“I think you got it right the first time,” he said.
Warmth and nerves made me shift uncomfortably. God, what if I’d fucked all this up before it’d even started? What if I’d done irreparable damage by keeping the stuff about Jimmy to myself? Jimmy had been committing crimes in Cam’s jurisdiction both before and after we’d started a relationship. He might be willing to overlook the before stuff, but what would he say about me letting Uncle Curtis convince me to cover for Jimmy? I hadn’t had to lie and say Jimmy had met me for lunch, but I’d given him the money to return to the bank employee.
The closer we got to Cam’s house, the more scared I got, and I considered just admitting the truth right then and there so I wouldn’t have to see Cam’s face when I told him. But I couldn’t do that… if I wanted to be different, I needed to behave differently. That meant manning up to shit I wasn’t proud of and dealing with the consequences. I wasn’t some stupid, scared, selfish kid anymore.
As Cam rounded the last curve of the driveway that led to the back of the house, I willed myself to be strong and not chicken out. I wanted to tell Cam I loved him, but I knew I needed to tell him the truth about Jimmy first or it would just sound like I was telling him I loved him just to get him to go easy on me and my brother.
And nothing was further from the truth.
Cam pulled the truck to a stop and put it in park. “What’s got you so quiet over there all of a sudden?” he asked.
I looked at him and it was on the tip of my tongue to say something when I noticed movement on the porch of his house.
“There’s someone here,” I said to Cam.
He quickly shifted in the front seat. The flood lights had come on but the porch remained in the shadows, so neither of us could make the person out. Cam quickly reached into his glovebox for his gun. He kept it there whenever he was at the sanctuary because he didn’t want Newt to see it. The glovebox was always locked as soon as he got out of the SUV but the second he was back in the vehicle, he’d unlock it so the gun would be handy.
“Stay here,” he said. “Lock the doors.”
“Wait,” I began, but Cam was already out of the car. I did as he said and locked the doors, then pulled out my phone so I could call 911 if I needed to. But when I looked up, I saw that Cam was tucking the gun into the waistband of the back of his jeans.
Something he wouldn’t have done if whoever was on the porch was any kind of threat.
I quickly unlocked the doors and got out. I left the door open a little so the sound of it shutting wouldn’t startle Cam.
I followed him closer to the house. The figure had made their way down the porch steps and into the light. I couldn’t see much of them other than they were bundled up in a heavy coat.
I could hear whoever it was crying.
No, not crying, sobbing.
The closer Cam got to the person, which I was just now realizing was actually a kid, the harder the sobs got.
“I’m sorry,” the kid, a boy, called out. “I’m sorry, Cam. I shouldn’t have… I didn’t know… I’m sorry.”
My heart nearly exploded in my chest when I realized who the boy was.
Riley.
The kid who’d accused Cam of assault and ruined his career.
I moved so that I was just a few feet behind Cam by the time he reached Riley. Cam’s moves were slow, like he didn’t want to scare the boy.
“It’s okay, Riley.”
“I’m sorry,” Riley cried again. Whatever he said after that was impossible to make out because he was crying so hard. I could see him shaking, even from where I was standing. His hands covered his face as he just cried his heart out.
If I hadn’t already been in love with Cam, I surely would have lost my heart to him when instead of berating the very person who’d ruined his life, he wrapped his arms around him instead and whispered, “It’s okay, Riley. I’m here. You’re safe now.”
Chapter 25
Cam
“I’m sorry, Cam. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
They were the only words Riley seemed capable of so I did the only thing I could think of and held onto him as tightly as I could.
“It’s okay, Riley. I promise, it’s okay. Just take some deep breaths for me.”
The teenager had his head pressed to my chest and his hands were still covering his face. He was shaking violently in my arms.
I felt a hand on my back and saw Ford carefully move around my side so I could see him. He had Puddles under one arm. He reached into my coat pocket and quietly got my house keys out. I kept my attention on Riley as Ford hurried up the porch stairs.