A Hunted Man (The Men of Halfway House) (21 page)

He rubbed the back of his neck then looked at his watch. He needed to know if Cameron was okay and what had happened, but the three men would recognize him immediately. He patiently waited to allow a few more minutes until they were farther away.

He finally exited his car and sprinted to the empty diner.

"Lucy, is Cam here?" he asked, trying to hide the desperation in his voice.

Lucy looked at him with concern. "Come," she said, taking him to the back room.

Cameron wasn't there.

"Hunter, what's going on? You look ragged. What is it?" she asked, wringing her hands.

"Were those men here looking for Cam?"

She remained silent and fidgeted.

"Lucy, please. I need to see Cameron."

"Hunter, what the hell is going on?" Bill asked, joining them in the back room.

"I'm going to find out. But I need to know where Cam is and I need to know if those three men were looking for him," he said firmly.

"They said they were attorneys," Bill responded.

"I want to protect him, too. But I need you to tell me where he is." Hunter knew time was of the essence. All the red file cases had each closed within a week of their arrival to his office. Cam's clock was ticking and he wasn't about to let these three assholes get to him first.

He started to pace, his stomach twisted. He could hop over to his office, log into his computer, and pull the file up in the system, but that would flag an inquiry he was not ready to discuss. He stopped and focused his glare at Lucy.

"They already know where he works, it's a matter of time before they find out where he lives, if they don't already know."

Lucy gasped and covered her mouth. She looked over to Bill, pleading with her eyes.

Bill nodded to her, and she immediately reached for the phone and dialed a number.

"Matt, hello, it's Lucy. I have someone here who needs to speak with Cam… Something's wrong, Matt—"

Hunter stopped her before she said too much. Maybe it was his paranoia, but he'd discovered too many dirty dealings lately and knew these three men were involved somehow.

"Wait a second," she said before handing the phone over.

Hunter took the offered phone. "Hello?" he said.

"I need to know who you are and what this is in regards to."

"I need you to let Lucy know it's okay to give me the address. I'm not discussing this over the phone," he finished before handing the phone back to Lucy.

"Hello," she said. "Yes, I know him, and so does Cam." She watched Hunter as she chose her words.

She hung up the phone and tore a sheet off the notebook hanging on the wall. She scribbled a quick note and handed him the piece of paper. Her eyes held tears that were ready to spill. "Please, Hunter. Cameron may have done something before, but—"

"Lucy, I've gotten to know Cam. I'm not judging him by his case file but I do need to find out what's going on."

Hunter looked at the address on the paper. He could easily be there within minutes.

"Hunter, watch yourself. Those men were obviously bad news," Bill said.

Hunter quickly nodded and exited the diner. He raced to his car and drove to the address only blocks away, double checking his rearview mirror every other second. He arrived at the address and confirmed the location. A small building, made out to look like a house, in the middle of the business district. It was two stories with a traditional front house-like entrance. Beautifully colored landscaping welcomed its visitors, and a wood carved sign hung above the door that read, Halfway House. Refusing to leave his car out front, advertising his arrival to passers-by, he drove around to the rear. He easily found the only house-like building with a driveway. He parked next to the dark truck and remained sitting in his car for a moment, staring at the back door leading into the house.

He tightly gripped the steering wheel, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

Hunter didn't know what to expect or what exactly was going on. But there was one thing he knew—there was no way he was abandoning Cameron. He'd do anything for Cam if the situation called for it, regardless of the repercussions.

He exhaled and opened his eyes, surprised by how easy it was for him to decide his fate. It had taken him a lifetime to find someone who made him feel the way Cam did, and he was not about to give up on him.

Hunter exited the car and reached the back porch with two quick steps.

The door opened and he was greeted by the extended hand of a dark-haired man. "Hello, we spoke on the phone, I'm Matthew Doner. I own Halfway House and I need to know what's going on."

Hunter shook his hand. "Can we talk inside?"

Matt drew him into a large living room type area where another man waited with arms crossed leaning against the wall.

