I woke to the feeling of someone touching me. Shaking me, maybe. There was warmth against my shoulder, and when I opened my eyes, light blue ones greeted me.

Cam.

He'd decided to stay after all. I must have just imagined him leaving my place; pulling back after we kissed. Holy damn. If he was still here, did that mean we'd done more than just kiss? Why couldn't I remember it? I might have teased Cam a time or two, but I was positive sex with him would be a memorable experience, no matter how it came. Pun intended.

Maybe we hadn't done anything more than kiss. Maybe we'd passed out after a make-out session like teenagers. The thought made a little heat rise to my face, and I suddenly felt like I was sixteen again. Sixteen and exploring my sexuality for the first time in the back of Graham Edwards' car. It'd been a long time since I'd felt that... innocent. Like sex was anything more than a job--even if it was one I enjoyed.

I was so caught up in that possibility, in the sweetness of it, that I felt a goofy smile spread across my face. One Cam almost seemed to mirror. I made a soft noise of contentment, mumbled what sounded like "Morning" in my head, and leaned up to brush my lips against his.

The clearing of someone's throat stopped me before I made it all the way, and suddenly the rest of the world came into focus.

I wasn't in my bed, wrapped up with Cameron McCabe. I was in the back room of the Caldwell Investigations office, on the barf green couch that looked like it had been dropped straight out of the ‘70s. Cam was leaning over me--not really pulling back, I'd add--but behind him I saw Avery looking uncomfortable, and Warren looking more smug than I'd ever seen him before.

It suited him. Arrogant. Sexy. Nowhere near what Cam had going on, but Avery was a lucky man.

"If everybody wants to get in a single file line, I'll lay one on each of you," I said, beckoning them forward.

Warren snorted, but the joke fell flat with the rest of them. Cam finally drew back, shaking himself out of his daze. It was a damn shame, but the lack of closeness gave me a chance to catch up with the world. I barely remembered leaving the hospital, let alone coming here. The idea that Cam had brought me--probably whether I consented to it or not--had my hackles raising, though.

"Okay, if nobody wants any action, I think it's time for me to go back to my actual home." I swung my legs over the side of the couch and propelled myself upward. Then nearly ended up on the floor as a massive streak of dizziness hit me.

"Easy," Cam said, his arms coming out to support me. "We can leave. Just stand slowly."

He moved to support me, and I took the help. I apparently wasn't in much of a position to argue. My head felt floaty, the pain of my injuries a distant memory. But because of the seriously good pain meds they gave me, my body had also decided I didn't need to figure out how to walk on my own. My thoughts were a few ticks behind, too, and I finally got over being indignant long enough to realize what Cam said.

"We?" I asked, resting my weight against him as he helped me to my feet.

"We're taking your case," Avery said. "Daya's going to do a couple background checks to see if we can dig up anything on Brett. Warren will keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't plan on paying you a visit any time soon. And I'm going to track down anybody else he's hired. There's a good chance he's done this before, and it'll make more of a case if we can line up a few accusations."

My head spun with all this new information. My case. I didn't have a case. This wasn't what I'd agreed to when I told Cam he could talk to Grizz, and my anger rose swiftly. "I'm not one of your helpless baby gays who's slipped through the cracks of the system," I argued. "I don't need to have a case. There's nothing here."

"There's enough for a guy to beat you unconscious. Enough for him to maybe do worse, if L—if Kimmie hadn't intervened," Cam said, his body tensing as his words hardened.

"Tell me you actually got his permission to make this an official thing." Daya entered from the front, looking more worried than my own mother would've been had she given a shit.

I cracked a smile as she came right up to me and gave me a gentle hug, completely ignoring Cam.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," she whispered in my ear.

"Girl, I am fine. Everybody's gone way too 60 Minutes about this whole thing." Something struck me, my brain finally realizing something was missing. "Hold on. You all taking my case doesn't answer my question. Why are we leaving?"

I pulled away from Cam, able to stand without swaying. My head still felt fuzzy, but I knew there was still a lot here to unpack. I suddenly felt like Peter Gallagher. Just how much had happened while I was sleeping? Did Cam suddenly have a thing for my non-existent brother?

"You're going to stay at my place for a while. Just until you're back on your feet," Cam said, in that voice that told me he knew he'd fucked up.

