by Imogen Wells
The sound of my voice breaks through the shouting of the men as they are restrained, and my heart sinks when I hear the words that I know Cam will have heard. I don’t doubt that she would have believed them too. Fuck. I fucked up not telling her I knew what she’d been through, and what that fucker Sean had done to her. But I can’t worry about it now, I need to find her first.
Just as I go to move through the room, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and dodge the fist that flies towards my face. It’s Lincoln, Lewis’ brother.
“You motherfucker, you murdered my brother!” he bellows, as he comes for me again.
“Not me, prick, though I wish it had been,” I spit out, just as he reaches me with his fists swinging. I duck, then land a blow to his gut that knocks all the air from his lungs. Following up with a jab to the kidneys before finishing him off with an uppercut that has his jaw rattling and eyes rolling in his head. He hits the deck, cracking his head on the wood floor, out cold.
The phone he was holding, still playing my voice, lays on the floor next to him, and I snatch it up. Turning it off, I shove it in my pocket for later.
I see Seb take down two other guys over on the left as I stride down the hall. I catch a glimpse of Russ as he limps through a door at the back of the room. No way, arsehole. Rushing forward, I pass a girl, of no more than twenty, in a pool of blood, and my heart rate skyrockets.
I push through the door cautiously, knowing Russ can fight with the best of them, but I needn’t have worried. He hasn’t got far, the injury to his leg slowing him down as he reaches a door at the end of the hallway.
“You’re a dead man walking, Russ,” I shout, as I charge at him. He doesn’t even try to fight back as I smash my fist into his face, and he lands on his back. I grab the front of his shirt, lifting his face to mine. “I would kill you, but instead I’ve arranged a nice welcoming party in prison for you.” I punch him again, letting him drop to the floor unconscious.
I hear Cam’s voice in the room next to me, and I burst through the door, coming to a dead stop when I catch sight of the woman I’m in love with. Her face is contorted with pain, eyes wild, looking almost feral. She’s beautiful. I watch with pure admiration as she rams the knife into Sean’s neck, with a snarl on her face. Blood sprays all over her as Sean tries to talk but chokes on his own blood. Good. As he falls back, she shifts her legs away from him, no longer trapped. I see that her left arm hangs limply at her side and her dress is torn at the back, but I can’t see anything else from this angle. Cam’s eyes meet mine, and I try the best I can to rein in my fury so I don’t scare her.
Cam looks back at Sean, and I watch her watching him as he breathes his last breath. I move very slowly towards her, then crouch down in front of her. I reach out a hand to touch her cheek, but she instantly flinches away. I’m not going to lie and say it didn’t fucking hurt. It cuts like a knife. She scrambles back from me, out of reach, so I stay where I am and wait.
When her eyes meet mine again, I drop to my knees in front of her, and I watch a myriad of emotions cross her face as she stares out at the room. Then she’s in my lap. I wrap my arms around her, feeling the wetness of blood on her back, and I grind my teeth, looking back at Sean and wishing I could kill him all over again. She buries her head in my chest, and I give her a couple of minutes hoping that she can feel my love for her.
As her breathing evens out and she relaxes in my hold, I brush the hair from her face, seeing her split lip and bruises. It slays me to see this beautiful woman marked in such a way. A woman that I love. I tried to deny it, but I can’t any longer. No woman has ever made me feel the way Cam does. I know she’s going to be mad at me, she’s going to have questions, but I just hope the answers I give are enough.
Telling her she needs to go to the hospital, she gives a small imperceptible nod, and as carefully as I can, I scoop her up and carry her out.
I hate fucking waiting. I’m pacing the floor of the small waiting room the nurse showed us to after they took Cam in for examination. I didn’t get a good look at the marks on her back, but I have a pretty good idea what they are. Every muscle in my body tenses and feels like it’s going to snap when I think about that bastard laying his hands on her and hurting her. I want to rip him limb from limb, and then put him back together so I can do it over and over again. I wanted him to suffer, and although he did, it wasn’t even close to the pain I would have inflicted on the man that killed my brother and hurt the woman I love.
