"What, how?" Aiden interrupted.
"He had one of those apps on his phone. We broke into his account and found the location," I answered.
"Lamest freaking password ever," Toni muttered.
"I'll meet you. No offense to you, Toni, but you can practically fit in Jeremy's pocket. I'll meet you, and Toni can drive one of our cars back," Aiden insisted.
"I'm not going to let her get hurt. You know I can handle myself," I reminded him.
Aiden sighed. He knew I couldn't be talked out of going. "Don't let it get that far. We have enough problems without you getting into a fight."
"I don't fight anymore, but if I have to make an exception this time I will. I can't bring Toni back. She'd hurt me. She's as scary as your wife," I teased to lighten the mood.
Toni's mouth fell open and she punched me in the arm. "I am not scary, I'm a Latina. There's a difference, pendejo."
"Just find Cameron, and be safe. If it looks like there's trouble call someone. Promise me," Aiden insisted.
"I promise, Aid. The only person getting hurt today will be Cameron after Toni and I are done with him."
Toni rolled her eyes at me. "Now that all of that is settled, has anyone heard from Kate and Reed?"
"His partner talked to him yesterday. He said that there were some complications, and he hasn't heard from them since. I don't like it, Toni. Kate would have called if they were okay, don't you think?" Becca answered.
Toni looked up at me. She rapidly blinked her large, coffee colored eyes, trying to fight the tears threatening to break free.
I grabbed her hand and squeezed. "Look at me," I ordered. "I'm scared too, but the only thing you can do for Kate is find Cameron. I need you right now too. I'm losing my fucking mind here, Toni. I love him. You have to help me find him, help me keep it together, just help me before I break."
Toni nodded. "Well, since I'm here."
I flashed her a smile. It was more like a pale imitation of a smile, but we were both trying hard to be okay when everything was going to hell. I couldn't give into my fears that something had happened to Kate or I wouldn't find Cameron.
"I don't like the look of this neighborhood, Jer," Toni whispered.
The houses were all close together. Most of the yards were filled with more weeds than grass and not even trimmed back. The homes without vinyl siding had paint that was faded and pealing. Not a single one had the blinds open.
Further down the street a young child rode his tricycle in a loop from his driveway to the street, but no one was watching him. This was what a neighborhood looked like when hope disappeared, and this was where I found Cameron parked watching a house.
I jerked my car over to the side of the road and hastily parked behind him. I tried to control my anger while I strode over to where he was sitting. Cameron hit the automatic locks without otherwise acknowledging my presence. I opened the passenger door with more control than I thought I was capable of and dropped into the seat.
I looked over my shoulder and realized I left Toni in the car, or rather, she let me go alone. She always seemed to know what I needed. Too bad we would only ever be friends. She got me like no one else ever had, even Aiden, but as much as I loved her I would never feel attraction for her. Sometimes life was just cruel.
Cameron drove me insane. I wasn't sure half the time if I wanted to punch or kiss him. He pushed me away and pulled me back so often I wasn't sure which way I was going. It was just another example that you could love someone so much and not be meant to be with them.
"I know you're pissed," he began without looking at me. "I need to do this for her. I need to make sure he is out of her life for good."
There was a baseball bat in the back seat. I stared at it and shot him a pointed glare. "For her?" I said sarcastically. "Are you sure this isn't about payback?"
"Fuck you, Jeremy. You have no idea what it's like to have some small-minded bigot make you feel powerless. He nearly killed me, and he's been destroying my sister in one way or another for almost a decade!" he shouted.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Cameron. I know you had a shitty hand dealt to you, but don't pretend you know everything about me since you've been avoiding me for the last year. You didn't have to do this alone. At least you wouldn't have if you'd stop pushing me away," I yelled back.
Cameron shook his head. "Kate's my sister. I have to protect her. I can't ask you to help me get rid of John. Why would you even want to?"
