Heart of Light (34 page)

“I
know
! And now she’s up there in pain and it’s all because of me. So, I’m sorry. Okay?”

Benny handed him the ice pack. “You do realize that you may be spending the rest of your life making it up to her, right?”

Cam nodded, giving him a hopeful smile. “That’s the plan.”

He climbed the stairs, pausing briefly outside the door to the master bedroom. Inhaling, he walked into the room. It looked as if it belonged on the set of a horror film and not in a tranquil beach house. Furniture was thrown all over the place, some pieces broken and destroyed…the obvious result of a fierce struggle. Restraints were attached to the bed frame. Blood was smeared on the ground from the bed to the bathroom. And in the corner lay Jolene, curled up into a ball, blood streaking down the legs sticking out from beneath the blanket she had wrapped around her body.

He walked toward her, a peaceful look on her badly beaten and swollen face. He tried to hold in his tears, but he couldn’t. Nothing could have prepared him for that sight. And it was even worse because he didn’t do anything to stop it. He pretty much threw her to the proverbial wolves.

Leaning down, he gently enveloped her in his arms, carrying her into the guest room across the hall, not wanting her to be in the room of so much trauma.

Jolene stilled a little, feeling two arms lift her. But she knew those arms. They weren’t the arms of a monster or a shadow. They were loving arms. She inhaled deeply, the smell that of hundreds of happy memories.

“This reminds me of the night you had to drive me home after Elsie got me drunk,” she said sleepily. “You carried me to bed that night, too. You were so nervous about what to do. I remember you pacing back and forth in front of the car before lifting me in your arms.”

“You were awake? You let me touch you? But…”

“I knew you wouldn’t hurt me. I could tell you were a good guy.”

He kissed her neck, placing her down on the bed. “That was the first time I noticed that you smelled like peaches.”

She opened her eyes, staring at the man above her, the pain on his face nearly breaking her heart. “Do I still smell like peaches?”

A sob escaped as Cam pulled the sheet over her, covering up her bruised body. “Of course.” He brushed his lips against her swollen mouth. “I’m so sorry, Jolene,” he said through his tears. “I should never have left you. This is all my fault.”

She leaned into his hand and he caressed her cheek. “You know what, Casanova? For someone who brings out the best in people, you really tend to assume the worst.”

“You think I bring out the best in people?”

She shrugged, grabbing his wrist with her hand. “You bring out the best in me,” she admitted, her chin trembling.

He lowered his head to hers once more. “Then that’s all that matters.” He hovered over her mouth, a breath away from her lips.

“Tell me,” Jolene whispered, tears streaming down her face as her body quivered. “I need to know…”

“I love you,” he interrupted, kissing away a tear. “I love you.” He kissed her again. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Jolene couldn’t remember ever feeling as free and at peace as she was at that moment, regardless of what she had just endured. And she knew that her relationship with Cam was so much more than anything she had ever experienced before.

“I love you, too.”

Cam pulled back, his eyes intense. “Even though…?”

“It’s not your fault. I could have easily told you.”

“No. I know why you couldn’t. You didn’t want anyone to find you.”

She shook her head. “That’s not it. I didn’t care about that anymore.”

“Then what was it?”

“I had to, or he was going to make sure that you could never practice anywhere again. I just couldn’t let that happen to you.”

“Please tell me you didn’t put yourself through this because of me.”

“Not because of you. I did it
for
you, Cam.”

“I ignored all the signs. His words poisoned my ability to reason. I promised that I would always stand by your side and I failed you. That will never happen again. I swear on my life, Jolene. I’ll never abandon you.”

“That’s all I want, Cam.” Her voice grew weak and she closed her eyes. “I just want you by my side. You’re my light. The shadow can’t get me when there’s light.” She trailed off and her breathing evened out.

“Sleep, Jolene,” Cam whispered. “I’ll keep the darkness out. Always.” He clutched on to her hand, needing to feel her skin against his as he watched over her.

