"My reputation precedes me, huh?"
"Let's just say I will not be trusting any food or drink you pass to me," I said with a smile.
Everything was fine.
Normal.
Calm.
Until a door slammed behind us, making us jump apart slightly just a second before someone shoved Cam's body forward. Hard enough to make him stumble a few feet before catching himself.
Colson shuffled his daughter outside.
West leaned against the wall, grinning.
And I spun around, heart in my throat, worried that, I don't know, Thomas found us or something.
What I found - who I found - was maybe an altogether more terrifying thing.
I knew a leader when I saw one. There was something about the way they carried themselves. A confidence they wore like a shield.
So whoever this tall, hulking man with dark hair graying a bit at the temples and green eyes was, I imagined he was the boss or president or whatever it was he was called. Reign, if I remembered correctly.
And Cam had clearly screwed up.
Because this man was angry.
It was in the set of his jaw, the tension in his shoulders. And, you know, the way he shoved Cam too. Let's not forget that.
My heart tripped into overdrive, my belly falling.
"The fuck you think you're doing?" Reign raged on Cam who was now facing him, brows drawn a bit together. "Don't fucking act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I get that shit was different with you and Liv and Astrid. You were a team, but equal in the pecking order. You didn't answer to anyone. But need I fucking remind you that you are not in charge here. You answer to me. As such, you don't get to take off for three fucking days without telling anyone where you went. You don't get to fucking do that."
As much as I hated to admit this about myself, I have always been just a bit of a coward. Not the worse of the worse. Not someone who would run away, pretend it wasn't happening if they saw some man beating his wife or something. But as a rule, I avoided confrontation. I hated the way it made my skin feel tingly, my pulse skitter around, my stomach twist uncomfortably.
That said, I couldn't let Camden just stand there all stoically silent, taking a scolding when he had come to save me.
"Ah, um... sorry to interrupt," I started, hating myself a little for that turn of phrase and the fact that my voice came out small and squeaky. "I'm, ah, Annie. Cam's... friend. I just... I'm sure Cam didn't mean to take off without warning. He thought I was in danger. And then he decided to do the White Knight thing. Because, you know, he's a good guy and all that. I just... I thought you might want to know why he disappeared. He wasn't trying to be disrespectful or anything. He was just worried about me. And, well, you know, he had a reason to be worried too, so it's not like he was wasting his time or anything. He was just..."
"Babe," Reign cut me off, brows raised, lips twitching a bit. "Think you're done."
"Yeah, that was like, what, five-thousand words, right?" West added, getting a hard look from Reign that in no way dulled his smile. "What? I'm just saying. He doesn't say shit, she can't seem to shut it, they're a good fit."
"Thanks for the explanation, babe," Reign went on as though West hadn't spoken at all, likely a form of self-preservation from years of dealing with difficult men who took turns being a pain in the butt. "It doesn't change the fact that he needs to check in, tell people where he's going. That's non-negotiable. But did he fix your problem?"
"Ah, well, yes and no?" I said, not noticing I was scooting closer to Cam until I felt his arm go around my waist, fingers sinking in a bit, giving me a reassuring squeeze. "I mean, well, my problem is that I have a stalker. He follows me from town to town even though I have made sure to leave no traces. No job records, no bank accounts. All that stuff. But he finds me. And he tries to reach out."
"What kind of reach out?"
"Candlelit dinners with handcuffs in his pocket?" I answered, feeling my cheeks heat a little. Even though I knew I had absolutely nothing to feel embarrassed about. It wasn't like it was my fault he was a psycho. "He showed up here a couple of weeks ago. I had to take off. And I can never leave word. You know... in case he could use that. So Cam was worried. He tracked me down."
"Christ, another one?" a redheaded man covered in tattoos asked, shaking his head. "Can any of the guys here find a woman who doesn't need help with some crazy life shit?"