Skin Deep (Wounded Hero Series) (13 page)

“Your right I wasn’t thinking. You can let go of me now.” Dillon said sounding too calm. Camille watched in horror, she saw the wall come up. Damn him he was doing what he thought was best for her and what was best for her didn’t include him. As Daniel let him go. Dillon did not look at Camille he walked out the back door. Camille felt the hot tears running down her face. She knew he wasn’t just walking out of the back door he was walking out of her life. She never realized it would hurt so much. It felt as if someone had ripped her heart from her chest. Leaving an empty hole in its place.

Daniel walked over to his sister. He saw the pain written on her face. This was for the best someone had to bring Dillon back to his senses. Make him see that this thing between him and Camille was doomed from the start. As he got closer, he saw the bite mark on her neck. Damn Dillon what was he thinking?

He reached out for her but she moved away from her him. Along with the pain, she was feeling she felt profound anger an uncontrollable rage. “Camille, I’m sorry you had to hear that.” Camille stopped him in mid sentence.  “Sorry, you’re sorry for protecting me, making sure I didn’t make a big mistake with Dillon right. Isn’t that what you were going to say? Well let me tell you something brother dear. Whatever this was between Dillon and I, it was not his idea. It was mine. I was still a virgin the first time Dillon and I slept together. I wanted my first time to be with him and I know who and what he is. I knew he would eventually walk away from me and yes, it was going to hurt like hell. However, I have to tell you this hurts much worse. I love him; I have loved him since I was too young to know what real love was. So I have a news flash for you if you where trying to spare me it’s too late. So the next time you want to do me a favor. Don’t! This is my life. Stay out of it!”

Camille turned and went after Dillon and Daniel was about to go after her but he felt a strong hand on his arm. He turned to look at Zane.  “Let her go D man, they have to work this out between them.  Just for the record, that was a real dirty move. Like I said before you need to face your demons and make sure the reasons for what you just did where really about Dillon and Camille and not about you and your problems with Tina. I try to stay out of the mix but I have to say this. He loves her and if she was my little sister I would be damn glad to have a man like Dillon with her.” Zane let go of his arm and stepped back; when he turned to leave, he was face to face with Butch who had his large arms crossed over his chest. “I think you need to give them some time. Just back the fuck off Danny.” Butches words where said with dead calm, which only meant that he was really pissed

Camille found Dillon standing on the back deck looking out over the yard. He sensed Camille standing behind him. He couldn’t look at her. “Why don’t you go back in I’ll be in a while.” he said. He never turned around to look at her. “I’ll go back in but first I have something to say. Danny was wrong. I know it and so do you. Somewhere down the line you feel like you’re not good enough for me or that I deserve better. Well what I deserve is you and if all you can give me is now, well I’ll take that. If you want what happened between us today to be the last time then I will respect that but I want to hear it from you, not my brother or anyone else.”

Dillon turned to look at Camille, she was so damn beautiful and he loved her more than he would ever be able to put into words. When he opened his mouth to tell her what he felt, Butch coming out to let him know that Trace was back, stopped him before he made a fool of himself. He had no idea what he was about to say, but now he could take the coward’s way out. He pushed past her without another word. Camille gave Butch a nasty look he shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry Camille this can’t wait you know that.” She nodded as she followed Butch back into the house.

Trace stood drinking a bottle of water as Dillon, Zane, Daniel and Butch watched him carefully. Dillon was impatient standing with his arms crossed over his massive chest. “Well what did you find out?” Trace seemed to be nervous. He could not seem to stand still. “I followed him and he must have known he was being followed because, I finally lost him about forty-five minutes ago. I did get the license plate.” He handed a piece of paper to Butch.

Dillon stared at him for what seemed like a lifetime. “Good job in getting the license number, Butch will find out who the car belongs to.” he said. Trace seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Thanks I tried.” Dillon turned and looked directly at Camille. “You need to stay put no more going anywhere unless one of us is with you. Camille never got a chance to respond Dillon was gone. She would not be getting any answers from him anytime soon; they were all in combat mode. She would do what was safe but she would not sit around as Dillon close her out. Camille went upstairs to Dillon’s bedroom.  As she entered his room, she knew that Dillon would not be sharing his bedroom with her, just thinking about it hurt like hell. She sat on the side of the bed and tried to stop the fear that was slowly creeping up her spine. With the reality of the danger she was in finally sinking in, she wondered how her life had gotten so out of control. The only good thing to come of it was the time she spent with Dillon, in just a matter of a week or two she had fallen madly in love with Dillon. For right now, she didn’t want things to end. Not like this with him avoiding her. Dillon was too important to her to just let him run and hide from what was between them. It was so much more than sex. She just had to figure out how to get him to see it.

Camille headed back downstairs to find Dillon. She found Dillon, Daniel, Zane and Butch in Dillon’s office. They were Talking about the events of the day. Camille wondered where Trace was since he’d been tracking the person from her studio. Walking into the office got everyone’s attention. She looked directly at Dillon, who kept his features neutral. Not giving her a passing glance. Was she a glutton for punishment? Because this was sheer agony. She held her head high and found a chair and sat down. “Don’t let me interrupt.” she said in a quiet voice. She looked at Dillon again. He wouldn’t make eye contact. Zane cleared his throat. “You’re not interrupting, you need to know what’s going on.” he said as he looked at Daniel and Dillon. Who at the moment were still not talking to each other? Butch jumped right in. “Here’s what we think we know. Xavier is deviating from his normal MO. He’s been off the grid for the last few years, before that he was lending his services to the highest bidder. He always worked alone until now. There is a second person. What we know is his friend isn’t as methodical as Xavier. So he must be desperate. I think that Bordereau fellow is behind this. He’s the one who hired Xavier.” Daniel spoke up. “Camille, What happened between you and this guy that he would want to hurt you?” Camille didn’t want to go into the whole story in front of everyone. She looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. “It doesn’t matter, she didn’t want him. It doesn’t give him the right to stalk her or hire someone to kill her. Let’s move on. Has anyone seen Bordereau in Paris or here?” Dillon asked as he tried to keep his temper in check. Camille looked at Dillon; he still wouldn’t look at her. She was grateful anyway that he’d taken the attention off her. Zane spoke up telling them that no one had seen Bordereau in Paris. They had also checked with customs and he hadn’t come into the states within the last few weeks. Zane had tried to call Mr. Bordereau senior who refused to take his calls. Zane had a gut feeling that Senior knew where Junior was. He was probably covering for the little shit.

