~ Chapter 26 ~
Cam stretched, trying to get the kink out of his neck. Sitting in a chair for three days at the side of their bed as Chastity healed wasn’t doing his body any good. Or his mood.
He watched as her chest rose and fell, her bruising almost gone but it was her mind he was worried about. Feera had used her potion and she’d transformed her into her beast for a long enough time for her to heal her physical wounds, but when she’d changed back, she’d remained asleep.
The Healer advised that it was Chastity’s mind coping with the miscarriage, and not in a normal manner. The way in which it happened had been so traumatic that her mind was healing itself. Fuck. Whatever that meant, it had Cam sitting next to the bed, not sleeping, eating, or doing anything other than worrying for his mate.
At least they no longer had to worry about further threats. Robertson had been working alone. All information gathered had proved that, so Cam could at least relax knowing their children were no longer at risk. And he’d had a talk with Heather about how dangerous her actions had been, even though he’d been proud as hell, he couldn’t tell her that. Yet.
When she was older he would, but not now. Not when she was still young enough to get herself into more trouble. His brave little Lion.
He was still thinking of Heather and her ferocious attack on Robertson when Chastity’s arm twitched, her fingers unfurling to reach for him. “Cam? Cam!”
He was next to her in a heart beat. “I’m here, Mo chroí, my heart, I’m here.”
“Cam! It was Stu, Stu Robertson!” Chastity fell against him, her fingers tangling in his shirt frantically.
“Shh, baby, I know. He’s gone, I took care of him.”
“The children, Cam! The kids, are they safe?”
“Yes, Chas, they’re all safe. I promise.” He kissed her forehead, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. “You’re safe too. His men are dead, he’s dead. We’re all okay.”
Her body relaxed, for a moment, before it stiffened again. “I lost the baby, Cam. I lost our baby.”
“No, darling, you didn’t lose it . . . he took it from us. But I made him pay. I made him suffer for that. It wasn’t your fault, darling. It was his.”
Her sorrow washed over him. Encompassing him completely, and he took it. He seized it from her with every cell of his being to ease her suffering, stroking her back gently, he soothed her. “You didn’t lose our child, Chastity, don’t ever think that for a second. Robertson took our baby from us but he’ll never harm another soul. I sent him to Hell where he’ll burn for eternity, baby.”
“Yes,” Chastity breathed against his chest. “He took our child. He did.”
“Yes, sweetheart.” Cam confirmed it, and he’d continue to do so until he was certain she felt no guilt whatsoever. He knew that many women did after suffering a miscarriage and he wanted to help her any way he could. He’d help her heal, body and mind, and then he’d try and heal himself.
He wasn’t stupid enough to believe he’d come through unscathed. He was scarred deeply from seeing her lying in a pool of blood, battered and bruised. And with no knowledge of whether Heather and Corey were alive or dead, shit, that had torn him up inside like nothing he’d ever gone through. Cam knew he’d have to work through some things, but that was for later. After he’d put Chastity back together. She was his first priority, his only one at the moment.
“Can I see the kids?” Chastity asked, her voice stronger. “I need to know they’re safe.”
“They are safe but they’ll be in bed,” Cam replied, nuzzling her hair. “It’s not dawn yet, Chas.”
“Really?” she looked around. “How long have I been asleep?”
Cam smirked down at her, chucking her under the chin. “Three days.”
“What?” She jerked back, pushing herself up. “Three days?”
“Yes, you lost a lot of blood and had a few broken bones,” he said gravely. “You had to heal and I guess your body knew that. If you feel okay though, why don’t you have a shower and we can go get you some food?”
“Yes, please. And we can be ready with pancakes for them when they get up.” She looked around. “Are things back to normal? I mean, are they back at school?”
“Yes and yes,” Cam confirmed. “There’s something else, Shaney’s moved in with Clayr and Ryder. She says he makes her feel safe and didn’t want to go back to the orphanage.”
Chastity’s eyes lit up. “I’m glad. She was following him around that day and when he was shot she rushed over to help. She was pretty brave, so I’m glad she’s staying with them. I hope it works out for them.”
“I think it will. From what I’ve heard it sounds like it might become permanent.”
“That would be great.” Chastity pushed the covers back. “I’ll see you downstairs.”
“I’m staying right here.” Cam crossed his arms.
“I’m not an invalid, Cam.”
“Maybe not, but I’m not moving,” Cam insisted.
“Fine,” Chastity huffed, disappearing into the bathroom.
He laid back against the pillows for the first time since they’d brought Chastity home. He’d been too worried about her to lie down, preferring to sit in the chair and watch her every breath instead. Now she was awake, and on her feet, his body relaxed, eyes closing. “Just for a minute,” he mumbled, but before he could think another thought his body and mind betrayed him, sinking down into a deep, dark, slumber.
When he woke several hours later Chastity was curled up in the chair he’d been in for days, reading. She looked up, smiling. “Hey there.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He stretched, feeling like a cad for failing her when she needed him the most.
“Don’t be stupid, you needed the rest. From what I’ve heard you didn’t sleep much in the last few days.” She raised an eyebrow accusingly. “You should’ve taken more care of yourself, Cam. The kids need you as much as I do.”