“W
HAT
ARE
WE
GOING
to do?” Elsie asked when Cam finally emerged in the kitchen.

“We need to move her to my place. I put a call in to some of my physician friends, and they’re going to examine her over there.” He stalked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water, his mind still processing everything. “I never want her to have to step foot inside this wretched house again. It’s killing me to even be in here now that I know what she had to endure every night.”

“How do you know?” Elsie inquired.

“You should see it, Else,” Benny interjected. “There’s blood everywhere. That guy is one sick fuck.”

She stormed across the room and grabbed her purse, searching for her phone. “I’m turning him in.”

“Whoa. Wait a minute, Elsie,” Cam said, rushing to grab the phone out of her hands. “I want the fucker to pay for what he’s done, but I also want this to be her decision. I don’t want her to think that we went over her head and made it for her. Over the past decade, she’s had every decision made for her. Imagine how you would feel not being able to choose what to have for breakfast, what to wear, who gets to touch you…” He trailed off. “Please. At least wait until she’s more awake and we’ll talk her into making a statement. Then we need to make sure that the statement gets heard by the right people and not someone that this slime ball politician will grease. For now, I don’t want her to think that any of us are trying to decide what’s best for her. She doesn’t need that. What she
does
need is to get out of this house. I don’t want her surrounded by the darkness that permeates this place. I want her bathed in light.”

Elsie was taken aback by Cam’s words. She never looked at it that way before. She had never truly understood why Jolene acted the way she did, but now that Cam had put things into perspective, it all made sense.

“Fine. But once she’s awake, if she refuses,
I
will turn him in. I have video evidence.”

“Good. Hold on to that. We may need it.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“J
OLENE
,
BABY
…” C
AM
SAID
softly, waking her from a dream.

A smile crept across her face when she saw his gentle eyes looking down at her, her vision still blurry. “Where am I?”

“You’re at my house. I wasn’t going to let you stay at your place anymore. You’ll never have to go back there again.”

She exhaled, her shoulders visibly relaxing. “Good. I didn’t like sleeping in that bed of lies.”

“Don’t even think about that anymore.” He reached for her hand and caressed her knuckles, thankful when she didn’t flinch. “I called a few friends to come and examine you. I’ve worked with them before. They’re all doctors and they’re not going to hurt you, okay? They just want to check you over and make sure there’s no damage that is life-threatening.”

She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. “Can we do it in one of the guest bedrooms, please? I don’t want to have that memory in this room. I only want happy memories in the room of our first baby steps.”

Nodding, Cam wrapped his arms around her frail body, lifting her off the bed and cradling her against his chest. “Hold on tight.”

“I’ll never let go.”

He planted a kiss on her bruised forehead and carried her down the hallway into a guest bedroom, making sure she was comfortable. “I’ll send them in.”

“Wait, Cam. Will you stay?”

“Of course,” he assured her. Inwardly, he had no desire to see his associates examine Jolene’s badly beaten body, but he needed to stay strong for her. She had endured so much over the past week, the least he could do was remain by her side, just like he promised he always would.

He kissed her once more and walked toward the door.

“Hey, Cam?” he heard just as he opened it.

“Yes?” he spun around to see Jolene lying there with her eyes trained on him.

“I love you.”

A warmth spread through his body, knowing that he would never tire of hearing those three words come out of her mouth.

“I love you, too, peaches.”

Over the course of the afternoon, Cam stayed by Jolene’s side while she was poked, prodded, and put through the ringer by the doctors he had called.

“Dr. Bowen,” his friend said several hours later, getting his attention while he held Jolene’s hand, never wanting to leave her side again. He brought his head up to look at the stout woman that he had met while doing his psychiatric residency. She had just begun her own residency in obstetrics and, after constantly running into each other in the coffee line, they became close friends.

“Yes?”

“I need a word with you, please.”

He bowed his head, knowing what she was going to say. Turning to Jolene, he caught her gaze. “I’ll be right down the hall, okay? I’ll just be a minute.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’ll be fine.”

