Chapter 18
18
T he door from the hangar’s office flew open as Jobe threw it against the wall, his eyes on his sister. Miriam jumped at the sound then immediately saw him, followed closely by the rest of her family.
Screaming, she left Cam’s side, running to meet Jobe, jumping into his arms at the last minute. She hit him so hard that as large as he was, he had to take a step back when her body crashed into his.
She could barely catch a breath as he twirled her around, before becoming aware of the crying of their mother, Rachel. Jobe set her down only to have her engulfed by her mother and father. Joseph Delaro had thought seeing each of his children as they were born was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen…but nothing matched holding his daughter once more after they had feared the worst. Miriam’s sisters, Rebecca, and Hannah, crowded in as well, a group hug that made it impossible for the observers to tell whose arms belonged to whom .
Choking back tears, Miriam assured over and over, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
As the family continued its reunion, Cam and the others stood back giving them privacy. He wanted to join…wanted to walk over, interrupt and say something stupid like, Here’s your daughter and by the way, I’m in love with her. Instead, he stood rock steady, the doubt of what they had in the wild and what they could have in the real world creeping in.
Jobe separated from the family and walked over to Cam, his arm stretched out. Cam took his hand, then found himself pulled into a man hug.
Jobe’s voice choked, “Gratitude man, you’ve got to know it.”
Cam wanted to offer comfort but knew that if anyone had taken one of his sisters, he would be beside himself with worry and overjoyed to have her returned.
“The last month’s been hell on my family. Never knowing. Jesus,” Jobe continued, pulling back to hold Cam’s eyes. “Owe you. Whatever, whenever. I owe you.”
Shaking his head, he reached around placing his hand on Jobe’s shoulder. “Nah, man. I took this as a mission, but your sister is fuckin’ amazing. She held her shit together, did what she had to do to survive and then, when I got to her and we got out, she was right on point. Never wavered. Never faltered.”
Jobe nodded, but added, “I can’t begin to imagine what the hell you two went through.” He turned to watch Miriam smiling with her parents still hovering. Turning his gaze back to Cam’s he asked, “You think she’s going to be okay?”
Nodding, Cam responded, “Yeah. She’s going to be fine.” He glanced over at the DEA agents still in the area. “They’ve questioned her pretty hard, and she was checked out by the medical staff when we first landed. She’s exhausted but, for the most part, she seems fine.” He watched Jobe carefully, knowing he had faced issues with PTSD after his time in Afghanistan. “They mentioned that she should seek a trauma counselor and I don’t think that’s a bad idea.”
Jobe’s gaze shot to his immediately, a heavy sigh leaving his body. Rubbing his hand through his hair, he nodded. “They’re right. No matter how she’s coping now, this is going to fuck with her head.”
Cam wanted to tell Jobe that he would be around. That he would be seeing to Miriam personally. That he would take care of her himself. But the words caught in his throat as he continued to watch her with her family. She needs time with them. I need to back off…for now.
Miriam’s tears ceased as she convinced her parents she was not going to disappear in a puff of smoke. While talking to them she watched her brother approach Cam and smiled as the two hugged. She wondered when he would reunite with his family. But he was on a mission, not kidnapped, so his family might not have even known he was out of the country. Biting her bottom lip, she allowed her mind to wonder if he did this often—go to foreign countries to save maidens in distress. Maybe so, but I was special…what we shared was special…wasn’t it ?
Fatigue and emotional exhaustion crowded into her thoughts, making them a jumbled mess instead of the clear knowledge that the man who had held her through the night was hers. Hers to still lean on, still need, still… love.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her father declared, “We need to go. We need to get Miriam home. My girl has been through enough.”
Jobe walked over, hearing his father’s words, and pulled his sister back into another embrace. “We’re done here, sis. Let’s go.”
“I…I have to say goodbye to Cam.”
Walking away from her family she approached Cam tentatively, seeing that he was standing with his co-workers. The wall of muscular testosterone in front of her was impressive…and intimidating, but she only had eyes for Cam.
He stepped away from the others and met her in the middle of the hangar, aware he wanted to spirit her away from the curious eyes all around and take her somewhere private. They stopped two feet apart, her head still having to lean back to look into his eyes.
“Hey,” she said softly. “I…I guess my family is ready to go.”
“Yeah,” he answered, suddenly unsure of himself and who they were now that she was safe.
She picked up on his reticence, sucking her lips between her teeth in nervousness. “I want to make sure you know…um…well, how much…well, thank you for everything.” Her words sounded lame to her, but with a crowd surrounding them, she did not dare throw herself into his arms and declare her undying love.
Her uncertainty screamed out to Cam, and he lifted his hand toward her, saying, “The pleasure was all mine, Miriam. I’m glad you’re with your family now and…well…it was very nice to get to know you.”
She looked down at his outstretched hand and, not knowing what else to do, placed her much smaller one into his, accepting his shake. No Carina. Just Miriam.
He watched her carefully, looking for a sign that she wanted more, but only saw her looking down at their clasped hands.
She battled back the tears, wishing he would pull her in for a hug…something to indicate that what they shared was special to him as well.
With half-hearted smiles, they dropped their hands, neither saying anything.
“Well, um…goodbye, Cam,” she said, trying to make her voice sound stronger than she felt.
