by Reese, Jaime
He finally exited his vehicle and stretched before making his way to the front door. After the second round of door knocks, a young woman answered—with striking blue eyes just like Cam's.
"Can I help you?" she asked through the narrow opening of the door.
"Are you Jasmine Brooke, formerly Jasmine Pierce," Hunter asked in a soft, gentle tone, hoping to counteract his ragged appearance.
"Who are you?"
"I need to ask you about that day ten years ago."
Jasmine straightened. "I don't want to talk about that." She pushed the door closed.
Hunter stopped the door with his shoe. "Please. Cam might be in trouble and I need to know what happened." Screw the soft tone, he needed answers.
She paused. "Have you seen him?"
"Yes. If you have a few minutes, I need to talk to you."
She worried her bottom lip and gripped the door tightly. "Give me a minute. Come around back and we'll talk outside." This time, Hunter let the door close.
Hunter walked around to the back porch and slowly paced the walkway. Jasmine reappeared within minutes with a man by her side. "This is my husband. I only have a few minutes."
He extended his hand in greeting. "This shouldn't take long."
Her husband shook his hand then retreated to one of the seats on the porch.
Hunter was too tired for a cordial exchange, and he was on a tight time table. "Can you tell me what happened that day?"
Jasmine twisted her hands together then sat in one of the rocking chairs. "I don't know where to start."
"How about we start from the moment you called Cameron."
Jasmine took a deep breath. "I had gone out with my boyfriend on a date, and he said he needed to go by his house because he had forgotten something."
"Your boyfriend, what was his name?" Hunter knew from the red file pages, but not the official report.
"Brad."
"Bradley Mackler?"
"Yes," she said as she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "We went to his place and…um…he was very aggressive with me. I freaked out, he was my first boyfriend and it was our third date. He kept pushing and I kept resisting. I finally got away from him and locked myself in the closet in his house. I called Cam from there and asked him to come get me."
Jasmine wrung her shaky hands.
"What happened when Cam arrived?"
"Brad had managed to break into the closet. I was fighting him off in the living room when Cam showed up. I guess he pushed open the front door because he was there with us seconds later. He pulled Brad off me and was getting ready to punch Brad but he stopped when he saw him. They started arguing."
Hunter cocked his head. "They argued?"
Jasmine twisted the edge of her shirt. "I didn't know." She looked up at Hunter with pleading eyes. "I didn't know Brad was Cam's boyfriend."
Hunter closed his eyes and shook his head. "Wait. Cam's boyfriend?"
"Brad had been dating Cam for months but I didn't know. I swear it! I knew Cam was gay, but I didn't know he and Brad were together. I didn't know," she added weakly as tears began to spill.
"What happened next?"
"It got really ugly. They were punching and yelling at each other. Then Brad grabbed me by the arm and Cam lost it. I broke free of his hold but he kept punching and yelling at Cam. Brad was so much bigger and he wouldn't stop. He just kept hitting him over and over again." She rocked herself in the chair with her head in her hands.
"Brad was yelling louder with each punch. I saw Brad pull out a gun and Cam fought harder, trying to keep the gun away."
She became very quiet and distant.
"I didn't know Brad had a gun with him. Brad pointed the gun at Cam's face and they fought for the gun. A shot went off. That's when Brad stopped fighting back."
"So it was just one shot?"
Jasmine nodded. "It was horrible, there was blood everywhere. I was so stupid." Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You didn't know they were dating and you didn't know Brad had a gun."
"No, not that."
"What?" For fuck's sake, there's more?
"I was mad at Cam. I was a stupid kid who was pissed that her brother had stolen her boyfriend and I said things to him I can't take back." She looked at him pleadingly. "I told him how much I hated him and how I didn't want to see him again."
Hunter closed his eyes and exhaled. Cameron had been the big brother, and she had turned him away when he probably needed her most. "He must have known you were upset at the time."
"I kept telling him the same thing over and over that day. I didn't realize how hurtful that was until a few years later. All I kept hearing was Brad telling Cam how he had only hooked up with me because of his father and how the only reason he could stand me was because I had Cam's eyes," she mumbled.
"You two do have the same eyes."
She nodded. "I wonder how he's doing, if he's okay, if he hates me. I hated myself so much for the things I said to him. He was alone in there and it was my fault," she finished on a sob.
"What about your father?"
Jasmine looked up at him. "I never saw him again. He showed up that day after I called him and told him what happened. He left after they took Cam. I was all by myself there. The police took me home. My father never came back and I didn't know what was going on with Cam. The next day, there was a knock at the door. That's when two cops told me my dad had disappeared and my brother was arrested. Since we didn't have any other family, I was put in a foster home until I was eighteen."
"You were fifteen at the time. Why didn't you go see him after you were eighteen?"
"I tried to visit him once, a few years ago, after I finally got the nerve up to face him. I didn't think he'd want to see me again. So I didn't push. And I know it would have been too hard to see him like that. I was so stupid. I was so consumed with the thought of Brad cheating on me with Cam that I didn't realize it was the other way around. That Cam had walked in on his sister and cheating boyfriend."
