“Don’t hate me,” she started, and I knew I was going to hate her.
“Don’t you dare take his side!” I hissed over the table.
She smiled. “I’m on your side, which is why I think you need to talk to him. You have feelings for him—that’s plain to see. You’re hurting yourself by ignoring him. He probably wants to explain or make it right.”
I groaned. “Now you sound like my mom.”
She laughed. “Your mom is a smart lady. I would take her advice, which happens to be mine as well.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
“Good. Now let’s go dancing! I’m single and ready to mingle!”
“Oh god, please never say that again.”
She giggled, and we walked across the street and entered one of our old haunts. I smiled and waved to people I hadn’t seen for a while, making small talk here and there. Emma was having a great time, dancing with any guy who asked her.
I wasn’t feeling quite as excited about flirting with other men and stuck to our little table. My mind was on Cameron. Every man I saw in the bar paled in comparison to him.
“Don’t look now, but there is trouble at three o’clock,” Emma said, leaning over to talk in my ear.
I, of course, looked and felt that familiar fracture of fear. I was out. I immediately felt guilty and started to think up an excuse to explain my behavior. Then, as if I had been smacked in the face, I remembered I didn’t have to explain myself to him ever again.
In fact, Asher had some explaining to do. I stood up, and Emma grabbed my arm.
“What are you doing?” she asked in surprise.
“I want to ask him if he did it.”
“You do?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
She grinned. “All right then. Let’s do this. I’ve got your back.”
I chuckled at the thought of my small friend protecting anything, but then again, I wouldn’t have put it past her to fight dirty if it came to that. Asher saw us coming and made a beeline for the front door, a petite woman with blond hair dragging along behind him.
I followed him out. He was guilty, and I wanted him to look me in the eye when I asked him directly about his involvement in the fire.
“Asher,” I blurted out when I was a couple feet away from him.
“What the hell do you want? Don’t you dare think about trying to set me up!”
“I’m not setting you up. Did you do it?” I asked.
“Do what? What are you accusing me of now?”
“Is this her?” the small blonde said, sneering at me. “You’re the one who got a restraining order against him?”
I looked at her, saw she was a version of me, and shook my head. “You should probably get away from this man while you still can. He isn’t stable.”
“Don’t talk to her,” Asher hissed. “Did I do what?”
“Did you burn down Cameron’s house?”
“You mean your fiancé’s?” he said, his face twisted in an ugly sneer.
“Yes.”
“When would I have done that, Savannah?”
“Last Saturday night.”
“He was with me!” the woman exclaimed, clearly happy about the fact.
“Sure he was,” Emma said, glaring at the woman.
“I was. I didn’t start any fires. The cops have already asked me about this shit. I didn’t do anything,” he said, an evil smile on his face. “I sure do feel bad about it, though. That’s a tough break. Is he living with you now?”
“Let’s go,” Emma said, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from him.
“They’re going to find out if you’re lying,” I called back over my shoulder. “Get away from him,” I said to the girl. “He is going to make your life hell.”
Emma walked me back inside the bar. I was a little shaken after the confrontation, but I also felt powerful. I had looked him in the eye and not backed down. It felt good to stand up to him.
“Do you believe him?” Emma asked.
I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. I’m sure the police will find out if he did it.”
“Good job back there,” she said, giving me a small hug. “I know that was probably tough, but you kicked ass.”
I laughed. “I didn’t exactly do anything.”
She shook her head. “Yes, you did. You let him know you’re not afraid of him and he doesn’t have power over you.”
I took a deep breath and prayed he didn’t try to find a way to regain control.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Cameron
I was dragging ass. All week I had been sleeping like shit, and just coming off a graveyard, I felt like I could have fallen into bed and slept for a week. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t because I didn’t have my own bed. I couldn’t lounge around on the couch while I recuperated from the long week. With both parents retired, it meant they were home all the time. The house wasn’t huge. It was smaller than my house. Well, the house I used to have.
I had to get my own place. I loved Mom and Dad dearly, but this was too much. I was never alone. I felt like I always had to be chatty with Mom and want to do things with them when I wasn’t at work. I loved them, I absolutely did, but I loved them more when I could get away from them.
I pulled into their driveway and took a few minutes to myself before going inside. I knew they would all be up, eating breakfast and wanting to chat. I wanted to fall into bed, but that was never going to happen. If I fell into bed, my head would probably go through the wall.
“Hey, guys,” I said, hoping I sounded cheery as I walked through the door and saw them seated at the table.
“Hi! Want some pancakes?” my mom said, pointing to the stack of fluffy pancakes on the table.
I sighed and considered saying no but thought better of it. I didn’t want to be rude. Plus, I was kind of hungry.
“I’ll grab a plate,” I said when she moved to get one for me.
I didn’t need her waiting on me. I was a good boy and ate two pancakes before buying some alone time by saying I needed to shower. Once in my room, I called Savannah, not expecting her to pick up but still hoping.
“Hi,” she said, answering the phone.
