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My phone rang with Cami’s special ringtone, and I answered.
“Bitch! I know your Dad isn’t doing well, but I haven’t heard from you in two days. What the hell is happening? You’re scaring the crap out of me.”
I cringed as Cami continued to let me have it.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to scare you. It’s just …” How the hell could I explain to Cami about Sebastian and his work, especially since I’d signed a nondisclosure form after Sarah’s drop-off? “I wish I could talk to you about it, Cami, but I signed an NDA.”
“What?” Her voice dropped, curiosity lacing her words. “Why?”
“I can’t tell you. It would risk a lot of lives.”
“So it’s a work thing? Like about a criminal case?”
Bingo! I’ll run with that. “Yeah. It’s pretty big, and it has me stressed out, but there’s something else, too. I just can’t talk here.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Get your cute ass over here.”
“See ya soon.” I ended the call, relieved to be getting out of the house.
Once I had dressed and brushed my hair, I headed out to gather what I needed for Death’s next visit.
I knocked on Cami’s door, anxiously tapping my foot on the floor. The choice to share certain details about Stephen had me nearly crawling up the walls with anxiety, but I couldn’t process it all on my own. Dad had always told me it took more strength to ask for help than to shoulder it on my own. My throat tightened as tears welled in my eyes. Soon, he wouldn’t be around to drop those tidbits of wisdom, and I wasn’t sure how I would manage without him.
The door swung open, sucking me out of the devastating reality threatening to gobble me up.
Cami took my wrist and tugged me inside her apartment before tightly hugging me. She broke away and grabbed my shoulders. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again, or I’ll beat your ass and brag to your dad how easy it was.”
We stared at each other in silence, then burst into giggles. I hugged her again. “I’m sorry. You’ll understand when I tell you what I can. Plus, I need your help.”
Cami closed the door behind us, flipped the deadbolt, and secured the chain.
“Drink? I can make some mimosas, or if this is some really big shit, we can just pass the bottle of Jack around.”
I glanced at my watch. “It’s not even noon yet.”
“Your point?” She dug a hair tie from the front pocket of her boyfriend jeans and pulled her hair up. “I have a feeling this is about your stalker. If I’m right, we’ll cut to the chase, and I’ll get two straws and the bottle of whiskey.”
I pointed at her. “Probably that, but I need some food, or I’ll get sick from drinking.”
“Like I don’t know that after our college days.” She motioned for me to follow her into the kitchen. I grinned as finger sandwiches, crackers, meat, and cheese were on plates, ready for us to munch on.
“Start talking, I don’t have all day. Where the hell have you been? I still want to know more about this mysterious NDA, but if it’s for work, I understand that you can’t.” She pushed up on her tiptoes and located two glass tumblers.
I climbed onto the black leather barstool and grabbed a few crackers and squares of meat and cheese.
Cami poured a shot into my glass and slid it to me. She leaned against the opposite side of the counter and propped her elbows up, staring a hole through me. “Talk.”
I squared my shoulders, prepared to tell her about last night.
Are you sure? If she were in my shoes, I would be worried about her and call the cops if she told me she was raped by her stalker and liked it. It wasn’t healthy, especially when I had an amazing guy wanting to spend time with me. He was a hero, not a murderer.
“There’s a case, and I can’t give you the details, but the man involved came after me last night.”
Cami’s mouth dropped. “What the hell? Hon, are you okay?”
“Traumatized, but he didn’t hurt me. He tried, but um …” I snatched up my whiskey and downed it, needing some liquid courage before I told her the rest.
“Holy shit, this must be some intense stuff if you just slammed that back like it was water.” She grabbed my glass and poured another shot for me.
