The way his tone challenged her, the way his words exposed her, sent her anger skyrocketing and she thrust her arms out, shoving him with both hands this time.
“Good,” he said, still standing and perfectly unharmed. “Get mad. Get mad, Cameron!”
She started hitting him, beating her fists against his chest as he stood there, taking the brunt of anger that had absolutely nothing to do with him. Once the worst of it passed, her hands went still and she tried to catch her breath and reel her emotions in.
Taking her by the arms, he looked into her eyes as he said with a surprising amount of force and conviction, “Now you take that anger and you fight. You fight for your life because it’s yours.”
It was like he knew her, understood exactly how her brain worked. And right now, he was far too close, threatening to become way too intimate. She yanked away from him. “Why do you care? Surely there’s some other damsel in distress around here you can save. Don’t waste your time with me.”
She opened the door, ready to step out, but he moved forward quickly. Stopping in front of her. “You are not a waste.”
His words pierced right through her, stirring up insecurities she battled daily. She could only stare at him and wonder how he could say things that hit so close to home. How did he always know exactly what she was feeling and needed to hear? It was more alarming than it was comforting, and sent her quickly retreating back into her shell.
Walking quickly away, she didn’t look back.
Chapter Ten
From her hiding spot behind a large SUV, Cameron looked out her windshield at the hotel. Night was falling and she still hadn’t seen Julian leave his room yet; and she’d come straight after her shift at the store.
It’d taken her a day and a half of frightening torture to realize she needed to get her hands on those bloody clothes and delete that video footage. Of course she wasn’t naïve enough to think he only had one copy. She could only hope that both were hidden in his hotel room, and that he would come out soon.
As if on cue, the door opened and he strolled out. Dressed in a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans; his signature night-on-the-town outfit. She’d have to make sure to avoid the Tavern when she was done here, since that was the only place in town worth visiting.
Scooting further down in her seat, she craned her head to watch him get in his car and pull out of the parking lot. Thankfully, he turned left instead of right and didn’t drive by her parked car at all. While she waited another few minutes just to be sure, she touched up her lip-gloss and fluffed up her hair. She grabbed the wedding band from the glove box and slipped it on her finger. Getting out of her car, she went to the main office.
Behind the desk a middle aged slacker sat reading a comic book. With his greasy hair and the fact that he was reading what looked like Superman, she assumed he never got laid. The way his eyes bulged behind a set of oversized glasses when he saw her confirmed her suspicion. For the first time, it looked like she had a stroke of luck.
She gave him her most seductive smile as she approached the counter. “Hey,” she glanced at the name tag, “Steve. I was hoping you could help me out.”
“Uh, sure.” He stood and put the comic book down, turning to the counter. “Do you need a room?”
“No, I already have one. 221.” She clasped her hands together, wedding band up, as she leaned in. “I’m running late for a hair appointment and I left my purse in my room. And of course my husband took off with our key, again. Is there any chance you could let me in?”
He hesitated, so she leaned in a little more, drawing his focus to her cleavage. “I guess I could call him and have him let me in, but that would only prove his theory that I’m a total ditz.”
“Well, I have a spare…but I’ll need it back when you’re done.”
“You are so sweet,” she said, touching his hand for good measure. “A real life saver.”
His cheeks flushed a little as he pulled her hand from hers and opened a desk drawer. Taking out a small keycard, he handed it to her. “Here you go.”
“Thank you so much,” she said. Giving him one last smile, she turned and left the office.
She quickly hurried to the second floor and let herself into Julian’s hotel room. As the door swung shut behind her, she flipped the light-switch on. Taking a quick look to survey the room, she wondered where Julian would hide something.
Everything was neat and tidy, from the dust-free surfaces to the bed and the meticulous way the sheets were tucked in at the corners. She knew that wasn’t the maid’s doing. Going over to the flat screen TV, she checked the back of it for a flash drive, but there was nothing there. After searching through a few drawers, she found his laptop. She set it out and headed over to the safe underneath the sink. It took her a few tries, but she finally cracked the combination. Sure enough, there was a flash drive inside.
She flushed it down the toilet and then turned to the computer. Knowing Julian, he had the file saved in more than one location, probably in some secret zipped folder. There was no way she could get to it right now. So she picked up the laptop and smashed it against the floor. Stomping on the pile of plastic and metal, she felt a surprising amount of satisfaction. She left the mess on the floor and her wedding band on the table for him to find, hoping he’d get the message that she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Later that night, when Cameron was tossing all over her bed, trying to sleep, she realized how stupid that had been. Why had she tried so hard to piss him off, when he still possessed the bloody clothes and knife that could put her in jail? She hadn’t recovered those from her little break-in, which—when she really thought about it—made the whole thing pointless. He could still get her thrown in jail, confession or not.
Thinking of jail made the vivid details of that night come back to her. Cameron rolled over, stuffing her head under the pillow to ward off brutal scenes. But it was no use.Every time she closed her eyes, she saw things she didn’t want to remember. She felt the cold, heavy weight of the knife in her hands, and the way it’d sunk into his flesh.