I had to remind myself what I was going to say. The sound of her voice knocked me into a memory of holding her close on the dance floor. It took me a few seconds to regain my composure as all my cylinders started firing at once at the mere thought of being close to her.
“Hi. You answered,” I said. I felt like a complete moron the second the words crossed my lips.
She chuckled softly, and I closed my eyes, imagining her next to me. “I did,” she replied.
“I, uh… Can we meet? I’d like to talk, please. I really need to get out of here. If anything, take pity on me,” I begged.
“That’s fine. Where and when?” she asked, once again catching me by surprise.
I wasn’t prepared for her to say yes and scrambled for somewhere to meet. “Uh, coffee shop? In, like, thirty minutes?”
“I’ll be there,” she said and hung up.
It wasn’t exactly a sweet good-bye, but I would take what I could get. I quickly showered and changed into some of the clothes she had bought me and asked Mom to watch Lily for a little while. She was eager to have me make up with Savannah and practically shoved me out the door.
I felt like I was going on my first date with a hot girl I had finally managed to get the courage to ask out. When I walked into the coffee shop and spotted her at a table next to the window, I felt a sense of calm. She made my world a little brighter, and it had nothing to do with the sunlight streaming through the window and plucking out those blond highlights in her hair.
“Hi,” I said, unable to stop smiling as I sat down across from her. I wanted to reach out and grab her hand or lean over and kiss her but stopped myself. “You look beautiful,” I told her, needing her to hear the words that came straight from a place of honesty.
I needed to feel her out a bit and see
where we stood before I made any kind of romantic gesture.
“Thank you. You look tired,” she said when I pulled off my sunglasses.
I nodded. “I just got off work, and I haven’t been sleeping much this week.”
“We could have done this later. You need your sleep.”
I shrugged. “It’s fine. I want to do this. It’s not like I’m going to get to sleep there anyway,” I said, knowing I sounded ungrateful and bitter, two things I despised in a person.
“I saw Asher,” she blurted out.
“Here, in Nashville? Are you okay? Did you report it?” I asked the questions in rapid fire, fearing for her.
“I’m fine. It wasn’t like that.”
“Savannah, he shouldn’t be anywhere near you. Period. Even if he was across the road, you need to call that in,” I lectured.
She shook her head. “It wasn’t like that. I went home Friday. Emma and I went out on Saturday and I saw him at the bar with his new girlfriend. I approached him even though he did try to walk away.”
“Savannah!” I said, angry she would put herself in jeopardy. “A restraining order works both ways. You can’t start tracking him down, especially if you thought he had done something violent.”
She gave me a disgusted look. “Will you let me finish?”
“Yes. Sorry. Go ahead,” I said, still in disbelief that she had actually tracked the man down after working so hard to get away from him.
She dragged in a deep breath. “I asked him if he did it. He said he didn’t, and his girlfriend swears he was with her. He also said the police already questioned him. According to him, the police have already checked him out. Considering he was at the bar, I guess that means they decided he was innocent of the crime you accused him of?” she said, one brow raised.
I nodded and rubbed a hand over my face, trying to stop my tired eyes from burning. “I know. I mean, I didn’t know all that, but I know they’ve traced the evidence back to someone else.”
“Thanks for telling me! When did you find out?” she said, her voice taking on a higher tone.
“I called you and then asked if you could meet for lunch,” I reminded her.
She rolled her eyes. “You could have told me why or—hey, I don’t know, you could have told me Asher wasn’t the man who burned down your damn house!”
“I wanted to.” I shrugged. “I’ve been trying to get more information on the person who did do it.”
“Who?” she asked, her green eyes wide. “Who started the fire?”
“Some guy named Jerry Smith. I don’t know who he is. He does have one arrest on his record, but I don’t recall ever having any run-ins with him. I’ve gone through every one of my arrest records for the past two years. I’m coming up blank.” Saying it out loud made it all the more frustrating.
She leaned back in her chair and stared at me. I knew what she was waiting for. She folded her arms over her chest, and I wanted to smile at how cute she looked as she glared at me from the other side of the table. She was too pretty to look intimidating—to me at least.
“I’m sorry,” I said in a low voice, looking directly into her eyes.
She nodded. “You shouldn’t have gotten so upset with me. Even if it had been Asher, you were blaming me for his actions. I can’t be responsible for what he does.”
“I know. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“So, what does this Jerry guy have against you?”
I let out a long sigh. “I don’t know. I didn’t arrest him, and I don’t recognize his face as anyone I’ve even talked to on the streets.”
She was shaking her head. “I can’t believe you thought I would purposely put your life or Lily’s life in danger. That really hurt, Cameron.”
I felt like a total ass. “I know. I am sorry, but you have to understand I wanted to protect Lily. If it was Asher and he wanted to retaliate against you or me or both of us, I couldn’t risk her getting caught in the crossfire. It was nothing personal toward you.”
“It couldn’t be. I didn’t do anything to you.”
“I am sorry—really, truly sorry. You said yourself you were afraid of him. You moved to a new city to get away from him after he nearly killed you with a baseball bat. It isn’t like my fears were completely unjustified.”
