Page 38 of Hiding Hollywood

He caught her around the waist as her nose hovered an inch away from the dried leaves. Face planting wasn’t exactly the same as rolling around on the ground with Cameron, which was where her thoughts had been headed if she’d actually gone through with kissing him.

A kiss with Cameron could be exciting if he let himself go.

He set her upright and dropped his hands immediately.

“You good, Cameron?” She recognized the voice laced with unmistakable humor. Dewey. The other deputy she’d met.

“Yeah.” He sounded a little disappointed. Or confused. “I need you to follow me to my parent’s house, Dewey. I need to return something I found.” He ran a hand over his head. “I’ll drive the car back, Addie.”

“You don’t have to drive me.”

“I can’t risk letting you go on a suspended license.” He reached down and plucked the keys from her hand. “You can tell me about the suspect on the ride back.”

She followed him back to the car, her body still tingling from Cameron pressing her up against the wall and her mind still trying to catch up with their physical attraction.

The brightness from the car light caused them both to squint. She kept her face down, realizing she didn’t have any makeup on at this point in the night. She also hadn’t considered how jacked up her outfit looked when running out the door.

“I need you to tell me something.” His serious tone had started to grow on her. “Do you do other computer things?”

“What do you mean by computer things?” Not this conversation. Not yet. She wanted to get closer to Cameron, but he’d never approve of her job.

“You go into systems and can watch their security cameras. Doesn’t take a lawyer to know that’s not legal. You’ve said so yourself that you can be arrested.”

She picked at the hem of her shirt. “No. I don’t suppose it takes a lawyer.”

“You’re putting us in a bad spot. You’re doing illegal things in our house. I realize it’s for our benefit, but I’m trying to get a handle on the extent of what you do.”

She closed her eyes. Not as illegal as she needed to do on herSunflowerjob. Why couldn’t he be more understanding?

“I appreciate the help, but you don’t need to try and work this investigation for me.” He pulled into his parents’ driveway, turning off the headlights partway down. Dewey did the same. He stayed at the edge of the yard while Cameron parked his mom’s car back where it belonged.

She turned to face him, glad the overhead light remained off. “I haven’t done anything more than what I’ve told you about. But, if you give me a full listing of the break-ins, I can check other places—”

“No.”

“Cameron,” she pleaded, reaching for his hand. “This may be the best way to find out who it is.” Why was she begging him to let her help? She should be happy he’d given her a way out. She didn’t need to answer any more questions about computers, but this was what she did for a living. She could help. And finally, she knew who she helped. No more loneliness. At least while in Statem. “You have to trust me, Cameron.”

He wrestled with the decision as his eyes scanned over the dark yard. “Fine,” he ground out, his eyes averted. “But only for this. If you go any further, I’ll arrest you myself to make sure you’re safe.”

Risking it, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. The brush of his smooth cheek against her lips proved hard to pull away from, but she sat back anyway. “Thank you.”

A dimple formed close to where she’d kissed. He cut his eyes, the green in them reflected in the porch light. “Not sure why you’re thanking me when you’re the one helping.”

“Because you trust me enough to let me help.” She stayed close. If only he’d kiss her and put them both out of their misery. “It took more than you realize to show you and your family my computer skills.” They still hadn’t seen it all. That was for their safety.

The playful look disappeared. “I bet Brian already knew.”

No. Brian didn’t have a clue, but Cameron’s snarky remark put an invisible wall between them. She wasn’t getting into Brian at two in the morning.

“Can you get me a list of the break-ins, location, and dates with times? I can try and track down security systems tomorrow.”

“I’ll drop it off in the morning before I head out on my run.”

“Run?” She sat up straight. “Can I come?”

He glanced down her body like he was judging a racehorse. “Do you run?”

“Yes.” If he’d asked nicely, she might have explained that she ran track in high school. That she’d broken the high school record for the cross-country team. That fact would be nicer to prove in person.

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