The door swings open, raising my head slightly I see it’s Seb with two mugs of tea. No doubt he sweet talked one of the nurses, the guy knows no bounds. I shake my head at him as I take the mug he offers.
“What?” he asks, innocence and disbelief lacing his tone.
“You. You’re unbelievable, that’s what,” I say with a small smile, as I take a sip of the hot, sweet tea.
“Sit down, man. You make the place look untidy.” Not in the mood to argue, I take the seat across from him. “So, while I was gone, I called that Jamie chick. She sounds hot. Like, she can ride my dick anytime, hot.” I narrow my eyes at him, piercing him with a glare that makes it clear he’s to stay the hell away. “Aww, come on, don’t be like that. She might like me.” He winks, bringing the mug to his lips.
“She would not like you. Jamie is a smart woman. Not at all like the bimbos you usually go for,” I say, rolling my eyes. He scoffs at that and goes back to drinking his tea.
While we wait, I try not to think about how different tonight could have been if we hadn’t had that tracker on Cam and Russ. After Jamie’s attack and Cam’s accident, I became suspicious of Russ. Some stuff just didn’t add up, and when we did a little digging into the guy from the hotel, we came up trumps.
We managed to trace him back to a bar in the city that frequently ran behind doors poker nights, and who should be sat at the table with him? Russ. After that I had Scott keep a very close eye on Russ. We don’t yet know how Russ was connected to Sean, but I will get the answers I need.
An hour later the nurse comes and gives us an update on Cam. Aside from the dislocated shoulder and the wounds to her back she’s good. They have moved her to a private room, at my request, and though she’s still woozy from the drugs we can see her.
I pause with my hand on the door, suddenly unsure about seeing her and what to say. I haven’t forgotten our lovemaking, and that’s what it was, the day she found out I knew about Faye. And even though I felt those words on the tip of my tongue, they never crossed my lips. I think that maybe if I had, then this would be much easier. Cam would know exactly how I feel about her, and that fucking recording that Sean played wouldn’t have put any doubts in her head. I don’t know how this is going to go, so I take a deep breath and push through the door.
Cam is asleep, left arm in a sling while the other lays by her side. The knuckles on both her hands are red, evidence of her fight with Sean. How the fuck she managed that with a dislocated shoulder, I don’t know, but it shows just how strong she really is. If only she believed it.
I pick the only chair in the room up and move it closer to the bed, and when I turn around her eyes are on me. I offer her a small smile as I sit.
“Hey,” I say, then clear my throat and swallow down the lump there. “How are you feeling?” Cam closes her eyes, wincing as she shifts in the bed. I try to wait her out, but the tension in the air is stifling. “Jamie is on her way. I told her you were fine and to let you rest, but she wasn’t hav—”
“Why are you here, Ryder?” she questions, her voice quiet but strong, and I don’t miss the slight bite to them. “Your job is finished now. Sean’s dead, so you don’t need to check up on me anymore.”
Fuck. This is going to be harder than I thought. “That’s not fair, Cam. You were never just a job and you know it,” I growl.
“Do I? Because from where I’m standing that’s all I ever was to you, oh, and a good fuck.” I leap to my feet, the chair scraping on the floor as it’s pushed back. “I
think you should leave.” Cam turns her head away from me in complete dismissal, and my heart sinks.
I open my mouth ready to fire back at her, but I stop myself, knowing it will only make things worse. My chest aches, like someone just shoved a knife right through it at what I’m about to say, but I need to give her time.
“Okay, fine. I’ll go, but don’t for one second think that this is over, Cam, because it fucking isn’t.” The words burn their way out, and I have to physically force my feet to move away from her.
I stop at the door, turning to look at her. She’s still facing the window, but I don’t miss the tear that slips down her face. I clench my jaw, and my knuckles turn white with my grip on the handle of the door because all I want to do is go to her and hold her. Instead, I drop my head and walk away, praying that I’m doing the right thing. That giving her time will help her see straight and see the truth. That I love her.
