Page 10 of Lion’s Den

“That’s your right,” Cam said easily. “I don’t recommend it, though.”

Her kidnapper shrugged his broad shoulders. “Not my problem.”

“I suppose not. Too bad. I thought you were smarter than that. Turn around and put your hands on your head.” After Cam patted him down and removed two guns and a wicked-looking knife from Linebacker and cuffed him, he slid the weapons into three bags and tucked them into his pack.

In the meantime, David had searched and cuffed Skinny. “What about Sedona? We can’t leave her out here, but we also need to transport these two and the other thug to the station.”

Skinny gave a bark of laughter. “You’re out of luck, man. She ran. That kitty has to be miles from here by now. You’ll never find her.”

Cam’s lips curved. “That’s where you’re wrong.” He glanced around the small clearing before focusing on the tall oak tree that had given her refuge. “It’s safe to come out now, Sedona.”

As soon as Sedona heard those words, every muscle in her body relaxed, as though she had nothing else to worry about. She carefully turned around on the limb until she could hug the trunk. A minute later, she slid to the ground and headed toward Cam.

He shoved Linebacker toward David. “Watch him.” Cam slid his weapon into its holster and opened his arms wide.

Seconds later, Sedona threw her arms around his neck and held on tight. Now she knew she was safe. If she hadn’t been safe, Cam would have left her in the tree and come back for her. He would never expose her to more danger.

This was what she’d been needing for the past hour as she ran from her kidnappers. What did these men want, and did she have whatever it was?

Although she longed to stay in his arms, Cam still had a job to do, and David needed his help to transport these men to the station.

Taking a chance, Sedona pressed a gentle kiss to Cam’s jaw. Every muscle pressed against Sedona hardened. Beyond that, Cam didn’t move.

She swallowed hard. Had she just torpedoed their chances of shifting from the friend zone to the dating zone? She hoped not. He was the first man to hold her interest in a very long time. If she’d screwed up something special, Sedona would never forgive herself.

She tried to step away from Cam, but his hold on Sedona tightened.

“Did they hurt you?”

She stared, dreading his response. “I don’t know.” How did she explain her answer?

Cam cupped her cheeks. “Sedona, you can trust me,” he murmured. “I’ll never judge you if someone hurts you.”

“I’m telling you the truth.” Her voice came out as soft as his. “I remember going to school, then nothing until I woke up in some horrible cabin.”

He leaned in and kissed her forehead, disappointing her. She wanted a proper kiss. Did a kiss that parents give children mean Cam didn’t see her as a woman he wanted to date?

A whistle soared through the night.

Cam glanced at David, who gave a slight nod. His brown eyes swung back toward her. “As much as I’d love to hold you, we have to meet Elliot

This time when she pushed against his hold, Cam let her go.

He threaded his fingers through her silky hair. “I need to take the big guy off David’s hands. Stay behind me, all right? I don’t want you anywhere near the men who took you.”

She nodded, then stepped back from Cam.

“Not too far,” he reminded her, then walked to David to take Linebacker off his hands. He gripped the kidnapper’s upper arm.

“Let’s go.” David shoved Skinny into motion.

“You’ll be sorry you came to her rescue,” Skinny warned. “Nothing is as it seems.”

“Really? So far, I believe you and your friends kidnapped Ms. Hart.”

“Hey, wait a minute. Nobody said anything about a kidnapping. We offered her a ride. That’s all.”

“All right. You transported Ms. Hart from her school and drove her out of Morgan County without her permission. That, my friend, is the definition of kidnapping, and in Tennessee, that means this is a Class A felony with the chance of a twenty-five-year prison sentence. More if I can persuade the judge to see things my way. Of course, I might be persuaded to ask the judge for leniency.”