“Detective Gray, do you have a lock on his whereabouts?” I ask him.
“Sorry Mrs. James, we know he is still in Florida, with your parents and brother, Dustin. What his intentions are, we aren’t sure.”
“I will kill him if he gets within an inch of my family. And I need to get Dustin away from that situation.”
Detective Gray is smiling at me. “I don’t know if that is smart, you threatening murder in front of two officers of the law.”
I answer him simply and truthfully, “You must have me confused with someone who gives a fuck. Ask any of my family, we all think I will rock that orange jumpsuit on the inside.” He just shakes his head at me, and I can tell he doesn’t want to laugh, but what he doesn’t understand is there is truly nothing I won’t do for my family.
“Let’s all agree, emotions are high, and move this conversation forward,” Max says trying to smooth things over.
“Are we done here? I want to see Cambree and talk to the doctors,” Addison says. She has been very quiet through this whole ordeal, and I know it is killing her, not being able to make it better. She is such a fixer.
“We are done for now, if I need anything else, I will get in touch. For what it is worth, I wish you all the best, and I am sorry this happened to your family.” Detective Gray tells us. Colby and Tyler just nod at him, and we make our way to Cambree’s room.
Walking in, we interrupt Mitch and Cambree talking, and she freezes when she looks up at us. I realize Max followed us in the room.
Chapter 4
Max
She is still the most beautiful girl in the world. Seeing her bruised and lying in a hospital bed is the second worst thing I have ever experienced . . . the first being Hope’s death. I keep thinking that if I wouldn’t have asked her to meet me, then maybe Brent wouldn’t have gotten to her. I see her trying to be brave, but that girl wears her heart on her sleeve. From what I hear, she always has. That is the thing that bothers her the most. She used to get so frustrated when she got emotional. She likes to think she keeps a lid on her emotions, but everybody knows everything she is thinking. That is why it killed me when she ended what we had. I could see it killed her. My feelings didn’t matter, even though I was torn up. Seeing her in such pain, I felt an actual ache in my chest. I am not sure what we could have been, or if we could have lasted, but I was falling in love with her. And I vow I will get that back. I know her feelings confuse the hell out of her, but she needs to stop hiding from her feelings, and I am going to make her.
Brielle turns around and winks at me. She sees it, too. I look up to Cambree and she is trying to hide her face, trying to hide what that monster did to her face. It pisses me off that she feels embarrassment or shame for what happened to her. I pass her sisters, and Mitch leaves the side of her bed. I lean over to her and whisper, “Don’t hide what happened to you. You are still the most beautiful girl in the world, Camy. Don’t let him take away anything else from you.” When I meet her eyes, and see the tears brimming, I question what I said, but then she gives me a chin lift, and I see the stubbornness set in. I know I got through to her, and think to myself that she gives Brielle’s attitude a run for its money.
Our moment is over as everyone crowds in. Addy is the first to speak, “Why didn’t you tell us? God, Cambree, we are here to protect you and take care of you. Don’t you know that by now?” I know Addison is feeling all sorts of emotions, but she needs to get a hold of them. I don’t want anyone making Cambree feel guilty for anything. None of this is her fault. Tyler squeezes my shoulder, and I wonder how this group reads each other so well. He shakes his head slightly, warning me to let it play out. I see he is right when Cambree speaks, and that spark is in her eyes.
“Addison, I am eighteen years old and an adult. You act like you can tell me what to do. You forget I can get arrested and tried as an adult, which may happen if you don’t back the fuck off.” Ah, there is my girl.
Brielle is trying not to laugh, and flicks Addy on her arm. They knew exactly how to play this. Now I see why Colby, Mitch, and Tyler are so pussy-whipped, and I am thinking it is not a bad place to be.
“Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, what’s the damage?” Addison asks her.
Cambree just grins at her, “You know my wrist is sprained, no tumbling or cheering for three or four weeks, the bruises and soreness will fade with time.”
Tyler interrupts her, “No, how are you feeling about things?”
“I am scared and freaked. I want to come home for a little while.” I can see something else behind her words, but I don’t know exactly what. “I need to call my coach. I didn’t show up for practice or the game; she will be pissed. Once I get home, I will email my professors.”
Brielle says, “I am on that, I will get her number from your phone. Is there anything we need to get from your apartment?”
“Just my laptop and chargers. I have clothes and stuff at home, and if I need anything else, I can buy it. One other thing . . . I want to start building on my land when I get home.” What the hell? She has four years of school in front of her, why does she need to do this now?
Colby asks, “Is there a reason? I know the land is yours, and we will support you, but is there something you aren’t telling us?” My gut clenches, thinking something has happened to her that I wasn’t aware of.
“No reason, I have just gotten used to my space these past few months, and when I am at home I want it to continue. Love y’all . . . but seriously, need space.”
This makes perfect sense, and I like the idea of alone time when she is mine again. I still think there is something else going on, but I am going to let it slide for now.
Brielle decides, “Addy and I will go to your apartment and get what you need and make the phone call to your coach. If you think of anything else, just text me. The doctor said forty-eight hours, but I am hoping he will let us take you home tomorrow.”
