Camilla woke with a start, snapping forward against her seatbelt with a gasp, the breath forced in and out of her lungs in labored breaths. Her heart raced, feeling like it wanted to leap from her chest. The remnants of the nightmare lingered, before fading into the ether, and she closed her eyes, trying to hold onto it.
“You okay?”
She stared out the windshield, watching the scenery race past, and deliberately slowed her breathing. “I had a nightmare. I dreamed about being shot again.”
“Again? You mean a different shooting from the one that actually happened?”
“Huh, I guess so.” She tried replaying elements of the dream. Remembered standing in front of her townhouse. Something drew her outside. What was it? Squeezing her eyes tight, she concentrated, grasping at the remnants of the dream before it faded away completely.
“Can you remember your dream? Maybe if we talk about it, you’ll feel better.”
“I was standing outside my townhouse. I—something caused me to be there, but I don’t remember what. I stood outside the gate, facing the parking area. I remember an SUV parked in front of my house. That’s not unusual. My neighbor uses it all the time since I don’t have a car. I don’t remember him having an SUV, but this was a dream, so…”
“Was it daytime or nighttime?”
She scrunched her brow, before answering. “It wasn’t dark, but I have the feeling it wasn’t morning, either. So, maybe midafternoon?” A road sign slid into view, showing they’d already crossed the border into Texas.
How long have I been asleep?
“Keep going, sweetheart.”
“The next thing I know, I’m lying on the sidewalk bleeding, with my hands over my stomach. There’s blood everywhere, spilling over my hands, between my fingers. I can feel its warmth. It’s sticky. I tried screaming, but nothing came out. Barely a sound, not matter how hard I tried. When I tried to sit up, hands reached for me, pulling at me. I fought, struggling against their grip, because I knew if they took me, I’d never be seen again.”
“You’re right, that’s definitely a nightmare. Could you see anybody’s face? Hear their voice?”
Camilla shook her head. “It’s funny, I didn’t hear anything now that you said it. No traffic. No birds chirping. Nothing.”
“In your dream, did you hear the shot?”
“Now that you mention it, no, I don’t remember hearing it.”
“How did you feel before you were shot? What emotions were going through you?” Heath glanced at her, then lifted one hand off the wheel and squeezed her hand lightly.
“I don’t know.” She scrubbed her hands across her face and fought the urge to scream. The nightmare images were fading. “I can’t remember anything else.” She slapped her fist against her leg. “I’m sick of not being able to remember. Somebody who I can’t put a name or a face to is turning my life upside down. Why are they doing this? Who hates me enough they’d want to hurt me?”
“I don’t think anybody hates you, Cam. You’re sweet and kind and loving. No, this is about something else, which is what we need to figure out.” He paused for several seconds before asking, “Have any of your memories come back? Maybe the nightmare triggered something?”
Closing her eyes, she concentrated, thinking back to before the actual shooting. Nothing was different. The memories of dinner with her parents, arguing with them and heading home remained the same. Then nothing but a big empty hole until she woke up in the emergency room.
“I hate this! It’s like somebody stole a part of me, and I feel lesser. None of this makes sense. I keep asking myself why. Why me?”
“We’ll figure it out. Dandridge is working the case on his end, and whether he likes it or not, he’ll be getting a little assistance from my uncle. Uncle Gator can ferret out a clue like a bloodhound on the scent. He’s on his way to North Carolina right now. Trust me, he’ll dig until we get answers.”
“Now I feel even worse. I’m disrupting people’s lives. Tell him not to go.”
“Yeah, right. Trying to tell Gator Boudreau not to do something once he’s made his mind up is like trying to keep the tide from rolling in. Uncle Gator is the proverbial White Knight. Damsels in distress are his specialty.” She caught the quirky grin on his face, before he added, “Kinda like me.”
“Known a lot of damsels in your time, have you?”
“My fair share.”
Camilla snorted. “I bet you have, Goober.”
“We’ve got another couple of hours before we hit Shiloh Springs. Why don’t you try to get some rest? You’re sure to be bombarded by people as soon as we get there, especially Beth and Momma.”
