Chapter 9 Hayden
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.”
By the time Cami gets the go-ahead to leave, the police have shown up and are taking statements from Heath and Sullivan. The kidnapper is secured in the backseat of a squad car, his nose bandaged but still bleeding. He deserves so much worse.
“Miss, can we get your statement?” one of the officers asks as he approaches us. I tuck Cami into my side, and she wraps her arms around my torso. “I’d like you to come to the station, but that can wait until tomorrow. For now, just go over the basics with me. Can you do that?”
She nods, and I tighten my hold on her, infusing my strength into her bones.
My girl tells us how she was yanked out of the crowd of protesters and thrown into a van.
I’m having a hard time keeping myself in check, but I know being here to support Cami is more important than revenge on her attacker.
“A few other cops have been down at the community center,” the officer informs us. “I can’t say for certain, but from the testimonies we’ve heard so far, we think he was acting alone to prove his loyalty to someone.”
“Cindy, the CEO,” Cami says. “He had some crazy idea that if he took out every threat standing in their way, Top Spot Realty could snatch up a bunch of properties and he’d be a hero or something.”
The officer peers over at the car holding the maniac who attacked Cami and vandalized my sister’s store.
His eyes narrow in disgust. “We’ll deal with him and make sure he’s put away for a long, long time.
I have a feeling the rest of the real estate company will back off after this.
It’s bad press, for obvious reasons, and I’m sure they will want to distance themselves from the entire town. ”
Cami breathes a sigh of relief. While I’m glad we won’t have to deal with Top Spot anymore, I hate that it took my girl being kidnapped for them to go away.
I’m half carrying, half walking my woman to my truck when we’re done, both of us exhausted yet still on edge. I bundle her up in the front seat and drive us home, where I plan to hold her all damn night. In fact, I might never let her go again.
By the time I pull into the parking lot of my apartment, Cami is half asleep. I gently unbuckle her seatbelt and scoop her up in my arms.
When we get inside, I carry her straight to my bedroom, where I set her on the bed.
I leave her side just long enough to grab a shirt of mine and sweatpants for her to change into.
The clothes she’s wearing are torn and dirty, which pisses me off.
She should never have had to experience any of this.
I set the clothes down next to her and slowly peel her shirt off, replacing it with the clean one. My girl sighs and gives me a sleepy smile. “My prince charming,” she whispers.
“I’m not, but I’ll make it up to you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there,” I say softly. I pull her into a standing position and carefully remove her jeans before directing her to step into the pair of sweatpants I’m holding for her.
“Hayden, don’t do this to yourself,” she says once I have her back in bed with the covers pulled up. I crawl in next to her, my fingers lightly tracing her silhouette. “We’ve come so far. You’ve come so far. I hate seeing the guilt weigh you down.”
I close my eyes, having a hard time accepting her forgiveness. “But I’ve failed so many people. I thought I had a new start with you. I never wanted to let you down, but I’m a screw up, Cami. I’m no good for anyone.”
“Hayden, that’s not true.” She strokes the side of my face, drawing my attention to her multi-colored eyes.
“First, I was trapped and useless after a bomb nearly blew my leg off three years ago. I listened, helplessly while my friends and fellow soldiers fought for their lives. I swear I was dead, too, until I woke up in a hospital stateside.”
“I had no idea it was that bad,” Cami whispers. I close my eyes against the shame I know I’m going to see in her gaze. “Hayden, none of that was your fault. I can’t imagine the anguish and heartache you went through during that time. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“You can’t mean that,” I murmur, emotion clogging my voice.
“Especially after I failed again when my sister was being threatened. She felt like she couldn’t reach out to me, and that kills me more than anything.
I was supposed to be her protector, her big brother.
Instead, I turned out to be a big disappointment.
And now you… Jesus. I don’t know if I can forgive myself. ”
“Just breathe with me,” my girl says, her soft voice pouring over me and easing my tension ever so much. “Lily doesn’t blame you for anything, and neither do I. Please, please forgive yourself so you can finally move on and be with me fully. Leave your past behind and trust me with your future.”
“How can you still want me?” I finally open my eyes, struck with the love and understanding I see shining back at me.
“How can I not? Hayden. I love the man you are, and I love the man you’re working so hard to become. Don’t let this send you back to the lonely, angry person you were before we met.”
I press a kiss to her forehead and let her words sink in. “I don’t deserve you, but I promise to work every day to make you proud.”
“You already do.” She yawns, which is adorable, and then snuggles back down into my side.
I pull the blankets over us and rest my chin on top of her head.
“Get some rest, love. I’ll be right here.
” The words have barely left my lips before her breathing evens out and her soft snores reach my ears.
She’s too damn pure and precious for me, but for some reason, this angel still loves me. I’ll make sure she never regrets it.