Shattered Obsession: Book 3 of the Obsession Trilogy

by Sinclaire, Roxy

  Camila reached for Bri again, taking her hand with her right one while her mom held her left.

  Samuel picked up the room phone and called Jacobs.

  “You’ve got Jacobs.”

  “It’s Kane. I’m in Camila’s room, 211. The doctor has finished her exam, and taken samples as well as blood work, she’s running tests now. I know you’re sending an officer to take her statement,” Samuel rolled his neck and turned his back to the women in the room as he continued. “The fucker put a damn shock collar around it her neck. It’s padlocked. Do you want to have your officer remove it, or can I have someone here get it off of her and give it to the officer?”

  “Get that fucking thing off of her, I’m not gonna make her wait until Grimes gets there,” Jacobs hissed, “as you said fuck protocol. This whole case… damn dude, I remember you saying your brother was a train wreck, but fuck… this is some fucked up shit!”

  Samuel shook his head. “I know. I had no idea he’d gotten this bad, if I had, you can believe I would have done something about it before all of this shit.”

  “I know, Kane. I’m sorry. We still haven’t found him. Don’t know how he got away.”

  “Keep me posted, and Jacobs?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.” Samuel hung the phone up and hit the call button for the nurse.

  “Yes?” a voice came over the speaker in the headboard.

  “Hi, this Samuel Kane in room 211, Camila Blake’s room. I need someone up here asap, with some bolt cutters.”

  “Um, Mr. Kane, I’m not sure—”

  Samuel interrupted her, “I don’t care if you have to call the fucking maintenance man, get some bolt cutters in here. Now. And don’t make me ask again.”

  The speaker was quiet for a moment and then a voice said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Samuel paced the floor in front of the wide span of windows while Morganna spoke softly with Camila. A few minutes later a nurse and a stocky, older man with salt and pepper hair dressed in a grey uniform appeared with a pair of bolt cutters. “About damn time.”

  “I was told you need these?” The man held the cutters up.

  “Yes.” Samuel turned to Camila. “Sweetheart, sit up and lift your hair, so he can get that off of you.”

  Camila nodded. She leaned forward and swept her hair aside revealing the small lock. “Um, it’s not going to shock me again, is it?” she asked softly.

  Samuel looked at the maintenance man. “Well?”

  He looked at the padlock and collar. “No, the two aren’t connected. Who put this on you?” he asked in disgust. “You?” He looked up at Samuel as if he would punch him.

  “God no, just get the fucking thing off of her.”

  The man nodded. He said, “Hold still, ma’am,” and then snipped the lock. He handed the cutters to the nurse, and then pulled the padlock off with the glove the nurse handed him, and removed the collar. “There you go. Looks like you’ve got some bruising, but you should be okay.”

  Camila nodded and dropped her hair back down.

  He put the collar and padlock into a clear bag the nurse had thought to open. “I’m guessing you’ll need this for the police?” He handed it over to Samuel.

  “Yes. What will it take to keep this quiet?” he asked the man.

  The maintenance man shook his head and looked at Camila. “She’s been through enough, I think, I won’t be talking.”

  Samuel clasped his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. “Thank you.”

  The elderly man nodded. “My pleasure.” He looked at Camila. “You get better now, dear.”

  Camila smiled and waved to him.

  Samuel set the bag aside for evidence. Now all they had to do was wait for Officer Grimes to arrive. Then he could take her home, where she belonged.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Camila

  Camila didn’t have time to relax after the collar was off though, because there was a knock on the door. It was Doctor Shelton.

  She stepped into the room with a smile. “Would you all mind stepping out for a moment while I discuss something with my patient?”

  Camila shot her a worried look and then turned to Samuel looking at him with fear. What was it she had to tell her? Was it bad news? Did Adrien infect her with something? Had he done something to her while she was passed out?

  Samuel moved to her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. “It will be okay, no matter what she has to tell you, sweetheart, we’ll deal with it together. We’ll be right in the hall. You yell for me if you need to and I’ll be here in seconds, okay?”

  Camila nodded, but she still felt panicked.

  “It will be okay, love.” Samuel leaned down and kissed her forehead.

  “We’ll be right outside,” her mom commented, taking Bri’s hand.

  Bri waved over her shoulder at her and Camila gave her a small smile and waved back.

  Once they were out of the room, Doctor Shelton pulled the chair over and sat. "Camila,” she began, “I need to ask you an uncomfortable question.”

  Camila took a breath and then nodded. “Okay,” she said softly.

  “Can you tell me if you were raped or sexually active during the time you were captive?” she asked quietly.

  Camila stared at her, all kinds of fears raced through her mind. She frantically thought over her time in the farmhouse.

  What if Adrien actually… but no, she would know, wouldn’t she? There would be signs, fluid, bruising like the last time…

  The first and only time she’d slept with Adrien, she remembered, was a long time ago. But there were times, at the farmhouse… when she’d been passed out…

  Don’t think about it! her heart raged at her, but she had to, she had to think, really think about if Adrien could have done anything.

