by Imogen Wells
Walking back into the hospital I find Scott there, and he tells me that Russ is here getting his hand stitched up. Filling him in on Jamie’s injuries, I ask him what the fuck happened. Apparently, Jamie left early after she got a message about something wrong at the house, Scott doesn’t know exactly what. As soon as Scott found out from one of the nurses, no doubt one he’s been screwing, that Jamie left early he called Russ to let him know, but Russ said he was closer and he’d meet Scott there. When Scott arrived, the police were just arriving, and the paramedics were bringing Jamie out.
“What took you so long to get there?” I ask Scott, accusation clear in my tone.
“Some dickhead blocked my car in at the hotel, and I had to get reception to find the owner of the damn car before I could get out. The guy was as pissed as a newt when they finally found him, and I had to move the car myself. Turns out the guy wasn’t even a guest at the hotel.” I raise an eyebrow at that. “Yeah, coincidence? My thoughts too.”
“What about at the house, did you find anything that can help identify this guy?”
“Nah, whoever did it knew what they were doing. The lock on the back door had been picked, at least it seems that way as there was no sign of forced entry. The one thing I don’t get is the broken window in the back door, if the guy picked the lock, why break the window?” he muses, then shrugs. “Maybe it got broken during the struggle, I mean, most of the glass was on the outside, which indicates a window broken from inside. Once Jamie’s awake, hopefully she’ll be able to shed some light on it.”
Before Scott leaves, I ask him to get Russ’ statement, and then let me know when they are heading back out.
Not wanting to face Cam again after the way I left things, I head to the cafeteria. Grabbing a tea that’s bound to taste like dirty dish water, I find a seat in the corner and call Sully to let him know the situation. As I finish my call with Sully, Jamie’s father walks in, spotting me, he changes direction heading this way.
“Dom. How is she?” I ask, as he approaches the table.
“The doctor is hopeful that she’ll wake in the next 24 hours, and there’s no sign of permanent damage. Camryn is back in there with Louise, we tried to send her home, but she’s stubborn and refuses to go anywhere.” I give a nod to that assessment of Cam. “How worried should I be, Blue?”
I consider what I should tell him, he may be Jamie’s father but he’s a damn journo, and they’d sell their own mother for a good story. But I’ve known him for a few years, and he’s a good man. “How much do you know about Cam?” I ask, feeling him out first.
He pulls a chair out, sitting down, he rubs a hand down his face. “I’m not stupid, I knew when Jamie told me about her that she was running from something…But, fuck, Sean Donovan, Blue. That’s some serious trouble to be running from. She’s a good girl, I gave her a job, works hard and keeps her head down, but—”
“I get it, Donovan is not a guy you want on your radar. I can’t tell you too much, you know how it is, but we have something in the works to bring him down. I can have some extra guys brought in to watch Jamie, if you want?”
He shakes his head. “No, I have my own guys. When Jamie is released, she can come home with us, but what about Camryn, she’s more than wel—”
“She’s with me,” I state, the territorial tone a dead giveaway, and I wish I could have hidden it better. “It’s my job to protect her, and that’s what I’ll do,” I add, and it’s the lamest attempt to cover up my true feelings, hiding behind my job. My fucking mask is sliding off my face like snow in an avalanche. Dom chuckles, which he tries to cover with a cough.
“How did you know it was Sean? Cam’s been pretty tight lipped about him, barely even mentioning his name till recently.”
“Jamie told me, said you mentioned the name Sean, and well, she’s a smart girl, put two and two together. I wish you’d come to me first; you know I can get information. I could have helped. I still can if you need it.” He seems genuine, I guess having your daughter in the sights of a man like Sean Donovan will do that to you.
“Thanks, Dom, and I’ll call if there’s anything,” I say, with a head nod.
“Right, okay then, I best get back with this food and drink. You coming?” Rising from his chair and placing it back under the table.
