“Yes. I have a plan on how to catch the person,” he told her.
Finally, a spark of light entered her eyes. “Who is it, Cam?”
“I’m not going to say that right now. I want to get this person, and the only way to do so is by catching them off guard. I need them to trust me, to think I’m their friend.”
“You don’t trust me?” she asked, her voice deceptively calm.
“No.” He didn’t elaborate and her eyes narrowed once again.
“I’ve been taking care of myself for a very long time, Cam. I can handle this.”
He paused for several long moments and then did something she would have never expected him to do.
“You’re right, Grace. I’m sorry. I just want to protect you. But you need to know.”
She waited and he said nothing further. “So . . .”
“It’s Vince. He was incredibly good, but he’s been siphoning money from his father’s company and collecting money through this nonprofit in your name. He’s watched you. He only takes money from the local bank when you’re in the area, and then it immediately goes into an offshore account. He’s covered his trail well, but we have him. He won’t escape this now.”
“Seriously?” she said after a few moments, completely thrown off by this. “I don’t get it. I don’t understand at all. I really thought it might be my mother. I was terrified it was her.”
“I thought so, too, which is why it took me so long to find Vince. I wasn’t looking in the right places. Axel made a big break in the case finding the company Vince’s father owns in Chicago. After we got that information, it all came together.”
“So does this mean it’s over?” she asked, hopeful for the first time in a while.
“Not yet, but it won’t be long now.” He moved closer to her and put his arm around her. “I’ve missed you, Grace, really missed you.”
“Cam, don’t do this . . .” she begged.
“Just let me take care of you,” he said, which stiffened her back.
“Of course: Cam to the rescue, because poor little Gracie can’t take care of herself,” she said.
“You’re more than capable of taking care of yourself. I’ve seen you do it time and time again. But it’s also okay to be taken care of once in a while.”
“Maybe I am tired of doing it on my own, but it’s not so easy to admit that,” she finally said.
Cam’s eyes softened and it was nearly her undoing.
“Grace, I’m going to pick you up in my arms and carry you to your room. Then I’m going to lay you down and crawl into bed next to you.”
“No, Cam. I don’t want that,” she said, but she didn’t mean it.
“All I’m going to do is hold you, Grace. Because I’ve missed you, and I need to hold you as much as you need to be held.”
At those words, she stopped fighting him. So he lifted her up and carried her to bed, gently laying her down before stripping to his boxers and climbing in next to her, and then pulled her into the safety of his arms.
The two of them still had a winding road ahead of them, but Cam knew that if they didn’t give up on one another, they could weather the storm and make it through anything, just as they’d made it through all the trials that had come before.
“I’ve thought about it, Cam, and you’re right: I’m not going to let my fears keep me hiding in the dark anymore.”
Cam stood in the doorway with a neutral expression on his face. Maybe he’d had enough. Maybe it was too late. She’d run from him one too many times, and maybe he was just finished, but she had to give this her all or she knew she’d be full of even more regrets than she already had. As it was, she had enough to last her a lifetime.
She’d paced in front of his door for nearly fifteen minutes before she worked up the nerve to ring the doorbell. This was it—this was do-or-die. If he turned her away, she would deserve it, but he’d told her he loved her . . .
She was prepared, though, for him to slam the door shut in her face.
When he said nothing after her heartfelt words, a closed door seemed inevitable.
“Are you sure you want my help, Grace? You’ve asked for it before and then you’ve run from me as soon as I try to do what I think is right.”
Grace couldn’t tell what he was feeling or thinking from his tone. It wasn’t exactly cold, but no one could call it warm, either. Fear made her want to turn and run yet again, but she’d convinced herself that she was done running, and certainly done hiding. She’d been through the pits of hell and back. She could get through this moment with the man she now knew she was fated to love until the end of time.
“You’ve been right all along, Cam. I was wrong—you were right. Does that make you feel any better? Does that make you want to help me?”
It hurt her a bit to admit that to this man. But she owed him the right to gloat, if only a little. She’d fought him so hard when all he’d been trying to do was help her.
“That’s a start,” he told her.
“And I’m sorry, Cam, truly sorry for my behavior.”
She tried to open herself up, to let him look into her eyes and see that she was speaking the truth to him. If he could see the honesty in her actions, then maybe he wouldn’t turn her away.
“That’s a little better,” he told her, but his voice was still cool.
“And I want your help. Please, will you help me?”
“All you had to do was ask.”