Bang (Blast Brothers #2) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,89

Earth would you do that?"

His reply was a long time in coming. But when it did come, quieter than I might've expected, it hit with all the force of a hammer. "For Willow."

I blinked. "What?"

"Willow," he repeated. "If anything happened to you…"

He didn't bother finishing the sentence, because after all, he didn't need to.

And me? I'd made a total fool of myself.

Again.

Chapter 53

Mason

Cami stiffened in my arms. "Oh."

Shit. It would be easy to say that I'd misspoke. But I hadn't. And yet, those words hadn't been my first choice.

I'd almost said something else, something a lot more dangerous, because it was something I didn't believe in.

I'd almost told her that I loved her.

And more.

But now, I said nothing.

Instead, I held her tight, soaking up the feel of her as the blizzard raged around us. Even now, I felt a primal urge to protect her body with my own, to keep her warm and safe, and to shelter her from anything that might hurt her.

Including me.

But abruptly she pulled back. She stared up at me for a long moment as I drank in the sight of her. Her hair was wild and flecked with snow. Her face was flushed, and her lips were parted, like she had something she wanted to say, but didn't know how to put it.

In the end, all she said was, "Well, this is awkward."

"Cami—"

"Forget it." She moved back until we were no longer touching. "It's fine." With a shaky laugh, she said, "I mean, thanks for the rescue. It was, um, really something."

And now, she looked ready to cry.

I moved toward her. "You're upset."

She backed away. "Of course I'm upset. I was just car-jacked. I mean, that's enough to upset anyone, right?"

It was a lie.

I could see it all over her face.

It wasn't the car-jacking that had upset her. It was me.

At a low rumbling sound, both of us turned to look. Coming up the road was an oversized red pickup with a big silver snowplow on the front.

When I looked back to Cami, she was waving her arms to get the truck's attention.

I asked, "What are you doing?"

She kept her eyes on the truck. "Hitching a ride."

"You're joking."

"Nope. No joke here."

"But we don't need a ride," I said. "We've got two vehicles. We'll get one running."

"Wrong," she said. "You've got two vehicles. But me? I've gotta go."

"Wait—"

"Just stop it!" She whirled to face me head-on. "You know what? You knew damn well what I thought. And you kissed me, anyway. You let me think you gave a rat's ass about me as more than a fucking nanny." Her voice broke. "What kind of monster are you, anyway?"

It was a good question.

I had no answer. And even if I had, it would've been silenced by the arrival of the pickup, rumbling to a stop beside us. The driver's side window slid down, and the driver – an older guy in a brown coat and red flannel hat – leaned out to survey the damage.

Cami called up to him. "Hey, can you give me a ride?"

The guy frowned. "I'd love to, but—"

"I'll pay you." As she spoke, she reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a wadded plastic shopping bag along with the envelope I'd given her just last night. She tucked the bag under her arm, and then reached into the envelope. She yanked out a hundred-dollar bill and lifted it in his direction. "Please? I'm in a hurry."

I demanded, "To go where?"

She whirled to face me. "Away from you, that's where."

The guy in the pickup gave me a sour look. "You bothering her?"

Yeah. I was. But not in the way he thought.

I said, "I'm her boss."

At this, Cami made a sound – a half scoff, half sob. "Yeah. And I'm the Help." She turned back to the trucker. "Listen, I don't care where you take me—"

What the hell? I stepped between her and the truck. "But you don't even know this guy."

"Yeah. And I don’t know you either."

"Cami—"

"Forget it." With her free hand, she reached for the package that she'd tucked under her arm. She wadded it up and thrust it into my hand. "Merry Fucking Christmas."

And with that, she sidestepped around me and rushed over to the truck's passenger's side. The driver pushed open the door and reached out to help her into the truck.

As he did, I called out to the guy, "I swear to God, if anything happens to her…"

The driver turned and gave me another look, this one