Nodding slowly, he added, “Goodbye, Miriam.”
With that, she turned and started to walk away, when he called her name again. Smiling, she moved back. Looking up expectantly, she watched as he pulled out a pen and piece of paper from his pocket. He scribbled something and then handed it to her.
“It’s my phone number, in case…well, if you ever need anything.”
She stared at the paper as she had his handshake a moment earlier, before looking up. Steeling her expression to mask her confusion, she nodded her thanks before walking back to her family. Accepting Jobe’s arm across her shoulders as they walked to their vehicle. Once inside, she spared a glance at the assembly, but only had eyes for the large man who had rescued her…and stolen her heart. And she watched him until he was out of view and another tear slid down her cheek.
The DEA agents, including Alberto, were packing up as Marc walked over to Cam, clapping him on the shoulder. “You wanna tell me what the hell that was?”
Cam’s lips tightened into a thin line as he let out a deep breath through his nose. “Don’t go there,” he warned.
Bart, Blaise, and Monty joined them, each quietly observing their friend.
Marc ignored the warning and pushed, “You can’t tell me that what you feel for that woman is going to be shoved aside ‘cause you’ve got some idea that she’s better off without you.”
Sending a blazing glare toward Marc, he answered, “You think I’m ever going to be able to fit into her world? Sweet girl, with a sweet job? Hanging with someone who never knows where the next mission might take him? She’s got family that wants to keep shit from happening to her. You think Jobe would welcome a rough hombre like me into the family?”
“Cam—” Bart began.
“Fuck!” Cam growled. “What the fuck was I thinking? I should’ve kept my mind on just the rescue instead of…” he tr ailed off.
“Falling in love with a beautiful woman?” Monty finished for him.
Cam’s eyes darted over to Monty’s as he sucked in a sharp breath, ready to retort. Then stopped and let the breath out slowly. Dropping his chin to this chest, he nodded. “Yeah. I fuckin’ fell in love with the mission.”
“No,” Bart said, watching his best friend closely. “You accomplished the mission. You fell in love with the girl.”
The cavernous hangar was silent for a moment as the five men stood in solidarity.
“Jesus,” Cam said, his voice laced with frustration. “Now I know exactly how Jack felt when he first met Bethany. Miriam deserves a man who can give her a nine-to-five life and not have to relive her nightmare every time he heads off to work.”
“So, you’re going to make that decision for her?” Blaise asked. “Cause from what I saw that woman wanted you. When we were on the plane coming here, there was no doubt she was making the same statement that you were—that you two were together.”
“She needs to be with family. They need to heal as a family. They gotta see to her…for them as much as Miriam. And I need to step back right now to give them that.”
Marc nodded, saying, “Okay, man. I can see that play. You’re giving her family time to reconnect. But then what? Are you seriously going to let her just walk out of your life?”
Before he could answer, Monty added, “Or rather, are you going to walk out of her life?”
Cam’s gaze cut back to his, and Monty continued, “ That’s what’s going through her mind. Not that she walked away, but that you did.”
Rubbing his hand over his face, the exhaustion was overwhelming. Cam nodded and said, “I get where you’re coming from. Right now, I have to walk away to give her what she needs. Down the road? Who knows?”
Recognizing their friend’s need to recuperate, they moved toward their vehicle, deciding to drop the conversation.
“Jack wants a debriefing as soon as you’re up to it,” Blaise said.
Nodding slowly, Cam said, “Tomorrow’s good. Just let me sleep tonight and I’ll be there.”
With that, the five Saints climbed into the SUV and Bart drove them away. Cam leaned his head back, wishing that sleep would overtake him but, instead, visions of a dark haired, dark eyed beauty filled his thoughts.
As the taillights of the SUV left the hangar, hidden eyes followed it as it disappeared from sight before a phone call was placed. Then the mysterious caller slipped unnoticed into the night.
Instead of going to her apartment, Miriam was not surprised to see that her father drove the family straight to her parents’ house. The lights were on, both inside and outside, and the minute they entered the driveway the front door opened and Jobe’s wife, Mackenna, and Rebecca’s fiancé, Thomas, ran out. More greetings and tears followed, before Jobe and Joseph managed to herd the women inside. Rachel wanted to feed her daughter, but Miriam caught her in the kitchen, saying, “Mom, I honestly just need to sleep.”
“You should eat. Look how thin you are,” Rachel exclaimed, worry etched on her face.
“I know and I promise tomorrow, I’ll eat. Right now, I just want a shower and to fall into a soft bed.”
Rachel pursed her lips but relented. Cupping her daughter’s cheek, she peered deeply into Miriam’s eyes. “I prayed. Every minute of every day since you’ve been gone.” Her voice broke, but she powered through. “I prayed God would send someone to save you. And He did.”
“He did, mom. He sent a Saint to watch over me,” Miriam whispered, hugging her mother for the hundredth time that night.
An hour later, tucked in the bed she slept in as a child, Miriam’s thoughts moved back to Cam as sleep was overtaking her. Did I read the signals wrong? Was it just me that wanted what we discovered to last longer than the rescue? The night provided no answers and as exhaustion overtook her, she dreamed of the large, handsome man who had plucked her from danger and stolen her heart.