From Best Friend to Bride

by Jules Bennett

  Cameron settled in with his fellow officers and FBI agents. Now all they had to do was watch and wait, and hopefully this entire ordeal would be wrapped up tonight.

  He had no idea if he should be elated or terrified.

  * * *

  Megan had no clue where Evan had run off to and then Cameron had gotten called into work. She’d stayed behind and chatted with Nora and Marly, roasted more marshmallows than her stomach appreciated and now lay curled up in the corner of her sofa trying to read a book by the vomited light of the evil dragon.

  Megan couldn’t help but look at that tacky piece and laugh. Because if she didn’t laugh, she’d surely cry. Some people had a beautiful art sculpture or painting as the focal point in their living rooms. Nope, Megan had this monstrosity.

  Flipping through the pages of her book, Megan wanted to see when the good scenes were coming up because the current chapter was nearly putting her to sleep.

  Before she could decide whether or not to give up, her cell rang. Dropping the book on the end table, she picked up her phone, not recognizing the number. Most likely a client.

  “Hello?”

  “Meg. I’ve been arrested.”

  Jumping to her feet, Megan started toward her bedroom to put clothes on. “What happened, Evan?”

  Dread flooded her. Whatever he’d hightailed it out of the St. Johns’ party for had obviously not been a good idea.

  “Your boyfriend brought me in.” Evan’s tone was filled with disgust. “I wasn’t doing anything, Meg. I need you to come get me.”

  Cameron arrested Evan? How the hell had the night gone from roasting marshmallows to her brother being thrown in jail?

  “How much is bail?” she asked, shoving her feet into her cowgirl boots.

  “I don’t think they’re allowing it to be set.”

  Megan froze. “What did you do?”

  “Listen, I need you to fix this, Meg,” he pleaded, near hysterics. “I don’t want to be here. Call your attorney and get me out of this place.”

  Megan sank onto the edge of her bed. “If bail isn’t an option, there’s nothing I can do right now. I’ll call my lawyer, but I doubt he can do anything tonight, either.”

  “Maybe you should tell Cameron I’m innocent,” he spat, seconds before hanging up.

  Defeated, angry and cold, Megan stared at the cell in her hand. In her heart she’d known this day was coming. Evan had reached out to her for help only twenty-four hours ago...obviously too late to make a difference.

  Before she could allow her mind to travel into what Cameron knew about this situation, she had to call her attorney. Evan’s fear had been apparent through the line. She knew from a few of her clients just how terrifying being arrested for the first time could be. No matter what the attorney’s fee would be, she’d pay it and do every single thing in her power to get him away from this city where he was only staying in trouble. If he wanted to truly get away, he needed a fresh start away from the thugs he’d been with.

  Hours later, Megan was still wound tight. She’d discovered there was nothing to do for Evan right now. There would be a hearing on Monday morning to decide the next step.

  Megan had hung up with her attorney thirty minutes ago and couldn’t go in to bed if she tried. She glanced at the book on the end table and knew that wouldn’t hold her interest, either.

  Heading to the hall closet, she was just about to sink to a whole new level of desperate and pull out her vacuum when her back door opened and closed.

  The late hour didn’t stop Cameron from letting himself in. Great. She wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with this, with him. She was still shaking from the fact that her brother was behind bars with criminals and her best friend had arrested him.

  Moving down the hall, she met Cameron just as he stepped out of the kitchen. The dark bruise beneath his eye, the cut across his other brow and his disheveled clothes stopped her in her tracks.

  “What the hell happened tonight?” she cried. “Evan’s arrested and you’ve been in a fight.”

  Cameron’s tired eyes closed as he shook his head. “I wanted to be the one to tell you about Evan, but I knew there was no way I could finish everything up and get here before he called you.”

  Anger coursed through her. “You knew my brother was in trouble. Enough trouble to get arrested, didn’t you?”

  Slowly, his lids opened, those signature baby blues locked on her. “Yes. I’ve been watching him for some time now. Him and several others.”

  Megan felt as if someone had taken a pointy-toed shoe and kicked her straight in the stomach.

  “Evan wasn’t a key player,” Cameron went on. “He just fell in with the wrong crowd and ended up deeper than I think he intended.”

  Bursts of cold shot through her system. Megan wrapped her arms around her waist and pushed past Cameron.

  “So you just arrest him anyway?” she asked, moving to the living room to sink onto the sofa. “You know he’s trying to break away and you still arrest him like some hardened criminal?”

  Cameron rested his hands on his hips, remaining across the room. “He is a criminal, Meg. He was with the group we’ve been tracking for months. Evan has been running drugs.”

  No. This was her brother, her baby brother. She didn’t want this to be his life even though he’d admitted as much to her just yesterday. He’d said he wanted to get out. She’d give anything if he would have come to her sooner; maybe they wouldn’t be in this position now.

  Bending forward, her arms still tight around her midsection, she wanted to just curl up and cry or scream. “You should go,” she whispered, already feeling the burn of tears in her throat.

  “I’m not leaving until we talk.”

  Of course he wasn’t.

