Chapter Seven
FURY BURNED IN Cam’s gut. Someone had not only bashed Sedona on the head and kidnapped her, they followed her back to Maple Valley, damaged her SUV, and threatened him.
If the kidnappers thought he would turn tail and run, they underestimated him.
He didn’t run from a fight. Ever. Especially a fight where the winner’s prize was Sedona Hart's life.
“I’m sorry, Cam.” Sedona stared at her damaged vehicle. “I never thought someone get back at me by threatening you. What would you like to do?”
No. Way. He wasn’t letting Sedona put their relationship back on the shelf. She was too special to wait now that he knew she was interested in him, too. “Will you go to dinner with me tonight?”
Her head whipped toward his, eyes wide. “You want to go on a date?”
“That’s usually what they call dinner and conversation, right? I haven’t been out of the game that long.” Well, to be truthful, it had been that long, but admitting as much to Sedona would make him sound pathetic. A man had to have some pride.
She gestured toward the SUV. “The obvious threat to you doesn’t scare you?”
Not much scared him anymore. After what he’d seen around the world, this was nothing new.
“Nope. I don’t run from fights, Sedona. This man wants you.
Unfortunately for him, I got to you first. I’m claiming you as mine.
So no, I’m not running scared. I’m angry, though.
This damage was mean-spirited and unnecessary, and the message was meant for me.
” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and settled her against his side.
“That makes this my problem. I’ll take care of it. ”
She frowned. “We need to go inside the school, but so we’re clear, you’re not paying for the repairs to my SUV.”
“We’ll see.” He wouldn’t let her foot the repair bill for her vehicle. Sedona might not like it, but he felt responsible because he hadn’t protected her and her vehicle better. She would learn that he took care of his own.
Sedona waved her card in front of the scanner and opened the door.
Cam followed her inside the building, his gaze constantly in motion. “When do your kids arrive?”
“In thirty minutes.” She blew out a breath.
Not good. Looked like she didn’t have enough time to do everything she usually did before the students arrived on campus. He hated that for her. Cam would help her do what she could in the time remaining. It would have to be enough for today. “How can I help?”
She glanced up and smiled.
Cam’s heart skipped a beat, then raced ahead. Sedona Hart had a knockout smile.
She handed him a stack of blank name tags and her list of students. “Each child needs a name tag filled out. First name only.”
“I can handle that.” He looked around, then turned back to Sedona. “Mind if I use your desk? If I sit at one of the student desks, I might get stuck in the chair.” Why did schools make kids sit in those one-piece-fits-no-one desk combos?
She laughed. “I know how you feel. Please use my desk.” Sedona grabbed a bottle of water and prepped the coffeemaker.
He hoped she remembered how he liked his coffee. On a morning like this, operating without sleep, Cam desperately needed his coffee at the usual potency, strong enough to walk by itself. Forget adding cream or sugar to his manly brew.
His lips curved. Sedona had tried his preferred coffee strength once. She swore she would never drink his magic elixir again. She’d complained about the coffee being bitter, and how it burned all the way down her throat. The woman did not know a perfect cup of coffee when she tasted it.
When the brewing cycle was complete, Sedona poured coffee into a to-go cup, snapped on the lid, and set the cup on her desk.
Cam capped the marker he’d been using on the name tags and set it aside. “You remembered my coffee preference.”
“Of course. It’s even the same strength as you like it.
That evil brew smells like burned road tar, which makes the coffee perfect for your taste buds.
Besides, we talked about it just a few minutes ago.
I may have a small memory issue, but I have forgotten nothing that’s happened since I woke up in that cabin in the woods. ”
“Well, in all fairness, the coffee conversation happened before we saw your SUV.”
She flinched. “Let’s not talk about that right now. Otherwise, I might actually cry. I just paid it off and was looking forward to using the payment for other things. Guess I won’t be doing that for a while.”
So, his sweet Sedona was stubborn, too. He could handle that. Stubbornness could be an excellent thing. “Don’t worry about it now. Fun day at the zoo first. We’ll talk about the car repairs tonight. I know some people who can help.”
By then, Sedona would be over the shock. The three kidnappers weren’t responsible for the damage. The timing was off. They’d either been tracking her through the forest or fighting off the Montgomery brothers. He smiled. Could have told them that was futile.
Small feet pounded down the corridor to her classroom. Seconds later, four of her kindergartners jostled each other to get into the room first.
“Ms. Hart! Ms. Hart!” One boy ran straight to Sedona. “Guess what.”
“I can’t guess, Julio. Tell me.”
“Today is field-trip day.” Julio was so excited that he was jumping up and down.
“What do you want to see the most today?”
“The lions. They’re fierce and loud. Everybody’s afraid of them.”
Something in Julio’s tone triggered Cam’s protective instincts as he focused totally on the boy. Sedona wrapped her hand around his and squeezed hard.
He blinked and zoned out from Julio as fast as he’d zoned in. Cam smiled at the kid and held out his hand. “Hi, my name is Cam. What’s yours?”
