Page 8 of Casey's Hero

Jacob shook his head. “No, but I’m going to head her off at the pass.” He nodded toward the bartender.

Based on the signal Jacob had set up with him an hour earlier, Ray left his duty station and ducked out the front door, going for the off-duty police officer.

All Jacob had to do was keep her away from Hawk until the cop arrived to escort her from the building. As Camila steppedout onto the patio, Jacob ducked in front of her. “Can I help you?”

She tried to look over his shoulder toward the group of men now gathered in front of Hawk, effectively blocking him from sight. “I’m looking for Jace Hawkins, my boyfriend. I understand he’s here tonight.” She tried to move around him.

Jacob sidestepped again, standing in her path. “This is a private party. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.”

She lifted her chin and stared down her nose at him. “This is a public bar. I have just as much right to be here as you. Now, move aside.”

Jacob crossed his arms over his chest. “No can do. This is a private party. You weren’t invited. You’ll need to leave.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not leaving until I see my boyfriend. He’s scheduled to marry another woman on Saturday. I’ve come to tell him he doesn’t have to. She’s not the one for him.” She leaned up on her toes. “Do you hear me, Hawk? That bitch isn’t the one for you. You and I…we were meant to be together.”

Hawk pushed to his feet and stood over the heads of the men sitting in front of him. “Camila, I told you more than once, you’re not my girlfriend. We’re not together.”

“But we made love,” she said. “Surely, that means something.”

He shook his head. “It means I made a mistake,” he said. “I don’t love you. I’ll never marry you. I love my fiancée, and I’m marrying her on Saturday. Please, you deserve to find someone who loves you and wants to be with you.” He lifted his hands palms upward. “That’s not me.”

Her brows furrowed, and her lips pressed into a thin line. “That bitch must have held you hostage and brainwashed you. Do you know how long it’s taken me to track you down?”

“Not long enough,” Hawk muttered. “Face it, Camilla, we will never be together.I. Don’t Love. You.”

Camila shook her head. “She’s bewitched you. Don’t you see? You and I are one. We belong together. I can’t let you go through with this wedding. You don’t belong to her. You’re mine.”

The cop showed up in his uniform. “Ma’am, you’ll have to leave the premises.”

“I’m not leaving without my man.” She scowled at the policeman and Jacob blocking her path.

Before he could guess what she’d do next, she punched Jacob in the gut and faked to the left.

Stunned, Jacob froze for a second and then moved left to keep her from getting past him.

Camila changed directions surprisingly fast for a woman in platform heels, and dove to the right, making it past Jacob and across the floor toward Hawk.

Jacob caught up with her and grabbed one of her arms. The policeman grabbed the other. They brought her to an abrupt halt before she could get her sharp-tipped fingernails into Hawk.

“Let go of me,” she yelled. “You have no right to keep me from my boyfriend.”

“I could haul you into the police station and have you explain why you attacked this man,” the police officer said.

Jacob rubbed his belly. The woman had a hard punch, but he hadn’t been genuinely harmed. Still, she didn’t have to know that. If he needed to press charges to keep her from going after Hawk, so be it. He had two jobs…keep Hawk safe through the bachelor party and get him to the church on time. If he had to take a punch for the team, so be it.

“I won’t press charges if you promise to leave the Big Wave and the surrounding parking lot immediately,” Jacob said. “If you don’t, I’ll go with this nice police officer and you to the station and file a complaint. That should keep you tied up through the rest of the evening and into tomorrow. For thatmatter, I might do that anyway to be sure you’ll miss the wedding on Saturday.”

Her forehead wrinkled, and her eyes narrowed to slits.

Jacob could practically see the cogs of her brain churning as she mulled over her options.

“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll leave.” She looked past Jacob to where Hawk stood with his friends. “But this isn’t over. I’ll never give up on you, Jace Hawkins. We have something. I know it. You couldn’t have made love like you did and just walked away.”

“That was months ago—before I met my fiancée. And I’d had too much alcohol. I don’t even remember it, other than the fact you followed me around for weeks.”

“I only followed you to tell you that I love you and want to be with you.” Her eyes filled with tears. “We had a connection.”

“No,” he said. “Wedidn’t becauseIdidn’t.” Hawk shook his head. “Give it up, Camila. I’m not the one for you.”

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