As I step out, shutting the door behind me, I see Jamie rushing down the corridor. I walk down to meet her, and as I reach her, I see the confusion on her face.
“Hey. Is she okay? What’s going on?”
“She’s fine, Jamie. Well, not fine, but she’s okay. You should go talk to her, she’s awake. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.” I try not to sound bitter, but Jamie doesn’t miss it in my voice. She scrutinises my face, and I don’t think she realises how intimidating she can be.
“What did you do?” Jamie points an accusing finger at me.
“Look,” I sigh, running my hand through my hair before continuing, “Cam will tell you, but you need to know that it’s not true. And, yeah, I may have known some stuff I didn’t tell her, but I did what I thought was right. None of it changes anything between us, not for me anyway.” I go to walk past her, but Jamie’s hand on my arm stops me.
“You love her, don’t you?” she asks, looking at me with a knowing smile on her face.
I nod, then say, “Not telling her sooner was my mistake, and I intend on fixing that. When she’ll fucking listen to me. Take care of her for me, yeah?” Her hand slips off my arm as I walk away down the corridor, and the knife in my heart twists with every step I take.
Thirty-Six
Camryn
The soft click of the door closing opens the floodgates, and my bottom lip trembles as the sob I fought to keep in breaks free. My whole-body hurts, my shoulder throbs, my back feels as though there are a thousand tiny fire ants dancing across it, but the most agonising pain is deep inside. It’s the kind of pain that sits in the shadows, a dull ache that can be ignited to the heat of fire in an instant. I swipe at the tears on my face, angry at myself for allowing them to fall.
The whoosh of the door opening has me tensing, ready to tell Ryder to do one. When I turn around, it’s not Ryder, it’s Jamie. Jamie strides across the room and takes me into her arms. Talking softly and stroking my hair as I fall apart in her arms. When my head throbs and my eyes are swollen and gritty, I pull back. Jamie passes me the box of tissues, and I wipe the tears from my face. Not one to waste time or beat around the bush, Jamie dives right on in.
“So, you want to tell me why that broody hunk of yours just walked away looking like someone kicked him in the nuts?”
“Luckily for him, I can’t get out of this damn bed, otherwise he wouldn’t just look like he had, trust me.” I push the button on the side of the bed to raise it up slightly, screwing my face up as the movement pulls on my shoulder.
Once I’m settled, Jamie sits in the chair next to me and waits for me to talk. I don’t really want to relive everything so soon, but I know talking about it with Jamie will help. I tell her everything and feel surprisingly lighter after.
“So, he knew more about Sean than he told you, they have a history, and he knew about your past?” she verifies in short. I nod, expecting her to be as angry with him as I am but she’s not. “Have you given him a chance to explain? Because I guarantee that whatever you’re thinking about him knowing those things about you, will not be the same for him.”
“What are you saying, Jamie? I thought you’d understand.” I struggle to keep the irritation from my voice. Jamie’s my best friend, and the one person that I thought would be on my side.
“I do understand, and you know I love you, Cam. But don’t let your own hang-ups about what happened to you push the people that care about you the most away.” I try to interrupt, but Jamie holds a hand up, stopping me. “You need to consider his reasons for not sharing with you. Let me ask you this, what was your biggest fear about Blue finding out?”
My immediate response is that Ryder would think differently about me, that he’d think I’m worthless and disgusting. But thinking more about it, that doesn’t really add up. If Ryder has known all this time, and he actually thought that, then why would he sleep with me in the first place? When I tell Jamie my thoughts, she nods her agreement.
“That’s my point, Cam. And how do you feel about yourself and what happened to you?” Her question comes out strong, but I don’t miss the cautionary way she says it.
I know what she’s asking, what she’s saying. She thinks that I projected how I feel about myself onto Ryder. I realise she’s not wrong. “I feel worthless and disgusting. Sean always told me I was a whore, and after everything that he…and his friends did to me I started to believe it.” I look away, unable to hold her gaze.