“No, I have some calls to make, I’ll catch up with you later.” I wave my phone to emphasise my point. He spins back towards the food counter and joins the queue that’s now formed.
Dom seemed a bit put out by my brush off of his offer to help, and whilst I believe he’s being sincere, I can’t afford for him to fuck this up by tipping the wrong person off while digging around for information. That man knows a lot of people, some of them worse than Donovan. But he could prove useful, so I won’t write him off completely. Better to keep all options open.
I stay in the cafeteria, drink another disgusting cup of dish water and even manage something that just passes for a sandwich. Going over what Scott said it’s likely that someone drew Jamie away from work intentionally, their motive obviously to cut Cam off, isolate her, fuck with her head. They did a pretty fucking good job of that if what went down between us earlier is any indication. I can’t wait for the shit fit she’s going to throw when I tell her that she’s coming to stay with me.
With Jamie staying with her dad, maybe Sean will think his tactics are working, although, I’ve no doubt he knows I’m here. It’s probably fucking with his head that I’m so close to his girl. That pleases the beast inside me, getting under his skin and bringing him down, has my beast purring like a damn cat.
My phone vibrates on the table, a message from Scott pops up on the screen. He’s at the ICU waiting for me, I send a quick reply telling him I’m on my way. Scott is outside the lift when I step out, an envelope in his hand. Handing it to me, he tells me its Russ’ statement, and he and Russ are heading back to the hotel. Scott’s eyes flick over my shoulder quickly before coming back to me, a tingle running down my spine. I don’t need to look to know it’s Cam, I can fucking feel her. Obviously as keen as me to avoid each other, Scott tells me she went the other way. When I tell him that Cam will be moving in with me temporarily, the hard-faced bastard actually cracks a smile, which I wipe off his smug face in the next second.
“I have to go back to London for a day or two, I got a tip off about a new shipment coming in, and I need to check it out, so you and Russ are on babysitting duty.” I don’t even try to hide my smile. “One of you is to be with her at all times, you don’t let her out of your sight. Seb is close by if you need him. I’ll be leaving in the morning, so be at mine at 6am.” He nods, getting in the lift just as it arrives.
Now I need to go find my startled little deer and break the news to her. This should be fucking fun. I’m not keen to leave Cam, but this is important. The tip off was anonymous, but with all the whispers Sully has heard recently it makes sense.
I head off in the direction Cam went, and as I round the corner, I see her slip inside a door on the left. I wait outside for her, and as the door begins to open, I quickly pull it open and shove her back inside closing and locking the door behind me.
“For fucks sake, Ryder, you scared the crap out of me!” I stalk towards her, and she backs up as I invade her space. I watch as the shutters come down, and she lifts her chin with defiant eyes staring back at me.
“Shhh, Bambi,” I whisper, putting a finger to my lips. Cam’s eyes spark with fire, as I cage her in against the wall.
“You’re a dick, do you know that? Normal people would just wait outside, not scare the living crap out of someone and lock them in a toilet with them.”
“I’ve heard that once or twice before, and we both know that I’m far from normal, so let’s skip the bitching. How’s Jamie?” I ask, as I lean in, running my nose down her neck and taking in the sweet smell of vanilla that’s always on her skin.
“She’s awake, I left her with the nurse,” she says, as a shiver runs across her skin, and that has
my dick taking notice. Now is not the time, and certainly not in some skanky hospital toilet, no matter how much my dick tries to convince me otherwise.
“Good. Let’s go talk to her, find out what she remembers.” I say, taking her hand and pulling her behind me, down the corridor back to Jamie’s room.
Twenty
Camryn
This man infuriates me like no one else ever has. Scares the shit out me, sniffs me like a fucking dog, and then drags me behind him like a petulant child. I’m still angry with him for what happened outside, not because of what he said, we both know he was right about that. But more because he was right, and he called me out on it.
I hate liars but isn’t that what I’ve been doing since the day I ran from Sean? Lying to everyone that knows me, lying about who I really am, and lying to myself. That one hurts more than anything else.