"Oh, I am, am I? Yeah. Okay." I started toward the door, patting my pocket. I barely remembered getting dressed after the hospital, and had no idea where my stuff was. "Who has my keys? I love you all, but you're giving me a migraine."

"Noah, wait." Daya called after me, pulling me in conspiratorially once she was close enough. "I know these guys are idiots, but they mean well. Please. Please let us help you. I'm not going to be able to deal with it if that asshole does something to you again, and I know you don't want to see me cry."

"That is ice cold," I said, giving her a flat stare. Out of everyone working here, Daya was by far my favorite. Mostly because she knew how to fight dirty. But that was before she used those tricks on me. Now big, dark, almond-shaped eyes with long lashes looked up at me, and painted lips pouted at the perfect degree. "Fine. But from here on out, nothing happens without me saying it should. Everyone got that?"

Mumbled agreement came from everyone but Cam. I turned to shoot him a pointed look. "And I'm only staying one night, so give up on your dreams of keeping me as a permanent sex slave."

The ghost of a smile touched his lips and I felt a twinge in my heart. Damn that man and his stupid smiles and stupid eyes and stupid everything.

As annoyed as I was that he'd pulled his White Knight routine, I couldn't deny I felt a little better knowing Cam was looking out for me. I'd never needed anyone's protection, and I sure as hell didn't now. But Brett had honestly scared me, more than I wanted to admit. He'd attacked me in broad daylight, with no provocation beyond a few dumb words.

If he was that unhinged, I knew the prospect of getting caught wouldn't stop him. He knew where I lived now. He could wait there until I was vulnerable, and there wouldn't be a thing I could do about it. That helplessness, that need for self-preservation made my stomach lurch. I'd been on my own for a long time, and I'd managed to make an amazing life for myself without anyone else's help.

To know one pissed off man could bring that crashing down because I'd rejected him... it was sickening. And terrifying. And that was why--when Cam's brows lifted in question--I didn't fight him anymore.

But I did make a demand. "We need to stop at my place first."

If Liz had managed to run Brett off, there was a good chance he'd seen her. I needed to make sure she was okay. If for some reason she wasn't at my place, I'd drag Cam over to Aurora Ave if I had to. As long as I found her.

I'd suffered before. I'd do it again and make it through just fine. But I wasn't willing to let Liz suffer. Not today. Not ever.

* * *

It was late evening when we made it to my place, and Cam stayed mostly quiet the whole time. I could tell his hackles were up, his gaze darting this way and that, senses on high alert the moment we stepped out of his truck. Which, let me say, is the most uncomfortable vehicle in the known universe.

I took my busted ass through my apartment, making a beeline for my bedroom to stop the urge I had to just collapse on the couch. Considering how long I'd apparently slept at the Caldwell place, I had no idea how I was still so tired, but I was. Almost tired enough to miss seeing Liz as I passed by the guest bedroom. Almost.

She darted up from the bed so fast I couldn't help but notice her. Bleached blonde hair fell in a mess of strands over her forehead, and she picked nervously at a loose thread in the sleeve of that godawful pink cardigan. I really needed to get that girl a new outfit. Maybe if it just magically appeared in the closet one day, she wouldn't trace it back to me.

"You're okay." The relief on her features made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest. "When I saw you in that alley... I didn't know..."

The moisture that suddenly sprang into her eyes surprised me, and I crossed the room without hesitation, pulling her into a tight hug. "You're the reason I'm okay, sweetie," I murmured into her hair. "Don't let yourself forget that."

I'd tried not to think about what Brett could have done to me, but every now and again the images flooded in. It wasn't like I'd never had a john mistreat me before. When people knew you couldn't exactly drag their ass to the police, they felt invincible. But I'd been so careful about screening my clients that I hadn't experienced that in years; long enough that I worried about people like Liz a lot more than myself.

"I didn't know where to go," she started, pulling away from me. The tears fell in earnest now. "I was afraid to go back on the street. He saw my face, and I thought..."

She thought Brett might come after her. I bristled as much as Cam at that thought. No way was I going to let that happen. Not while there was an easy solution. Putting an arm around her shoulders, I turned her toward the door. "Come with me. If I don't start packing a bag, Cammy's going to bust a vein."

As if on cue, Cam was standing in the doorway of the guest bedroom, arms crossed over his broad chest like he was auditioning for the role of some deliciously untouchable security guard. His features softened a little when he looked at Liz, but I knew his mind was still a whirlwind of "must hurt Brett," and I wasn't about to argue with that. Especially if there was a chance he could hurt Liz just to get to me.