Cambree just agrees and lies back on the bed. Mitch tells them they aren’t going by themselves, and Colby and Tyler agree. I suggest they all go, and I will stay with Cambree and they can get something to eat and check into the hotel by the hospital. Once that is decided and they leave, I look at Cambree. She looks exhausted.
I reach over and stroke the side of her face that isn’t bruised. She leans into my hand, but once she realizes what she is doing she pulls away. “Go to sleep, Camy. I won’t leave, and I promise nothing will happen to you. I am sorry this happened on my watch, but not again.” She looks like she wants to ask me something, so I tell her, “Ask away, and then go to sleep.”
She gives me a dirty look, hating that I read her so well. “Why did you lie to me about school? If you were here the whole time, why did you wait until today to meet me? And why was Kamryn there?” She just goes for it. Direct.
“I had to lie about school. I was undercover, and I hated every second of being so close, yet so far away from you. Today, I had an excuse. You thought I would be here for the game, and I have no clue why Kamryn was here, maybe actually for the game. While we are on the subject of Kamryn, let me explain . . .” She starts shaking her head.
“We weren’t on the subject of her, I just asked a question.”
“You shut me out months ago over this bullshit, Cambree. Not again. I will let you rest now, but I am telling you, you will hear me out,” I warn her.
“Too many lies and omissions of truth, Max. I told you at the beginning I had enough deceit and hidden truths to last me a lifetime, then you brought that into our relationship.” I want to argue with her, but she is right.
“Just go to sleep, my Camy.” I stroke her hair back from her face and watch her close her eyes. I am thankful she is alive and her injuries will heal. I am thankful she is such an amazing, strong woman. What I am not thankful for is the way she over-analyzes everything, and she sees everything as black and white. There is no grey with her, and sometimes in life, there are situations that are grey. She needs to learn to color outside
of the box, and I will teach her that. Right now, I am just thankful to watch her sleep and see peace claim her.
Chapter 5
Cambree
I know he is still in the room. I can feel his presence. With Max, you always know when he is close. After the day I have endured, I am exhausted, but sleep won’t come. Every time I close my eyes and begin to drift off to sleep, I relive that nightmare, and as scared as I was, I am lucky he was there to save me. Funny, the same man who saved me, is the same one that destroyed me a few months ago. My mind keeps drifting to how Brielle feels now that Brent has made his presence known, and what she must have endured years ago. I always knew it was bad, but it was nothing I could fathom. I still can’t, but knowing he was that close to me scares me to death. What could he possibly want with me? I know it isn’t even a fraction of what Brielle is dealing with. My brother is still there. What was Dustin thinking? Why isn’t he here? If anyone would have told me a year ago our family would be fractured in a crisis, I would have told them they were out of their mind. But here is the truth, Dustin lost his mind, and went to live with my parents and travel with my dad in order to go to law school, and then possibly go into politics. This wasn’t his personality at all, as long as he had a soccer ball and warm body for a few hours, he was happy. Something changed in him, and then when I thought he was clued-in, he went further off course. I haven’t talked to him since he left for them, and I have had only a few texts. Brielle has been the most affected by his departure, and of course C.J., Brielle and Colby’s son. That kid thinks Dustin is a god, but what do you expect a three year old to know.
Once I get home, and surrounded by my sisters, maybe I will be able to rest. I am serious about wanting to start the plans for building on my land. When my grandparents passed away and Addison and Brielle were left in charge of their estate and guardianship of Dustin and I, we each picked out a spot on the land we wanted. There are about two hundred acres, and it is not a working farm anymore, but we love the land. I don’t know how to tell them I don’t want to go back to school. There are so many different scenarios of things that could happen; most likely Addison will be okay with it and tell me school is important and I can go to community college or whatever, but I must get an education. Brielle will know something is up, or think she does, and be like a damn bear with a honey pot, sniffing around for the reason I want to come home. She will think someone is behind it and won’t stop until she figures it out. It is a mixture of both, I miss home, and I thought going to the University of Georgia, away from home, and spreading my wings, would be great. Finally, I wouldn’t be the youngest Parker girl, (although Addison and Brielle are James women now), or I wouldn’t be Dustin’s older sister, I would just be Cambree Parker. My own person. Eventually I will figure out who that is, but until then I just want to be home, working out and teaching at our elite gym after my wrist and body heal. But, I am serious; I need my space. I can handle staying with Addison and Tyler or Brielle and Colby for a little bit but it will drive me nuts long-term. I could always stay in the farmhouse, the house where we were raised but couldn’t stay in after my grandparents died. Amelia, our housekeeper or nanny, which she is neither, is family. She still lives in farmhouse, and that is where Colby’s parents stay when they come to visit.
