Page 23 of One Night Redemption

Troy raises his flashlight and shines it on my face. “Oh, yeah. That’s gonna look pretty tomorrow.”

“Is this where I’m supposed to say ‘you should see the other guy’?”

He laughs, shaking his head. “I did. And I’m pretty sure you won the fight. But you know that won’t end it right? There’s not a single member of that family that isn’t fucked in the head. No one could ever figure out why the hell you were with Brandon to begin with!”

Because I couldn’t be with Cam. Not then, anyway. “I was young and stupid. Luckily, I came to my senses.”

“Yeah … Do you want to press charges? I mean, you beat the hell out of her, but she was trespassing and that is your right, especially as she’d shown intent to damage personal property.”

“I do want to press charges. And I also want a restraining order. If she comes near me again, I want to have it on record so she can be arrested for it.”

Troy nods. “Come down to the station in the morning for the order. In the meantime, I’m gonna mirandize her and then follow along to the ER. And, Cass?”

“Yeah?”

“Put some ice on your forehead before you look like a goddamn unicorn.”

I reach up and gingerly probe the spot on my forehead where she hit me with the can. Oh yeah. That’s one hell of a knot. “Right. Do you need anything else from me right now?”

“Nope. Not tonight. There’ll be some paperwork in the morning … I can take her to jail when the ER is done with her or I can send her home and you all can hash it out with the judge.”

“Just send her home. I don’t need anything else to be blamed for.”

Troy nods and then he’s off, climbing back into his car and trolling behind the ambulance. I go back into the house, ignoring the curious stares from neighbors. With a bag of frozen peas salvaged from the fridge pressed to my forehead, I sit down on the couch and wait. Cam is gonna be super pissed.

Chapter

Eighteen

Cam

"She did what?" My mouth is hanging as I listen to Troy on the other end of the phone.

"Look she had reason, there's no doubt in my mind that she wouldn't have done it if Jenna didn't call her out in a way that demanded an answer. She's got a fuckin' knot on her head the size of an apple, be nice." He sighs. "I've had to listen to this lady rant and rave since she got here, believe me when I tell you, you got the better draw here."

Oh, I can only imagine. Jenna has never been nice, and she's never been quiet in her outrage. "Alright, I'm finishing up over here at Dixie Plaza, then I'll be heading to Cass'. Thanks for letting me know." I hang up and shove an aggravated hand through my hair.

"I couldn't help but hear." Ashley says, her voice lower than it probably should be, but she's also seen a shit ton of stuff tonight. "Let Cass know if she needs something, to holler. I've got her if she needs support."

I want to tell her that I'll be the one to give her the support she needs, but I know that sometimes we do need our friends more than our partners, since we all serve a different purpose. "I will, and I'm sure she appreciates it. You haven't had a great night yourself."

She blows out a breath. "Yeah, seeing that car almost hit Ford's daughter wasn't what I expected for tonight. I'll be seeing that when I close my eyes for a while."

"If they bother you, please let us know. I'll give you my card." I reach into the pocket on my duty vest and pull one out for her.

"I will."

"You've known Cass a long time, haven't you?" I blurt out, not completely sure where this is going.

"Yeah, we do girls night a lot, and we both hang out with the same people, so while we aren't the best of friends, we are definitely friendly. Why?"

"Why did she choose Brandon? What was the biggest thing for her to put herself into the situation for him to embarrass her like he's done; like he continues to do?" I hate not immediately knowing the answer. I should.

She hooks her hands at her hips, and tilts her head back, glancing up at the sky. "Cam, you are a good guy, but you are the blindest man I've ever met in my life. You're observant for your job, but for everything else—you pay no attention to what's going on around you. She chose Brandon because you'd never give her the time of day."

"I never gave anyone the time of day," I argue. "I wasn't ready, and I wasn't in the mindset to do it. Fuck, I still have a lot of shit to overcome if we're going to be completely honest here. I still have no idea what the fuck I'm doing."

"Which is understandable, but she's wanted to be with you for years, and eventually she got tired of waiting. You weren't ready to change, none of us knew if you actually would or not, and at that point she'd wasted a good portion of her younger years. All of us convinced her it wasn't worth it to keep putting all her eggs in one basket, and told her she needed to go out and have a good time. It was only supposed to be a few hours, and she wasn't supposed to meet anyone, really." She licks her lips and sighs. "But she met Brandon, and he wasn't you, but he was fun, and he gave her something to look forward to. In the beginning he was sweet, and he made her feel good about herself." She shrugs. "She loved him before we all saw what an asshole he really was."

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