  But there was no way he could have done anything. He was so sick, and couldn’t even get it up when he tried, and while he’d ogled her and maybe touched her, she didn’t think he’d raped her. She couldn’t recall ever feeling as if he’d violated her.

  Feeling pretty confident in her answer, she said, “No, I am almost positive that he didn’t touch me, didn’t rape me. And I certainly didn’t have sex with him voluntarily.” Camila blinked at her. “Why?”

  Doctor Shelton smiled. “Then, what came back might be good news. It appears you’re pregnant.”

  Camila’s heart raced. “Pregnant?” she questioned, her eyes going wide. “How… I mean…”

  “You are several weeks along already, though I can't pinpoint exactly how far along without an ultrasound, which you’ll want to set up with your OBGYN. You mentioned feeling nausea several times, while you were held captive. I can say with absolute certainty, that you were experiencing morning sickness from the pregnancy, not because of food poisoning or illness. Other than that and being under nourished because of your limited diet over the last week, you have no serious damage. That being said, I’d like to check the baby’s heartbeat, just in case.”

  Camila nodded and lifted her shirt off her stomach.

  Doctor Shelton put her stethoscope on and placed the end on her belly. After a moment, she smiled. “Strong, like its mother. Would you like to hear?”

  Camila nodded again, nervous, but excited and frightened too. “Yes, please.”

  Doctor Shelton handed her the ear portion of the stethoscope after wiping them off.

  Camila put them in her ears, and listened. Soon she heard a strong womp, womp murmur and she smiled. She handed the scope back to her. “Thank you.”

  Doctor Shelton replaced the instrument around her neck and nodded. “Now, I’d like for you to stay overnight, and you can be released to your family tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay,” Camila agreed.

  “I’ll let your family back in and let you share the news in your own time.”

  “Thank you.”

  The room was left in silence once the doctor was gone, Camila was almost in a state of shock, but she smiled when her
mom, Samuel and Bri returned.

  “Everything good?” Samuel asked, coming to her and taking her hands in his.

  Camila nodded. She had to tell him. She couldn’t be the only one in shock over this. Taking a deep breath she looked in his eyes and said, “I’m pregnant.”

  Samuel looked alarmed for a moment.

  Camila quickly added, “It’s yours,” and squeezed his hands in hers.

  “We’re pregnant?” he said, shock and amazement filling his eyes as he stared at her.

  Camila nodded.

  “Are you… sure?” he said calmly.

  “Yes. Adrien….” Camila paused and took another steadying breath, “he never…”

  Samuel expelled the breath she knew he’d been holding and grinned at her.

  All of them sat quietly for a moment trying to digest the news.

  Camila’s eyes went to Bri and her mom, they both looked stunned by the news, however, Camila felt she was the most shocked over it.

  All this time… I was pregnant.

  A fear started to grow in her mind. She knew the baby was Samuel’s she had no fear over that, but her mind started going down roads she didn’t want it to.

  She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about a pregnancy in her current situation. She and Samuel had never discussed children. Heck they had only really been together for a couple months, they had never talked marriage, let alone starting a family. And after everything she’d been through, would the child even be okay? And all the shocks she’d been given, could that have affected the child?

  That thought led her to think about everything that had occurred hours earlier. Had it really only been a few hours since she’d been rescued? Since she’d woken tied up on the bed and naked? She shook her head, letting go of that thought. It wasn’t something she wanted to relive. Instead, she turned her thoughts to the moment Samuel had appeared at the door. Her hero.

  She recalled watching him spring into action, leveling Adrien with a single punch and then pounding his face into the hallway floor. The way Samuel had looked at her, as if he’d thought he’d never see her again. The way he’d come to her on his knees, and just held her for a moment and then lifted her in his arms and carried her away, saving her. She would never forget the feeling of pure joy she felt at seeing him in that moment. The relief she’d felt that all of it was over.

  She looked over at him now with watery eyes and smiled. He brushed his hand over her cheek gently. She sighed, contentedly. With him by her side, she felt she could face anything now.

  When a knock sounded at the door a while later, none of them said anything. Samuel patted her hand and stood, going to the door, opening it. He moved aside to allow a police officer inside.

  “Sorry to bother you, sir, I’m Officer Grimes. I came to take Ms. Blake’s statement and pick up the evidence.”

  Samuel returned to her side silently and took her hand, his expression tight. Camila was worried what he could possibly be thinking, but the officer moved into the room and stepped forward.

  “Bri and I will step out, give you time to get through this,” her mom said, her voice soft as she kissed Camila’s forehead. “We’ll be back.”

  Camila nodded.

  “Miss,” Officer Grimes said once they left. He gave her a polite smile as he continued, “I’m sorry to bother you this late, but I need to take your statement. Do you think you are up to going over the events in detail right now, or should I come back in the morning?”

  Her eyes travelled over to Samuel. They would, possibly, be releasing her in the morning, and she didn’t want this to follow her to the house, so she might as well get it over with. Waiting wasn’t going to make it any easier to speak about, anyway.

  “It’s fine,” she said, throat feeling a bit tight. “I’ll talk to you now.”