Cam bristled under her stare and her reprimand. “They were fine . . . you weren’t.”
“I was healing but I was here, at home. I was okay. They missed you.” She unfurled herself from the chair, coming to join him. “Jinx came earlier, he said Gunr has finally made some improvement and Feera now thinks he’ll survive. She says he still has a long way to go, but she’s hopeful now.”
He let out a long exhale, relief flooding his system. “Thank the Goddess! I’ve been worried that we’d lose him too.”
“I thought you’d be pleased to hear that.” Chastity linked her fingers with his, holding firmly to his hand. “Security is still tight but he assures me that there’s no further threat, that . . . person was working alone. Apparently, he’s held a grudge ever since we got Heather and you kicked his ass. He’s been planning this for a long time, Cam. He knew he wasn’t getting out of here alive but he wanted to kill the kids and me in front of you. That’s what his big finale was to be . . . to destroy you by murdering us.”
His hand tightening involuntarily, his stomach muscles clenching as he remembered the feeling of powerlessness as Robertson pointed a gun over Chastity’s prone body. “I want to rip him apart again just thinking about it.”
“I found something out earlier.” Chastity looked up into his eyes. “I wasn’t sure I’d heard right at first . . . Heather?”
Cam cursed under his breath before nodding. “I wanted to tell you. Who let the cat out of the bag?”
“Is that a joke?” She canted her head, frowning.
“What?” Cam realized what he’d said and chuckled. “Oh, no, sorry. Didn’t mean it like that.”
“It was Stracey, she was telling me about what happened after I lost consciousness. She didn’t know that I wasn’t aware of what happened. But I was shocked, Cam. Heather doing that, she could’ve been hurt . . . or worse.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” He sat up straighter, his voice rising. “I couldn’t do a damn thing, Chas. He had a gun on you and if I made any kind of move that let him know she was there he would’ve done one of two things . . . he would’ve grabbed her or he would’ve shot her. Plain and simple. I was out of options. The only thing I could do was get ready to move the second she distracted him and that’s what I did.”
Chastity gave a brief nod. “I can’t begin to know what it felt like, seeing her behind him like that. It must have been . . .”
“Fucking torture,” Cam ground out. “It was the worst moment of my life, Chastity. He had a gun trained on you and his finger was tightening . . . I saw it. The look in his eyes, the madness. It was going to be over in seconds and then her head popped out with a look so fierce and I knew, I knew she wasn’t going to stay put and I couldn’t let him know she was there. If I did he would hurt her. He’d hurt our little Lion and I couldn’t let that happen. It was a split second decision and I was out of options.”
His body started to shake as shock took hold. The scene replaying over in a loop in his brain, swiping his hand over his eyes he tried to erase the pictures, especially the point where Heather had appeared. His heart thudding wildly when he’d realized his daughter’s intention. Damn. He’d thought he was going to lose her right then and there.
Chastity wiggled onto the bed, her body curving against his and wrapped her arms around him. “It’s all right. It’s over and she’s safe.”
“I nearly lost her,” Cam groaned, emotion overwhelming him entirely. So many that he felt as if he were drowning in a sea of turmoil and sensations that he’d ignored since bringing Chastity home. He fought to draw a breath in, gasping as if his brain had short-circuited and was no longer sending signals for something so simple as to fucking breathe!
“I’ve got you, Cam, relax, it’s okay. They’re all right, I’m all right, and you’re going to be fine. Just relax and breathe.”
Her hands held him tightly, her voice soothing but firm as he continued his fight to draw oxygen inside. Her lips finally landed on his, kissing him hard, their teeth smashing against one another’s as her tongue speared inside to tangle with his. Soon he was lost in a haze of desire, all rational thought left him as his body responded to his mate . . . and then she pulled away with a cheeky grin on her face.
“What the hell?” He scowled at her, his cock heavy and rock hard.
“Breathing okay now, darling?” she asked as sweet as pie.
“That was sneaky, Chastity.” Cam reached down, trying to alleviate the throbbing between his legs. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“I’ve heard a cold shower works wonders.” Chastity blushed, her eyes lowering. “Sorry, but I don’t think I should be . . .”
“Shit!” Cam reached for her, hauling her onto his lap. “I’m sorry. I’m an idiot.”
“Don’t.” Chastity snuggled against him. “I started it, but you were having a panic attack and I had to do something and it seemed a good idea at the time.”
“I was not having a panic attack,” Cam retorted. “I just had a momentary lapse when I thought of Heather and you and that godawful day.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Chastity sniped, poking his chest. “We both have a lot of talking to do, Cam, but if we do that . . . together, then we’ll get through this.”
“We can get through anything together, Chas.” Cam held her tight against his chest, savoring her warmth, her scent, her being alive and in his arms. “I love you with everything I have and we will survive this.”
“I know we will.” Chastity held onto him, her fingers tangling in his shirt. “Promise we’ll talk, every day, until we’ve put everything behind us. Until that day has no more power over us, Cam. Both of us. We need to do that. Promise me.”
Cam squeezed her, kissing the top of her head. “I promise. I’ll talk until my throat’s raw if that’s what it takes.”
And he would. He’d do whatever it damn well took . . . for both of them.