Sitting up, she grabbed her pillow, violently fluffed it up and shoved it back under her head, but it still felt lumpy and uncomfortable. She sat up and punched it a few times. That didn’t help, either.
Giving up, she sighed as she turned on her lamp and got out of bed.
She moved to her dresser, opened the third drawer and removed a bottle of Vodka. She eyed it hungrily and ran her fingertips over the label. Though Vodka wasn’t her favorite, she was starting to build a tolerance to everything else.
She took a deep breath, twisted off the cap, then put the bottle to her lips and downed a big gulp. It tasted like fire and left a trail of burning flesh in its wake. When she finally managed to swallow, she gasped for air, grabbed her can of soda and took a drink.
She sat down on her bed, feeling helpless. All she’d wanted was a chance at a normal life. She thought getting away from her aunt’s house, from all the things that had happened, would make her a different person. But she was still drinking. Still lying with every breath. She hadn’t changed at all.
She looked down at the bottle in her hand, grimaced, and then knocked back two more gulps. She finished off the rest of her soda and put the bottle back in her dresser.
Curling back up in bed, she tried once again to go to sleep. It didn’t work. Her head spun, acid rose in her throat. She rolled over, and then turned to lie on her back. Her heart was pounding so hard and fast that she could hear it, like the sound was coming from everywhere—it was in her head, in her throat, in her legs. She seemed to have skipped drunk and gone right to sick. The longer she tried to rest, the sicker she began to feel.
Sighing, she craned her head to look at the clock. It was only midnight. Morning wasn’t even close.
She kicked off her covers and dragged herself out of bed and down the hall to the back door. Taking a deep breath of the fresh summer air, she sat down on the porch steps.
Clo
sing her eyes, she felt the calmness of the breeze surround her, slow her thoughts and relax her body. The smell of freshly cut grass filled her senses, crickets chirped in the distance. The sound was soothing. She listened to the noises: a dog barking somewhere down the street, a car driving down the road, the hoots of an owl. They calmed her, washing away any anxiety she’d been feeling.
The screen door creaked as it opened, but Cameron didn’t move a muscle.
“Hey.” Chad’s voice came from behind her. “I thought you went to bed.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.
“Me either.” As he sat down on the porch next to her, he hesitated, sniffing the air. “You’ve been drinking again.”
“Don’t start,” she warned, shooting him a look.
“It was just an observation.” He turned his attention to a bag of chips in his lap. Eating a few, he was quiet. Finally he said, “Why do you do it?”
She looked down at the ground. Why was she drinking? Because the alcohol was the only thing that slowed the memories down, the only thing that quieted that voice inside her head telling her she was worthless. But she couldn’t tell him; she knew he wouldn’t understand. Or worse…he would.
“I used to think you just liked being drunk. Like, to have a good time, or whatever,” he said. “But you don’t look like you’re having much fun.”
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she avoided looking at him and hoped he would take the hint that she didn’t want to talk about this.
But Chad just kept prodding. “Shane seems to think you’re trying to suppress something.” Reaching down, he plucked a blade of grass from the yard and began to twirl it between his forefinger and thumb. Watching it flip back and forth he said, “Are you?”
She shrugged, tucking her arms tight around her middle in a hug.
When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and gentle. “Did something bad happen to you?”
Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes. Though her mouth opened to tell him, no sound came out. She wished he could read her mind so she wouldn’t have to say it out loud. She’d never spoken the words before, and now she was sure they would break her.
“It’s okay.” Taking his gaze off her, he focused his attention on the sky. “You can tell me when you’re ready.”
Chapter Eleven
Chad was driving to the diner on his way to meet Sadie for breakfast, when he saw something that spoiled his appetite. As he came up on the hotel, he noticed Sadie’s car in the parking lot. Beside it, she stood with Julian. They were leaned in close, kissing. He watched them so long he started to veer onto the sidewalk. Even once he’d righted the steering wheel, he couldn’t help but keep glancing in the rear-view mirror and wonder what the hell Sadie was thinking.
He decided to go to the diner anyway, even though he wasn’t sure Sadie would show up. The whole time he kept thinking that Sadie seemed to be moving really fast with this new guy, and he didn’t trust it a bit. He thought it might be a good idea to get Sam to check him out.
“Sorry I’m late.” Sadie rushed past him, her heels clicking along on the hardwood floor. She sat down and gave him a frazzled smile as she set her purse down in the floor. “Did you order without me?”
Her hair was pulled into a high pony tail and he thought parts of it still looked damp, reinforcing his theory that she’d spent the night with Julian. She looked happy though, and while as her friend that should please him, it somehow made the gloomy feeling inside him grow. “No,” he said, finally. He looked down at the menu in front of him, even though he had it memorized by now.
“Great.” Waving her arm, Sadie flagged down the server. “I’ll take coffee and a country ham biscuit.”
Both women turned to look at him, but for some reason he still had a hard time speaking. “Just coffee.”
Sadie raised a concerned eyebrow at him, but the waitress simply jotted down his order and scurried off. Once they were alone, Sadie leaned her elbows on the table. “You okay?”
He nodded, keeping his eyes on her. “Fine. Why?”
