Page 95 of Sin With Me

Chapter24

Kate

“Hunting?”

I felt my mouth fall to the floor, dropped Mary’s hand, and shot off the couch. I quickly glanced across the room toward the front door, but Brook was standing there, blocking it. His arms were crossed over his chest and he looked pissed off. Lola sat on a chair in the hall and watched him, completely unconcerned, popping her bubblegum.

Cameron is huntingme?

“You stole my father’s heart!” he screamed, and I jumpedup.

“Cameron,” Mr. Madden said, in a warningtone.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I whispered.

“I was there the night you blew up the truck. I was there the night that whole warehouse went up in flames.”

I gasped. He saw me? No, he couldn’t have. I wore a mask. But Brook had connected me to the accident, and I’d just poured my heart out to this family. I told people whom I thought I trusted the biggest secret I’d ever held. I risked not only my life but also my mother’s. When I looked at Mary and Jack, I still felt that I could trust them, but when I saw Cameron’s face, that feeling disappeared.

“That heart was meant for my mother. It’s not my fault my house burnt down and the stupid insurance company didn’t pay us,” I said defensively.

“You blew up a truck worth millions in narcotics and quite possibly my father’s heart, if you didn’t steal that very one, and Cortez blamed me for the disaster! You ruined my family!”

I didn’t know about that part. I also didn’t know that Cameron, the man whom I’d thought was a priest for the past with months, was a bounty hunter, just like his brothers. I didn’t know he was anywhere near the warehouse, and I’d never thought that he was involved in the accident.

Cameron pointed to his father. “He was supposed to get a heart that night.”

“Cameron!” Jack belted out once more, and I swear I felt the vibrations of his voice travel through the room. “That’s enough. I got my new heart, and I’m doing much better.”

“Yeah, but if you’d received the original one, we could have saved time. Your recovery would have been quicker. And if she hadn’t blown up that truck, Cortez wouldn’t be breathing down our necks.” He then turned back toward me. “You’re like a fucking disease, spreading your virus everywhere! I will never forgive her for forcing us apart and putting my family in danger.”

Jack cleared his throat. “Could have, would have, but didn’t. Her mother saved your life, Cameron. I would have given her my own heart if she asked me to. I better not hear you talking to Hope with so much disrespect again.”

I felt love swell in my chest. Cameron’s father was showing me the kind of respect I once thought Father Cameron felt. But this was not Father Cameron. The man I met six months ago and fell head over heels for wasn’t the same furious beast standing in front of me, screaming his head off. This man was cruel and mean and he didn’t belong to this family at all. He wasn’t compassionate or understanding. I hadn’t expected to be punished the moment I lowered my guard and told the truth, especially not by him. And here he was, looking at me with pure hate in his eyes. All I’d wanted to do was save my mother’s life. I never meant to hurt anyone else, especially not this nice family. I never meant to hurt him thismuch.

“I wasted the past six months of my life pretending to be a priest, trying to stop a cartel from hunting us down and slicing our necks open. What the fuck am I supposed to donow?”

“Why don’t you try not pretending to be a priest for a while? It’s certainly going well for you right now, you asshole!”

“Well, you’re certainly not the Virgin Mary yourself. Damn it, Kate. Can’t you see why I’m so mad? Can’t you see why this hurts so much, and why I feel so betrayed?”

“I don’t know, Cam. Why don’t you enlightenme?”

“It’s because I’m in love withyou.”

What?

“What?” everyone else in the room echoed.

He was in love with me? My head hurt. My heart was hammering so quickly in my chest I was afraid it would rip right out. As I looked around the somber room, I realized that everyone was staring atme.

“I… I can’t do this,” I said. I didn’t want to see him or hear him. I wanted to forget that he existed at all, although I immediately knew that it would be impossible, mostly because of those three words he’d just said. Maybe this was my penance? Perhaps having him hate me and love me and not being able to do anything about it was the punishment God had chosen for me for sleeping with a man whom I’d thought was a priest. “I can’t deal with this right now. I… I have to leave.”

Except I didn’t head to the front door. I went back to the bedroom, fell onto the bed, and cried. I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. I didn’t want to be strong any longer. I didn’t think I could be. All the hope I’d ever had evaporated, and it was all his fault. I didn’t even know what to hope for anymore. I didn’t want to hide out on my own, away from my mother and in constant fear of being chased, but I no longer saw myself on the run either. I didn’t want to be alone, and though I’d never given up, with my world crashing down around me, it was beginning to feel like admitting defeat was my only option.

It was hours later when I heard the bedroom door open, and I sat up. It was dark outside, my hair felt crumpled, and I realized I must have fallen asleep. I sat up in the same clothes I’d been wearing since this morning. Cameron sat down on the bed’sedge.

“Where is everybody?” I asked.

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