Page 87 of Please Save Me

And just like that, I saw red. Dale’s comment alone shouldn’t have been enough to piss me off, but I knew all about the Sons of Christ. Someone in the cult slaughtered pregnant women, and seeing as Cameron practically worshiped the ground Mason walked on, I didn’t think it was him.

“If you touch my wife, Iwillkill you. And I’llenjoyit,” I warned.

Dale’s expression brightened like that was the one thing he’d hoped to hear from all of this.

“Son, I wouldn’t dream of touchin’ your lady or your baby… just throwing it out there.”

My gaze narrowed.

You better not touch my girls.

My jaw was tense, and thoughts of just how easy it’d be to end Dale consumed me. But I wasn’t a bad person. I didn’t kill without evidence, not anymore. And, after I finished this case, I’d never kill again.

My chair squealed against the floor as I stood up and stormed out before I had a chance to lose my cool.

The air was brisk as I exited the parsonage and headed for my car. Once I was in the safety of my SUV, I opened the glove box and pulled out my cigarettes.

I placed the filter between my lips as I stared at the house with nothing but contempt. Dale’s shadow lingered on the gauzy white curtains, an eerie reminder that he was watching.

My hands shook from residual nerves as I sparked my lighter.

I may not know exactly how the pieces of the Sons of Christ puzzle fit together, but I knew one thing: There wasno wayin hell I’d ever join Dale.

Chapter 28

Cameron

Sweat collected under my collar as I followed Sophia and Mason from a distance as they weaved through the packed corridors of the mall. Going out in public was never ideal for me. Even on my own, people from the church were always lurking, waiting to tell Dale everything I did wrong. That being said, the girls and I had been out long enough to get coffee or tea, in Mason’s case, and no one had stopped me.

Usually, by now, I’d have people up my ass asking about the church, what I was doing out, and if there were any women in the area who I believed would be fit to carry the second coming. But… no one had even said as much asHello, Father Cole. Come to think of it… the second I’d make eye contact with any passerby, they’d avert their gaze and walk a little faster.

I stopped dead in my tracks as that thought washed over me. I knew I wasn’t exactly the friendliest-looking fellow. That’s just what came with being my size. But… this wasn’t the normal reaction I got from just being intimidating.

“Cameron!” Sophia snapped. “Come on!”

I turned to her voice to see her standing with her arm linked to Mason’s. Normally, I loved watching my girls interact. Their love for each other wasdifferent from their love for us; it was almost softer in a way. But I didn’t think Sophia dragged me out of the house just so we could all spend time together.

She’d said we were fine after last night, but something in the weary way she watched me told a different story. In my gut, I could tell she still thought I was hiding something. To her credit, she wasright.

I wanted to pick up the pace, to force myself in the middle and drape an arm over either girl’s shoulder. But, we were less than twenty minutes away from Hartwood, which meant it was too dangerous.

“I don’t know why ya brought me,” I admitted as I tried to keep my voice low so no one else would hear me.

Soph had said something about Mae needing something nice to wear because she hadn’t been feeling the best about herself, but that had nothing to do with me.

“We need a man’s opinion.” Mason gave me a sugary-sweet smile, one I learned meant she was up to no good. “Plus, it’s your fault.”

My heart hiccuped as Mason cradled her stomach. She’d been wearing a lot of my shirts recently, and she was nowhere near big enough to fill out my clothes. This left the fabric to gently drape her rather than fit her like a shirt should. Normally, seeing her like this was enough to send me into a tizzy.

Not because her pregnancy turned me on; that was more Lucian’s territory. Instead, it overwhelmed me with a feeling ofexcitementI never thought I’d get to experience. That excitement usually just got a little lost and bled into something else. I blamed it on the primal desire to keep the mother of my child content in every way possible.

But today, that feeling was mixed with the urge to tell her to cover up. I just didn’t feel safe having her out in public like this. I gulped down the dryness in my throat, trying not to let the girls see how on edge I was. My lips quivered into a smile so forced it was painful.

“Now, how on earth is it my fault?” I joked.

“You think I look like this by choice?” Mason laughed. “If It were up to me,I’d–”

“Ahht! No, ma’am,” Sophia interjected before reaching out to cup Mason’s face.

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