After another hour of discussing the situation. They all decided to take a
break; it was late in the evening so everyone stayed for dinner. Camille couldn’t think of a worst dinner. Dillon and Daniel still weren’t speaking to each other. She knew the only reason Zane and Butch were sticking around was to make sure they didn’t start fighting again. Camille helped Zane and Butch with the cleanup. Don’t worry Camille they’ll figure things out. They’ve been friends too long to let this come between them.” Butch said doing his best to make her feel better. She loved him for trying, even if it didn’t help. After she was done drying the dishes, she was going to go up and take a shower. Zane stopped her. “Are you going to be okay?” The question caught her by surprise. All she could do was shake her head; if she tried to speak she would start crying. Zane reached out and put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. He could see that she was trying very hard to be strong.

When she was upstairs she ran into Dillon coming out of his bedroom. He was carrying a duffle bag. She looked at the bag and then at him. “I’m going to stay in the guest room, I just needed to get some things.” he said as he stepped around her and headed for the room across the hall. Camille turned to go into Dillon’s bedroom, she needed to keep it together until she got inside and could close the door. Not wanting Dillon to see how upset she was. “Cam.” Camille took a deep breath before she turned to face him. “Yes.” It was Obvious to Dillon that Camille was upset. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her, but it was better this way. They needed to make a clean break, no matter how badly it hurt. “I just wanted to tell you that since we missed your appointment with Chief Morgan, He’s agreed to see us day after tomorrow.” he said. “Okay, thanks.” she said trying not to cry. Turning around she went inside and closed the door behind her. Leaning against the door she began to cry. How was she
supposed to deal with this, It hurt so much? She decided she wasn’t giving up on Dillon. He loved her; she just needed to make him face what he felt for her. She could do it or she would die trying. They were meant to be together.

Dillon went into the
guestroom; he could hear Camille and knew she was crying. This was harder than anything he ever had to do. He never wanted to hurt her and if he hadn’t been such a selfish bastard he would never have started something that he wasn’t capable of finishing. He’d fucked up. Once he was out of her life, she’d have a chance to get over him and move on. But before either of them could move on, he’d have to talk to her about the fact that he forgot to use a condom. There was a real possibility that she might be pregnant. She’d been through enough for one day.

Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Xavier had been avoiding his daily check in with his client, looking down at his watch it had been one week since he gave his progress report. Each time his cell rang and he saw it was his client; he ignored the call and let it go to voice mail. After listening to the messages, he knew he had no choice but to call. Each message was getting increasingly hostile. The last message he listened to was more of a threat then a message. He hit the speed dial button on his cell and waited. The call connected after two rings. He listened to his client rant and rave for a good five minutes. He took deep calming breaths, not being in a position to lose his temper this was too important to him. When there was a break, he took that opportunity to say his piece. “I understand your concern and I am aware that I have not checked in each day as is our agreement. However, there have been some unexpected developments that needed my full attention.” he said trying to sound as calm as possible.

He waited for the response he knew would come. Listening to the person on the other end it took every single ounce of control he had to tap down the rage he was feeling. “Yes I am happy to report that by the end of the week the target will be taken care of. Once you have confirmation I expect the usual amount to be deposited into my Swiss account.” He waited again for his client to voice his frustrations. It wasn’t so much, what he was saying it was what he wasn’t saying that concerned Xavier. “I have already stated that I understand your concern, let me assure you if you have put someone else on the target I will kill them. Make no mistake I will see that as the ultimate betrayal.” There was a long pause.

“You have always done an exceptional job for my friends and me; however, I have never known you to deviate from your routine in all the years we have known you, what makes this job so different.” the voice said on the other end. Xavier was growing impatient if he didn’t end the call soon he would not be able to control himself any longer. In just the last few weeks, his whole world had changed, from the banal existence he had become use to. To something wholly new and fresh, he was alive again for the first time in years. “This job is not as simple as I thought it would be, she has her brother and his friends who are all ex military, and they have made it more complicated but not impossible. I have found a way in. I need you to trust me for a little while longer.” he said measuring his words carefully. He had no intentions of telling his client that he was going to kill her brother to. There was no need as long as the girl was dead that would be the only thing his client would be concerned about. After smoothing his clients ruffled feathers, he disconnected the call.

He hit the speed dial on his cell phone again this time it took much longer for the person on the other end to pick up.

“I thought I told you not to call me here, it’s not safe.” the voice on the other end of the line said. Xavier smiled his new friend was the nervous type at least until Xavier reminded him of the money he would be making. Money had that effect on most people. “I hadn’t heard from you, is the other piece of the puzzle in place?”  Xavier waited he knew that the person on the other end was waiting to make sure no one over heard his conversation. “Yes, the last piece of the puzzle is in place. I will wait for you to send the instructions on what needs to be done and where.” Xavier smiled. “Good there will be an extra bonus in it for you if this works, and I don’t have to remind you what will happen if it doesn’t. Oh yes let’s not do anymore improvising, is that clear?” Xavier hung up not giving the other person time to respond.