Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
The detective nodded, and then both men stood. “We’ll plan to be at the hospital tomorrow, too, just to be sure Cyrus isn’t still a target, and we might have a few further questions.”
“Okay,” Cami said. “Thank you.”
They said goodbye to the detectives and the few officers who were still milling around outside, and then Rex closed the door and turned to Cami.
She looked dead on her feet, but her face also held a tired sense of wonder. They stood there for a moment, their eyes locked, before they both stepped toward each other simultaneously, and Cami fell into his arms.
“We did it,” she breathed. “We did it, Rex. Against so many odds. My God.”
He held her, taking all her weight as she wrapped her arms around him so tightly, as if he were the only thing on earth solid enough for her to hang on to. He luxuriated in the feeling. He was honored by it. He liked the sound of we far too much. It scared him too. He couldn’t forget what it felt like to be hurt by her.
Rex let go, and her arms dropped too. She still looked tired and now partly confused. Her gaze ran over his features one by one, halting on his mouth. His body stirred. God, he liked that look. “You dropped everything to help me,” she said. “To help us.”
“I didn’t do it alone. I had help.”
“You would have done it alone. You would have tried.”
He smiled, squinted off toward the stairs. He felt embarrassed and pleased by the look of adoration in her eyes. Yeah. Yeah, he would have. He would have tried anything and everything to bring her son home to her.
“You were shot at. You could have been killed.”
“I wasn’t. I knew what I was doing.” He’d had the upper hand when he’d caused the distraction in the trees. He’d had cover while the man with the gun did not. He’d thought he could get him to expend all his ammunition, and he had.
He just hadn’t banked on the guy having extra in his pocket.
If Cyrus hadn’t thrown the dirt in his face . . .
But he wasn’t going to play that game. They were all okay. Cyrus was safe.
Cami stepped toward him again, and he stilled as she slowly went up on her tippy-toes. “Thank you,” she whispered, and then she leaned in, her lips so close to his, their breath mingling.
Oh God, he wanted her. Maybe he’d never stopped. And that likelihood made him feel scared and vulnerable, not like the man he was but back to the boy he’d been. The one who’d been insecure. The one who’d been so deeply aware of all he lacked. He and Cami were both different now, he knew that logically, but his longing for her felt familiar and outside all rationality. And his impulse was to fight it because he’d been hurt badly by it once before.
Rex turned his head on an expelled breath and stepped away. “You’re welcome,” he said. Cami rocked a little unsteadily as she came down on her feet. She turned to watch him as he moved by her, and then followed him with a sigh.
His heart thumped dully. He wanted her, but not because she thought he’d earned it by acting the hero. And perhaps not a day like today, where emotions were high but would likely crash with the dawning of a new day.
They walked slowly toward the hall where the bedrooms were, tension thick in the air. She stopped at the room where she’d put her things and paused with her hand on the knob. “Get some rest,” he finally said, and he wondered if she could hear the longing in his voice, how deeply conflicted he was. “It’s been a long day, and you’ve got to be exhausted.”
She nodded uncertainly, and then, with a brief glance over her shoulder, she went inside the room and closed the door softly behind her.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Cami spotted the police down the hall when they arrived at the hospital midmorning the next day. She saw Rex glance at her from her peripheral vision as they moved toward Detective Mauro and the uniformed officer and felt comforted by his concern. She wondered momentarily if he realized he did that—constantly and briefly evaluated her mental and emotional state. And she also wondered if that came from pure concern, or from the fact that he knew she’d been through a harrowing event once before. Was he unknowingly expecting her to fall apart at any moment? Or was it simply his way to care for her?
Either way, it was kind, and her appreciation for him grew by the day.
She also realized her gratitude caused him to doubt her overarching intentions toward him. But frankly, she was a little foggy on her intentions, too, so Rex had probably been wise to reject her advances the night before, even if it’d stung. Even if later, she’d lain in bed clutching her pillow to keep herself from going down the hall and knocking on his door. But for what? He’d already made it clear he preferred to keep their relationship platonic. Whether that was for now, or forever, she couldn’t think too much about, not only because it made her crazy but also because she had enough on her plate as it was.