"The only reason you're here right now is because Lucy trusts you and there was a sense of urgency. So who are you and why do you need to speak to Cam?"

Obviously the man against the wall wasn't leaving. He pushed off from his resting spot and extended his hand in greeting while assessing Hunter. "Julian Capeletti."

"Hunter Donovan, I'm an assistant state attorney. I need—"

Matt immediately interrupted, raising both hands. "Wait a minute. Is this official? If so, then you need—"

"I
need
to speak to Cam," Hunter said in a firm tone.

Julian stepped in between them. "I don't give a rat's ass
who
you are. Don't use that fucking tone in this house."

Hunter blew out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "Please, I need to speak to Cameron."

"Then I suggest you put in a formal request. I'm sure you're well-versed in the required protocols," Matt said authoritatively.

Hunter took a step into their personal space. "There's no time for that—"

Julian grabbed Hunter by the jacket and began to push him toward the back door. "I fucking warned you."

Hunter resisted and Julian became more forceful.

"Stop," Cameron said, appearing in the room. "Please."

Pain sliced through Hunter's chest when he heard the words Cameron choked through. Julian released him and looked over to Cam as if waiting for the next command.

All Hunter could focus on was Cam's steady gaze filled with immeasurable sadness and his bobbing Adam's apple. He stepped forward to go to Cam only to be stopped by Julian. Rather than attempt to fight the single track mind of the house bodyguard, he looked over to Cam.

"Can we talk? Please, Cam?"

"You don't have to," Matt said to him.

"It's fine," Cam said, looking away. "Just say what you came here to say."

It was crushing Hunter to see Cam like this. He pushed past Julian with renewed force and reached Cameron in three strides to scoop him up in an embrace.

"I told you I wasn't going away," he whispered in Cam's ear.

Cameron's arms tightened around his neck and slid upward to grip Hunter's hair so tight he thought Cam's hands would withdraw with chunks of hair in them.

"I was going to tell you, I swear," Cam said, his voice trembling.

"I know," Hunter said, reaching under Cam's shirt to his lower back. He exhaled a shaky breath once he made contact with the heat of Cam's skin.

Cameron finally loosened his hold and Hunter set his feet back on the floor. Cam backed away slowly, lowered his head and hid his face. "I didn't want to lie to you," he mumbled.

"I know," Hunter said, dipping his head, seeking Cam's gaze. He reached out, pushed the hair away from Cam's face, then gently placed his hand on Cameron's cheek, drawing his face up to make eye contact.

They were joined by yet another man.

"Dude, whose sexy lady is that in the backyard?" the man with a beanie anxiously asked when he appeared in the room.

"I thought you came alone." Matt immediately raced to the back window. "I don't see a woman."

Julian shook his head and rubbed his shaved head. "Cole, not the time or place. Matt, he's referring to the car."

"Hunter, this is Cole," Cam said.

"Oh, so you're
the
guy," said the man with the beanie and enthusiastic handshake.

Cameron clasped Hunter's other hand and led him to the kitchen, leaving the three men in his wake.

He was in for a serious discussion with Cam, but all he could think about was how he was willingly being led by a man who thought he was
the
guy.

* * * *

They arrived at the kitchen and each took a seat.

"State Attorney's office? That's a hell of a lot more than just being a lawyer. How did you find out? Did you run a background check on me or something?"

Hunter gave Cam an incredulous stare. "No, I never would have thought to," he said.

Cam exhaled and slumped in his seat. "Thank you for trusting me enough to say something like that."

"It's the truth," Hunter said, reaching out to him.

Cam withdrew his hand from Hunter's hold and placed his hands in his lap.

"You don't believe me?" Hunter asked, flinching.

Cam wrung his hands under the table. No one had willing stood by his side for so long he was reluctant to believe anything would change, especially not with the one person who mattered most to him.

"Cam, please talk to me."

"Are you telling me you're okay being with a murderer?" Cam said sharply.

"You're not a murderer."

"I killed a man!"

"It was self-defense."