I don’t know why I thought I could just up and leave, change my identity and live a normal life. I don’t want to live a life where I’m always looking over my shoulder, never able to settle anywhere for too long for fear that Sean will find me.
I should have walked away from Jamie that morning on the streets, then none of this would have happened. But I didn’t and I can’t change that now. It wouldn’t have saved Tyler, and if it wasn’t Jamie it would have been someone else. There was always going to be a big red target on the back of anyone that came into my sphere. Did I intentionally set out to hurt Jamie? No fucking way. I need to stop blaming myself and realise that the person to blame for all this shit, is Sean-fucking-Donovan. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, it’s just a shame it always comes too fucking late.
When we enter Jamie’s room, there’s no sign of her parents, but Jamie is sitting up, although a little awkwardly and in obvious pain. Jamie begins to laugh as she sees Ryder dragging me into the room, then winces as the pain from her broken ribs takes hold, stopping her instantly. Despite endeavouring not to blame myself, the guilt still tries to take the reins, and I’m unable to stop the memory that looking at her brings.
“You fucking stupid bitch! What have I told you before, huh? Keep your fucking stupid cunt of a mouth shut unless I speak to you. Dumb bitch!” He swiped his hand out, catching me across the cheek so hard my head whipped to the side. Before I even had a chance to recover, his fist landed in my stomach, buckling my knees and bringing me to the floor. With one hand on the floor and the other cradling my stomach, I tried to heave in the breath that my lungs screamed out for. His hand gripped my hair, yanking my head back. His eyes, normally a dark brown, were almost black as the rage consumed him, bored into mine. I smelt the whiskey on his breath, and it almost made me gag as he screamed in my face. The hold on my hair was so tight, my neck pulled back so far that I was sure he was going to break it. That would have been a blessing he’d never give me.
As he continued his assault on me, I drifted into my special place, shutting out the pain, thinking of happier times, and my beautiful daughter. I don’t know how long it lasted, time seemed to slow, it was almost like I was watching from outside of my body. I watched as he rained down hit after hit, and when I collapsed to the floor the kicking started. I remember my ribs were on fire, and my breaths shallow as I tried to get enough air into them. When he was spent, he spat on me before walking away and leaving me there.
His men never intervened, except when he asked them to hold me down, or touch me. The only one to ever show any emotion, other than hate or offer pain, was Tyler. It was him that came to me that night, cleaned me up, treated my wounds and dressed my broken ribs.
I come back to the room as Ryder touches my cheek, and I flinch back from him. Confusion at my reaction swims in his eyes, I offer a small smile and a shake of my head that I hope tells him it was nothing. I reach for his hand as it drops back to his side, slipping my fingers between his, and before he can ask me what just happened, I pull him towards Jamie and ask her what the nurse said.
After Jamie fills us in on what the nurse said, Ryder doesn’t waste a second getting to what he’s here for. Jamie tells us how she left her shift early because she got a message from her neighbour to say there was a man loitering outside. Apparently, Jamie has herself a man I didn’t know about, I give her quizzical look, then tell her I’ll be getting all the details later. Thinking it was just her man arriving early, she didn’t think anything more of it, but when she arrived home, there was nobody there. After showering, she came down to get some food and that’s when she noticed the back door was open.
My sharp intake of breath, has them both spinning to face me. Shit! I realise that I never told anyone about my incident with the back door the other night. I wave it off for now, I tell Jamie to carry on. She does, but I can feel Ryder’s eyes on me, burning the side of my face with their intensity, and I give his foot a kick to get him focused back on what Jamie is saying.
Jamie tells us that as she pulled the door closed, someone hit her from behind, and as she fell to the floor, they started dragging her backwards by her hair.