She took a deep cleansing breath. “Good idea.” Shifting to find a comfortable spot, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep, hoping the nightmare didn’t come back.
Hours later, Heath pulled onto the drive leading to the Big House, filled with the sense of coming home. It didn’t matter if he’d been gone for a day or a year, an overwhelming sensation of peace and welcome suffused him every time he turned onto the ranch. Rolling down the driver’s window, he inhaled the rarefied air of a warm Texas afternoon and smiled.
Camilla stretched and shifted in the passenger seat. Luckily, she’d managed to nap most of the way after her nightmare, only waking when they’d driven through downtown Shiloh Springs.
“I swear there’s something about this place. It feels like I’m being enveloped in a big warm hug. It happened the first time I came to visit Beth and Jamie. I’ve never felt anything like it before. Even you, with your obnoxious tormenting and laptop stealing ways, didn’t alleviate the warmth and welcome I felt the first time I visited.”
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Whenever I’m away, when I come back it feels like the ranch is welcoming me back. I hadn’t thought about it feeling like a hug, but that describes it perfectly. It’s coming home.”
It took a couple minutes before they reached the front of the Big House. They found several cars parked like little tin soldiers standing at attention at the front of the house. Guess Momma rounded up whatever family was in town. Heath wasn’t sure how he felt about it, worried it might put them in the crosshairs. Then again, the more people keeping watch over Camilla, the better. Especially since she couldn’t remember who was after her.
“That’s a lot of cars.”
“Yeah, looks like Momma’s been rallying the troops. Bet they’re all inside, stuffing their faces and waiting for us to show up.” He smiled, before adding, “Brody’s truck is here, so Beth and Jamie probably are, too.”
“Woohoo!” Camilla flung her door open before he’d even unbuckled his seatbelt and headed for the front steps.
“Hang on, darlin’,” was the most he got out before a herd of bodies swarmed onto the front porch. Beth met Camilla on the steps, wrapping her in a big hug.
“Are you okay?” Beth leaned back and looked at Camilla, studying her intently. It was impossible not to see the love between the two women. Or the worry in Beth’s eyes. Even though the tie between them rested solely through Jamie, Camilla and Beth acted like sisters. Pretty amazing, he thought, seeing what Evan Stewart had put them both through.
“I’m fine. The arm doesn’t hurt much. Don’t even need the sling anymore. Everybody’s making a bigger deal of this than it is.”
“Aunt Mila, Mommy said you got two boo boos. Did the doctor give you medicine?”
Camilla knelt down so she was eye level with Jamie, and Heath thought it was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen. She had such a caring heart, and he only hoped there’d be enough room for him in there someday.
“Yep, the doctors gave me medicine and I’m all better. But they didn’t give me the good Band-Aids with superheroes on them. I got the plain ones, even though I asked nicely.” A pretend frown pursed her lips and Heath bit back a chuckle.
Jamie’s little hand reached forward and touched the white square taped to Camilla’s forehead. “I got some mermaid ones at home. I can bring you one, if you want.”
“Thank you, but I get to take this one off tomorrow, and won’t need a new one. We’ll save it for next time, okay?”
Better not be a next time.
“Alright, everybody inside,” Ms. Patti’s affectionate yet firm tone had the assembled crowd heading indoors. “No sense standing on the porch gabbing. Let poor Camilla and Heath catch their breath.”
Heath’s eyes met his father’s, who gave him a knowing look and a single nod. He wondered if Uncle Gator called him. Probably. There wasn’t much they kept from each other, not when it came to family.
As he walked past, his father murmured, “We’ll talk later.”
That was code for his father wanting answers, and Heath knew he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Rafe and Tessa will be by later. I know he wants to talk with you.” His momma patted his cheek and strode past him into the kitchen. From his place just outside the kitchen, his eyes met Camilla’s, hers round at being the center of attention. Probably not someplace she occupied often. He’d noted on her previous visits she tended to fade into the background. Whether it was a deliberate thing, or something she did subconsciously, he wasn’t sure. She’d soon learn being around the Boudreaus, nobody stayed out of the spotlight forever, especially when they had a bull’s-eye painted on their back.
