BABY FOR A PRICE

by Kathryn Thomas

  She left the bedroom and the smell of eggs being fried wafted up over the stairs at the end of the landing. Camille smiled again; he was in the kitchen.

  She walked slowly down the stairs and followed the smell of eggs until she found herself walking into the kitchen. Devin was standing over the burners, flipping them in a frying pan, and all his ten dogs were in a circle around him, blocking his path.

  Devin hadn’t heard her come in, and Camille stood at the door watching him. His back was to her, and she could see the width of his shoulders, the muscles under his shirt, his narrow waist, and his muscular legs in a pair of jeans. She enjoyed watching him and wanting him in silence. She couldn’t believe how lucky she felt.

  Eventually, she cleared her throat. The dogs and Devin turned to look at her. He grinned and turned off the burner.

  “Good morning sleepyhead. Take a seat here at the table,” he said, preparing two breakfast plates for them. Camille smiled and tugged at the sleeves of the dressing gown before she proceeded to take a chair at the table. It was an airy, open-plan kitchen with lots of beautiful natural light. Just the atmosphere alone was enough to make her happy; Devin’s presence only made it more worthwhile.

  “Sorry about your clothes. Your shirt is ripped. You can borrow one of mine for the day if you like,” Devin added, walking over to the table with the plates. Camille bit down on her lip, nodded, and stared at the food. She hadn’t realized how hungry she actually was.

  He had fried two eggs each and made them a stack of pancakes with maple syrup dripping off the edges. Camille licked her lips and looked up at him. He was watching her closely.

  “And you can cook?” she remarked, reaching for the cutlery that he had already arranged for her on the table.

  “It’s all an illusion. Don’t blame me if none of this is edible,” Devin said with a laugh and walked back over to the kitchen counter to pour some coffee into two mugs.

  Camille had already dug in, and when the sweet doughy texture of the pancakes hit her taste buds, she closed her eyes and moaned.

  “This is gorgeous. Where did you learn to cook a breakfast like this?” She asked, with food still in her mouth. Devin came back to the table with the coffees and placed a mug in front of her.

  “My mother. She was an excellent cook.” He pulled out a chair beside her. His dogs had all congregated around him again, and he tore a few pieces of the pancakes and started flipping them over to his dogs. Camille giggled and tried doing it herself. The dogs wagged their tails and were drawn away from Devin and towards her immediately.

  “I had a wonderful time last night, Camille,” his voice interrupted her, and she looked up at him. He was serious. Camille nodded and smiled.

  “I had a lovely time too, Devin,” she replied, a sudden dread filling her bones again. She was worried that he was going to tell her suddenly that he didn’t want to see her anymore and that a night like this couldn’t happen again. Why would a man like Devin want to be with her anyway?

  “I’m going away on a trip,” Devin said, and the smile on Camille’s face disappeared. Here it was, he was about to tell her that he wouldn’t be able to keep in touch with her. She didn’t say anything, so he continued.

  “Only for a week though. I just don’t want you to worry if you don’t hear from me for a few days,” Devin explained, and to her surprise, he reached for her hand and patted it. Camille stared at him.

  “Sure,” she said, trying to hide her nervousness.

  “I’ll have a surprise waiting for you when I meet you again.” Devin had a twinkle in his eye and Camille tried to read his face. He still looked calm and relaxed; he trusted her. But she couldn’t trust him entirely. She couldn’t be completely sure that she would ever see him again. But she smiled anyway. She wasn’t going to make him think that she doubted him.

  “I look forward to it,” Camille said and chewed on another mouthful of her pancake again.

  ***

  “What are you doing here?” Camille asked when she entered her comic bookstore. She had tried to unlock the door but found it already unlocked. Shayna was standing behind the counter, bagging a few books for a customer.

  “It’s eleven Camille. I guessed right - that you wouldn’t make it in time to open up the store,” Shayna said, accepting the cash that the customer handed to her. Camille waited for the guy to leave before she walked over to Shayna, unable to hide the smile on her face.

  “Did you spend the night at Devin’s then?” Shayna placed her hands on her hips. Camille nodded and bit down on her lip.

  “He is seriously amazing. I even sketched a portrait of him,” Camille replied, walking around the counter to go stand next to her friend. Shayna rolled her eyes, and then looked excited again.

  “Hey, you got a call this morning at the store. Thankfully I was here to receive it.” Shayna said while Camille started arranging her accounts books. She turned to look at Shayna with her brows crossed.

  “Someone called the store? Nobody ever calls the store.” Camille dropped her hands to the side. Shayna nodded her head excitedly; she looked like she was bursting with some sort of secret she had forced herself to keep.

  “What did they want? A book order?” Camille asked, studying Shayna’s face carefully.

  “No. They were looking for the store owner because they wanted to be put in touch with the author or authors of Country Crowns.” Shayna clapped her hands and jumped up and down with excitement. Camille’s eyes widened, and she smiled broadly.

