Page 79 of Hiding Hollywood

“You need to go see her. I know you can manage, son, but let us finish this.” He tugged Cameron backward. “We don’t need any mistakes.”

Cameron snapped back. “I don’t need to be babied! I can handle my job.”

His dad stepped close to him, lowering his voice to an intensity Cameron hadn’t heard before. “Iwouldn’thave to be told twice to go see about your mother.” Cameron looked up at him. “This is under control. Go. See. Addie. I’ll call you if we need you.”

With one last glance back at Dexter’s dark shadow, now shouting back and forth with the state patrol, he jogged back to his car. The drive to his house took longer than ever before. Was she okay? Had Dexter hurt her? He slammed his hand on the wheel. Or assaulted her?

She sat on the front porch, a bottle of water in her hand, a blanket over her shoulders, and Tanya Dempsey standing like a guard over her, a pistol in her hand. His nonviolent mother would use it, too.

As soon as he stepped out of the car, Addie rocketed off the porch and into his arms.

Neither one of them spoke. They held one another. If she let him, he wouldn’t let go for a very long time. They had a lot more to learn about each other, but he knew enough to know he wanted to try. He knew he loved her.

“Are you okay?” Her voice cracked, and her grip tightened.

“Yes,” he whispered. “Are you?” He ran a hand down her back.

She pulled away. Her eyes were dry, but the fear and worry still there. “Yes. I got away.”

“You did great.” He smoothed her hair back away from her face. “Did he have a gun?”

She shook her head. “He took one of your dirty knives from the sink.”

Cameron clicked on his radio. “Suspect has a knife.” He cupped her cheeks. “You promise he didn’t hurt you.”

“I promise. He was mad at you and decided to break into your house to show you up. I was still sleeping.” Her lips twisted to the side. “Glad I was wearing more than I did the night before.” She looked down at her feet. “Although, I’ll probably sleep in sneakers from now on.”

He kissed her, forming the words in his mind he needed to say before leaning away again. He wanted to tell her about his plans. Tell her how much he loved her. “We need to discuss what happens after tomorrow. I—”

“I’ve thought about that. But, it can wait. I want to be with you the rest of today and tomorrow.”

It could wait. In the meantime, he had some more resumes he needed to send out to California.

23

The front door of Cameron’s house opened. That was Addie’s cue. It was time to leave to go back to Florida and to court. The message fromMiss Alicestill showed on her laptop screen.

You’re one of the best I’ve seen in a long time, Hollywood. If I can’t have you in White Rabbit, I want you for the other company I run. It is an above-board internet security company. We’re hired to see if we can gain access into their system. We identify deficiencies and fix them. Pay isn’t quite as high, but still nice. Interested?

Her response typed out, sat in the text box. She hadn’t hit Enter yet. It was a lot to assume Cameron still wanted her here. He hadn’t mentioned it since before the incident.

She wanted to be with him.

Cameron came to the door and leaned against the frame. “Ready?”

She smiled, unable to help herself. There wasn’t another person she needed in her life. “Yes.”

They’d have to get through the meeting first. With the affidavit from Brian, the judge wanted to see her privately to discuss the matter. Her lawyer waited for her at the courthouse.

She and Cameron held hands through the ride there. The decision on what to do after the trial sat like a wide elephant between them. So strange, the difference two weeks made in her life since the last time she’d been in Florida.

“Was Dexter’s grandmother really upset?” Addie studied his profile, wishing she could read his mind about their future.

“Yes. Angry more than anything else. We found most of the items in his room. It might be a small-town thing, but Ms. Ruth brought it all down to the station. We allowed each victim to come in and, based on what they’d reported stolen, let them look over the items. It seemed to work out.”

After the long drive, he pulled into the courthouse parking lot. Her lawyer stood off to the side. He waved in greeting.

She took a deep breath as Cameron kissed the back of her hand, still linked with his.

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