"Anybody come by here?" Cam asked.

Liz shook her head. "Just me. It's been quiet."

"Good," came the half-grunt, half-response.

I steered Liz toward my bedroom, and had her sit down on the edge of the bed while I went through my closet. Pulling out a suitcase, I tried to pack things that were comfortable without being too drab. I didn't care that I was recovering from having the shit beat out of me. Elastic waistbands were not going to be a thing.

"So, here's what we'll do," I rattled off, carefully folding shirts and pants. "You'll stay here until I get back. I'll need somebody to keep an eye on the place. Water the plants, all that jazz."

Liz gave me a dubious look. "You don't have any plants."

I waved this off, as if it wasn't the touchstone of my whole argument. "Yes, but I could have plants."

"You want her to water the possibility of plants?" Cam asked from the hall.

"Exactly." A few more shirts and pants, mainly because I knew Cam was watching and it was probably messing with his head to see me pack so much for what would be a short stay. "There's food in the fridge, and I'll leave some money for delivery."

And new clothes, but I wasn't going to say that outright. I'd call Liz when Cam was in the shower or outside brooding or something.

"I can't just..."

"Of course you can," I cut her off, crossing the room to pull open my top dresser drawer. Shooting Cam a scandalized look, I shooed him away so he didn't see my unmentionables, a smirk on my lips the whole time. "I'm not giving all of this away for free, anyway."

I heard Liz let out a breath, and I glanced over my shoulder to see her gaze cast toward the floor. "I don't know when I'd be able to pay you back."

"Oh, honey. I don't need you to pay me back. I just need you to be safe." Neatly folding a stack of underwear, I placed them inside my suitcase and went to sit beside Liz for a moment. "I'm never, ever going to tell you not to do something you've chosen to do, but you and I both know you’re doing this just to keep a roof over your head, right?"

I hated that my words hurt her. She was ashamed of what she had to do, and she turned away from me. I didn't force her to look back at me, but I did lean closer so she couldn't ignore me as easily.

"Hey. Don't you dare feel ashamed of doing what you feel you need to do to get yourself out of a bad situation," I said softly. "Got it?"

I waited until she looked at me. More tears brimmed in her eyes, but she nodded softly.

"I'm just saying that for a little while, at least, you won't have to. And if you don't have to--and don't want to--I want you to close down all the ads while I'm getting back on my feet. That's my only term."

I refused to make an ultimatum. If she chose to keep working, I'd get her enough money to make sure she had a safe place to sleep and enough for a decent meal every day. But I needed her to know that at least for the time being, she had other options.

Liz drew in a breath through her nose, then wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. When she finally looked at me again, her eyes were still shimmering with unshed tears, but she managed a small smile. "Okay. I can do that."

The relief on her features was obvious, and I pulled her into another hug. This one was longer, tighter, and it said a lot more than just "thank you," on both ends. At that moment, there was nothing in the world I wanted more than to find a way to help Liz enjoy a life free of all these things she didn't need holding her back. Her father, this job, the judgments she was facing every day. All of it.

I didn't care about Brett, or anything that had happened to me. If it was a catalyst for Liz being safe, then so be it. And while I knew Cam and the others weren't going to let me get out of a recovery period under close watch, as soon as it was over, I'd do everything in my power to help Liz.

* * *

I finished packing while Cam checked all the windows to make sure they were locked. Considering I was reliant on my HVAC system through and through, I didn't think I'd ever opened a single window in my apartment since I moved in, and the tight locks confirmed it. I didn't mind letting Cam check, though, since it gave me a chance to finish up and watch him.

I hadn't sorted out how I felt about "living" with Cam for the next few days. As I stood back and watched his muscular arms flex, his shoulder muscles constricting as he tested the window, I had to keep myself from drooling. No matter what shirt he was wearing, it always seemed to fall over his muscles in the best possible way. Not so tight they were bulging, but enough of a hug to show the hint of definition and leave the rest to my very active imagination.

I drew my bottom lip between my teeth, my gaze moving down the line of his spine until I reached his ass. His jeans were the only article of clothing I wished was tighter, as they didn't conform perfectly to his firm, round cheeks, but I made do with what I was given. My mind instantly imagined all of the trouble we could get up to with a few days by ourselves.