“Cam.” She waits for me to look at her before continuing. “You need to give him a chance to explain his reasons, and you need to start believing that you are worth so much more than what that fucker Sean told you. Sean manipulated you and used the ones you love against you to keep you under his control and by his side.”
I know everything she’s saying is true, but I’m not ready to believe it quite yet. I tell her that I’ll hear him out, but I’m not making any promises. Then I change the subject not wanting to talk anymore about the man that makes me feel safer than I’ve ever felt before. The man that has a whole rabble of butterflies beating in my chest whenever he’s near, and the man whose rough hands and rough touch make me fly.
Jamie wants to stay at her parent’s house a little longer, not for herself, but because things are so strained between her parents right now. She’s concerned about them and I totally understand.
I have no intention of going back to Ryder’s. I need some time to sort out my feelings before I face him again. Jamie promises that she’ll have my things returned to the house and arrange for a key to be dropped here for me ready for when I’m discharged.
After she leaves, I fall asleep for a while, and when I wake Seb is sitting in the chair tapping away at his phone. Feeling immensely irritated that he’s here, having just woken up and because my shoulder is throbbing like a bitch, means my welcome is not exactly, well, welcoming.
“What do you want, Seb?”
“Woah. Someone’s snarky when they wake up.” He slips his phone into his pocket. “A little birdie told me that you’re pissed at them, so I’m here until you two kiss and make up.” He gives me a wink then waggles his brows. I have to try damn hard not to smile at him, but then I remember who he’s talking about and any thought of a smile disappears.
“Well, in case you didn’t know, the bad guy is dead, and I don’t need a babysitter anymore. So, you can go. Please let Rick know that I appreciate all his help, and I’ll sort out payment with him soon.” I shuffle the blankets on my bed for something to do with my one good hand, then turn to look out the window. The nurse comes in before Seb gets a chance to reply, small mercies.
I realise that I must have slept longer than I thought, it’s now almost dawn, and I watch as the sun begins to rise over the city skyline. The nurse said that the doctor will be round shortly, and if he’s happy then I’ll be discharged later today.
Seb sits quietly in the chair, and when I sneak a look at him, I see he’s fallen asleep. Head to one side, at an angle that’s sure to give him a crook neck when he wakes. Serves him right.
I don’t under
stand why Ryder would send him here. I’m not in danger anymore, am I? No, that can’t be it. Despite how I feel about Ryder, I know damn sure he wouldn’t have left, no matter how mad I am at him, if that were true.
I think back over my conversation with Jamie and she’s right. I have been projecting how I feel about myself onto Ryder and that’s not fair. But that doesn’t excuse the fact he knew and didn’t say anything, and it also doesn’t explain why he never told me he knew so much about Sean or what their connection was.
It’s obvious from Sean’s comments that Tyler was working with Ryder and the guys, it’s obviously how they knew about me, but what I don’t understand is what Ryder’s personal vendetta against Sean is about. Then the dots slowly connect. Kyle, Ryder’s brother, that’s the connection. It has to be. I’m not sure how I feel about being a pawn in their personal war on Sean. I hated the guy, and I’m glad he’s dead. But now I’m thinking that Rick only agreed to help because I was the best way to get to Sean. I guess there’s only one way to find out.
I doze for a while. The painkillers the nurse gave me are bloody good. Seb snores in the chair beside me, but as soon as the door to the room opens, he’s awake and alert.
The doctor approves me for discharge, and I can’t wait to get out of this place.
After the doctor leaves to arrange my discharge papers, I change into the clothes that Seb brought for me while he goes to make a phone call. I don’t need to be a detective to work out who he’s phoning.
Seb escorts me from the hospital an hour later, and when I tell him to take me to Jamie’s there’s not even the hint of an argument from him. I have to admit that I’m a little surprised and maybe a little disappointed too.
When we pull up at Jamie’s there’s no sign of the police tape from the last time we were here, and as I step out of the car, I realise I don’t know what happened to Russ.
