Meeting Danger (Danger #1) (17 page)

“Why?”

Camden shrugged. “I just wanted my head clear.”

“What have you taken instead?”

“Nothing.”

The doctor frowned at that. “But your ribs are still bothering you.”

“Sometimes.”

“I’ve got something that’s not a narcotic but is still stronger than what you can get over the counter. I’ll give you a sample.”

The doctor set his tablet aside and pointed to Camden’s right eye where the bruises and swelling had faded significantly in the last few days. “How’s the eye doing? Any vision problems?”

Camden shook his head. “None.”

The doctor turned to Autumn. “I understand that you’re here for some shots, Miss . . . ?”

“Mason. Yes, I am.”

“My assistant, Bridget, will be helping you. She’ll be right in.” He turned back to Camden. “Follow me, Mr. Taylor, and I’ll get you that sample.”

As Camden grabbed his shirt, he gazed at Autumn. “Will you be all right?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll meet you in the waiting room then.”

Several minutes later, a nurse came in to give Autumn two shots. “Can you come back in three months?”

“I’m not sure if I’ll still be here.”

“In that case, any clinic should be able to help you.” She made a notation in Autumn’s booklet and handed it back before ushering her to the waiting room.

Camden was seated, waiting for her, and quickly stood. “Everything go okay?”

“Yes.”

He gave her a small smile. “Well, things are all settled here. We can go.”

As they said good-bye to the receptionist, Autumn wondered how much he’d had to pay for her shots. She let out a small sigh.
Why should I even bother thinking about it? It’s not like I can pay him back anyway.

Her thoughts turned to her hospital stay. On her second day in the hospital, an administrator had come into her room. It hadn’t taken the woman long to realize that Autumn had no funds. She’d been nice about it, saying she’d take care of the necessary paperwork, but it had made Autumn feel about an inch tall. Much the way she felt right now.

Camden pointed out a silvery bullet-shaped building after they reached the street. “The town’s only diner. Are you hungry?”

Within minutes, they were seated in a red vinyl booth. A miniature jukebox sat on the table against the window. It was silent, but music played from another table.

Camden tapped his finger to the rhythm of the upbeat song. “My favorite sing-along band.”

Forcing her negative thoughts aside, Autumn raised an eyebrow. “You sing?”

“In the shower,” he said with a chuckle.

Her face burned as she tried to push away the image that came to mind—Camden in the shower, with that perfect chest soaped up and sudsy. She quickly looked down so that he wouldn’t see her reaction.

Taking a moment to compose herself, she said, “I’ll bet you’re good.”

Camden was studying his menu. He set it down with a grin and gazed at her. “I’d recommend reserving judgment until you’ve heard it for yourself. Now, what are you in the mood for?” He read the different sections of the menu aloud, making sure she knew what all her choices were.

After they’d ordered, his phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “It’s the library.”

He answered the call and spoke for nearly a minute before hanging up. “There’s a reading volunteer who can meet with you at the library tonight.”

Nerves knotted Autumn’s stomach, stealing her appetite.
How is this happening so fast?

• • •

Autumn startled when Camden took her hand as they walked into the library that evening.

“Don’t worry,” he said, trying to reassure her. “She sounded really nice on the phone.”

But Autumn’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding, beating so hard and fast she thought she might hyperventilate. Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm herself down, praying she didn’t get one of her tension headaches.

They found the woman Camden had spoken to sitting inside a private study room, a pleasant woman of about forty with high cheekbones and long black hair. As the woman stood and greeted them, her face was filled with compassion.

“I’m Beverly. You must be Camden and Autumn.”

Giving her a tremulous smile, Autumn shook her outstretched hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Beverly gestured toward a chair. “We’re going to be covering a lot tonight. Are you ready to get started?”

Camden stepped back as Autumn sat down. “I’ll be back to pick you up at nine.”

Beverly smiled up at him. “Don’t worry, Mr. Taylor. Everything will be fine.”

“I’m sure she will be.” Camden gave Autumn’s shoulder a quick squeeze. “I’ll see you later.”