After a second, Julio shook Cam’s hand. “Julio. I’m in Ms. Hart’s class. Are you her boyfriend?”
Cam nodded. Great. This kid had given him the opportunity to claim Sedona in public. He hoped the kid helped him out by spreading the news far and wide. “I am. I hope you don’t mind, but I invited myself to go along on today’s field trip. I loved going to the zoo when I was your age.”
“What’s your favorite animal?”
“The giraffes.”
“They’re tall.”
“Yeah, they are. But you know what the best part is about them?”
“What?”
“They do zoomies.”
Julio looked astonished. “Really?”
“They sure do, buddy. Maybe we’ll see them in action today.” He grinned at Julio, then asked Sedona, “What’s your favorite animal?”
She thought for a second, then said, “Tigers.”
Julio’s brows shot up in fascination. “They go ‘rawr’ like the lions! He mimicked the giant clawed paws with his hands.
Cam thought tigers were a fitting animal for Sedona. After all, her red hair, dark features, and fierce nature mimicked the jungle cats.
“Better go to your seat, Julio,” Sedona said. “Everyone else is heading for their seats.”
“Yes, ma’am. Oh, thanks for not talking to my brother.” He scampered off and joined his classmates.
Sedona frowned a little, but then turned to Cam. “You sure you want to go, Cam? It’s not too late to back out.”
“Nope. I have to visit the giraffes. It’s been too long.”
Sedona held up her hands. “All right. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
An hour later, Cam looked over his shoulder at the children in the bus. Absolutely unbelievable. How could children that size create so much noise? Somebody should have warned him. He turned to Sedona. “I’m holding you responsible for me going deaf.”
“I warned you.”
“Not strong enough, Tiger. What happened to the quiet, respectful students who walked into your classroom?”
She chuckled at the nickname. “It’s called classroom control, and I’ve discovered nothing turns down the volume on a bus ride. You just tolerate it until we reach our destination.”
Cam watched the students literally bouncing in their seats and talking at the loudest volume possible. Thank goodness they were staying in their seats at least.
As soon as the bus stopped in front of the entrance to the zoo, Sedona and another kindergarten teacher from across the hall stood at the front of the bus.
The driver handed Sedona the PA microphone.
She held up her hand and waited for her students to tell the others that was her signal to stop talking.
Cam waited, timing it. Thirty seconds. Pretty good.
“We’ll line up by classes. Follow your teacher and form a line outside the bus. Mrs. Whitmore is our helper today, along with Mr. Sims. Ms. White’s class will line up after my class is outside. Does anyone have questions?”
Miraculously, no one did. Wouldn’t last, he knew.
Some children naturally had to ask one million questions and still wouldn’t be satisfied.
Sedona nodded at Cam, who began leading students off the bus and helping them line up.
Her friend from across the hall took over moving the students down the aisle, while Sedona helped those who needed a hand getting off the bus.
Cam corralled students who wandered away from the line.
Once Sedona’s students lined up, she went down the row, checking off children from her list. “Perfect. All my students are present.”
Now if they could just leave with the same ones she came in with, the trip would be a success.
He wasn’t holding his breath on that score.
Although he might not have children of his own, Cam had nieces and nephews about this age who were notorious for not following the rules, no matter how simple they were.
At the front of the line, she held up her hand again. When her students quieted, she said, “Stay in line and follow me to the front gate.” When a cheer went up, she laughed. “Have to admit, I’m excited about getting out of the classroom today, even if I didn’t sleep last night.”
She glanced at Cam. “Levi wasn’t happy with our answers at the hospital interview.”
He flinched. “I know. David would have tried his hand at interviewing us, but he ran into a boatload of paperwork. The rest of the Montgomery brothers took turns interviewing your new friends. They’ll get around to interviewing us again soon.
If they’re still not satisfied, Elliot will interrogate us.
” Interrogate was exactly the right word, too.
The Navy SEAL was skilled in interrogation techniques.
Whatever was missing in Sedona’s sketchy memory, Elliot would find it.
Sedona rolled her eyes at his careful description of her kidnappers. Friends. But the last thing he wanted was to scare the children if they overheard his and Sedona’s whispered conversation. “The Montgomery brothers won’t forget, will they?”
“Not a chance. Even though they’re focusing on the men and processing evidence, they’ll come back around to us before the day’s over.”
“I hope they believe me.” On those mysterious words, Sedona left him in charge of her hooligan kids while she went to the ticket booth to check in and pick up the tickets reserved for her class.
A moment later, she returned. “We’re all set.”
“I’ll meet you on the other side of the gate. I need to purchase a ticket.”
She waved that aside. “I took care of it. Because this is an educational field trip, we get a huge discount on the tickets. If you want to pay me back, you can buy me an ice cream cone at lunch.”
“Deal.” He was an ice cream fan anytime, day or night.
Cam dropped to the back of the line, keeping the kids corralled as the line inched toward the park entrance. As he followed the last kid through the turnstile, he turned Sedona’s last statement over in his mind. I just hope they believe me.
What skeleton hid in Sedona Hart’s past that might cause law enforcement officers to question her honesty?