Hunter had heard enough. He clenched his jaw repeatedly. Why hadn't she tried harder all these years to offer Cam any sort of support in what was probably the worst set of years of his life?
"I need to go."
She stood quickly. "When you see Cam, please tell him I want to apologize…that I want to see him if…if he'd let me," she finished quietly. "I can't make up for what I said or those lost years. I don't expect him to forgive me. But I need him to know that I am sorry for the things I said and for how much I hurt him."
"They never took your statement. Would you be available to come down to Miami if needed?"
"Absolutely."
Hunter nodded. "I'm going to hold you to that," he said sternly.
He thanked them for their time and headed back to his car.
With this last minute detour, home was now a day's drive. He sighed. He couldn't do that trip even if he wanted to in his current state. Instead, he drove to a nearby hotel just outside of town.
Later that night as the fatigue seeped into his soul, Hunter knew one thing with the greatest of certainty.
If someone was going to try to take Cam away from Hunter, then they damn sure had one hell of a fight coming.
Hunter sat in his car at eight in the morning the next day and battled with himself on how best to approach Cameron with what he had learned. He needed to understand. Cameron was guarded and it was obvious he had a little bit of a temper simmering just beneath the surface—but he wasn't the criminal his case made him out to be.
He ran his hands through his hair. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. He hadn't been able to get more than a few hours' sleep in the hotel.
He drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel. He'd played this out a thousand different ways but nothing sounded right. He pushed his head back against the head rest.
"Damn it," he muttered. There was no perfect way to talk about this.
"Fuck it." He straightened and switched off the engine of h
is car. He looked over to the diner and saw three men dressed in suits at the counter. Hunter stiffened. He didn't need to distinguish their faces to know they were the same three men, the attorneys, who had accompanied Carlos Ortega during his case.
Hunter intently watched as they spoke with Lucy. His heart pounded madly in his chest watching each shake of Lucy's head in response. Moments later, Bill joined her, with crossed arms. The three men left the diner, said a few words to each other, then went their separate ways.
He rubbed the back of his neck then looked at his watch. He needed to know if Cameron was okay and what had happened, but the three men would recognize him immediately. He patiently waited to allow a few more minutes until they were farther away.
He finally exited his car and sprinted to the empty diner.
"Lucy, is Cam here?" he asked, trying to hide the desperation in his voice.
Lucy looked at him with concern. "Come," she said, taking him to the back room.
Cameron wasn't there.
"Hunter, what's going on? You look ragged. What is it?" she asked, wringing her hands.
"Were those men here looking for Cam?"
She remained silent and fidgeted.
"Lucy, please. I need to see Cameron."
"Hunter, what the hell is going on?" Bill asked, joining them in the back room.
"I'm going to find out. But I need to know where Cam is and I need to know if those three men were looking for him," he said firmly.
"They said they were attorneys," Bill responded.
"I want to protect him, too. But I need you to tell me where he is." Hunter knew time was of the essence. All the red file cases had each closed within a week of their arrival to his office. Cam's clock was ticking and he wasn't about to let these three assholes get to him first.
He started to pace, his stomach twisted. He could hop over to his office, log into his computer, and pull the file up in the system, but that would flag an inquiry he was not ready to discuss. He stopped and focused his glare at Lucy.
"They already know where he works, it's a matter of time before they find out where he lives, if they don't already know."
Lucy gasped and covered her mouth. She looked over to Bill, pleading with her eyes.
Bill nodded to her, and she immediately reached for the phone and dialed a number.
"Matt, hello, it's Lucy. I have someone here who needs to speak with Cam… Something's wrong, Matt—"
Hunter stopped her before she said too much. Maybe it was his paranoia, but he'd discovered too many dirty dealings lately and knew these three men were involved somehow.
"Wait a second," she said before handing the phone over.
Hunter took the offered phone. "Hello?" he said.
"I need to know who you are and what this is in regards to."
"I need you to let Lucy know it's okay to give me the address. I'm not discussing this over the phone," he finished before handing the phone back to Lucy.
"Hello," she said. "Yes, I know him, and so does Cam." She watched Hunter as she chose her words.
She hung up the phone and tore a sheet off the notebook hanging on the wall. She scribbled a quick note and handed him the piece of paper. Her eyes held tears that were ready to spill. "Please, Hunter. Cameron may have done something before, but—"
"Lucy, I've gotten to know Cam. I'm not judging him by his case file but I do need to find out what's going on."
Hunter looked at the address on the paper. He could easily be there within minutes.
"Hunter, watch yourself. Those men were obviously bad news," Bill said.
Hunter quickly nodded and exited the diner. He raced to his car and drove to the address only blocks away, double checking his rearview mirror every other second. He arrived at the address and confirmed the location. A small building, made out to look like a house, in the middle of the business district. It was two stories with a traditional front house-like entrance. Beautifully colored landscaping welcomed its visitors, and a wood carved sign hung above the door that read, Halfway House. Refusing to leave his car out front, advertising his arrival to passers-by, he drove around to the rear. He easily found the only house-like building with a driveway. He parked next to the dark truck and remained sitting in his car for a moment, staring at the back door leading into the house.
