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Camden’s dad answers the door and greets me with a fair amount of caution, which I can’t really fault him for. But her mother welcomes me with a broad smile and asks if I’d like something to eat.
Camden is drawn by the sound of my voice and she flies right into my arms. She looks sleepy and adorable in her sweat pants and robe and I don’t want to let go of her, not now, not ever. But her dad is standing nearby with his arms crossed and a vague frown so I disentangle her legs from around my waist and set her down.
“Are you okay?” Camden touches my face, my arms.
I grimace when she runs her hands over my chest. “Ribs kind of hurt but other than that it’s just a few bruises. I’m fine.”
“We’ll leave you two alone,” says Adela. She taps her husband on the arm and he finally gives me a nod of respect before following his wife down the hall, presumably to their bedroom.
Camden tenderly runs her fingertips over my jaw, which is slightly puffy. “I was so worried.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
The memory of last night returns to her and her eyes fill with tears. “I was afraid he was going to kill you.”
“He might have if it weren’t for you.” I lean in and kiss her, using my tongue to draw hers out and settling my hands on the soft curve of her hips. I’d love nothing more than to spend an endless stretch of hours lying next to her but I can’t do that. Time is short and there are things to say.
I end the kiss and look into her eyes. “You asked me once for an interview.”
She’s confused. “Yes. I did.”
I take her hand. “You can interview me now.”
“Now? But-”
“I can’t stay long, Cam. I need to leave for the airport in a few hours.”
She deflates a little and then nods. “All right. You can have a seat at the kitchen table. I’ll be right there.”
I don’t need to wait for very long. Camden returns promptly with her trusty notebook and the fountain pen I gave her for Christmas. She places her phone on the table and in a professional tone asks if I mind being recorded. I don’t mind at all.
With pen in hand and her phone recording she dives right into the first question. “Who are you and where are you from?”
I take a deep breath and begin the story. “My real name is Bennet Drexler…”
Camden is good at this. She listens without interrupting and asks the right questions when I pause. She keeps her emotions in check until I get to the part where I witnessed my father’s murder. Then her lip trembles and she reaches for my hand. She lets me finish telling the rest of it, right up until I started attending Black Mountain Academy.
When there are no more secrets left to tell she stops recording and sets down her pen.
“What happens how?”
“I fly back to Coral Beach with my mother today. I’ll have to give my statement and then testify if the authorities decide to try and charge Angus and his father. I don’t know if they will. There’s a lot of power behind the Drexler name and my cousin Grey seems confident they’ll have no trouble discrediting me.”
“Are you in danger?”
“Maybe. But there are a lot of people watching now. It’ll be a news story. Won’t be so easy to just make me disappear.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I don’t know.”
She’s looking down and I know she’s trying so hard to be brave, not to cry. I tip her chin up and briefly kiss her lips.
“I’ll come back.”
She manages a tearful smile. “You promise?”
“I promise.” I stand and kiss her forehead. “Trust me.”
