But it wasn’t just passion that Cam felt—his heart was also melting just a little bit more. Each time he was with Grace, at each intimate moment they shared, he gave a little bit more of his heart to her.
If she ever allowed him to—when she allowed him to—he would give it all. There had never been anyone else but Grace. Yes, he’d had other girlfriends. But Grace was the only girl who’d ever truly had him.
His thoughts spooked him just a bit, and he pulled back, unable to breathe. He cupped her cheek and decided he wouldn’t allow this to scare him. And he also wouldn’t allow her to turn away. He was shaken, but she looked absolutely terrified.
“Do you really understand what you do to me, Grace?”
Her face lost all color as she gazed wide-eyed at him. “I’m not trying to do anything,” she murmured.
“That’s the thing, though, Gracie. You don’t have to try,” he said, almost choking up with emotion. “Just being with you sends my world spinning.”
“Cam, we’ve been over a long time—too long to renew this.”
“But we didn’t get to finish—we didn’t get our closure. Maybe this will all fade, but right now I don’t want to let you go.”
“Some wounds can’t ever heal, Cam.” She tried to pull away from him, and this time he yielded.
“I want to be with you, and if I thought it was over for you, I would let you go, no matter how painful that might be,” he said to her back. She stopped walking but didn’t turn around. “But you do want me, Grace. You’re just too afraid to admit that. It’s a losing battle. The sooner you accept that fact, the easier both of our lives will be.”
She was quiet for several moments and he wondered if she was going to just walk out or if she’d respond to him. Finally, she turned, her face composed, but there was still a spark in her eyes.
“You hurt me once and now you want to control me. I don’t consider either of those things acceptable, Cam. So, yes, I do want you—I’ve always wanted you. But I can resist the urges of my body because I value myself and I won’t be fooled by any more men.”
With that, she stalked out of the barn. His house wasn’t far, so he allowed her to go—for now.
Cam sat in his office across from Axel and Bryson as they looked through the security footage and all the notes Cam had collected in the last month.
“I’m about ready to punch through a freaking wall, I’m getting so damn frustrated,” Axel said as he swept his hand across the table in front of him and scattered several papers.
“We’re getting closer. I feel it,” Bryson told his friend, the calmer one of the group.
“Dammit, I feel like we’re right there but we just can’t find that final piece of the puzzle,” Cam said.
“What about the lead in Chicago?” Bryson asked.
“I’m still working on that one. I think that’s going to be our big break,” Cam told them.
“What name did you find?”
“It’s not a name. It’s a business. But what I don’t get is how it can possibly connect to Grace,” Cam told them.
“If it’s come up several times, then there’s got to be a connection. You know neither of us believes in coincidence in our line of work,” Bryson said.
“Neither do I. All I know is that the person setting Grace up isn’t stupid and they know her well. They know her spending habits, what she likes, what charities she donates to, everything,” Cam said with a sigh.
“Well, that’s how most counterfeiters are. They don’t go into this stupidly. They want to get away with it. So we just have to keep on digging until we find the final pieces to the puzzle,” Axel declared, calming down as he gathered the papers he’d just scattered.
“I’m meeting next week with Maverick, a buddy of mine who has a knack for tracking people down. He’s done several off-the-books things for me in the past. I have a feeling he’s going to find something we’ve all been missing,” Bryson announced to the group.
“Good. Then we’re all on the same page. The cameras are up and working at Grace’s new place, and I have tracking on the car. If she ever figures out any of this, we are all dead. I just think it’s fair to warn you,” Cam said.
“Yep. We have no doubt about it,” Axel said with a laugh. “Life was easier before I got married, though, ’cause if my wife finds out, I’ll be moving in with you.”
Although he was chuckling, they all knew his wife would be furious. When Axel had been assigned to babysit Ella, she’d been livid, and had fought him every step of the way. She wouldn’t take too lightly to him now spying on a good friend of hers.
“I’ll try my hardest to keep us all out of the hot seat,” Cam said.
“Good. ’Cause Misty would put me in the dog house,” Bryson told them. “Still, she would be even more upset if something did happen to Grace. The women have all become a lot closer as they’ve wrangled us in over the years.”
“Yeah, I think you were doing a hell of a lot more chasing of your wife than she was of you,” Cam said.
“Hey. Isn’t there a code of men or something that you’re not supposed to say something like that?” Bryson reminded him.
“Yeah. I guess there is, but I’ll tell ya, I’ve been chasing after Grace ever since she moved back to town and it’s not doing me a hell of a lot of good.”
“Then maybe you need to chase a little harder,” Axel told him.