  “What? Why? Who were they?” Camille asked, but Shayna was still too giddy, and she needed to calm down first before she could explain anymore.

  “I don’t know. They didn’t say. He said that he would explain it directly to the author,” Shayna told Camille with her hand on her heart.

  Camille could feel her own heart beating fast, how was this all happening? Was it just a coincidence that ever since Devin Rock had walked into this store, her usual boring life had suddenly taken an exciting turn?

  “So what did you say, what did you do?” Camille asked her friend.

  “I gave them your number. I didn’t tell them your name, of course, but I gave them your digits.” Shayna was still excited and fumbling up her words. Camille’s smile grew.

  “Oh my goodness! What do you think this means?!” Camille shrieked, and Shayna shrugged.

  “Maybe it’s our big break? I don’t know? I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out. Oh my God, Camille, I’m so excited!” Shayna jumped and hugged her friend tightly. Camille hugged her back, and they were both giggling like teenage girls.

  “This could be big, Shayna. This could mean anything. Or it could mean nothing,” Camille said, stroking Shayna’s back.

  “I want it to be big. I want it to be huge news. I want to be famous Camille! I want people to know about our books.” Shayna was jumping again, and Camille started laughing.

  “We have to take it slow there, Shayna. We have to decide first if we are going to reveal our true identities.” Camille had started pacing the floor of the bookstore now. She was thinking hard, trying to make sense of it all.

  “What are you talking about? Of course we have to reveal our true identities! What is the point otherwise?” Shayna squealed, and Camille held up her hand.

  “Let me think, Shayna. I have to think.” Camille told her, and Shayna came up close to her face.

  “Think about what? We have to tell them who we are. We have to come out in the open, publish our books under our own names. Country Crowns is good, it’s brilliant… it’s getting noticed.” Shayna suddenly shook Camille by her shoulders, and the two girls started laughing with excitement again.

  “But what if it gets too much to handle? Maybe it was a good idea to publish under pen names. Do you really want all that fame?” Camille asked, and Shayna nodded her head vigorously.

  “Of course I do! I want the fame and the money and the recognition. Camille, we have to tell them who we are. This is the chance of a
lifetime - what we’ve been waiting for. We have to grab it and just… just go with it!” In her excitement, Shayna knocked a stack of books off the counter top. Camille shook her head indulgently and then walked over to help her friend pick them back up.

  “What is holding you back, Camille?” Shayna asked in a quieter voice now. Camille ran her fingers through her curls and tucked a few strands behind her ears and shrugged her shoulders.

  “I just want to be absolutely sure that this is the right thing to do. I want to make sure that our audience accepts us, and that our lives don’t change because we start publishing under our real names,” Camille said, stacking up the books. When she looked up, Shayna was staring at her.

  “Are you kidding me? Our lives will never be the same again if our books are a success. Isn’t that what you want anyway? Our lives are boring, Camille. It’s time to take ownership of our talent,” Shayna threw back, straightening up and dusting her short denim skirt. Camille followed suit and smiled. She trusted Shayna’s decision and her instincts. It was time to come out and face the limelight.

  “What are you wearing by the way?” Shayna asked, suddenly interrupting her thoughts. Camille looked down at herself, remembering now that she was wearing one of Devin’s shirts.

  “Are you wearing his clothes?” Shayna’s mouth hung open in mockery.

  Camille felt her cheeks blush, and she turned away from her friend. “Yeah… He ripped my clothes off me,” she confessed, and Shayna broke into another fit of giggles.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Devin

  They were taking a break, so Devin hopped off his bike and walked over to the side of the ravine to light a cigarette. The sun was setting, and there was an orange-red glow on the horizon, which made the desert sand around them shine to a brilliant, glittering gold. Devin took in a deep breath, a mouthful of smoke from the cigarette, and thought about how he wished Camille could see the beautiful desert terrain.

  He could feel his shoulders ache. They had been riding for at least four hours non-stop now, and there were so many more miles to go. Mr. Janson was a good customer, loyal. He always hired Devin and his club to create a convoy for him when he was making road trips across states. Mr. Janson was loyal to Devin because he never asked any questions. He never wanted to know why Mr. Janson, the multi-millionaire owner of some of the best Las Vegas casinos, never traveled by air. Devin didn’t ask what he was providing Mr. Janson security against. He only gathered his best-trained men and they rode in silence around Mr. Janson’s car across states and then back again, prepared to fend off any attack that he might face. Nothing had happened yet.

  “Hey, Devin. Mr. Janson says we have to get back on track in a few minutes,” he heard Mario’s voice behind him. He breathed in another mouthful of smoke, the cigarette end burnt to a bright orange, and then he dropped it to the dusty ground.

  “Sure,” Devin replied without turning to look at his friend.

  “Five minutes, yeah?” Mario said and then Devin heard his retreating footsteps.

