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That got a small smile from Gigi, who moved to sit up and take the drink from him.
Cameron took the paper off the straw and stuck it in the top of the cup.
Gigi took a tentative sip and then another. “That’s so good.”
Cam breathed a sigh of relief that she was consuming something.
“My girl knows what I love.”
“We all want you to feel better.”
“I’m working on it.”
Cam sat on the edge of the mattress. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really, but I know I need to.”
“I’ve heard that helps,” he said with a smile.
As she continued to sip the smoothie, she seemed to be collecting her thoughts. “The thing I can’t stop thinking about was whether I could’ve done something other than kill her. I keep going over it and trying to find another way out that doesn’t end with her being dead.”
Cameron stroked her pretty face. “You saved yourself, which is what anyone would’ve done in that situation. She wouldn’t have let you leave alive.”
“No, she wouldn’t have, but I can’t stop thinking about firing that shot, the sound it made when it hit her or the expression on her face when she realized she was going to die.” Gigi shuddered. “I really wish that hadn’t happened.”
“I wish the whole thing hadn’t happened, but like everyone has been telling us, this was on her, not us. She’s the one who came into your home uninvited, pulled a knife on you, did other unspeakable things to you and forced you to defend yourself.”
“I know there was nothing else I could’ve done, but still… I’ll never forget that.”
“The reason you feel this way is because you have such a kind and loving heart and could never hurt someone the way she tried to hurt you. I’d be worried if you weren’t upset about it. But… You have to take care of yourself as you work through this. You’ve got us all so worried about you.”
“I’m sorry about that. I’ve just felt too sick to eat anything.” She held up the smoothie. “This is tasting good to me, though.”
“Dani to the rescue.” Cameron tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “I’m so sorry this happened. I’ll be sorry forever about this.”
“I’ll never blame you, in case you’re worried about that.”
“That makes me a very lucky guy.”
“We’re both lucky, and we can’t let her come between us or she wins, even from the grave.”
For the first time in days, Cameron felt like he could lean in and kiss her.
Her hand came to rest on his face, cold from the smoothie.
He startled.
She laughed, and he felt the tension inside him finally ease a bit. If she could laugh, maybe they’d survive this.
“What’d I miss at work today?” she asked.
“Nothing much.” She didn’t need to hear about the murders of six people, including four innocent children.
“I got an email that my IAB hearing is next week.”
“It’s routine.”
“Still,” she said, “it’s my first time with Internal Affairs.”