“Because normally you eat like you bought stock in carbs and today…just coffee.” She hesitated a minute as the server brought them two cups of coffee. “See?” she said, motioning to his cup. “What gives?”
As he looked at her, he wondered, was she really just going to sit there and pretend like she wasn’t out all night with some guy? How many times had she done that before? And she claimed to have been in love with him for the last three years. It didn’t make any sense. “Nothing,” he said.
“Seriously,” she prodded. “What is it?”
“Fine.” He sighed, aggravated. “I saw you and Julian this morning. You two looked pretty cozy…outside his hotel.”
She rolled her eyes and sank back in her chair. “Oh God, here we go.”
“I just can’t help but think…” he busied his hands by adding sugar and cream to his coffee, even though he preferred to drink it black. “You’re moving a little fast.”
“Thanks,” she said. “That’s real nice.”
“I just mean you’re setting yourself up to get hurt again,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm and cool so he would sound like a concerned friend and not a jealous boyfriend. “And I don’t know why you always have to do that.”
“It’s called dating, Chad,” she said. “Trying to find Mr. Right. Unless you happen to know any tall, dark and handsome guys who want to be with me.”
The way she said it, boring her eyes into his as if there was some hidden message he was supposed to understand, only confused him more. When he didn’t answer she snapped her fingers as if she’d proved her point. “Then let me do my thing,” she said, turning her attention back to her cup of coffee.
“What do you even know about this guy?” he asked, leaning forward to catch her attention again. “What’s his last name? What’s he do for a living? What’s he doing in town in the first place?”
She opened her mouth, ready to spit out an answer, but then she hesitated when she realized she didn’t have one. “You know,” she said with a scoff, “here we go again. I had an amazing time with a guy last night, and here’s my best friend trying to ruin it.”
“Sadie,” he said, rationally.
“Shut up, Chad,” she snapped. She looked like she was getting upset, but fighting hard to keep her voice low. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a decent guy in a town where everyone pairs up straight out of high school? The only single ones left are drug addicts, deadbeat baby daddies and gamer-geeks living in their mom’s basement. Call me insane, or whatever you want, but I think I’m going to see where it goes with Julian.”
“Even though you don’t really know him.”
“You never know anybody until you give them a chance,” she said. Shaking her head, she grabbed her purse from the floor and set it on her lap. Digging through it, she came out with a few dollar bills which she placed in the center of the table to pay for the coffee she didn’t drink. “This whole overbearing thing may work with your sister, but all it does is piss me off.”
With that, she stood and stalked off, leaving him to sit alone in the diner. Turning his focus to her empty seat, he sighed and picked up his coffee cup. “It doesn’t work with her, either.”
***
Cameron yawned and rubbed her eyes as she pulled her car into the parking lot at work. She hadn’t slept all night; instead she’d sorted through the box she kept in the closet, looking over the pictures of Brady. She was beginning to wonder if she would ever be able to see him again, or if she’d lost him forever.
She gave a small smile at Shane’s truck in the parking lot. Sometimes it seemed like he lived at the store. She went into the garage part to clock in, mumbling hello’s to both Shane and Chad. She didn’t stop for small-talk though. After Chad’s questions last night, she’d been careful to avoid him. As she headed back into the store, she saw something that made her feet stop cold.
Standing in front of
a row of lottery tickets was a tall, balding man she recognized. Dressed in a long black trench coat hanging open to reveal a cheap suit underneath, he looked just as intimidating as she remembered.
Slowly, Detective Machado turned his head to look at her and gave her a pleasant, friendly smile. “Miss Baker, you sure are a tough girl to track down.”
Staring at him, she couldn’t speak. All she could think was, Julian, you asshole.
“No credit card trails, no signs of your name popping up anywhere. You just went off the grid.” Taking a few steps toward her, he put his hands in his pocket. “Good thing your friend tipped me off.”
She felt Shane come up behind her, and she glanced over at him, seeing he looked alert and alarmed and she wondered just how shocked she looked. She felt completely weak, suddenly drained, and unable to move a single step.
“Something we can help you with?” Shane asked.
Machado pulled his badge out of his pocket and held it up. “Official police business, son,” he said with a grin and a mild stare-down, “but thanks for the offer.”
Feeling Shane’s gaze bore down into her, along with the steady and suspicious look Machado held on her, Cameron couldn’t take it. Without thinking, she bolted. Heading straight for the door to the garage as fast as her legs would carry her.
He followed after her, pouncing on her just as their presence gained Chad’s attention.
Her brother tried to protest as Machado tackled her to the floor and cuffed her wrists behind her back, but it did no good. He carted her to the local precinct anyway.
***
Cameron stood in the corner of the interrogation room with her arms crossed. In the last hour, her humiliation had died down a little, but she still shivered whenever she remembered the look on Sam’s face when the detective paraded her through the squad room. Sam had just stared at her, his face a complete blank, his cheeks reddening while the detective explained he found a suspect in Sam’s jurisdiction. Then they’d left her in the interrogation room. Now she was waiting to be questioned, filled with fear and dread, while Machado was cluing Sam in on God only knew what. She was sure Machado had left her in here for over an hour just to make her sweat. It was working.
Another Life: Another Life Series #1 Page 15
