“He’s…” Shit, how did I even explain that? As much as I hated lying to her, it was part of the deal now. “He’s another cop. He’s in charge of my case.”
“A cop?” She narrowed her eyes. “He didn’t seem like a cop to me.”
“Mom, please,” I begged. “I’m sorry about the secrecy, but all I can say is this is for your own safety. Can we please leave it there?”
The frown on her face morphed into a mask of fear and worry. “I’m sorry. I’m just afraid. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,mija.”
My heart lurched, and I dropped the backpack as I crossed the room to hug her. When she wrapped her arms around me, her fingers dug into my skin as if she was afraid I might vanish if she didn’t hold on tight.
“It’ll be okay, Mama,” I whispered.
Her head bobbed against my shoulder. Pulling away, I pointed at my closet.
“There’s a jar in there,” I said. “I’ve been saving change and singles for the last year. It probably has around three hundred bucks inside it. Use it if you need to. Groceries, clothes for Gael, whatever.”
“I’m not worried about money,” Mom said.
“Well, I am. You had to call in today, didn’t you?” I asked. “To come to see me at the clinic?”
Mom looked away, her face flushing lightly. “I didn’t call in, but I had to leave early. I’d only been on shift for two or three hours when Nate called me.”
“And that’s nine or ten hours you won’t get paid for this week. Use the money,” I said again. “I’m still going to be working on a few stories while I’m away. Stuff I can do away from the office. Brent will keep me on payroll for a while. He’s fine with me going away for a bit.”
That was an understatement. When I’d called him before leaving the clinic, he sounded much more worried than I’d assumed he would.
“Cameron?” Brent had gasped. “Are you all right? I got a call from a Detective Vickers, saying you’d beenrequisitionedby the Toronto PD? What the hell is happening?”
“I’m all right, Brent,” I told him as I made a mental note to thank Ollie for laying the groundwork. “I’m working on something special. Not sure if it’ll be a big story or not, but it’s important. I’ll need to stay off-grid for a few days more. Is that okay?”
“What? No, no, of course,” he added almost as an afterthought. “Who am I to argue with the cops? I expect a really cool story when you get back, though. You’ve got me intrigued, kid.”
After thanking him for being so understanding, I ended the call.
It was all well and good for now, but what the hell would I do if JCwasn’tvictorious over Rick and his father? If Rick became the alpha, I could very well end up in some sort of forced marriage to him. That thought filled me with horror.
Suddenly, I felt like a child again, shivering and terrified after a nightmare and wanting to climb into bed with my mother.
“Cameron? Cameron?” Mom squeezed my shoulder, her head tilted to the side as she studied me. “Are you awake? You zoned out.”
Blinking, I shook my head. “Yeah, sorry. I’m fine.”
“I don’t want you worrying about money.”
“Mom, how can we not worry about it? We paid the water bill five days late last month. We were two days from having them come to cut it off.”
“Yourcopfriend JC gave me this before I left.” She pulled an envelope from her back pocket and opened it. I gaped at the stack of at least twenty hundred-dollar notes.
“What?” I gasped.
Mom nodded. “He said it was to make up for you being gone. We’ll be fine, sweetheart. You go do whatever you have to do.”
“He gave you that?”
“Yes. Handed it over as I walked out the door. He said something about us being family now. Strange man.” She frowned. “Nice man, but strange. I’ve never met such a personable policeman.”
Tears burned the back of my eyes. JC had simply handed my mother a couple thousand dollars for expenses. It was an incredibly kind gesture, and a welcome one, but why? Was this what it was like to be in a pack? Familial support and assistance? It touched me, but also sparked my suspicions. Surely there would be some strings attached. It was probably just a loan that I’d have to pay back with interest. That made sense. If so, I’d happily repay him. It was still an incredible gesture that I didn’t know how to react to.
“He told me not to say anything about it,” Mom said sheepishly.
