Griffin nodded in agreement, but he had a feeling that there was more to Riley's words than just Elijah's threat. Griffin knew, though, that until Riley was good and ready to share, he would just have to wait to hear the truth.
Chapter 14
Leaning across the bar, Cami scrubbed the counter clean of the beer stains that decorated its surface. Her mind focussed on one thing and one thing only: Griffin Reynolds.
"Camille Thompson?" a low female voice said, dragging Cami back to the present with a jerk.
Glancing up from the same spot she'd been scrubbing for the last five minutes, Cami came face to face with a pretty blonde. But that wasn't what turned Cami's stomach to lead.
When she saw the woman holding out her badge, Cami fought the urge to vomit all over the clean bar top. Her mind whirled out of control as she contemplated all the different reasons for the cop to be standing there.
"I'm sorry, is there something wrong?" Cami asked, fighting to keep the tremor from her voice.
"No, nothing wrong. I'm Detective Andrea DeMarco, and I've just got a couple of questions for you regarding a Griffin Reynolds and the disappearance of his manager, Steve Robinson. Do you have a moment to spare?"
Cami threw a glance over her shoulder at Fintan before returning her attention to the detective.
"Ugh, I don't know, I'm supposed to be working and…" Cami cut herself off as Fintan appeared at her elbow.
"What's the matter?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow in Cami's direction and taking in Detective DeMarco.
"She wants to ask me some questions about Griffin Reynolds, you know, the guy from that band."
"Black Special…" DeMarco added, a smile stretching her lips, but it reminded Cami more of a grimace than anything else. "This won't take long. It's regarding the disappearance of the band's manager, Steve Robinson."
"So why are you here asking Cami about it? Shouldn't you be maybe talking to the guys from the band instead?"
"I was, and they suggested I speak to Miss Thompson. They indicated that they were in the bar the night Mr. Robinson is believed to have disappeared."
Fintan shot Cami a curious look and she tried to give him a blank response in return. Fintan wasn't stupid and he knew her better than anyone else; if anyone could figure out her secrets, it was him.
"Look, it's up to Cami, but I don't get why you need to be questioning her."
Detective DeMarco smiled again. "It's just routine, Mister?"
"Fintan Dell, proprietor of this fine establishment."
Cami smothered a smile behind her hand as Fintan pushed as much sarcasm into his voice as possible. But the look DeMarco gave him killed the smile on Cami's lips. There was something in her eyes that said she had taken everything he was saying and would use it against him at a later date.
"Fine. You said it was just a couple of questions, so as long as it's all right with Fintan I've got the time," Cami said, drawing DeMarco's attention away from Fintan and back to herself once more.
Fintan shrugged and squeezed Cami's shoulder. "You take as much time as you need," he said, turning away to head into the back room of the bar once more.
Cami plastered a fake smile on her face and gestured for DeMarco to take a seat at one of the empty tables in the corner of the bar. The detective did, her beady eyes taking in all of her surroundings before she gave Cami a wide smile in return.
"This really isn't anything to get concerned about, Miss Thompson. It's just a few routine questions."
Cami nodded and knotted her fingers together across her lap.
"Of course, fire away."
"You can confirm that Griffin Reynolds and the rest of Black Special were here three nights ago?"
Cami nodded and chewed her bottom lip; the butterflies in her stomach had turned into bats and they were doing their level best to rip out through her chest.
"At any point did Griffin or any of the other members leave the bar?"
"Spike did. There was an argument and he got a little rowdy so I had to kick him out."
Detective DeMarco nodded and scribbled in the little notebook she'd pulled from the inside of her jacket.
Cami watched her like she was dangerous; there was something lurking beneath the pleasant exterior she was presenting, something that Cami couldn't quite put her finger on, but the feeling was enough to unsettle her.
"And did Spike come back at any point?"
Cami swallowed hard; what was she supposed to say? If she said yes, then DeMarco would want to know why, and Cami didn't know how she was supposed to juggle all of the lies she'd been telling without one of them catching up to her.
"No. If he did, I didn't see him."
"You shut the bar early that night, is that correct?"
"Yes," Cami answered, her stomach flipping nervously.
"And Mr. Reynolds left with you?"
The question caught Cami by surprise. How the hell DeMarco knew that Griffin had driven her home was beyond her. Unless, of course, Griffin had already told DeMarco.
It made sense; Cami was his alibi. The realisation hit her like a freight train and she dug her fingers into her leg to keep from letting her anger bubble to the surface.
"Yeah, he drove me home that night." Cami tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was failing in the eyes of DeMarco.
"I don't mean to sound as though I'm prying, Miss Thompson, but did he stay the night?"
Cami let out a long sigh and shook her head. If Griffin Reynolds wanted her to lie for him then he should have told her that himself. But as far as Cami was concerned, she'd told enough lies. If she could avoid adding any more to the list, she would.
"No, he left shortly after seeing me safely home."
DeMarco nodded and focussed intently on whatever she was writing on the notepad.
"Do you know if Mr. Reynolds returned to the bar or not?"