Beverly watched thoughtfully as he walked away and then turned her attention to Autumn. “He’s worried about you. I could tell when we spoke this afternoon.”

Autumn’s heart skipped a beat. She looked toward the door, but couldn’t think of a thing to say.

Smiling gently at her, the woman said, “So, tell me what you know.”

Forcing thoughts of Camden out of her head, Autumn turned her attention back to Beverly. “I . . . I really don’t know anything.”

“That keeps it simple. We’ll start at the beginning.” Beverly began sorting through the papers spread across the table.

“You really think you’ll be able to help me?”

Beverly found the page she wanted and met Autumn’s gaze with a smile. “I’m sure I will.”

She set the page down in front of Autumn. “This is a list of phonics. You’re going to see that each letter has a corresponding sound. Some have several sounds.”

Slowly they went through the list as Beverly explained. “Have you ever heard the alphabet song?” When Autumn shook her head, she said, “The alphabet has twenty-six letters in total; some are consonants that have hard sounds, and some are vowels, that have soft sounds. Five act as vowels. The letter
y
does too sometimes. There’s at least one vowel in every word.”

Autumn nodded, wondering how many of the sounds she’d be able to remember. There were dozens.

But Beverly seemed to read her mind. “Don’t worry. It’s going to help to practice. I’ll be giving you homework.”

Homework? At her age? Autumn couldn’t help but smile.

Beverly pulled out a notepad and a pencil to demonstrate how to make the strokes for capital and lowercase letters. “Start each letter from the top. Like this.”

When they finished practicing writing letters half an hour later, Autumn asked, “How many people do you help each week?”

“Just a handful. I have a day job, so I only get to volunteer a couple of nights a week.”

“It’s so nice of you to do this.”

As she pulled out another list, Beverly smiled. “Here’s the last thing we’ll do tonight. These are the one hundred most common words. Once you recognize these words by sight, reading’s going to be a breeze for you. I guarantee it.”

They spent the rest of the session going over the list. At several minutes before nine, Beverly handed over a stapled bundle of pages. “Here’s the homework I mentioned. The pictures will show you exactly what you need to do.”

Autumn blinked hard, unable to believe all they’d accomplished. She already recognized some of the simple words, which amazed her. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you again on Friday. All right?”

“All right.” Autumn rose and picked up the packet before saying good-bye. She found Camden seated on a bench by the entrance, checking his watch.

He quickly stood when she approached. “How did everything go?”

“Great. I already feel like I learned a lot.” She laughed. “And I’ve even got homework.”

“That’s great, Autumn.”

He was studying her as they stood there, and the softness of his expression made her stomach do a flip-flop.

“She was nice then?” he asked.

“Really nice.”

They walked out of the library with Autumn still thinking about the warm look on his face. They’d barely known each other a little over a week, so how was it that he already seemed to care?

The truth was, she already cared for him, too. They’d formed a sort of bond that night at Butch’s, and the connection had only deepened the more she got to know Camden.

But as she took another look at him, she chastised herself. Camden wanted to help her; that was all. He was only being kind, it was his nature, and she shouldn’t make any more out of it.

Getting attached to Camden isn’t the smart thing to do.

The thought instantly sobered her. She’d been dependent on Butch, but she wasn’t going to become dependent on Camden too. For once, she was going to try to stand on her own two feet.

After he’d introduced her to the literacy volunteer, Camden had had to force himself to walk away from Autumn. He’d left the library but he hadn’t gone far. For the past two hours, he’d walked around the parking lot. He’d spoken to his parents on the phone for a while, catching up with them, but most of the time had been spent pacing the cement and thinking of Autumn.

He shouldn’t have been worried, though. Not surprisingly, she’d done fine. He tore his gaze away from her as he started up the SUV.

A group of kids was standing in front of the Burger Barn as Camden and Autumn drove through town. As they stopped at a light, he watched one of the teens shout out to a friend across the street. The boy was muscular and tall, his brown hair cropped in a style that reminded Camden of his cell mate, Brian Bailey.

