; I can’t look at Owen anymore,” I say, tossing the stuff from my passenger’s seat onto the back seat. “You coming?” I ask her, waving my hand to the seat next to me.

  She smiles then quickly rounds the car and climbs into the passenger's seat as I fire up the engine and we take off towards my apartment.

  Thirty minutes later, I pull up in front of my and Remington’s apartment and put the car in park. MacKenzie looks around taking in the sight of everything.

  “This is your place?” she asks, looking around the area.

  “Well, it’s mine and my friend Remi’s. She’s my best friend. We met in college. Just wait until you meet her, you’re going to love her.”

  “I can’t wait!” MacKenzie says, reaching over to squeeze my hand.

  I smile at her before we get out of the car and head into the apartment. I’m thankful that Remington and Devon are decent when we walk in. Remington jumps to her feet to greet me like she always does but stops dead in her tracks when she sees MacKenzie. Her eyes move between us a few times, as if she’s watching a game of ping pong.

  “Is this?” she asks, not bothering to finish her sentence. I told Remington all about MacKenzie when we were in college, even showed her all of our pictures together, so it’s no surprise she would recognize her.

  “Yes.” My voice cracks as I fight back the tears that threaten.

  “When? How? Oh my god, I have so many questions,” she says, closing the distance between us as she throws her arms around me, then around MacKenzie. “I’m sorry, I know you don’t know me yet, but I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “It’s okay,” MacKenzie says, hugging her back.

  Devon stands from the couch and comes over to hug me. “I’m so happy you finally found her.”

  “Me too.” I agree, hugging him back.

  Devon moves to MacKenzie, reaching out his hand to shake hers. “Hi, I’m Devon, Remi’s boyfriend. I’m glad you’re home and safe. Your sister has really missed you.”

  She reaches out and shakes his hand. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

  “I’m going to go and let you all catch up. Babe...” he says, turning his attention to Remington. “I’ll call you later?”

  “Okay,” she says, kissing him before he slips out the door to leave. Once he’s gone, she turns her attention back to me and MacKenzie. “So, how did this happen? Does Owen know?”

  My body stiffens at the mention of his name. “I will fill you in on everything, but first, I need some wine…No, better yet, whiskey.”

  “Sounds good to me,” MacKenzie says.

  “Me too, and I’ll order some pizza.” Remington says.

  “Pizza! God, that sounds good! I’ll grab the bottle and glasses and meet you on the couch.”

  Chapter 18

  Owen

  “You all right, Branson?” Malone asks as I stare after Camryn and MacKenzie.

  “Yeah, I’ll be okay.”

  He nods, patting me on the shoulder before heading back into the mobile command. I can see Camryn’s car in the distance a
s she pulls away with MacKenzie in the passenger seat. The whole scene that just happened plays out in my mind again, the look on her face forever burned into my memories. This isn’t the way she was supposed to find out. We were supposed to have a chance to sit down and talk first, for me to explain everything so that she understood why I did what I did. Why I kept a secret that I knew would wreck us, from her.

  “Fuck!” I growl, punching the side of the bus as I take a walk to cool off.

  I walk off to where I can’t be seen and fall to my knees, my head hanging low between my shoulders and I do something I haven’t done in a long time. I pray to God. Hell, I’ll pray to the universe, anyone out there that will listen to me, to please let Camryn forgive me. After everything we’ve been through in the last nine years, together and separate, all I want is for us to be us again. To be happy and move on with our future plans now that we’ve found MacKenzie and she’s safe.

  I allow myself to shed a few tears before pulling myself together and heading back to the bus to help Malone finish up everything that needs to be done on scene. I will find a way to fix things with Camryn, but right now I need to focus on getting these dirt bags off the streets.

  It’s been a little over a week and I haven’t heard from Camryn. MacKenzie has texted me a couple of times to see how I’m doing, and to tell me to just give Camryn some time to come to terms with the whole situation. Other than that, it’s like nothing I went through to keep MacKenzie and Camryn safe, and not letting Camryn know about her sister being alive, means a damn thing.

  Knowing that Camryn was undercover with the Donnely Gang and worrying about how she’s going to get out of that, I decide to go by Skylines tonight since I’m off work. It’s where Camryn would hang out with them when she was trying to get information. That is up until last week when we were able to take most of them down.

  I need to know if she’s still undercover. I also need to know if MacKenzie has told her everything about her disappearance almost nine years ago. I pick up my cell from the coffee table and sit back on the sofa. I shoot a quick text to Mac asking if she’s alone.

  She replies back almost instantly letting me know that she is. I click the call button and the other end rings once before Mac answers.

  “Yes?”

  “Have you told her everything?” I get straight to the point.

  “As in?”

  “As in everything, Mac.”

  “You mean about John?”

  “You know that’s exactly what I mean. Does she know?”

  “No.”

  “What the fuck, Link? She needs to know.”

  “I am no longer Link, Owen. Stop calling me that. I will tell her. I just don’t know how.”

  I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly before I continue.

  “What exactly have you told her, MacKenzie?”

  “That Micky met up with me when I went on my school trip. He took me to have lunch alone with him, and I woke up with my hands tied and a blindfold on. That I was kept this way for several days before I was allowed to take off the blindfold. When I did, I was placed in a room with a one-way mirror. The man on the other end spoke to me and I answered him.”

  “And?” I say when she stops.

  “And the only way I was going to live was to do as they said. I was told that if I didn’t obey, I would be sold to the highest bidder and then that would be the end of me.”