He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and followed the doctor out of the room, leading her down the hallway into his private study.

“You need to report this,” she quickly said once the door was closed, looking into Cam’s eyes. “I know she’s scared, but something needs to be done here. I’m sticking my neck out on the line if anyone finds out that I helped you. You know I’d do anything for you, but you need to get her to make a statement.”

“I know, but I can’t do that. I can’t force her to do something she’s not ready for. I want this decision to be hers. As much as I may disagree with it, I can’t take that away from her.”

“Cam, listen to me. How would you feel if whoever is responsible for that girl’s pain and suffering does it to someone else? Three cracked ribs, a broken foot, a sprained ankle, severe vaginal tearing… This guy is a monster and he needs to be held accountable for what he’s done. Hell, he made it so she wouldn’t even be conscious when he beat and assaulted her. The amount of drugs found in her system would tranquilize a man four times her size.”

He sighed. “I know, Lucy. It’s killing me not being able to make this guy pay. But, for now, I can’t think about that. I just have to make sure she’s going to be okay.” He looked down and met her eyes. “She
is
going to be okay, right?”

She gave him a reassuring smile. “Her physical wounds will heal. There’s no telling what kind of emotional scars she’ll have to carry with her, though.”

“Let me worry about that.”

“You’re a good man,” she said compassionately, placing her hand on his arm. “Do right by her.”

“I will.”

~~~~~~~~~~

T
RUE
TO
HIS
WORD
, Cam stayed by Jolene’s side over the next week, slowly nursing her back to health. Every time he looked at her swollen face, he grew angrier and angrier. He hated the idea that he was just standing by and letting the bastard get off with no repercussions for his actions. He had to keep reminding himself that he would pay eventually.

As he was in the kitchen cooking dinner for Jolene one evening, Elsie shouted from the living room. “Cam! Get in here!”

His eyes grew wide at the tone of her voice. “What is it?”

“That fucking prick!”

“What?!” He ran down the hallway and his eyes landed on the television screen.

“Un-fucking-believable,” she hissed, staring wide-eyed and listening to the newscast.

“
Senator Murphy has just made a statement, coming forward about some questionable activities that he has been engaged in recently
,” a heavily made-up anchor said.

Cam’s heart sank as they switched to a previously recorded video of the man that beat Jolene within an inch of her life.

“I am here today to beg for your forgiveness. I let my weakness get the better of me over the past several months. I have betrayed your trust. In the coming weeks, you may hear stories come forth from a woman of questionable morality. Several years ago, I paid this woman in exchange for sex and I have regretted my decision since that day when I let temptation lead me astray. I have asked God for absolution and I pray that He forgives me for my indiscretions.

“In June of this year, my past caught up with me. She found me in Amelia Island, Florida, where I had just purchased a summer home. She was desperate and began to blackmail me. I had no choice but to agree to her demands. At first, she just wanted my money. I have little care for material things. My only desires in life are to serve God and this great country. Then she started to demand more than just money. She made me engage in sexual intercourse with her nearly every night. Last week, I knew that I needed to break it off. I knew that I could no longer continue on this path of deceit, lies, and blackmail. I made the decision to cut her off and deal with the consequences of her threats.

“When I confronted her, she grew wild with anger. She assaulted me. I tried to maintain my composure, but I am only human. After being hit, punched, and scratched enough, I gave in and hit her back. My fury got the best of me, and I fear that she ended up with a broken bone or two. I only hope that God will forgive me for laying a hand on a woman.

“Over the next few days, you may find various versions of this video. I have the real one. Another one may try to show a different side, but this video here has been authenticated by forensic experts.”

Cam held his breath as a scratchy black-and-white video appeared on his TV. It was the same exact one that Elsie had shown him earlier.

He wanted to scream when the audio came on. Someone had manipulated it so that a voice similar to Jolene’s was heard where David was speaking on the original video. The quality was poor so it was indistinguishable whose mouth was moving.