“He was dragging me; my vision was blurred. I started kicking and screaming, trying to loosen his hold on me, but it just made him angry, yanking my hair harder. As we neared the door from the utility, I grabbed the frame, and I tried to spin around so I could see him and maybe kick out at him, anything to get him to let go. He kicked my arm, I think that’s how my wrist got broken, after that I couldn’t hold on, he was too strong. I fought so hard, Cam.” Her voice breaks, and I move closer, pulling her hand to mine.
“It’s okay, Jamie, you’re safe now,” I say, but the words taste like another lie on my tongue.
“I started to look around for anything that I could use as a weapon, I still couldn’t focus properly. As he pulled me down the hall, I saw one of your shoes, and I’ve never been so grateful for your laziness. Snatching it up, I swung my arm out, hitting him in the knee. It was enough for him to loosen his grip on me, and I scrambled away. Just as I got to my feet, I felt him at my back and ran. I ran for the back door, but he reached me before I could open it. Spinning me round and slamming my back against it, he lashed out, but I dodged it and he hit the window, smashing the glass. After that I don’t remember much else, just his fists, and the kicks as he hit me over and over again. I’m sorry.”
Those two words from my only friend, cause the tears that welled in my eyes as she told her story, to overflow and stream down my face. “What the hell, Jamie! You do not need to apologise. It’s me that should be sorry. It’s my fault this happened to you, and for that, I will never forgive myself.” I drop my head, unable to look at her for a second.
Then I feel Ryder’s hand on my back, remembering his words from earlier, I harden my resolve, and turn my guilt and pain into anger. And that anger has only one focus. Sean Donovan. Looking back up at Jamie, I say, “But, I promise you, Jamie, he won’t get away with this. He will pay, I’ll make sure of it. I will do whatever it takes.” Even if I have to pay with my life! I won’t allow him to hurt one more person I care about, and if that means I end up dead, then so fucking be it!
“Jamie, did you get a look at his face at all?” Ryder asks.
“No, he had a hood on, like the hoodie from a jumper and a scarf covering the lower half of his face. He didn’t speak, and from what I saw his clothes were all plain and dark.” Her brow creases for a second and then, “Hold on, he had a tattoo, on one of his forearms, I caught a glimpse when his sleeve was pushed up in the struggle, but I don’t remember what it was of.” She frowns, and I can see as she struggles to remember.
“That’s great, Jamie. Every little thing you can remember will help. I imagine the police will want to speak to you at some point, just tell them everything you told me, but I have to ask you not to mention anything about Sean.” Jamie agrees without question, and whilst I understand his reasons, I’m a little pissed he’s asking my friend to lie to the police. Before I get a chance to say anything, the door opens, and Dominic and Louise enter carrying a bag for Jamie.
After a quick chat with Jamie’s parents, Ryder ushers me out the door as I promise to come and see her tomorrow. As soon as we are in the car, Ryder turns from understanding, caring friend to overbearing arsehole.
“Start fucking talking, Cam!” He starts the car and peels out of the car park like his arse is on fire.
“Woah! Slow down, Ryder, for fucks sake,” I say, as I’m slammed into my seat from the force. “I forgot about it because in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve had other things on my mind. You know, like some grumpy,” he looks at me from the corner of his eye, “sexy,” I smirk at him, “arsehole that may have distracted me,” I finish with a wink, trying to calm his rage-y beast some. He just looks at me with eyes that tell me to get on with it. “Okay, fine. Jamie was at work and I’d been in the garden. When I’d finished, I was dirty and went for a bath, but when I came back down the back door was open. I just assumed that I didn’t close it properly when I came back in. That’s it, nothing else to report, sir,” I snark at him.
I let him rant and rave about my safety, and how I need to tell him of anything suspicious like that in the future. Had he have said all this before, then I may have thought he was overreacting, but given what happened to Jamie last night, I agree without argument.
It’s dark when we pull up to the house, and as we turn into the drive, I see a flicker of light in the house across the road. Spinning in my seat to get a better look, there’s nothing there. I search all the windows for any sign of movement but nothing.
