Page 55 of Freeing Camila

“And we have the proof.” The news hung heavy in the air after Flint dropped that bombshell. She sat up straighter, her spine tingling with apprehension as her heart beat furiously in her chest, and stole a quick glance at Wade. He avoided her gaze, but a slight nod of his head was the only acknowledgment he offered.

Haley punched a key on her laptop and information was projected onto a big screen hanging on the wall. She then proceeded to lay out all of her father’s misdeeds. Including the trafficking part. Oddly enough, knowing she wasn't the only woman he had deceived and handed over to traffickers brought her a peculiar sense of solace.

“As we speak,” Flint picked up the conversation. “The FBI are raiding Piras’ home and office and executing an arrest warrant.”

Cammie dropped back in her seat, as if her spine couldn’t hold her weight any longer. The news was heavy. Her father was finally going to pay for all the pain he’d caused. All the pain he’d caused her. The tears slipped out unbidden. Were they happy tears? Or something else. Her heart pounded a frantic rhythm against her ribs as conflicting emotions swirled, leaving her uncertain.

A warm hand, rough but gentle, covered hers, startling her back to the present moment. She latched on to it like a lifeline. Needing it to ground her. Needing his strength to bolster her own.

Haley’s furious typing caught her ear. She glanced at the woman to see a satisfied grin spread across her face. “It’s done,” she announced. “He’s in custody.” She hit another key, and a video popped up on the screen.

Cammie watched as her father, a man who’d given her nothing but nightmares, was led in handcuffs out of his stately mansion into a waiting cop car. Men in the characteristic windbreakers with FBI emblazoned on the back surrounded him. At one point, he tried to shrug off the hands holding on to him to no avail. His face was a mask of fury, eyes blazing. His combative expression promising retribution. Then he was helped?pushed?into the back seat of the car.

And that was it.

It was done.

The man she had called her father for twenty years was now a prisoner. Just like she had been. She hoped his sentence was much longer than hers. For life, would be nice.

“Here’s what we need from you now,” Flint said, breaking into her wishful thinking.

“And we totally understand if you say no,” Haley interrupted again, sending a meaningful glance to her boss.

“Yes, that option is available,” he relented. “What we need?what the authorities need?to solidify their case is for you to testify against Piras.”

“Like we said, you can say no if you’re too afraid to face him. We probably have enough on him to send him away for a very long time. But with your testimony, it would be a slam dunk.”

It was the ‘too afraid to face him part’ that struck her. She’d lived in fear under his thumb for twenty years. It was time for her to break out. It was time for her to find her courage. Do something brave. She hoped, even though he was acting distant, with Wade by her side she could face?and slay?her monster.

“I’ll do it,” she blurted before she could change her mind. A sudden tension ran through Wade beside her; she felt him stiffen, his body growing rigid. Before she could question it, Flint was speaking.

“Good. We’ll let the authorities know. They’ll be in touch, I’m sure.”

“I . . . I can’t . . . thank you,” she finally said. “I can’t wrap my head around all of this, but I can’t thank you enough. You all have given me peace of mind I never thought was possible.” The waterworks were starting up again, but she ruthlessly pushed them down.

“Its what we do. No thanks necessary,” Flint said as he stood. “We’ll keep you informed as the case builds. And if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

With that, he left the room. The others stayed back and offered her words of support and encouragement. Haley hugged her, hard. A warmth bloomed in her chest. Cammie’s initial impression of the computer expert was developing into a genuine liking.

Eventually, it was just her and Wade left in the room, the silence nearly deafening. She didn’t know what was wrong, but her newfound confidence demanded she find out.

CHAPTER22

Jeeves satbeside her at the conference table, the silence more punishing than anything she could’ve said to his face. He ran a hand through his hair, took a breath, then let it out slowly. His heart hammering like it was trying to punch its way through his ribs.

He’d faced worse. Combat missions with half the intel, cartel members with more guns than sense, pitch-black jungles crawling with enemies and uncertainty. But none of it compared to the weight of what stood between them now.

Cammie knew.

She knew he’d come into her life already aware of her past—the pain, the trauma, the truth she hadn’t trusted him with yet. Their initial meeting had been happenstance, a twist of fate, but the other times had felt deliberate, almost as if he’d orchestrated each encounter. At least that’s what he feared she’d think. The night at the bar had been accidental, but his teammates had pushed him to get closer to her for the job. The other times, he found he was unable to stay away. He’d enjoyed their time together more and more.

He’d run the conversation through his head a hundred times. A dozen ways to say “I’m sorry,” and none of them felt like enough. He hadn’t lied, not exactly. But he hadn’t told the truth either—not about what he knew of her past, or how he’d known who she was.

But instead of being honest from the start, he’d kept quiet, telling himself it was to protect her. But really, it had been to protect himself.

Now, the lie—or the omission—hung between them like a loaded weapon, safety off.

He’d told himself it didn’t matter, that it wasn’t the time to tell her everything. That getting close to her had happened naturally—despite the original reason he’d stuck by her side. But now? Now he just felt like a liar.

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