Cami shook her head and shrugged. "I have no idea. I didn't speak to him after that."
DeMarco smiled and pushed herself to her feet. "Thank you for your time, Miss Thompson. I don't wish to alarm you because it's simply a matter of protocol, but we've sent a forensics team to check out the dumpsters in the back of the bar."
Cami's stomach lurched uncomfortably and she gripped the edge of the table to stop from falling over.
"I don't understand why would you do that? What do you expect to find?" Cami asked, her voice suddenly high and pitchy.
"I can't discuss the details of an on-going investigation, but needless to say we've received some information that suggests Mr. Robinson was here at the bar that night," DeMarco said. Cami could feel the weight of the other woman's gaze on her, studying her, no doubt looking for some flicker of guilt or sign that she'd been lying the entire time.
Cami swallowed hard, more to keep the contents of her stomach from crawling up the back of her throat than anything else.
"Well I'm sure you've got your reasons, but if he was here that night then he was never in the bar, of that I'm certain," Cami said, straightening up to her full height.
DeMarco smiled again and held her hand out to Cami. "A pleasure speaking to you, Miss Thompson. Thank you for your time."
She turned on her heel and headed out the door, leaving Cami to stare after her. Fintan gestured to her from behind the bar and Cami hurried over.
"What was that all about?" Fintan asked, his face full of curiosity.
"They're searching the dumpsters at the back of the bar. For some reason they reckon that Steve Robinson guy was here the night that he was murdered."
"And was he?" Fintan’s uncanny ability to ask her exactly the right question, almost as though he knew she wasn't telling him the full story, left Cami reeling.
"He wasn't in the bar," she said truthfully. As far as Cami could remember, Steve had never once entered the bar. The fact that he had been at the bar was something she was going to keep to herself until she had no other choice.
"Fintan, do
you mind if I disappear for a while?" Cami asked.
He studied her face, searching for something, but Cami had no clue what he was trying to find. .
"You know that if you've gotten yourself in over your head, you can tell me," he said, his tone suggesting he was far more concerned than he had led her to initially believe.
"Fintan, I'm fine. Really."
"I know you're capable of looking after yourself. That's not what has me so worried. I just hope you haven't gotten so caught up in this Griffin guy that you've lost sight of what really matters."
His words struck a nerve and Cami couldn't stop her shoulders from stiffening. All she'd ever done was think of the people that mattered. Person.
Sophie was safe; Cami had made sure that he would never find them, and she planned on keeping it that way. It was the only thing she ever thought about. So to hear Fintan lecture her on it, without really knowing what he was actually talking about, felt like a knife in the gut. Being privy to only half the story didn't exactly make him an expert on the subject.
Her thoughts must have registered on her face because Fintan's expression softened and he reached out to her. But it was far too late; there was no going back on his words now.
"No, Fintan, message received loud and clear," Cami said, shrugging away from his touch. She strode to the end of the bar and grabbed her bag and jacket that hung on the peg before turning to face him once more.
"I always thought you were on my side, that you understood how hard it was, but I never in a million years imagined I was this wrong about you."
"Cami, you're not wrong about me. I am on your side, it's just…"
"Just what?"
"Since this Griffin guy appeared on the scene, you've been a different person. All you seem to think of is him and I'm just worried. He's not like you and as soon as he's bored he'll move onto something more exciting. For God’s sake, Cami, he's a rock star. They don't go for lowly mortals like us."
Cami shook her head, wrapping her hand around the strap of her handbag in an attempt to stop herself from lashing out at Fintan’s words.
Deep down she'd had all the same thoughts, but to hear them out loud from someone else was a little hard to stomach. But she supposed that “the truth hurts” was a saying for a reason.
"How do you know it wasn't me who wanted a little fun, Fintan? Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted to do something for me for a change?"
Fintan smiled sadly and dropped his head so his eyes were trained on the bar.
"It's not who you are, Cami. Your loyalty to Sophie is unmatched, and I know you wouldn't risk her safety for a simple one night stand. The only reason you would keep pursuing all of this is because you honestly feel something more than just garden variety lust for him. That's what has me worried."
Cami didn't have an answer for him so she turned on her heel and stormed out of the bar, slamming the front door behind her hard enough to rattle the glass in its frame.
Fintan was right. She did feel something more than just lust for Griffin Reynolds, but if she was being perfectly honest with herself she had no idea what exactly it was. She didn't even know him, and yet there was something about him that kept on drawing her back to him again and again.
And that was what frightened her so much. If after such a short time he could have such a profound effect on her, what would happen if she continued to spend time with him? What would happen if she allowed him to creep further and further into her life?
And what would she do when the day came when he would leave? Or when she would be forced to leave him? That day would come, of that she was certain, and the thought of it frightened her more than anything else.
Would she have the strength to say goodbye?
There was a time when she'd been utterly sure of all the answers, but now… now she was no longer so sure.
Chapter 15
Griffin sat on the edge of the hotel bed and fought with the shirt sleeve. He was beginning to heal, but the speed at which it was happening was far too slow for his liking.
