Page 33 of Embracing My Nightmare
Chapter 11
Devlin
Iloved having herin my arms, her small body tucked against mine. I should be upstairs, trying to track down Cameron, but my lamb was feeling vulnerable. I could see how hard she wanted to fight me and how fast she deflated when I reminded her that someone tried to scare her away from me yesterday.
His actions after all these years were suspect and when I finally had him strapped to a table, I would fillet every answer from his body. Cameron had stepped into something he had no place being and no matter his relation to Chuck and Blaire, I would kill him to protect Elise. Some secrets should be kept in the darkness and if I could eliminate his idle threats, I could save my lamb heartache and pain.
She ran her small hand up my chest. Kissing me softly, she stood from my lap and I adjusted my hard length. I was rough with her in Hayden’s office and when I touched her again, it would be with the reverence and gentleness she deserved. Standing from the couch, I linked my hands with her and led her to the patio.
Gesturing to the overstuffed chair, I grabbed her Kindle from the living room and a bottle of water before rejoining her in the sunshine. She had her legs tucked under her and looked adorable waiting for me. Her big green eyes and beautiful brown hair shined in the soft glow and I fell a little more in love with her. Smiling up at me, she took the tablet and water, setting them on the side table.
I kneeled in front of her, taking her hands in mine. “I need to go upstairs to finish some work. Will you be okay here for a few hours? I’ll come back and cook dinner for you.”
“That sounds perfect.” She hesitated before whispering, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
Inhaling deeply, I saw her eyes glisten in the sunlight, and I stroked her hands, waiting for her to explain. Exhaling, she looked at me and a single tear fell as she said the words that healed and broke me simultaneously.
“Thank you for loving me.”
“Elise, I’ve loved you so long, I don’t remember what it was like to not love you. Never thank me for something so amazing as getting to experience your love.”
I kissed her gently when a chime on my phone let me know Skid was here. Handing her Kindle to her, I walked in and waited for him to come up. A minute later, he came to the door, his hands loaded with grocery bags. He sat the bags on the floor and got back on the elevator, no words needed.
I carried the food into the kitchen and unpacked the bags, putting everything away from memory. Elise walked in and smiled at me, leaning against the glass door as I was folding the bags and putting them away.
“You really are watching,” she chuckled, and I could see a comfort in her eyes that wasn’t there before.
A confidence in herself, in me, in us.
I walked to her and kissed her again. Handing the bag for Chuck to her, I reminded her to lock the door behind me. She nodded and followed me. With the door held open, her hand on the edge, she watched me enter the elevator. She pushed the door closed, and I heard the lock and security chain engage just before the elevator doors sealed me in.
Opening the server apartment, I found James, Freddie, and Skid pouring through files from Marco. They had made it through nine years of records, but from the looks of it, they still hadn’t identified a reason for Cameron to suddenly reappear. I sat in my leather chair, watching them debate theories as I let my mind drift back in time.
For three years I monitored the property on the edge of Portstill. Three long years of watching and not being able to stop what was happening. Three years of feeling my heart being ripped from my chest. The random visits weren’t enough, and if I didn’t do something now, I knew things would get worse.
“Are you sure you want to do this? If Marco finds out, he’ll kill us both for fun,” James’s panicked voice whispered near me as we used the darkness to conceal our movements.
Moving through the trees behind the house with slow steps, I turned to look at him. Shaking my head, I whispered, “Go home if you don’t want to help. I told you, I’m doing this with or without you.”
They secured the back fence with a padlock but little else for security. James and I had paused the cameras on the front of this property for thirty minutes while we crept in, hoping no one saw us or what we were taking.
