“Language,” Angela reminded him with a sweet smile.
Clay touched baby Wyatt’s arm, and then scowled at Campbell again. As if he was the one who made him cuss and get in trouble with his wife. “What did you do?”
Campbell ran a hand over his face and checked his watch again. “We were talking in the restaurant and she got her feathers all ruffled. Before I could smooth anything over she’d grabbed her jacket and took off. I had to throw money on the table and run after her.”
“What did you do?” Clay asked again.
Campbell narrowed his eyes at him, truly not needing his overbearing attitude at the moment. The fact he already felt bad for not believing her story had nothing to do with it. “I protected her. She was in danger and I protected her.”
“And you want a medal for saving her from a situation you pushed her into no doubt? Not freaking likely.”
“Nudged maybe. Offered a helping hand possibly. It’s not like I shoved her into the street for the psycho to come ram her.”
“Let me guess,” Angela prompted with an understanding smile. “You didn’t believe her after she gave you a whole lotta no details, she got pissed and bolted. That about cover it?”
Campbell stopped in his tracks and faced her.
There was no accusation marring her features or her words. Just a straight accounting of pretty much exactly how things went down.
No showboating, boasting, or false blame. Just the facts.
“Yeah. That’s almost exactly what happened. Did she tell you about what was going on?”
“She told me something had her worried. That some harassing emails were coming in, and I persistently suggested she contact Detective Wyatt and get him in on what was going on. Talking about her issues is definitely not her style.”
Which made Campbell kick himself that much harder because she’d tried to open up to him and he’d done nothing but scoff and sneer at her. And her rack.
“Fuck,” Campbell cursed under his breath.
“Language.”
“Language,” he was reminded in stereo.
“Sorry.” He said it halfheartedly, already thinking about how he needed to handle helping Natalie without completely taking over her life, which he couldn’t imagine going over real well with her.
“Did you get any helpful info off the vehicle?” Clay prompted.
“Not a fuc—uhh—thing. I couldn’t get anything. There were no plates on the front when I glanced up, shocking they weren’t following the law to have them. Then after I took us both to the concrete we had to keep our eyes averted because of the broken glass.”
“Oh no, Campbell. Your hand. It’s bleeding.” Angela’s worried voice penetrated some of his fog.
Glancing down, he stared at the back of his right hand. Dried blood crusted two of his knuckles. Didn’t hurt. He certainly hadn’t noticed it.
Angela was already trying to get up out of the chair with the baby to hover over him.
“Stay seated, Pickles. I’ll take care of it.”
“Pickles?” Clay repeated with a shake of his head and a hint of a smile. “The fact that you still call her that this many months later cracks me up.”
“Dude.” Campbell grabbed a paper towel and got it wet out of a side bathroom sink to clean up his hand. “You weren’t around when she was having all of her god-awful pregnancy chick cravings. It damaged me. I should have been put on worker’s comp for that stint with her.” Campbell shuddered, only playing up his unease a tiny bit for theatrical purposes.
“And you’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Not on your life.”
Clay pondered something. “Any idea how many people were in the vehicle?”
“One? Twenty? No clue. It all happened so fast I didn’t have any time to recon, only time to react.”
“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Angela asked, giving him a visual once-over. From anyone else he’d have thought it was sexual. Not from Angela. From her it was strictly platonic. She might as well have been his sister for how she reacted to him. And how he reacted to her as well. There was just nothing going on below the equator when it came to her. But maybe it was something to do with Clay being like a brother to him. And he would never overstep his friendship with Clay. Not ever. He owed him too much for anything like that to threaten their relationship both personal and professional. They owned C&C Security half and half.
“No, I’m fine. Promise,” he tacked on when she acted as if she didn’t believe him for a heartbeat.
Nothing from her. For her? Just nothing.
But Natalie?
Oh hell.
His cock jerked as if someone had shaken him awake.
Why, Natalie?
“What do you mean, why?” Clay asked. “She’s your new client.”
“Not what I meant, but I understand she’s the new client.” Campbell had no idea he’d said it out loud. He really needed to get laid. Or sleep. Or a combination of the two. The first hopefully with a buddy, and the second one most decidedly alone.
Only way he could sleep. Spread out all over the bed with his own covers and totally commando.
“And this is personal now. Some asshole is trying to hurt one of ours and I’ll be…darned if they’re going to hurt her on my watch.”
“Oorah, brother.” Clay held his fist out and Campbell gladly bumped it.
When the hell he’d figured out he was taking the detail of someone he didn’t like he wasn’t certain. His dick jumped. Rolling his eyes at his own cock probably wasn’t the sanest thing he’d done that day but whatever.
Guess he was running with it.
Glancing at his watch again, he needed something to distract himself from the fact Natalie’d been in with the detective way too long. Much shorter than most interviews but that was beside the point.