He knew his brothers would demand answers, along with helping come up with a game plan for keeping Camilla safe while she was in Shiloh Springs. Brody and his father stood off to the side, watching closely as Beth and Jamie peppered Camilla with a million questions she gamely answered.
His mother handed him a glass of sweet tea, stood on her tiptoes and waited for him to lean down, before pressing a kiss against his cheek. Because she was height deprived, he always teased her about needing a ladder to give him a hug. One year, for Christmas, he’d bought her a plastic stepstool, claiming he was getting a crick in his neck from bending over all the time.
“What did the doctors say?” His momma leaned against his side, her eyes studying Camilla. “Do we need to take her in to see Doc Jennings?”
“She’s fine. They checked her thoroughly at the hospital in North Carolina. She’s taking her antibiotics and has some pain medications, though she hasn’t needed to take any recently.”
“We’ll take good care of her, until you figure out who’s trying to hurt her.” She put a hand on his arm and squeezed. “Then we’ll take care of them.” The bloodthirsty smile she shot him would have chilled the blood of anybody who didn’t know her. Heath merely nodded once and turned his attention back to Camilla.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Heath heard the front door open behind him and glanced over his shoulder, spotting Rafe and his fiancé, Tessa. Her hair was mussed, and she was frantically smoothing it down, her cheeks flushed. From the smirk on his brother’s face, he had a good idea what they’d been up to.
“Trip go okay?”
Heath nodded to his brother, watching as Tessa hugged Camilla, and grabbed the chair beside her, jumping headlong into the ongoing conversation. “Had to leave New Orleans sooner than I’d planned. I screwed up.”
“What happened?”
“I forgot to take Camilla’s phone away. I had a burner to give her, so she’d be able to keep in contact for her publishing stuff. Instead, I got wrapped up in my own head and didn’t notice until it was too late. We went to dinner in the French Quarter. She’d never been, so we played tourist. She pulled out her phone and started taking pictures. Fortunately, I did remember to have her power it down before that, so it was only on for a short time, but…”
“Anybody with computer skills could track the GPS.” Rafe clapped him on the back. “Don’t feel bad, we all screw up sometimes. Not the first time, probably won’t be the last. Just means we keep our eyes open.”
“I’ve got her phone now, and she’s got the burner. Ridge said his computer guru, Destiny, could go through it, see if anything looks suspicious. She’s also going to see if any spyware has been installed.”
“Wouldn’t Camilla know if somebody loaded something on her phone?”
Heath shook his head. “I did some reading about it. Somebody could send a text or an e-mail with a photo attached. As soon as it’s clicked on, the app is downloaded onto the phone without the user ever knowing.”
Rafe sighed and leaned against the doorjamb. “Sometimes I hate technology. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, they come up with a couple dozen new programs to screw up your life.”
“Yep, it’s a blessing and a curse.”
“Do you think you caught a tail in New Orleans?”
“Don’t think so. Uncle Gator borrowed one of Carpenter Security Services cars, so it’s clean. No way to trace it back to him or me. Not unless they go through a mountain of holding companies and subsidiaries. He took off for North Carolina sometime after midnight. He’s going to talk to Officer Dandridge, then do a little digging on his on.”
“Wow, that’s like Camilla getting the family seal of approval.”
Heath’s grin spoke far more than words. Camilla might not understand, but he knew the rest of the family would. She’d already been accepted by his parents, and that cinched things as far as he was concerned. Having his uncle accept her, go out of his way to assist in figuring out who was gunning for her, was like the cherry on top of the sundae.
A movement from across the kitchen caught his eye, and his father move toward the back door, giving a single jerk of his head. With a quick glance at Camilla, who was still surrounded by all the womenfolk, he surreptitiously made his way across the kitchen and eased out the door, following his father to the barn.
Time to make plans to keep the woman he loved safe.