  “What did you tell her that you did? How did you explain that you stayed with them long after John had died?”

  “I really haven’t explained all of that yet. Owen, we’re just catching up on almost nine years apart. I’m trying not to ruin all of that by telling her the truth about everything.”

  “She has to know, Mac,” I say softly.

  “I know. But not yet. Give me some time with her, please.” She pleads in a voice so soft that it’s barely audible.

  “I’ll give you some time, but if you don’t tell her…I will.” I click off, not waiting for her to answer. I toss my phone back onto the coffee table and stand up.

  I stretch my arms above my head, twisting my body from side to side, the tension in my muscles releasing a little as I stretch. I move my way around the coffee table and towards my bedroom. Taking my clothes off, I throw them into the hamper to be washed, and make my way to the bathroom.

  Turning the water on in the shower, I step in, letting the hot water rush over me. How the hell am I going to tell the woman I love that her sister was kidnapped by someone she had once trusted?

  “Goddammit,” I mutter under my breath as the steam helps ease my muscles but not my mind.

  An hour and a half later I’m stepping through the doors of Skylines. I caught the waitress on my way to find a table and placed my order for a bourbon neat and a beer. She smiled up at me and asked if that would be all. On any other night before Camryn came back into my life, I might have taken her up on the suggestive smile. But I smiled back at her and told her that would be all.

  I find a table in a spot where I can see most of the bar. It is almost ten o’clock, and if Camryn is still coming into the club, it will almost be time for her to arrive. The waitress shows up with my drinks and asks if I’ll be running a tab. I tell her that I’m on the list and give her my name. She smiles at me again coyly before heading back to the floor.

  It’s not fifteen minutes later that I see the woman I’ve loved for nearly a decade walk through the doors of the club. Her long auburn hair isn’t hard to miss. It hangs in loose curls around her shoulders. The only difference between this woman and the girl from before, is the amount of self-confidence she shows. Sure, she’s dressed differently and wears a lot more makeup, but that’s all part of her persona as Anya. The Camryn Barrett I knew and loved, wore very little makeup, her hair was usually up in a ponytail, and she liked jeans and t-shirts.

  My eyes follow her every move. She smiles as she greets the young man, Devon, that I know to be the manager of the club. They chat for a moment before he goes one way, and she goes another. She takes the steps to the raised corner section and settles at a table. The waitress brings her a drink and she takes a sip. I can tell she’s nervous. I watch her glance around the club as if she’s looking for someone, then her eyes fall on mine. I can see her visibly stiffen, as if she saw a ghost. I tip my glass to her, letting her know that I see her. Her face softens for a moment, as if she’s remembering the love we had once shared. Maybe there’s hope after all.

  The doors open and in walks Murphy O’Hare. He stands there, looking around the club and finding Camryn at her table, he makes his way towards her. My back straightens. Just the sight of that man with Camryn rubs me the wrong way. I watch him as he bends over to place a kiss on her cheek, then he sits down across from her. I can’t help but feel like something is a little off tonight; something in the way he’s looking at her. Their interactions are a little more tense than I’ve noticed before, though it could very well be because we just took down his whole operation.

  I watch the way they interact intently, looking for any sign that I might need to step in. Suddenly, the two of them stand. I can hear Murphy’s voice over the music but can’t make out what he’s saying. He’s clearly upset. Camryn tries to move past him but Murphy stops her, pulling Camryn to him, kissing her as he runs his hands down her body until they stop at the small of her back. As if playing out in slow motion, he grabs her gun where she had it tucked in the back of her jeans and points it at her. He yells something else and I can tell he’s about to fire. The entire club falls silent as I pull my own gun from its holster and fire a couple rounds. The cracking sound of the bullets leaving my gun echoes through the packed club, one of the bullets connecting with Murphy and he falls to the ground.

  I yell to Devon to call 911 as I push through the now rushing crowd of people and climb the stairs to VIP. I rush over to Camryn who is standing still, eyes wide from shock. I wrap my arms tight around her and a few moments later her body relaxes slightly as she begins to sob o
nto my shoulder.

  “Shh…Cam, it’s okay. You’re okay,” I say, trying to soothe her.

  Once she calms, I release her telling her to sit while I kneel next to Murphy. I assess his injuries and put pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding. I would love to let the son of a bitch die for pulling a gun on Camryn, but that’s not who I am or what I stand for as a cop. Even assholes like Murphy deserve to live if they can be saved. A few moments later EMT’s show up and I step back to Camryn, letting them take over.

  I hook my finger under her chin and turn her head to face me. “Are you okay?”

  She shakes her head slightly. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  “What were you thinking meeting with Murphy alone? You could have gotten yourself killed. Do you know what that would do to me? To MacKenzie?”

  “I know. It was a stupid move on my part. I honestly didn’t think he had figured out I’m a cop. I still don’t think he realizes it. He was just freaked out because the whole gang was taken out.”

  “What was he yelling at you about?” I push her hair out of her face and tuck a loose tendril behind her ear.

  “He was asking me if I was the one that turned. When I told him that I had been detained by some of Sunnyville’s finest, he lost it. He thought I had gone there on my own, turning them in so I wouldn’t be caught up in it.” She’s shaking her head as if trying to remember everything that just took place.

  “It’s all going to be fine, Cammie. He’s going to jail. The gang has been taken down.” I try to soothe her.

  “Do you really believe that, Owen?” She gives me a disbelieving look.

  “What do you mean? Of course, I believe it. We’ve taken out their men and O’Hare is going to go to prison for a very long time.”