Page 105 of False Catch

"I know. I'll earn it back. However long it takes." He turns to go, then pauses. "You matter to me, Reese. More than I know how to say. More than I'm ready to deal with, honestly. But I wanted you to know that this isn't just about the team or winning or even the pack dynamics. It's about you."

He disappears inside before I can respond, leaving me alone with the weight of his almost-admission.

"Heavy conversation."

I jump. Cameron's standing at the other end of the deck, holding his tablet.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough." He walks over, surprisingly direct for someone who usually ghosts through life. "I need to show you something. Is now okay?"

I shrug and let out a slow breath before nodding. Might as well get it over with, whatever it is.

He hands me the tablet. I'm looking at what appears to be code or technical data that might as well be ancient Greek.

"What am I looking at?"

"Proof." He sits down beside me, closer than he's ever voluntarily been since that day in the boathouse that we’ve tacitly avoided talking about. "The video Kinsley sent. I analyzed it."

"Are you a hacker or something?"

He grins, and it transforms his whole face. "Something like that. Computer science minor, but I prefer the term 'digital investigator.'"

"Okay, digital investigator. What did you find?"

He swipes to another screen. "The video file is from January 15th. Original creation date, unmodified. But the audio? It was spliced in yesterday. Different compression rate, different timestamp in the metadata. She basically did a voice-over."

"How?"

"Took clips from different recordings, probably from months of stalking Gray with her phone out. Mixed them together to create new sentences. It's sophisticated work - she either has serious skills or paid someone who does."

I stare at the data. "So Gray was telling the truth."

"About the video being old? Yes. About not being with her recently? The evidence supports it."

"But he still hid the gala. Still took another woman instead of me."

Cameron nods. "That's the real issue, isn't it? Not the cheating that didn't happen, but the hiding that did."

"He says he was protecting me."

"Men like Gray always think they're protecting someone. Usually from problems they create themselves." He closes the tablet. "But he's not wrong about his father. Alexander Lockwood ruins people for fun. I've seen him destroy careers over smaller scandals than his son dating an Omega on a mixed-designation team."

"You know his father?"

"I know of him. I’ve made it my business to know about all the team's families when I joined." He stands, then surprises me by offering his hand. "Come on."

"Where?"

"Do you trust me?"

It's such a simple question, but from Cameron - who barely speaks, who observes everything but reveals nothing - it feels weighted with meaning.

"Yes," I realize as I say it. "I do."

He pulls me up and leads me down the back steps to the parking lot. I notice him typing on his phone and then mine dings with a notification. Probably him letting the guys know in the group chat that we’re heading out. His motorcycle sits under the security light, black and chrome and sleek danger.

"You need to get out of here," he says simply.