  At least, Samuel didn’t leave the room, but he started to pull away from her, to retreat further to give her some privacy to talk, minimal as it was, but she held fast to his hand, not wanting him to go anywhere.

  “Can you tell me, in your own words, what happened from the beginning?”

  Camila nodded and she began, “We were all at Samuel’s home, there was a gun fight going on, for hours it seemed. I went into the kitchen. I think I got hungry. When I returned to the parlor, I noticed Bri wasn’t in the room. She’s well, sensitive. I went upstairs to look for her because I didn’t want her to be alone. When I reached her room, Adrien was there…”

  When she talked about it, actually, it all seemed so surreal. Like it was a work of fiction and not her own life. Everything that had gone down with Adrien, even the parts that she had thought in the moment they weren’t so bad, were horrific.

  As she spoke, she had to remind herself over and over in her mind that she was safe now, she was back with Samuel, Bri, and her mom, and Adrien was gone. He wouldn’t be bothering her anymore.

  At times through the story, she knew she rambled. At other times, she paused for long moments, lost in her memories, before remembering where she was and what she was doing.

  Officer Grimes didn’t write it all down, his little note pad wasn’t big enough to hold the entire story, but he did turn on a little hand held recorder when she started speaking. They would have it all on record.

  Camila managed to get thorough the entire story in one sitting, but it still took half the night.

  Finally, Officer Grimes seemed to be done with his questions, and stood up. “Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Blake, I am so sorry that you had to go through that, and retell it,” he said carefully. “Your information will help us a lot in catching this guy, so please, don’t worry.”

  Camila frowned. Her eyes flew to Samuel’s and she could see it in his gaze, the worry was still there. Her heart began to race in fear and her stomach rolled. “What do you mean?” she asked, turning back to him. “I thought… I remember there was an explosion at the farmhouse. Adrien was inside when it happened… Are you saying—” she broke off in fear.

  “Yes, there was an explosion, you are correct. A few of our officers were injured in the blast. We couldn’t get into the house until the fire was under control. It took a while before anyone realized we couldn’t find his body… but don’t worry,” Officer Grimes added quickly, trying to be reassuring. It seemed he’d only just realized she hadn't known this piece of news. “We’re definitely on his tail and it shouldn’t be too long now. We’ll catch him, Ms. Blake.”

  Camila’s eyes were wide and her fear returned full force. Adrien was loose and probably after her again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Camila

  The next morning, after Camila was discharged from the hospital, her mom and Bri took a car back to the Kane mansion.

  Camila and Samuel waved to them from the circular drive of the hospital as they left. She swallowed hard, as she watched them go. She knew she was safe in Samuel’s arms, but knowing her mom was leaving, and she wouldn’t see her for a while was making her shaky.

  Samuel kissed her temple and held her. “It’s okay. We’ll be all right, sweetheart. I swear, I won’t let Adrien hurt you.”

  Camila nodded.

  He led her over to the black Mercedes that was parked at the curb, and helped her in. He leaned over her and strapped her in, and then shut the door. He went around to the driver’s side and climbed in. Starting the car, he pulled out and onto the road. They drove silently for a while, but Camila was curious.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  Samuel had been driving for a while, but she normally didn’t leave the city, so she had no idea where they were headed. Still, she was relaxed, leaning back with her head leaning on the headrest, rolled to the side so she could watch Samuel at the same time. She missed her mom already, and Brianna as well, but she loved that she got to have this again, with it just being the two of them.

  “We’re going to stay at a safe house until this whole Adrien situation is cleared once and for all,” he replied, his voice hard
. “With him still on the loose, no matter what condition he is in, I think it will be safest.”

  Her brow furrowed. She knew Adrien wouldn’t give up, not if he was still alive. He’d be after her again, but… “What if he goes after my mom and Bri? Won’t that be a problem?”

  “No need to worry about that. I have a whole team of ex-military looking after the house. I’m not trusting it to the police force. Not after last time. It’ll be a miracle if even my brother could get through the security there right now.”

  “And this safe house…” Camila fretted. She sucked on her injured bottom lip, her hands twisting together in her lap.

  “It’s family property, but I don’t believe Adrien would know where it is. My family has always been big on secrets. My parents kept things from us, things they shouldn’t have, things I should have been privy to as their heir, but I imagine that they hadn’t planned on dying before telling me. The family lawyer filled me in on almost everything because I was my parent’s heir. Thankfully so. Not that they would have left it to Adrien, if he were the first born. It still would have come to me. And if something happens to me, everything goes to Bri with our family lawyer as her trustee.” Samuel glanced at her and sighed. “My point is this property came to me via mom, we’ve never vacationed here, never been here for any reason. My lawyer informed me that my parents kept it as a safe house, in case it was needed and they and him are the only ones aware of it. We should be safe there until the police have him.”

  Camila sighed, feeling relieved at that and let her eyes slip closed. Hearing the word safe was like a balm to her ears. She liked the sound of safe. And if she could recuperate away from her mother, then it would be better.

  Morganna had done her best to hide it, but Camila would have been a bad daughter if she hadn't realized how worried her mom had been for her. She felt fine right now, and when she slept before her mind was quiet.