He tightly gripped the steering wheel, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
Hunter didn't know what to expect or what exactly was going on. But there was one thing he knew—there was no way he was abandoning Cameron. He'd do anything for Cam if the situation called for it, regardless of the repercussions.
He exhaled and opened his eyes, surprised by how easy it was for him to decide his fate. It had taken him a lifetime to find someone who made him feel the way Cam did, and he was not about to give up on him.
Hunter exited the car and reached the back porch with two quick steps.
The door opened and he was greeted by the extended hand of a dark-haired man. "Hello, we spoke on the phone, I'm Matthew Doner. I own Halfway House and I need to know what's going on."
Hunter shook his hand. "Can we talk inside?"
Matt drew him into a large living room type area where another man waited with arms crossed leaning against the wall.
"The only reason you're here right now is because Lucy trusts you and there was a sense of urgency. So who are you and why do you need to speak to Cam?"
Obviously the man against the wall wasn't leaving. He pushed off from his resting spot and extended his hand in greeting while assessing Hunter. "Julian Capeletti."
"Hunter Donovan, I'm an assistant state attorney. I need—"
Matt immediately interrupted, raising both hands. "Wait a minute. Is this official? If so, then you need—"
"I need to speak to Cam," Hunter said in a firm tone.
Julian stepped in between them. "I don't give a rat's ass who you are. Don't use that fucking tone in this house."
Hunter blew out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "Please, I need to speak to Cameron."
"Then I suggest you put in a formal request. I'm sure you're well-versed in the required protocols," Matt said authoritatively.
Hunter took a step into their personal space. "There's no time for that—"
Julian grabbed Hunter by the jacket and began to push him toward the back door. "I fucking warned you."
Hunter resisted and Julian became more forceful.
"Stop," Cameron said, appearing in the room. "Please."
Pain sliced through Hunter's chest when he heard the words Cameron choked through. Julian released him and looked over to Cam as if waiting for the next command.
All Hunter could focus on was Cam's steady gaze filled with immeasurable sadness and his bobbing Adam's apple. He stepped forward to go to Cam only to be stopped by Julian. Rather than attempt to fight the single track mind of the house bodyguard, he looked over to Cam.
"Can we talk? Please, Cam?"
"You don't have to," Matt said to him.
"It's fine," Cam said, looking away. "Just say what you came here to say."
It was crushing Hunter to see Cam like this. He pushed past Julian with renewed force and reached Cameron in three strides to scoop him up in an embrace.
"I told you I wasn't going away," he whispered in Cam's ear.
Cameron's arms tightened around his neck and slid upward to grip Hunter's hair so tight he thought Cam's hands would withdraw with chunks of hair in them.
"I was going to tell you, I swear," Cam said, his voice trembling.
"I know," Hunter said, reaching under Cam's shirt to his lower back. He exhaled a shaky breath once he made contact with the heat of Cam's skin.
Cameron finally loosened his hold and Hunter set his feet back on the floor. Cam backed away slowly, lowered his head and hid his face. "I didn't want to lie to you," he mumbled.
"I know," Hunter said, dipping his head, seeking Cam's gaze. He reached out, pushed the hair away from Cam'
s face, then gently placed his hand on Cameron's cheek, drawing his face up to make eye contact.
They were joined by yet another man.
"Dude, whose sexy lady is that in the backyard?" the man with a beanie anxiously asked when he appeared in the room.
"I thought you came alone." Matt immediately raced to the back window. "I don't see a woman."
Julian shook his head and rubbed his shaved head. "Cole, not the time or place. Matt, he's referring to the car."
"Hunter, this is Cole," Cam said.
"Oh, so you're the guy," said the man with the beanie and enthusiastic handshake.
Cameron clasped Hunter's other hand and led him to the kitchen, leaving the three men in his wake.
He was in for a serious discussion with Cam, but all he could think about was how he was willingly being led by a man who thought he was the guy.
* * * *
They arrived at the kitchen and each took a seat.
"State Attorney's office? That's a hell of a lot more than just being a lawyer. How did you find out? Did you run a background check on me or something?"
Hunter gave Cam an incredulous stare. "No, I never would have thought to," he said.
Cam exhaled and slumped in his seat. "Thank you for trusting me enough to say something like that."
"It's the truth," Hunter said, reaching out to him.
Cam withdrew his hand from Hunter's hold and placed his hands in his lap.
"You don't believe me?" Hunter asked, flinching.
Cam wrung his hands under the table. No one had willing stood by his side for so long he was reluctant to believe anything would change, especially not with the one person who mattered most to him.
"Cam, please talk to me."
"Are you telling me you're okay being with a murderer?" Cam said sharply.
"You're not a murderer."
"I killed a man!"
"It was self-defense."
Cam vehemently shook his head. He had relived that day repeatedly, every movement, word, and action. He had been filled with more hate than he had ever known in his life at finding the man he cared about with his own sister. There was murder in every punch he threw when he thought of his boyfriend being a cheater and rapist. When the gun went off, Cam had never openly admitted to anyone the sense of relief at knowing Brad couldn't hurt anyone else again. Anyone could call it self-defense, but in his mind, he knew he was glad Brad was dead.