Page 18 of Strength of the Mountain
“P-please,” I beg. “Just let me go.”
The man laughs cruelly. “That’s all you have to say? What a pathetic attempt to persuade me. You’ve been very bad, Camilla. You need to be punished, don’t you? I could put that mouth of yours to good use instead of using it to spew lies.”
I tremble at the thinly veiled threat, scooting as far away from him as I can. He crouches down in front of me and grips my face, his fingers digging in and making me whimper.
“Pathetic,” he spits out seconds before his other hand smacks the side of my head.
My vision goes blurry, and black dots float in front of my eyes. I’m about to pass out when I swear I hear Hayden’s voice. The man drops his hold on my face and steps away. Maybe he heard it, too.
I try sitting up, but my head is too fuzzy. I crash into the ground, struggling to stay conscious. The last thing I hear is Hayden screaming my name.
9
HAYDEN
“Get your filthy fucking hands off of her!” I snarl as I sprint toward the dead man leaning over Cami.
Thank Christ I picked up her call. My girl is clever and resourceful, and saved her own ass by keeping me on the line so I could trace her call.
“This isn’t about you, man,” the kidnapper shouts.
“The fuck it isn’t.” I sink my fist into his nose, satisfied when I feel the cartilage crunch beneath my knuckles.
He stumbles backward, and I’m about ready to pounce on him and fuck him up some more, when Heath and Sullivan pull me back. “Go to your girl,” Heath says. “We’ve called the cops. We’ll keep him tied down until they get here.”
“He needs to suffer more,” I growl, my voice nearly rabid as I think of the harm he’s done to Cami. “First, he harms my sister, and now the love of my life? Don’t you want him dead, too?” I ask my oldest friend.
“Not more than I want to stay out of prison,” he replies, taking some of the wind out of my sails.
“Heath’s right, any more violence and it’d be assault, not self-defense. Take a breather and make sure Cami is okay,” Sullivan reasons.
The fucker on the ground squirms and whimpers as he covers his nose. As much as I’d like to punch him again, the guys are right. Cami is more important.
I rush over to my girl and fall to my knees, gathering her up in my arms. “I’m here, baby,” I whisper. “Please tell me you’re okay.”
“Hayden?” she coughs out. Cami winces, her brows furrowing in pain.
“Shh, it’s okay now. You don’t have to talk if it hurts.” She sniffles and burrows her face into the side of my neck. I cup the back of her head to keep her close, holding her until an ambulance shows up. “Let’s get you checked out, okay? Then I’ll take you home with me, right where you belong.”
Cami clings to me as I stand with her in my arms. Her tears soak my shirt, and my poor baby is trembling from head to toe. Shame washes over me at failing her, just like I failed my sister. Just like I failed everyone in my unit.
“You found me,” she whispers. I look down into her hazel eyes, rimmed in red and shining with tears. How can she still look at me like I’m her hero? “You saved me.”
“You did it all yourself,” I murmur. “My clever girl. You did so good. I’m sorry I didn’t get to you sooner. I didn’t even realize you were gone…”
“Hey,” she soothes, resting a hand on my cheek. “None of that. We’re here now, and we’re safe. That’s all that matters.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat, trying to keep my shit together until we get home. Reluctantly, I set Cami down on a stretcher the EMTs have prepared, holding her hand the entire time they clean her up and check for a concussion.
“I’m sore, but I’m really okay,” she tells the woman who has been tending to her wounds. “My head and shoulder hurt a bit, but I’m feeling better.”
“Do you have someone to stay with you tonight? I’d feel better letting you go home instead of the hospital if you had company for the next few days.”
“I won’t leave her side,” I vow. The EMT looks at me, then at our joined hands.
“I don’t doubt that,” she says with a decisive nod. “If she passes out, gets dizzy, or runs a fever, don’t hesitate to take her to urgent care or the ER.”
“Of course. You have my word.”
