Page 106 of Forged in Peril
Bristol laughed, and Cameron felt the tension of the moment fading away in an instant as they made their way toward the lobby of SAPD headquarters.
“It was a peace offering pie, actually,” he joked as they made their way out onto the street.
It was chilly now that the sun had sunk beneath the horizon, and they’d hardly had time earlier to think of grabbing their jackets.
He waited until they were a few steps away from the building before pulling her into his arms, no longer afraid of how she would react.
He had almost lost her today.
It had a way of putting things into perspective.
Still, he felt a tingle of relief as she leaned into his embrace, pressing her face against his chest even as pedestrians continued to pass them on the sidewalk.
“How are you doing?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion as he inhaled the smell of her minty shampoo. So far as he could tell, it was the same kind she’d used when she was a teenager, and it sent a thousand memories crashing through his brain like fireworks.
“I’m okay,” she said, her voice muffled by his chest until she pulled away.
He settled for holding her hand, and the two of them started down the street, the sound of chattering voices around them making it unnecessary to be quiet.
“Why’d they keep you so long?” he asked.
“They wanted to know more about what I saw while I was working at D&P. They helped me to remember things I would never have dragged up on my own,” she said.
“I’m sure that we’ve made our enemies more angry than ever.”
“The detectives told me as much. As much as I’d like to put it all behind me, I suspect that everyone at FBS will be watching our backs for a while. D&P will want to lay low while the legal aspect of this case is resolved, but I don’t think the gang or the cartel will take the same view.”
“Me either.”
At the moment, he didn’t care if every drug lord on both sides of the border came after Bristol, his brothers, or their employees.
He was prepared now, and he wasn’t going to cower in fear.
“Anyway,” Bristol said, looking down at her boots as they continued to walk, “I’m sorry you had to wait for me so long. There was a lot to go over. Both about this case and about the last one.”
Her voice fell to a whisper.
“You don’t have to talk about it anymore, if you don’t want to,” he said quickly. “I’m sure you’ve had to rehash a lot–”
“No.”
She gripped his hand more firmly, glancing up at him, her green eyes steely with determination.
“I’m sick of letting what happened to me be this shameful, secret thing that I have to hide away. All of the shame belongs to Dillon Warrington. I’m not going to carry it any more.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Your liaison, Allie, was helpful,” Bristol continued. “She assured me that I could say as much or as little as I wanted about Warrington, but if I had more about what happened on the record, it could help me mount a civil case against D&P later if I ever wanted to pursue it. I don’t know if I ever will, but I didn’t want my discomfort about that night to close any doors in the future.”
“That makes sense,” he said.
Cameron made a mental note to call Allie Parker the next day and thank her.
At this point, she’d more than proven that she was not just a useful ally but, in a way, a part of the Forge Brothers Security family.
He was glad to know that even though he wasn’t able to be there to protect her, someone else he trusted was.
“Allie saw that I was comfortable with her, and insisted on staying by my side the whole time. Obviously, there was no need for physical evidence collection, but the emotional vulnerability wasn’t easy, and I’m glad that I wasn’t alone.”