And then I remembered what happened the other night, in this very apartment. Cam's rejection still stung, despite his good intentions. My heart felt just as bruised as the rest of me, and I didn't know if I was in any condition to try again. Either way, I owed him an apology.

I would've planned out what to say, but I knew my mouth wouldn't stick to the script anyway. Instead I focused on pushing aside the queasiness that came when I glanced out the window at the alley Brett found me in. I didn't want to be afraid of being alone in my own apartment. It was a sanctuary for me. I didn't let clients come here, not because I didn't trust them but because I wanted to keep a clear separation between my professional life and my private life. This apartment had been witness to the most authentic me I'd ever presented the world, and some part of me was deathly worried Brett had stripped that away.

But I forced the thought down, said my goodbyes to Liz, and prepared my ass for the uncomfortable time it was about to have in Cam's truck. We'd only made it to the first stoplight before I just decided to open my mouth and see what fell out.

"Thank you," I said, my hands rubbing over my knees as if I were actually nervous. Maybe I was. "For the other night. You were a gentleman, and I was kind of a dick. And not in a good way."

He looked over at me, his brow set low in a dubious expression. When the light turned green, his focus went back to the road and I started talking again.

"Don't get me wrong. I’ll be more than happy to have you on top of me any time you want," I said, giving him an exaggerated once-over. He didn't say anything, but the muscles tightened in his forearm as he held the wheel. "But when that happens, I'd like to remember it, thanks."

My heart started racing, and I felt a wash of heat come over me. It was silly. It wasn't like I'd kept myself from flirting with him this shamelessly in the past. It'd been one of the greatest pleasures of knowing him. But that was before I actually knew what it felt like to have his lips on mine, to feel the hard planes of his body, the insistent pressure of his dick as he responded to me.

"'When,' huh?" Cam asked, that rough edge to his voice not helping matters.

"We both know it's only a matter of time."

I said it so flippantly, the way I always had. It'd been a running joke for so long that it'd even caught on at the office. Daya had a pool going on when Cam and I were going to hook up, though I was pretty sure she had a sweet, hopeless crush on him herself. The teasing felt different this time, though. An energy crackled between us; something I almost felt like I could reach out and touch.

Cam made a low sound that could have been confirmation, or just the same "yeah, sure we do, Noah," he'd always given me before. And then--as I sat there on the edge of that uncomfortable seat--there was nothing. Just the sound of his tires gripping the wet road, the windshield wipers doing their thing, and the occasional tick of his blinker.

I gave up, my gaze unfocused as I looked out the window. I knew Cam probably just saw me as someone he needed to protect; something that would break if he ever touched it. Either that, or he just wouldn't be able to get over the fact that I fucked other guys for a living. Not that I'd ever expected him to. It was just the way things were.

About fifteen minutes into our drive, though, he broke the silence by speaking again. "You think it's really a good idea letting Liz stay at your place?"

"I've got an alarm system, and it'll go off if Brett or anyone else tries anything. It's the safest place for her right now, aside from shacking up at your place, too." Which I knew Cam wouldn't have agreed to.

"That's not what I mean," he said, brow furrowing. We turned off the highway finally, taking the last leg of the trip. "You don't know her. Not really. And now she's got free, unmonitored access to your place and everything you own."

It took me a second to realize what he was talking about. It honestly hadn't even occurred to me, but now that it did, I just shrugged. "It doesn't matter if she robs me blind. I don't think she will, for the record, but it doesn't matter."

Cam looked over at me, confusion written all over his face. "Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do. And if I were in her position, I'd hope somebody would do the same for me."

I knew the way the world worked. I knew it wasn't likely. But I wouldn't ever claim I'd gotten to where I was by myself, just by pulling those bootstraps as tight as I could. I was here, alive and thriving today because people helped me along the way. And why would I bother having nice things if I couldn't share them with someone who needed them?

Cam was silent for a long time, and I braced myself for some kind of lecture about how naive I was. I had a response ready to go when he turned to look at me at a light, but the sense of appreciation and wonder in his eyes made me completely forget any argument I'd readied. He was looking at me like I'd hung at least a few of the stars in the sky.

"Every time I think I've got you figured out, you throw my whole fucking world out of balance."

My breath caught, and I couldn't even follow through with my knee-jerk reaction of tossing some sass back at him. Instead I just stared into those baby blue eyes until they focused on the road again. And then I sat there, completely silent, thinking Cameron McCabe had just given me the best and worst thing possible:

He'd given me hope.