  Devin crushed the cigarette with his heavy duty riding boots and dug his hands into his pockets.

  He couldn’t stop thinking of Camille. It had been three days since he last saw her when she was sleeping in his bed, when she had drawn a sketch of him, and when he had made her breakfast. All he could do was think about when he might see her next. There was no going back now; he had promised to see her again when he went back. It was too late to back out, even for her own good.

  His cellphone in his pocket vibrated, and Devin reached for it. It was an unknown caller, and he answered the call gruffly.

  “Hello, Devin,” he heard the dry deep voice of an older man at the other end of the line. He instantly recognized the voice. It was Jimmy Figueroa, the leader of The Choppers.

  “Hello, Jimmy,” Devin replied, whipping around to make sure that nobody from his club was close enough to listen to the conversation. He didn’t want anybody else to hear because he didn’t want anybody else to react.

  “I hear you’ve been well, Devin,” Jimmy said, but there was laughter in his voice, and Devin gritted his teeth.

  “What do you want, Jimmy?” Devin asked, clenching his fists and trying to keep his emotions under control.

  “I just want to talk Devin.” Jimmy gave a loud laugh. “Why are you getting so worked up?”

  Devin unclenched his fists and looked out towards the darkening horizon to steady his breathing.

  “You’ve been following me. Threatening my friends. I don’t have any reason to talk to you. Now fuck off before I find you and crush you and make sure you never walk again. Stay away from me,” Devin growled into the phone and then hung up before Jimmy Figueroa had a chance to respond.

  He muttered under his breath and waved at Mario who was waving at him to come join their convoy again.

  Devin gritted his teeth as he walked towards them. He couldn’t believe that Jimmy Figueroa had actually had the nerve to call him.

  His thoughts drifted immediately to Camille. Now that she was a part of his life, all this wasn’t just about him, it was also about another person. His life, this life, had always been a dangerous one. But Devin had never worried about the consequences before because he didn’t particularly care about his own safety. But now there was Camille.

  The Choppers had already visited Camille at the store, so they knew her whereabouts. They knew she was connected to him; which would make her a liability.

  Devin clenched his fists again, enjoying the sharp piercing pain of his fingernails digging into his tough skin. He wanted to draw blood. He wanted to punch something, kick someone.

  “You alright there, Devin?” Mario asked when he came into earshot of the club.

  Devin tried to force a grin on his face and nodded. “Let’s go,” he said, swinging his legs over his Harley and fixing his helmet on. At least he was going to be able to ride away - ride away from his thoughts. Maybe this time out from Camille would be a good thing, he thought as he started up his bike. Perhaps this was what she needed; maybe she would even change her mind. If she decided that he brought too much baggage with him for her to be in a relationship with him… he wouldn’t struggle against her decision.

  But one thing he was sure of was that he wasn’t strong enough to push her away. Even though the best decision, for her own safety, would be to do just that. But he needed her too much - he craved for her touch, missed watching her laugh, and wanted to feel her soft bare skin under his fingertips… Camille Griffin was too perfect, too innocent, and too beautiful for him to just give up. But what would be the right thing to do? Wasn’t he just putting her in more danger now? Wasn’t she just asking for trouble?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Camille

  Camille was nervous. She had spent the past two hours deciding what exactly she was going to wear. Devin had texted her the previous night to say that he was back and given her the address of his office to meet him there. It had been over one week since she last saw him, and she hadn’t been able to get him off her mind.

  She was standing in front of her full-length mirror now, wondering if this outfit would do. She had picked out a short blue dress that showed off her curves. It barely reached mid-thigh and had short sleeves. Her heels were black and high. For her makeup, she had gone with a more natural look, and lip gloss instead of lipstick. Her hair was the usual halo of thick tight blonde curls.

  Camille checked her watch again; it was nearly time to go. She gave herself the once over and decided to leave. It was too late to change again anyway. She picked up her purse, locked her apartment, and made her way downstairs with a maddening beating heart.

  Camille caught herself smiling when she settled into the driver’s seat of her car. She was smiling because this was the moment she had been waiting for all week. There were times when she had nearly given up hope of ever hearing from Devin again. She was convinced that this was Devin’s way of putting distance between them. And then he had texted her. Exa
ctly a week later like he had promised her he would, and since then Camille hadn’t been able to stop smiling. No matter what Shayna thought of him, and no matter what her gut instincts told her, Devin made her feel good and safe. She may not know enough about his life, but she knew that he made her head spin in a good way, and she was satisfied with taking it slow.

  Camille drove with the music playing on full blast in the car. She remembered that he had mentioned there would be a surprise waiting for her when they met next, but she didn’t care about this surprise anymore. Not as much as she cared about seeing him again. Her heart was beating out of control from the excitement.

  Devin had mentioned in his text that the address was that of his office, but when she parked outside the building, she realized that it was more of a clubhouse. She smiled again thinking that Devin Rock was always full of surprises.