  “I know you aren’t happy with me right now,” he started. “But you have to know I was doing my job. I can’t let our relationship prevent me from keeping Stonerock safe.”

  A laugh erupted from her before she could prevent it. Megan sat back up and rested her elbows on her knees.

  “I don’t expect you to not do your job, Chief. But I never thought you’d be spying on my brother one minute and sleeping with me the next.”

  * * *

  Okay, he deserved that. Megan needed to get all her anger out because he’d had months to deal with the fact that Evan was into illegal activities. While Megan had suspected her brother’s involvement, tonight she’d been dealt some cold, hard facts—and then learned her best friend was the arresting officer.

  “How could you do this to me?” she asked, her voice husky from emotion. “How could you use me like that? We’ve been friends so long, Cam. I trusted you with everything in my life and you just...”

  Her words died in the air as she covered her face with her hands. Sobs tore through her, filling the room and slicing his heart. Cameron knew full well that right at this moment she felt she hated him, but that didn’t stop him from stepping forward and squatting down in front of her.

  “I didn’t use you,” he said, realizing how pathetic he sounded. “I couldn’t tell you, Meg. I wanted to. I wanted you to know what you were in the midst of. I wanted to somehow soften the blow, but my hands were tied.”

  Her hands dropped to her lap as she focused her watery stare on him. Tear tracks marred her creamy skin, and Cameron knew if he attempted to reach out to wipe away the physical evidence of her pain, she would push him away.

  “You mean you chose your job again over everything else. Over me.”

  Cameron eased up enough to sit on the edge of the coffee table, his elbows on his knees, as he fought the urge to take her hands in his. She had to get all this anger out, and he had to absorb it. There was no other way to move beyond this mess...if they even could move on.

  “Wait.” Megan sat up straighter, her gaze darting to the floor, then back up to his. “You were there, weren’t you? The night I was with Evan and those guys showed up?”

  Regret filled him, cutting off any pathetic d
efense he could’ve come up with. As if the entire lying-by-omission thing weren’t enough, now he had to face the ugly truth that he’d not done a damn thing to help her.

  She continued to stare at him, continued to study him as if she didn’t even recognize him anymore. “Tell me you weren’t there,” she whispered.

  Swallowing a lump of rage and remorse all rolled into one, he replied, “I can’t.”

  He expected her to slap him, to stand up and charge from the room or start yelling and throwing things. He expected pure anger. Anger he could’ve dealt with.

  But when she closed her eyes, unleashing a fresh set of tears as she fell back against the couch, defeated, Cameron knew he’d broken something between them. He’d broken something in her, and he had no idea how to fix it or even if their relationship was repairable.

  “I want to hate you right now.”

  Those harsh words from such a tiny voice was the equivalent of salt to the wound...a self-inflicted wound. He had absolutely nobody to blame but himself.

  Megan eased up, just enough to look him in the eye. “I want to hate you so you’ll be out of my life, so I never have to see you again,” she told him through tears. “But I can’t because no matter how deeply you hurt me, I still love you. Damn it, Cameron, I love you more than I’ve ever loved anybody. I was prepared to turn down this job in Memphis for you. I was ready to fight for you, for us.”

  Her voice shook as she went on, swiping at the tears streaking down her cheeks. “I was ready to live with your dedication to your job. I foolishly thought you could love me just as much, but now I know I’ll never be equal, never be enough.”

  Cameron had no clue he’d shed his own tears until he felt the trickle down his cheek. He’d never cried over a woman. Hell, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d cried at all. But Megan was worth the emotion; she was worth absolutely everything.

  “Stay,” he pleaded. “Don’t take the job. We can get through this.”

  “Can we?” she tossed back. “And how would we do that? You spied on my brother for who knows how long. You watched me from a distance during one of my scariest moments. I think that is enough to prove you’d never put me first, so don’t preach to me about staying to make this work. I’ve been here for years, Cam. Years. I can’t help it if you’re just now ready.”

  Megan came to her feet, anger fueling her now if the way she swatted at the tears on her face was any indication. Cameron eased back on the table but didn’t rise. He knew she needed the control, the upper hand here.

  “You always said you wouldn’t ever make a woman compete with your job,” she went on. “But what do you think I’ve been doing all this time? I was with you during deployments, during the police academy and your entire law-enforcement career. You think I worried less because we were friends and not married? You think I didn’t play the ‘what-if’ game while you were overseas or if a day or two went by that I didn’t hear from you?”

  Reality hit him square in the gut.

  “You’re right.” Slowly, he got to his feet. Considering she didn’t back away, he reached for her hands. “You were there for me every step of the way. I didn’t see your angle until now, or maybe I was afraid to.”

  Megan fisted her hands beneath his. “You need to go. I’m exhausted. I’ve got to figure out what I can do for Evan, and I need to make arrangements for Memphis.”

  The last bit of hope he’d had died as he released her fists. “You’re leaving.”

  Megan’s gaze slid to the floor as she nodded, not saying a word. Conversation over.

  There had never been such an emptiness, such a hollow feeling in his soul. The bond they’d honed and strengthened for years had just been severed in the span of minutes. He’d known how this would hurt her, but he hadn’t expected her to erect this steel wall between them, completely shutting him out.

