Page 53 of Twin Threats In Austin
And yet for reasons she couldn’t immediately identify, she wanted to trust him. Or was she just becoming that desperate to catch the bastard who’d shot at her, taken away her sense of safety, attacked her at her home?
Either way, they needed to find a reason to keep Kage with them and in cuffs without violating the man’s rights. She needed to talk to Camden in private. “Can I have a word?” She nodded toward the front of the Bronco.
Camden pushed up to standing with some effort, and then followed her out of earshot from Kage.
“We can use him,” she said to Camden.
“Not without his permission,” Camden pointed out.
“I realize that,” she said. “However, if he agrees to be a witness and cooperate, we could surprise Asher with his brother. Maybe give us some sort of advantage for the first time.”
“That assumes Kage, if he is who he says he is, will be willing to cooperate with us,” Camden said. “I’m not exactly his favorite person.”
“Anyone in law enforcement is his enemy right now,” she said. “We have mutual interest here and both parties stand to benefit. We all want Asher behind bars.”
“Again, you’re assuming that this isn’t Asher,” Camden said. He was right. She could have put on her rose-colored glasses out of desperation to save Justina in a way she hadn’t been able to save her best friend years ago. Right a wrong that Rochelle had buried so deep she never thought about it again.
“What’s your honest opinion? Is he telling the truth? Because a growing part of me believes he is, and if it’s true then we can use him to our advantage and possibly find Victoria before it’s too late.” The words came rushing out.
“Victoria?”
Rochelle’s hand came up to cover her gasp. “Did I say Victoria? Because I mean Justina.”
Whoa!
Camden closed the distance between them and captured her hand in his. His warmth, his touch, calmed her in places she’d buried so deep she was surprised they’d ever see the light of day again. “I just don’t want us to get blindsided here. I don’t want him to use our desperation against us. Plus, even if he is Kage and not Asher, what are the odds that he’s going to ditch us and run the second he sees an opportunity?”
Dammit, Camden was making logical sense. Was she losing perspective?
“That’s why I’m asking you,” she said. “I want you to be the one who makes the call because I’m afraid my objectivity has been compromised considering I’ve become a target and with everything going on in my personal life.”
“Anyone’s objectivity would be affected,” he said with compassion in his beautiful eyes. “Don’t be hard on yourself.”
Rochelle wasn’t being hard enough on herself. She was bringing personal feelings into an investigation.
“It’s late,” he soothed. “Let’s get back to Austin and grab a few hours of sleep. Okay?”
“We can’t, Camden. The clock is ticking for Justina. I can’t let her down.” She left out the rest of the sentence…like I did my best friend.
With Camden’s gaze locked on to hers, the world righted itself for a moment. It was a flash, nothing more. And yet, it gave her the strength to keep going.
Rochelle had never needed anyone. This feeling should scare her instead of comfort her. Because from somewhere deep inside, she sensed that he needed her too. That rather than draining from each other, their connection was a power source that strengthened them both.
Was something special happening between them?
Because her heart saidyesas she stared into his eyes.
“What should we do?” she asked, hearing the raspiness in her own voice.
Camden blinked a couple of times before clearing his throat. “If you want to trust him, then I say we take a risk and go for it. We won’t know what we’re dealing with until we do.”
They would find out fast if this was the real Kage. Though, even he might jump ship at his first opportunity.
“We should ask him if he’ll help us before we make any plans,” she said.
Camden nodded before letting go of her hand.
The second they rounded the side of the Bronco, she froze.