"Because I love you," I told him, knowing he didn't believe me. "I love you even though I probably shouldn't. Even though I know you don't want me to. Even though it hurts most of the time."
"Why?" he whispered.
"Because you're you. Love doesn't always make sense. It isn't logical, or a choice. If it was, I certainly wouldn't have chosen someone who doesn't want me around. I wouldn't have chosen to be gay. I'd walk back to my car, drive Toni to Vegas and marry her. But life doesn't work that way. I'll never feel for her what I feel for you. So here I am to help you do something stupid, because I love you."
"I'm not even sure what there is to do. I've been watching this house since I got here, but no one has come in or left," Cameron said, ignoring my speech.
I cocked my head studying the house he was staring at. It certainly was rundown, and looked like a place that rented month to month, but I couldn't see why he decided this was the place. "What made you choose to stake this place out?"
"After seeing my sister's place destroyed I needed to...well, I needed to find John and beat his face in, but I settled on getting a drink. I didn't feel like going to any of the places I usually go, and ended up in that dive bar on the edge of town."
I tried unsuccessfully to keep the disdain off my face. "Please tell me you don't mean The Last Resort," I begged.
Cameron shrugged. "Anyway, it was lucky that I did. I overheard some women bitching about a guy that stood one of them up. I only half listened until I heard one of them call him John."
"That's not exactly a unique name, Cam," I pointed out.
"I know that, but I just had a feeling. I did an Internet search for his mug shot, and showed it to them. No one had seen him for several days, but the one he was hooking up with knew where he lived. And that's why we're here," Cam explained.
"Okay, boys, what are we doing waiting here?" Toni asked.
I jumped at the sound of her voice. "I know you're tiny, but you can't just go sneaking up on people."
Toni rolled her eyes at me. "I didn't sneak up. You just didn't notice me because you were too busy ogling Cameron's hotness. Whatever, normally I would totally advocate shamelessly objectifying him, but..."
"I'm sitting right here. What is wrong with the two of you? Neither of you have a mental filter," Cameron said, shaking his head in amusement.
Toni's eyes sparkled mischievously. "I was thinking that since the place looks empty we should check it out, but if you two would rather make out for a while first I'm okay with that. Especially if you want to take off your shirts."
Cameron opened his door and got out. "Let's do this before Toni gets any more ideas."
Toni pranced across the street. I got out and stood next to Cameron. He stood rigidly next to the car. I reached out and brushed my fingers against his hand. I wanted to lace my fingers with his, offer my support to him, but he pulled away from me.
I shook my head. I didn't know if he would ever let me in, but I stayed by him hoping one day he would. I was pathetic. I accepted that, but he was it for me. Even if he never got over the issues that kept us apart, I'd never see anyone else the way I see him.
I nodded in the direction Toni had gone and walked away without looking back. I didn't have the strength to leave him, but it hurt to be pushed away. Toni looked up at me with a sad smile on her face. She understood my pain, because she felt it too. The ache of loving someone that probably didn't love you back, or at least didn't love you enough.
"I don't feel comfortable trying
to break in there," Cameron said when he walked across the street.
"You folks looking for John?" a woman asked.
Next door, a middle-aged woman with short, spiky red hair stood on her porch smoking. She raised one over plucked eyebrow waiting for one of us to respond.
Cameron stepped forward. "Have you seen him?"
She blew out a stream of smoke, and tossed her cigarette on the ground before snuffing it out with her shoe. "Not for a few days. Saw him arguing with a skinny fella in his front yard. I'm not sure how it ended, because my show was starting and I didn't want to miss it."
"Is there anything else you noticed before you went inside?" I pressed.
"Now that you mention it. The skinny guy gave off a cop vibe. In this neighborhood you see enough cops to recognize one out of uniform. Can't say I'm surprised he had problems with cops though. John is bad news," she replied. She nodded once, as if to emphasize her point, and went back inside without another word.
Toni stuck her hand out in front of me. "Keys," she demanded.
I pushed her hand away. "I'm not letting you drive."