Nothing like the present to gather some clues on what he was protecting her from. And nothing like a close friend focused on a baby to give him some of that info. Angela could tell him…
She was giving Clay some uber know-it-all look and inclining her head at—me!
“Oh, no no no, missy. Get that I-am-cupid look off your face. This is a job and that’s it.”
“That’s what they all say, brother.” Clay at least had the common decency to look a bit sad about it with a shake of his head.
A growl threatened to rumble through the room but he kept it in check. Barely.
“How did you two meet, Angela? And any other info about her that could help me narrow down who I’m looking for?”
“I met her through the clinic so many years ago when I was pregnant with the baby I lost.” Clay touched her shoulder and squeezed. Angela reached up and patted his hand and nuzzled it with her cheek.
The last thing Campbell wanted to do was rehash private shit but he needed to know where to start digging. “The same clinic she owns now?”
“Yes, but it’s in a new location now and she didn’t own it then. She was volunteering there actually. She moved there a few years back. Not certain how long though.”
“Did her family have anything to do with that?”
“With what? Her owning the clinic or having to move?”
“Both.”
“Her last name has little to do with the decisions she makes I think. Well, sometimes I think it has a lot to do with them, but I don’t think she would answer that question the same way. As for the clinic moving? No. Nothing to do with that. Years ago she had an electrical fire and had to relocate after her insurance policy paid out.”
Campbell raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, Mr. Conspiracy Theory. It was faulty wiring found during the fire investigation. That has nothing to do with the—” She glanced down at Wyatt and squinched her lips together. “With the not-nice person after her now.”
“Not nic
e. Good one,” Campbell teased.
“Anyways,” she continued in an exasperated tone. “She’s always had to deal with some eccentric people. This is New York you know.”
“Don’t I know it.” Campbell shook his head as she continued.
“But she’s such a wonderful person. She helps everyone she can. All of them. Even the ones who don’t think they deserve it. And especially the ones with no other advocate to stand up with them and help them make some of the hardest decisions they’ll ever have to make.”
“You make it sound like she shits rainbows.” Campbell just couldn’t reconcile the person Angela was waxing poetically about and the chick in his office who couldn’t keep her eyes from rolling at the drop of a hat at anything he said. “She’s not some sweet old lady who will watch your cat for you if you go away for a weekend or bring you soup if you’re sick.”
“She’s better than all of that. Many a night she stayed up with me when I was so sick with morning sickness. You know that.”
“Gah. She brought you those fucking pickles. Sorry. Sorry. Language. Got it.”
“Yes she did. And ice cream and she even came to see me in the hospital when I had to have that first C-section so many years ago. Don’t know what I would have done without her. I still owe her more than I can tell with what she was going through at the time.”
“What was happening at the time?”
Something flitted across Angela’s face but she schooled her features quickly. “That was a really rough time with her family.”
He wanted to press but decided to approach from a different angle. “The Grants are in the news a lot. Do you know the nature of any of the emails she’s been receiving? Anything? I know she doesn’t advertise the fact she’s a Grant.”
“Quite the opposite,” Clay added.
“But is the family the target because they put two and two together and came up with some payoff scheme?”
“She’s always been incredibly aware of the impact she can have on her family’s name, and she’s honestly been very guarded with anything that she shares about her past.” There was that same something twisting Angela’s features. “I’ve always respected it. Always. Never questioned it.” Her voice trailed off and she rubbed their baby’s back.
“But?” Campbell prompted.
Looking up, she glanced over at Clay before continuing. “I can’t help but feel incredibly guilty.”
“What in the fu—world do you have to be guilty about? You didn’t even know she was really in trouble until today.”
“But I should have known.”
“How do you figure that?” Clay asked as he stared down at her.
“I’m her best friend. I knew something was going on. Assumed it was about the clinic, which is always having issues with funding. Always. But that assumption could have cost her her life.”
“You’re no more responsible for her crazy person as she could have been responsible for yours.”
“But it sounds like she was having trouble during the same time I was. When I was at the final show and you were both with me, she missed the show. She’d received some kind of threat and had to hunker down and face it alone. I bet you anything that’s what happened. So yeah. I feel guilty.” A squinty-eyed glare went in Clay’s direction.
“What did I do?”
“You’ve known for how long she was having trouble and didn’t tell me.”
Clay kissed her and the top of baby Wyatt’s head. “Natalie made me promise a couple weeks ago not to tell you when she finally filled me in on what was going on. I’ve read the emails, which I’ve already forwarded to Campbell’s account. She has her secrets and we have to respect her privacy.”
Campbell didn’t actually wait for him to finish talking before he pulled his email up on his phone. Scrolling through a few of them brought his growl back full force.
“I know all of that. I do. But my heart is hurting for my friend, and I don’t want her hurt anymore. And now I have to worry about that big galoot, too.”
“Me?” Campbell asked as he pocketed his phone to keep from throwing it against the wall. “Nothing to worry about. You can rest your pretty little head.”