Her gaze narrowed, and I could see I had said the wrong thing. I had shown up, hat in hand, but I wasn’t going to beg for anything. I had reacted to the situation in the best way I knew.
“I appreciate you looking out for your daughter. Was that all you wanted to say?” she asked, her lips in a thin, tight line.
“I guess. I wanted to tell you it wasn’t Asher and to apologize for offending you.”
“All right then. You did that, so I guess we’re good.” She stood up and waved good-bye.
I sat there like a dumbass and watched her walk out the door. That wasn’t exactly how I had envisioned the meeting going. I had hoped for more of a kiss-and-make-up ending. I guessed I should have thought about my words a little longer. What I’d said hadn’t been what she’d wanted to hear. That much was obvious.
Cranky and frustrated with everything going on in my life, I drove out to an old fishing hole I hadn’t been to in years. I hadn’t even looked at a fishing pole in a good five years or so. I was thinking it would be a good hobby. I could teach Lily, and it would be a nice way to bond with her while teaching her a useful skill. I imagined Savannah packing a lunch for us and setting up a picnic while Lily and I fished.
“What the hell?” I asked as I sat on the open tailgate of my truck, my feet dangling.
Where had that come from? One second I was thinking about fishing and the next, Savannah was there. I had it bad. I could recognize the symptoms. I wasn’t ever going to feel any better and snap out of the perpetual shitty mood I had been in if I didn’t make things right with Savannah.
Damn woman.
Completely exhausted, I drove home to Mom and Dad’s and crawled into the small bed. I needed an hour of sleep; then I could go out and be sociable. If I didn’t get some sleep, I was going to bite someone’s head off. I didn’t need to make things tense.
Of course, the second I closed my eyes, Savannah’s angular face and stunning green eyes were there waiting to take me into dreamland. I willingly followed, happy to spend some happy moments with her, even if they were only in my dreams.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Savannah
Last night I had revisited the bar Cameron had taken me to and was thrilled to discover the band was playing. I got their information and managed to set up a meeting between the band and Cesar this afternoon.
I was feeling quite proud of myself for landing what I hoped to be my first artist. I was nervous as hell they would laugh at the size of the studio and walk away. I had talked with the lead singer and given him a rundown of who I worked for, and he had seemed okay with it. It wasn’t like there was a long line of producers waiting to sign them. I was hoping that would work to our advantage.
I dressed and headed out the door, feeling better than I had in a while about leaving the comfort and safety of my house. I wasn’t worried about Asher lurking outside or concerned he was going to break in and cause serious damage to my property.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t going to let my guard down. I would still be checking my rearview mirror and be hyperaware of my surroundings for a good long while. Coming out of an abusive relationship left a girl scarred. It wasn’t like I could flip a switch and erase the past four years. Granted, being around Cameron had certainly made it a lot easier to forget, but that was over.
I walked down the hall and gently knocked on Cesar’s office door.
“Come in,” he called out.
I went inside and saw he was busy.
“I just wanted to let you know I found that band. I checked with your assistant before I left on Friday. She told me your afternoons were open all week. They’re going to be here at one,” I said, feeling proud.
�
��I saw that. Great job! I’m sending our head producer to run the meeting, and I’d like you to sit in. This is a good chance for you to see how this process works. You can’t very well produce music if you can’t get the singers in the studio,” he joked.
I nodded. “I’d be happy to be there. Thank you so much for giving me this chance. I’m sure once you hear them, you’re going to love them. I think they really have that ‘it’ factor. They’re a little edgy and have that rebellious, bad-boy thing going that I know ladies love and the guys will relate to.”
“Good. That’s what we need, fresh and exciting.”
“Thanks again. I’ll leave you to your work.”
I headed to my own small, windowless office and went through my list of things to get done for the day. I was doing a lot of grunt work, but I didn’t mind. It was all good experience. How could I expect to tell someone else what to do when I got to the top if I didn’t know the job myself?
As I began the tedious task of data entry, my thoughts drifted to Cameron. He had looked so rough yesterday. I wanted to hold him close while he slept in my arms. The man looked like he’d been through hell. I hated that it had ended badly yesterday. I couldn’t explain why I had gotten so mad. It wasn’t really anger. I recognized my tantrum had been born of hurt more than anything. He’d apologized, and I should have cut him a break.
I grabbed a quick lunch and met with the head producer, Tom. The guy was nice and offered a lot of insight about the job. When it was announced the band had arrived, I was suddenly nervous.
Tanya escorted the four-man group to the small conference room we were waiting in.
I immediately stood and shook the lead’s hand. There was a round of introductions, but I was so nervous I didn’t pay attention to any of the names that had been thrown out. I listened intently as the group’s leader asked questions about the studio and what kind of experience they had launching new artists.
Tom didn’t seem bothered by the questions. “We’re here to work with you and get your music heard by others,” he explained.
The group leader kept looking at me. “She heard us.”
Hot Cop Next Door: A Second Chance Romance Page 21