Toni cocked her head to the side and glared at me. "You need to ride with Cameron. Now give me the keys, you sexy dummy."
I flashed her a smile and winked. "You called me sexy," I whispered in her ear.
She placed her hands on my chest, and shoved me. "Save those baby blues for that other sexy dummy." She yanked the keys from my hand and left.
I climbed in the passenger seat of Cameron's car. He turned to me and rested his forehead on my shoulder. His voice quivered when he finally spoke. "Jer, has anyone heard from Kate and Reed?"
I put my hand behind his head and offered him all the comfort I could. "Not before Toni and I left to find you. I can call Daniels on the drive back, or I can drive and you can call him," I offered.
"You call. If it's bad news...if...I can't. I just can't lose her, Jer. I...I..." he stammered.
"Shh, don't worry now. I know in my gut that she's fine, just like I knew it wasn't you lying in the morgue," I tried to comfort him.
"What are you talking about? Why would anyone think I was in the morgue?" Cameron asked shocked.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you on the way."
Chapter 23
Reed
I itched to take action, anything other than sitting in this cabin waiting to be found. We needed to move, but the last two days finally caught up with Kate and she was out. I couldn't wake her up and it freaked me out. She was breathing, but aside from that she was dead to the world.
I tried to call Daniels several times, but his phone went straight to voice mail. My dad's friend agreed to let us use his truck, but I wasn't sure where to take it. I didn't have another hideout available and this one was too close to the last one.
I sat down on the couch where I laid Kate down. I pulled another blanket off the back and bundled her up more. When we first made it inside her lips had turned a little blue. I was supposed to be protecting her, but I was doing a shitty job of it. She probably needed a hospital, but that would require signing her in.
It was the same reason I didn't want to go to a hotel. Hotels and hospitals meant a paper trail. I wasn't sure how tech savvy John was, but he found us here and no one outside of our friends and Daniels knew where we were.
I ran my hand through Kate's blonde hair. "Come on, sweet heart, wake up," I urged. She didn't stir. "Kate, honey, please wake up," I begged.
She finally blinked several times, and opened her dark brown eyes. "Reed?" she said my name like a question.
"I'm here, baby. God, I'm glad you're up. You were scaring the shit out of me," I admitted.
"How long have I been asleep?" she asked, and stretched. "Ouch, damn it, I forgot about my ankle," she swore through clenched teeth.
"A few hours." Because she was finally awake, and the tightness in my chest had released, I leaned over and kissed her. I meant it to be a gentle kiss, but I let my fear spill out, and fisted my hands in her hair. I traced the seam of her lips and moaned when they parted allowing me entrance. It was more than a kiss; it was a promise from my soul to hers. I knew with her injury it couldn't be more, but I wanted to show her that I wanted her completely.
The phone started to ring. I nearly jumped out of my skin at the unexpected sound. Who the hell would be calling this number? My dad's friend wasn't supposed to be here for months, and all of his friends and family knew that. Then I remembered that the number would have shown on his phone.
"Hello?" I answered nervously.
"Reed?" Daniels asked.
"'Bout time, asshole. Whad'ya do leave your phone at home again?" I taunted.
"One time I left my phone, one time. No, I left it in my desk when I went down to the morgue. You know I hate bringing shit into that place. Everything gets covered in death germs," he grumbled.
I held my breath afraid he was going to tell me that they confirmed it was Cameron in the morgue. I never wanted to tell Kate that the last member of her family was gone, but especially not now. I needed her to hold on to the fight inside of her. Without Cameron, I wasn't sure I was enough to keep her going.
"There's some strange shit going on here," Daniels continued, unaware of my internal meltdown.
"Tell me fast," I demanded.
"What? Oh, no it isn't Cameron. The body has been dead for several days, and Cameron was only gone for a little over a day," he revealed.
"What do you mean 'was gone'?" I asked.
