Page 139 of Already At Risk
And I wasn’t looking forward to any of it.
Somehow, Keller got Korey to focus on the task at hand, and we were able to move on with the meeting, although not without consistent glaring across the table on the man-child’s part.
Their proposition still involved Natalie giving up a lot of time with Chloe, and I knew she’d never go for it. But I promised to present the proposition to my client and then left Wilson and Thomas Law, my stomach sinking with every step.
Without Korey breathing down my neck, I didn’t have to pretend that his accusations and finger-pointing weren’t eating me up inside. Not because I gave a shit about what he thought about me, but because I could readily admit that hecouldbe dangerous. He didn’t have a lot left to lose here, and desperate men went to desperate measures to regain their slipping control. He could very well threaten what Natalie and I had built—with the case and in our personal lives. And I didn’t know what the hell to do about it.
This case was far from over. There were still a number of weeks before the trial, hearings scheduled prior to it, and then the possibility that it could take days to weeks for the judge to decide on a ruling. That was a lot of time for Korey to dig deeper into our lives, a lot of time for shit to go sideways.
But giving up Natalie? In any capacity?
Fuck, I didn’t know how the hell I was supposed to do that at this point. Letting someone else take the case had always felt likea nonnegotiable, but now? Now that it meant I might have to give up Natalie for weeks, if not months? Right when it felt like we were at a tipping point?
I was afraid something had to give, but I shook my head, knowing I was getting ahead of myself. The last thing I heard from Natalie wasI think we should end this.Before anything else, I needed to figure out what the hell she meant by that. And if she really thought it would be that easy to simply walk away.
It wouldn’t be. It would involve severing something inside both of us, the pull that kept drawing us back together time and time again.
She could deny her feelings all she wanted, but I knew they were there. Maybe they weren’t as intense or all-consuming as mine, but they existed. They were in the depth of her eyes when she looked at me the other night, the softness of her voice, the trust of her weight as it sank into me, knowing I’d take care of her. And I’d wait as long as I fucking had to until she realized what was right in front of us.
Yeah, maybe she hadn’t asked for this, for the direction our relationship had turned. But ithadturned, and I wasn’t sure I could let her run away out of fear again. Not this time.
I just needed her to stay long enough for us to figure this out.
I needed her to trust that I’d figure this out.
I’d doanythingto figure this out.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
natalie
MY STOMACH SANK WHEN I saw Cameron’s name flash up on the screen, the opposite reaction I usually had to anything involving him. I’d been dreading this conversation all day. He hadn’t even responded to my text, leaving me to wonder what he was thinking, if he was mad. Leaving me to wonder if he would call.
But now, he was.
Of course he was.
Because when had I ever asked him for something and Cameron hadn’t delivered?
“Hello?” I answered, tentative.
“Hey, baby,” he responded, and just like that, all my defense walls were knocked down.
He didn’t sound mad. Not at all, actually. His voice had notes of exhaustion and stress, but also determination. He didn’t sound like he was ready to give up whatever this was, whatever we were.
“I’m sorry it got late,” he added. “I got held up with some work stuff.”
I cleared my throat, trying to keep the emotion out of it. “It’s okay.”
“Whereare you?”
“In bed,” I said honestly. I’d been trying to keep my eyes open in hopes that he would call or text me back. It had been another strenuous day at SCMC, but I’d needed to hear from him.
“Mm,” he hummed, like he was imagining it. Remembering it. Being together last night, the things we’d done, said. It sent shivers running through me. I could feel the ghost of his touch running up my body, parting my thighs, pressing over my mouth.
Focus.Focus.
“Did you see my text?” I ventured, because I was starting to think maybe he hadn’t. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be acting so normal.