The memory of Brian’s despondency came to mind, and Camden frowned. As the light changed, he came to a decision. There was probably nothing he could do to help Brian, but he was going to try. Since the investigation into the heroin ring was at a standstill and Butch was still in the wind, he had nothing better to do with his time. Even his search for Autumn’s brother had been hitting nothing but walls. Trying to help Brian would be a productive use of his time, and give him something to think about other than Autumn.

He began explaining Brian’s situation to Autumn, hoping talking about it might stoke inspiration.

“Maybe there’s something I can do to help,” he said as he turned into the driveway.

He parked the car and gazed at her, knowing he owed her an update on her brother too. “By the way, we haven’t been able to find any W-2 statements for Wade.”

Autumn frowned. “What does that mean? That he’s not working?”

“It doesn’t look like it. He hasn’t filed taxes in years.” The guy was definitely living under the radar. But how was he supporting himself?

At the look of worry that crossed her face, Camden reached out and gave her arm a squeeze. “I’ll find him. It’s just taking a little longer than I expected.”

“Thank you.” There was silence for another moment before she added, “And thank you so much for giving me a place to stay.”

Camden’s gut clenched. “It’s my pleasure. I hope you know that.”

As she gave him a sweet smile, a powerful and unexpected urge came over him. He wanted nothing more than to lean across the console and kiss her, but the last thing he wanted to do was to take advantage of her vulnerability.

Instead, he got out of the car and unlocked the house, watching Autumn as she preceded him into the kitchen. He was still fighting the feeling a few minutes later when she gestured toward the counter.

“I made some cookies earlier if you’re hungry.”

“I think I’ll just head up to bed.”

She nodded and turned away. “Good night then.”

“Good night, Autumn.”

Once he was inside his bedroom, Camden ran a hand through his hair as he paced the floor. What had that been, that urge to kiss her? Angry with himself, he shook off his confusion. He’d never take advantage of Autumn the way Cobb had. He was always going to put her needs first.

He rolled his shoulders and sighed. It was natural to be attracted to Autumn. She was sweet and petite and pretty, and with that cute dimple, who wouldn’t be attracted? But what she needed most was someone she could trust, and that was exactly what he was going to be. He wasn’t going to screw this up by acting on the attraction he felt for her.

Coming upstairs had been the right thing to do. He needed a chance to catch his breath.

He glanced at the desk that sat beneath the bedroom window. From now on, he’d bring his laptop up here at night. Despite living under the same roof, he and Autumn could still have their own space.

• • •

Over breakfast the next morning, Camden told Autumn more about Brian’s case. “All he could talk about was his innocence.”

“You think he’s telling the truth.”

Camden nodded. “He’s either innocent or an excellent liar.” But his gut was saying it wasn’t the latter.

“Where will you start?”

“By speaking with him again to learn more about his case. I just hope I can do something for him.” He shook his head. “Anyway, what are your plans this morning?”

Grinning, she said, “Homework.”

“Come get me if you need any help, all right?”

She nodded as he left the kitchen.

• • •

By the end of the hour, Camden was speaking directly with Brian. Even though it was early in the day, not the time inmates were allowed access to the phones, Warden Frake had intervened.

“You’re a federal agent working undercover?” There was confusion in Brian’s voice.

“Yes, but I’d appreciate you not mentioning that to anyone.”

“And you want to help me.”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“Because I believe you.” Camden paced the space around his desk. “Listen, I’m not promising anything, but I’d like to look into your case.”

“How?”

“We’ll start with you telling me what you know. Then I’ll get a copy of the transcript from your trial and interview the key witnesses.”

“Man, to have a cop on my side, looking into things . . .” Brian’s voice cracked. “Thank you.”

Camden closed his eyes. “It’s a long shot, but I’m going to do my best.” He grabbed a pen and a pad of paper. “If you’re up for it, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Brian cleared his throat. “Yeah, sure.”

“What was the name of the town you lived in?”

“Allentown.”

“And your address?”