"I got a call from Jeremy when I got back from the morgue. He and Toni found Cameron parked outside of the house where John's been staying. Thank God he left a note behind telling us he went after John, or they might not have thought to look. Anyway, they should be pulling into the station any minute.
"I want you to let Kate know that I'm going to personally guarantee that Cameron is protected. I put a rush on the dental records of our John Doe, but I have a strong suspicion that it's Kate's ex husband."
I slumped down to the ground, stretching the cord of the ancient phone. With John dead, if it was him, Kate, Cameron and I were all going to be suspects until they could prove we were innocent. Worse yet, Daniels would expect us to come back.
We survived being shot at. Kate hiked through the woods with her ankle torn to shit. Then we spent the night on a ledge and nearly froze to death. I wasn't going to push my girl through all of this to make her go back while there was still a threat.
"I'm not bringing her back there," I warned.
"Reed, don't be an asshole. I went along with this plan when I assumed Kate was being stalked by her ex husband. We don't know what you are up against and you are out there alone. You know as well as I do that Kate didn't kill that son of a bitch, but I still have to bring her in and ask the questions," he reasoned.
"Not. Going. To. Happen. Do you even have an idea who is after her, or how they fucking found out where we were?" I snapped.
"Unfortunately, I have a pretty good idea," he grumbled.
"And..." I pushed.
"And, shit, I can't believe I'm saying this out loud." Daniels forced out a breath, and paused trying to process what he was about to say. "I think it might be Pratt," he said quietly.
"No...I mean the guy is a douche bag, but...Oh, fuck. How did I miss that?" I thought aloud.
How did I miss it? It was obvious after I thought about it for two seconds. Pratt hit on Kate when I was in the hospital, and he did seem pissed when she didn't realize he was trying to ask her out. He always seemed to run into the two of us when we were together. It didn't explain what her ex husband was doing in Washington, so far from their hometown in Illinois though.
"That seals it. If it is Pratt, there is no way I'm bringing her back. Unless he's been taken off duty, we are going to find another place to lay low," I insisted.
"What about Kate's ankle? You said yourself in the half dozen messages you left that she needs medical attention. She needs x-rays and probably pain medication. How are you g
oing to get her help without using identification and insurance?" Daniels countered.
"I'll figure something out," I said dismissively.
"Would you quit being so fucking pig headed and trust me? We know who we are dealing with now. I can protect her in Ellensburg. Aiden said the two of you could stay with him and Becca. That place is a fortress, and I'll put guys we both trust on guard detail," he argued.
"I can't take risks with Kate. No, we'll find some where else to go."
"Reed," Kate interrupted, "we have to go back."
"Katie girl, I'll find you a doctor. I'll figure something out," I reassured her.
"I'm done running. I know I only have part of the conversation, but I'm done being a victim. I ran before to stay safe and keep Cameron safe. In the last twenty-four hours I've thought my brother was dead, been shot at, and ripped the shit out of my ankle. If running is going to lead to me feeling broken then I'd rather make a stand. And I only mean that metaphorically, because I really need a doctor. And drugs."
"Listen to your girl, Reed," Daniels urged.
"I'll get back to you," I said without agreeing to return.
I turned to Kate and saw determination in her eyes. "Fine, you win. We can go back, but we can't stay with Aiden and Becca. They have Scott, and as much as I love you, we can't risk his safety."
"I totally agree, but where are we going to go?" she asked.
I scooped her up in my arms, and headed for the truck. "We'll think of something on the way. I'll call Daniels back when we get close and tell him to meet us at the hospital."
"What are we going to do about gas and whatever else we need until we get home?" she asked.
"I have my wallet with most of our cash, and that cell phone I bought the other day. Sorry we don't have a change of clothes, or anything else, but at least we can make it back," I reassured her.
She patted my knee. "I guess running isn't going to solve this problem. There will always be someone else around to use to get to me. It's why I never got close to anyone before, but that was just a different kind of prison than the one I lived with when I was with John."
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