  Cameron turned, headed toward the back door.

  “Did you ever love me?” Megan’s question tore through the thick tension.

  Stopping, Cameron leaned a hand on the door frame to steady himself. Not only was he starting to tear up again but his knees were shaking.

  “I’ve always loved you,” he told her. “More than you could ever know.”

  When she said nothing in reply, Cameron headed straight out the back door. He had to keep going or he’d drop to his knees and beg her forgiveness. But Megan wasn’t in the frame of mind to forgive.

  He had a feeling after all he’d done to destroy their friendship and the intimacy they’d discovered, she never would be.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Two weeks later, Evan was still in jail. She’d been able to see him several times and each time she went her heart broke even more. He’d hinted that maybe he’d be getting out soon, but she couldn’t get details from him.

  After taking another picture from the wall, Megan wrapped it in bubble wrap and placed it in the box with the other fragile items. Her new job was to start in two weeks and she was moving in to her new rental within days.

  The thought of leaving this house that she’d loved for so long had her reminiscing with each room she walked through, each item she boxed up. She’d yet to pack the dragon lamp because each time she passed by the hideous thing, she started tearing up once again.

  In the two weeks since she’d last seen Cameron, her emotions had been all over the place. She’d gone from angry to depressed, from crying to yelling at the empty space. Other than during his deployments, she’d never gone this long without seeing or talking to him. How could her best friend since childhood be out of her life so fast? How did she move on without the stability and support he’d always offered?

  By sticking to her plans. She would move towns, make new friends and start a new life. And if Evan somehow miraculously got out, he could join her.

  Of course, all of that would be in a perfect world, and she knew she lived in anything but.

  Tomorrow she’d have the difficult task of telling her clients that she was leaving. She’d really formed some wonderful friendships during her time at the counseling center. Her supervisor was sorry to see her go, but understood, considering she’d been the one to recommend Megan for the position.

  Before she could pull another piece of artwork from the wall, the doorbell rang. Glancing around the boxes, bubble wrap and her own state of haphazardness, Megan shrugged. She wasn’t expecting company, though she’d been surprised Cameron hadn’t attempted to contact her again. A piece of her was disappointed and a little more than hurt at the fact, but she’d told him to go and he was honoring her wishes. Noble until the end, that man was.

  Adjusting her ratty old T-shirt and smoothing back the wayward strands that had escaped her ponytail, Megan flicked the lock and tugged on the door.

  Speak of the devil.

  Only he didn’t look like the devil at all. He didn’t even look worn and haggard as she did. Damn the man for standing on her porch looking all polished and tempting. The fall breeze kicked up, bringing his familiar scent straight to her and teasing her further.

  His eyes darted behind her, no doubt taking in the chaos.

  “When do you leave?” he asked, returning those baby blues to her.

  Gripping the door frame, she prayed for strength, prayed to be able to hold it together while she figured out the reason for his visit.

  “Next week.”

  He glanced down, then back up and sighed. “Can I come in? Just for a minute?”

  Said the lion to its prey.

  Megan stepped back, opening the old oak door even more to accommodate his broad frame. As soon as he entered, she closed the door, leaned back against it and waited while he continued to survey the room.

  “I came to fill you in on Evan.”

  He turned to face her, and now that he was closer, she could see the worry lines etched between his brows, more prominent than ever. The dark circles beneath his eyes were evidence he’d been sleeping about as much as she had.

  “What about him?�
�� she asked, crossing her arms over her chest, resisting the urge to touch Cameron just one more time.

  “I’m not supposed to tell you this, so please don’t say anything. This could cost me my badge.”

  Megan stood up straighter. He was here as her friend, putting her above his job for once. A piece of the hard shell around her heart crumbled.

  “Is he in more trouble?” she asked, fearful for the unknown.

  “No.” Cameron toyed with the open flap of a box on the coffee table. “He’s actually going to take a plea bargain. He was offered immunity in exchange for every bit of information he knows.”

  Elation filled her. Megan clutched the scoop neck of her T-shirt and sucked in a deep breath. “Thank you,” she whispered, unable to say anything else.

  “There’s more.”

  She tensed up at Cameron’s hard stare. Whatever the “more” was apparently wasn’t good news.

  “He’s going to go into Witness Protection first thing in the morning.”

  Witness Protection. The words registered but not fully at first. Then she realized what Cameron was truly telling her.

  “I won’t see him again?”

  Shaking his head, Cameron held her gaze for a moment, then looked away as if he couldn’t bear to see her. “I tried to get you in, but that power is above me. I had to fight to get the immunity. He had some stiff charges against him, but since he was a latecomer to the group, we needed the big names he could provide.”

  Megan nodded, hating what he was saying but knowing this was for the best. This was the only option for her brother to make a fresh start and stay safe.

  “Could I write him a letter or something?” she asked. “Maybe you could get it to him?”

  The muscle in Cameron’s jaw jumped. “I can’t.”

  Megan pulled in a shaky breath and pushed away from the door. Heading back to her task, something she had control over and something she could concentrate on, she pulled a picture off the wall and tore off more bubble wrap.