Cam vehemently shook his head. He had relived that day repeatedly, every movement, word, and action. He had been filled with more hate than he had ever known in his life at finding the man he cared about with his own sister. There was murder in every punch he threw when he thought of his boyfriend being a cheater and rapist. When the gun went off, Cam had never openly admitted to anyone the sense of relief at knowing Brad couldn't hurt anyone else again. Anyone could call it self-defense, but in his mind, he knew he was glad Brad was dead.

Cam crossed his arms and turned away. "You can call it whatever you want, but the truth is I killed a man that day."

"You were protecting yourself, that's self-defense. It's not me calling it whatever I want, he came at you with a gun and the intent to kill. The gun accidentally went off. It could have been you or him. I, for one, am thankful it was him."

Cameron looked at Hunter, his eyes widening. "The only reason you're saying that is because you don't know the whole story. If you did,
you
wouldn't be here with me right now."

Hunter stood. "I know more than you think I do and I'm still standing here."

Cameron quickly stood and invaded Hunter's space. "Brad, the guy I killed, was
my
boyfriend! Someone who I thought cared about me! Someone who'd take me to his place and fuck me every chance he had for months but kept me hidden away like some dirty little secret. Then he goes off and starts dating my sister because I wasn't enough for him. No, I don't think you'd still be standing here if you had known all that. So go! Now that you know…leave!" He finished, shoving Hunter away from him. Hunter's nearness wreaked havoc on Cam's system. He needed Hunter to leave now before he had a chance to see him fall apart.

Hunter straightened. His expression hardened. Cameron thought his words had finally pushed him away.

"I did know Brad was your boyfriend."

Cam looked away and tried to focus on a spot on the floor. He was light-headed and completely dazed. This wasn't how it had played out in his mind. None of this was. Anyone would run at the first chance they had. Who the hell would want to be with a man who had admitted to killing his boyfriend?

"You're supposed to leave," he said weakly.

"Supposed to?" Hunter asked softly.

"Everyone always leaves."

Hunter stepped closer and reached for Cam. He ran his fingers through Cam's hair then rested his hand against his neck. "I already told you, I'm not going away."

Cameron closed his eyes and leaned into Hunter's hand, desperate for his touch. He wanted to reach out and wrap his arms around him, but didn't want to push his luck and risk breaking the weak tether that held them together.

Hunter's other hand cradled and lifted Cam's face to force eye contact. "I promise I won't go away. But there's a lot I don't understand and I need you to fill in the gaps."

Cam's heart pounded violently in his chest. He had to look away. He didn't dare think what he saw in those piercing silver eyes was love. He wanted to believe, to trust, but he had been burned too badly before.

Hunter may be current with many things, but part of his appeal was classical, chivalrous—when a man's word was as golden as a handshake to close a deal.

"Promise?" he asked quietly, still turned away. He couldn't bear watching the shift in Hunter's expression when he realized Cam had called his bluff.

"I promise. I swear, cross my heart and—"

"Stop!" Cam said, his throat tight with emotion. A childhood phrase, but he couldn't bear the thought of Hunter finishing the words.

Hunter held Cam's face and their eyes met. "I promise you, Cameron Pierce, I'm not leaving. So please, help me understand what happened."

Cameron was on the brink of being overwhelmed by the emotion screaming from Hunter's expression. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to calm his racing pulse.

He nodded.

Hunter sighed. "Thank you," he said before softly brushing his lips against Cam's.

Cam's lips trembled as he hesitated to return the kiss. There were too many emotions battling within him.

Hunter pulled away and stroked his cheek. "Sit, let's talk."

They returned to their seats at the kitchen table, facing each other.

"Let's start with the charges. They don't make sense," Hunter commented, perplexed.

Cameron took a deep breath and shoved his hands between his legs to stop the shaking. "I didn't know about all the charges at the time."

"They didn't bring you in to talk about it with you?"

Cam shook his head. "They took me to the police station, and I sat in a room for what felt like hours, in a chair, cuffed. I remember freaking out every time I looked down and saw all the blood on my shirt."