The phone next to the bed rang and without thinking he dived across the plush satin cover to grab it. Pain ripped through his chest, causing him to groan and roll across the covers.
The phone continued to ring, but it was an effort just to breathe. Griffin dug his hands into the blanket and forced himself upright, his jaw tight as he gritted his teeth.
"Too lazy now to answer your own phone?" Stuart asked as he sauntered into the room and scooped the receiver up from the cradle. "Yeah," Stuart said into the receiver.
Griffin watched his brother's expression carefully as he tried to suck in a deep breath past the pain radiating out from his ribs.
"Sorry, don't know a Camille Thompson. We told you we don't want any groupies or reporters getting up here," Stuart said before he hung up.
It took Griffin a second to recognise the name.
"Shit, Stuart, why did you hang up?"
"Because we have far more important things to worry about and…"
"Camille is a friend of mine. Pass me the phone; I'll call her back." Griffin reached out for the phone but the look Stuart gave him was far from friendly.
"Look, the only reason I'm still here and not at home with Ellie is because Riley asked me to stay. He's worried about you. He seems to think you're going to do something stupid and get yourself hurt out of some warped sense of loyalty to your friends."
"Well I don't need a babysitter, Stuart, so feel free to leave any time you want. I've learned my lesson where Elijah is concerned and I won't be going to see him on my own again in a hurry."
"You won't be going to see him again full stop," Stuart said, his voice rising with anger. "How stupid do you have to be? I mean, I've always known you were an idiot, but I believed you at least had some semblance of self-preservation going on."
Griffin rolled his eyes and pushed himself to his feet, snapping the phone from Stuart's grip before he had a chance to react.
"As I said, anytime you want to go home, Stu, the door is right there. Don't let it hit you on the ass on your way out."
"You just don't care, do you? You're a reckless, pathetic fool who can’t see what this is going to do to you and those you care about. It'll catch up to you one of these days, Griffin, and when it does I hope I'm there to see the smirk wiped off your face." Stuart stormed out of the room, leaving Griffin to drop down onto the end of the bed.
The constant bickering was beginning to wear on him, but there was just something so utterly infuriating about his brother that it made him want to keep up the fight. Of course, it didn't help that Stuart was so easily riled; it didn't take much for him to completely lose his cool and, for the life of him, Griffin couldn't figure out why he was constantly being set off.
Scooping the phone up, Griffin pressed it to his ear and dialled down to reception. The phone was answered on the second ring by a pleasant man who was more than happy to send up the young woman waiting at reception.
Griffin reset the phone and stared down at the crisp white shirt he wore. It didn't feel normal or natural on his skin, but Riley had insisted that he present a clean-cut image if he was to succeed in pulling Black Special back from the brink of destruction.
It was all about appearances, if Riley was to be believed, and Griffin had no reason to doubt his older brother. He'd always had an uncanny knack at making money appear out of thin air, and if anyone could change Black Special's fortunes, it was definitely Riley.
A loud rap on the hotel door dragged Griffin's thoughts away from the future of his band. He made his way around the edge of the bed and over to the door, pulling it open and smiling widely at Cami, who was standing on the other side.
Her expression, however, was far from friendly as she pushed past him into the room.
"Who the hell do you think you are, using me as your alibi?" she demanded the second she stepped into the room.
"What are you talking about? And keep your voice down before someone he
ars you," Griffin said, trying to keep his own temper in check. He'd done nothing but think about her from the moment they met; in fact, he was wearing most of his bruises because of her but she had the audacity to burst into his hotel room and demand things from him.
"A Detective DeMarco paid me a visit this morning and she knew things, things she could only have known if you'd spoken to her," Cami said, her voice high and panicked. "What the hell have you gotten me into, Griffin? I can't afford to have the cops sniffing around and asking questions, I…" She cut herself off before she could say anything else.
Griffin stared at her curiously. Without a doubt she was hiding something from him, but he had no idea what it could be. The only thing he knew for certain was that he wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"I haven't said anything to DeMarco. I kept you out of it. She came and asked me some questions the day you dropped me off at the hospital, but that was it. I swear I didn't give you as an alibi. In fact, she didn't even ask me for one."
Cami flopped onto the end of the bed and buried her face into her hands. Her voice sounded muffled between her fingers.
"Then why the hell was she asking me about you and whether or not you spent the night at my house?"
Griffin felt his back stiffen; why was DeMarco so interested about where he spent the night? Why was it any of her business? Surely if she wanted to know the answer she could have approached him herself and asked directly.
This creeping around behind his back made him uneasy, as though she was trying to cut off all avenues for him before she faced him once more with her version of the truth.
"What did you tell her?" Griffin asked, knowing the answer before Cami ever said it.
"I told her the truth: that you dropped me off safely at home and then left." She looked up at him, fear reflected in her large green eyes.
"Who the hell is this?" Stuart demanded, stepping into the room.
Breaker's Point Bad Boy Billionaires Boxset Page 43