I will miss cheering with the squad, but I can do that at home. We have several competition teams, and Brielle could use the help with coaching. She is stretched thin right now. I feel like I am always hiding and running away from what I want, and since Dustin went completely cray-cray, I have tried to overcompensate for his behavior, and I need a break. I have lost myself here, and done a few things I am not proud of, and I don’t want to disappoint my sisters, who by all means, are my parents. It is a bit unconventional, but it works. I sometimes find myself jealous of Addy and Brielle. They had more time with my grandparents and learned some important lessons from them. I know they have busted their asses to instill the values they were taught in Dustin and I, but sometimes there is a line I cross, which I don’t mean to. Bottom line, they are my older siblings and sometimes the boundaries get blurred, but no matter what, they are there for me. Which means my main problem will be Max . . . a problem I need a solution to, because my heart is still healing from our last go round. I remember the day we broke up like it was yesterday, but the months before that were blissful. A fucking fairytale . . . minus the white horse and castle. I thought we had a relationship only read about in books. Unless you add in a conniving, jealous, pseudo-best friend who slept with your boyfriend, before he was your boyfriend, but yet neither thought to tell me about it. They lied, and we fought about it. I could not understand why they were always fighting about my time, until one night, it came out. All innocently, a mutual friend said, “Well, they feel awkward around you together, even though the one night didn’t mean anything, you can’t blame them.” What? The confrontation that came next was not something I wanted to revisit, but here it is swirling in my mind, along with the day’s events. I was starting to doze off, and I couldn’t seem to wake up and shake all the memories. I feel Max stroking my shoulders and trying to get me to relax, but it isn’t helping. His touch is so familiar but so damaging at the same time. Makes me remember what I am missing.
I pull myself from this fog and try to move away from him. I make the mistake of looking into his eyes, and I see how me pulling away from him is causing him pain, on top of his guilt over today. I can’t protect him though. I have to protect myself.
“You can leave now, I will be fine.”
“Bullshit, Camy. You aren’t fine. You were whimpering in your sleep. Quit pushing me away. I let it work once but not this time. I will stay here until your sisters get back, and then if you want me to leave, I will consider it. But get used to me sweetheart; I will be your fucking shadow until Brent is caught. If I have my way, after he is caught I will still be by your side.”
I roll my eyes, trying to deflect his statement. I will talk to Mitch about reassigning him. I can’t do it again. He didn’t do anything that wrong, I get him and Kamryn were before me, but the slightest omission is huge for me. I grew up in that shit, and I won’t do it anymore, and this was not a secret to him. He knew what would happen, so it was no shock to him. I think it is the fact that out of the boys I have dated, he was the only one that had the ability to hurt me. That truly hurts the worst. The others may have hurt my feelings here and there, typical dating drama, but Max had the potential to cut me open, and damn near did. I watched my sisters with Colby and Tyler, growing up, and while neither relationship was perfect those men loved my sisters and cherished them. When it really mattered there was nothing they wouldn’t do for one another, and I just feel if Max couldn’t have afforded me the truth about his past, what kind of future would I be looking forward to?
Chapter 6
Max
Hearing her whimper in her sleep kills me. I swear I am done with this case. I will protect her any way I see fit, badge be damned. I have prided myself on following the rules and having to keep Mitch in check. He dealt with this case and the knowledge of it a lot longer than I did. He has a lot more invested in this . . . we lost one sister to him, but he has four other siblings, and it eats at him daily to lie to them. I thank God he found Kayleigh. He is struggling with her lying to and avoiding Addison. He wants this over with more than anyone. I need to talk to him and see where his head is.
She is delusional if she thinks I am going to leave. If she could understand what I felt when I lost sight of her and then finding her beaten and almost kidnapped. No telling what that sick fucker would have done to her. I can’t think about that, or I am liable to march right out of this room and hunt him down myself. The Dustin mess is going to get ugly. From what we have been told, Brent has another player invested in his game, and he has Dustin over a barrel. Things aren’t very clear with that, but if his sense of right and wrong is like his siblings, there will be no getting him to walk away. Mitch has talked to him a little bit, but h
e has to be careful. Apparently Dustin came to him with what went down with Brent the day Cambree left and the real reason Dustin is living with them. Yet another lie or secret we are holding from the Parkers. When will it end?
Cambree seems to finally have dozed off when they all come back into the room. I motion for them to be quiet. As Brielle and Addy come into the room, Mitch waves for me to follow him out of the room with Colby and Tyler. Before I get out the door, Addy calls to me. “I don’t know what happened Max. You are the one subject she won’t share. I think because it hurts to talk about, but that can work in your favor. If it hurts, then she still cares. I am not saying I am okay with you and her together because I don’t know what happened, but what I am saying is that is a decision you have to make together. You can’t force her to do anything. I know you don’t know us that well, and I suspect you had your reasons for the distance you used with us, but let me clue you in. We are stubborn and fierce. We love hard, fight hard, but above all, we are family in every sense of the word. You wrong one of us; you hurt all of us. And that is not a pleasant place to be.”
Damn, and I thought Brielle was the one to watch out for. I see where my beautiful girl gets all her traits. These girls are a force, and I could picture Hope fitting in perfectly. She wasn’t as outspoken as Brielle, and not as forthcoming with the truth as Addison, she was more a mixture of the two, just like Cambree. I just hold her gaze and nod to let her know I heard her, loud and clear.
Parker Sibling Series Box Set Page 35
