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Then, I turned my back to him, slid into the car I’d hailed, and watched as the cabin became nothing but a distant object through the back window of the car.
CHAPTER 19
CAMERON
I kept calling Hudson, trying to get him to answer the damn phone. I needed more information. Why the hell couldn’t he tell me what the fuck was going on? The safety of my daughter and my unborn child was at stake. But every time I called, all I got was his voice mail. I’d memorized the damn thing by the time the weekend was over.
And I still hadn’t heard from Heather.
My worry for her was mounting. Was she okay? Had someone gotten to her? It took all the energy I had not to charge down to her bakery and check on her every hour of the day. I wanted to give her the space to process. I knew it was a lot. Hell, I was living that life. I knew it was a lot to digest, but she was in danger. Didn’t she understand that? She could be angry with me in this cabin. She could be upset with me while sleeping down the hall from me. She could process things while being under my roof, so I could take care of her and protect her.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to see her.
I walked into the bakery and saw Heather standing in the kitchen. She was kneading something against her metal table and memories of us came crashing back. How wonderful she felt underneath my body for the first time. How I had longed to hear her say my name instead of that damn fake identity. She knew my name now. She said it now but full of anger and spite, not with pleasure and orgasmic bliss.
Her eyes wandered up to mine, and her face etched itself in stone. She had every right to be upset and to be distant. But this was serious, and I wasn’t leaving without her. I still had one thing I had to come clean about, one thing she didn’t know about that I hoped would change her mind about all of this.
I needed her to come with me, no matter what I had to do to convince her.
“How can I help you?” she asked.
“Heather, don’t do that,” I said.
“Do what?”
“Talk to me like I’m a customer.”
“Everyone who walks into my bakery is a customer.”
“Can we talk?”
“No.”
“Can I talk then?” I asked.
She stood at her register with her eyes burrowing into me, but she didn’t turn me down, so I took the opportunity before she shut me down.
“You need to stay with me. I know you’re upset. I know you don’t like it, and you can blame me all you want. But y
ou’re in danger, and I have to protect you. Whether you like it or not, you’re pregnant with my child, and there’s a chance they know that, which means you’ll be the first target they come after to get to me.”
“Are you going to make me if I don’t?” she asked.
“It’s either that or Audrey and I will stay with you in your studio apartment. I figured that might get a little cramped.”
“I’d never let you in.”
“And I don’t believe that,” I said. “I’m not asking you to care about me, Heather. I’m not asking you to move in and act like we’re instantly a family. All I’m asking is that you pack up and stay with me so I can look out for you until this all blows over.
“I didn’t sign up for this. None of it.”
“I know. This is the last thing I wanted. I truly believed this would be over by now. I can’t fix the spot I’ve put you in, but I can protect you and our child until it’s safe enough for you to go back to your life. When the coast is clear, no matter what that means for me and Audrey, whatever decision you make moving forward, I’ll respect.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, but her body softened. The tension in her shoulders released and her eyebrows unfurled. I had her attention, but I didn’t have her convinced.
Fuck, I hope this doesn’t backfire.
“I don’t even know what to think about you anymore, Cameron.”