The door to his office opened and Natalie stepped out, followed by an exasperated Wyatt.
Straightening his spine, he mumbled under his breath more to himself than anyone else, “I have it all under control.”
Chapter Four
Natalie
Wyatt had been asking her questions for forty-five minutes and she couldn’t seem to calm down. Her limbs kept twitching, her feet wouldn’t stay still.
Not because she had been worried about the detective’s questions. Not even reliving the latest attempt at taking her out had upset her. Or that she couldn’t remember anything helpful about it.
It was a two-inch problem.
The two inches of wood that had been separating her from Campbell.
She hadn’t been able to fully breathe until Wyatt had opened the door. Taking a real deep inhale, she had to convince her body to pay attention. She stared at Campbell. He stared at her. She nibbled her bottom lip. Again. Which she never did.
What the hell had changed?
No.
Nothing had.
Having an adrenaline rush caused it. Nothing more. He happened to have been with her when the latest attempt occurred. That was it. And definitely not because he’d actually saved her life.
Being thankful was one thing. Wanting him with her? Needing him next to her?
That wasn’t acceptable.
Needing someone with her wasn’t something she could ask for. Ever
“…else you can always call me.”
Blinking, she turned to Detective Wyatt. “I’m sorry, what?”
Wyatt gave a half grin and squeezed her arm. “I’m going to talk to Campbell and Clay, get their take on some things since you finally came to the right conclusion that you need protection right now. If you remember anything else, you can always call me. Okay?”
Clay was there?
She glanced over again. Sure was. Standing with Angela, who had the baby in her arms.
How had she missed them being there? Staring at Campbell again, she noticed his nostrils flare as he looked her up and down.
Oh yeah.
That was why.
Trying to block out her need to run to him, she crossed her arms under her boobs and kept her feet firmly planted. “Do I need to be there for you to talk to the guys?”
Wyatt watched the other group. “No. I’ll send Angela in here and if you can hang out for a bit in case I have any follow-up questions.” He rubbed a hand down his face and yawned huge. With a shake of his head he pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped through something.
“How long have you been working? And I know it’s more than twenty-four hours ’cause falling asleep at your desk for thirty minutes is surprisingly not that helpful when it comes to the REM sleep cycle.”
“A while.” He glanced at a couple more things and put the phone away.
“Sleep does a body good, Detective.”
“Putting bad guys away does lots of bodies good.”
Natalie smiled. “Can’t argue with that logic,” she agreed as the group moved toward them.
“Can I take her home now, Wyatt?” It was Campbell who asked the question. Not knowing if she should be relieved or put out that he assumed he could ask for her kept her locked in silence. Which was a weird place to be.
And rare.
“Not yet. I’m gonna ask you a few things and run a few thoughts by you and Clay and then you can call it a night.”
The sun was setting out the front windows and it dawned on her how tired she was. Tired actually didn’t even touch how bone weary she’d been. But life moved on. As apparently did the conversation when she
la-la’d out for a few seconds.
“Shouldn’t take more than fifteen or twenty minutes, and the quicker we get started the quicker we’re done. Comprende, amigo?” Wyatt stared at Campbell, who was staring at her.
Campbell didn’t look away and neither did she. As he looked at her she couldn’t figure out what he was trying to figure out.
“You okay or do you need to get home now?”
Home.
It was the second time he’d said it and she melted a bit each time. So she stood a little straighter. Being weak did nothing for her. She nodded. “I’m fine.” Kinda. “Angela and baby Wyatt can keep me company.” It took a lot to pull her gaze from Campbell’s, but she did it and looked up at Wyatt. “You want us in the office or out here?”
“Why don’t you guys take the office again and we’ll stay out here.”
“Works for me. Come on, Angela. Come talk to me about baby stuff and get my mind off assholes.” She turned on her heel and headed back into the office. Feeling someone’s eyes on her, she couldn’t help but look over her shoulder to see who it was. Campbell. That wasn’t who she wanted it to be.
“Right behind you,” Angela called out and she gave Clay a kiss and followed her.
Clay made a face. “Hey, why doesn’t she get called on the carpet for cussing?”
“Some dude tried to run her over today. She’s allowed a little leeway.”
“Hey.” Campbell jumped in. “I was almost run over today so can I cuss too?”
“No,” everyone answered at exactly the same time.
“Oh I see how it’s going to be.”
Natalie made it into the office and held the door handle. As soon as Angela cleared the threshold, she started closing the door but Campbell still stared at her.
It was one of those moments that slowed down.
Time edged to a crawl as she closed off the space between them again. His blue eyes locked on her, some kind of connection drawing tight between them as she gave them some privacy.
As the door snapped into place she exhaled, placing her forehead on the wood.
Gratitude for the separation warred with wanting to throw the door open and run to him.
Ultimate Surrender: The Surrender Series, Book 2 Page 4
