Breaker's Point Bad Boy Billionaires Boxset (42 page)

"What's up with her? Normally your girlfriends are only too happy to stick around in the limelight and have their pictures taken."

"I don't know, and she's not my girlfriend. But I know she's got some kind of secret that she's keeping from me," Griffin added, smiling politely for the camera flashes going off around him.

"She was trying to blackmail you over something. What was it?" Stuart asked, keeping his voice low.

Griffin shot his brother a look of anger and the camera flashes increased.

"You were spying on me?"

"Well someone has to make sure you're not doing something stupid. We'll discuss this later. For now, little brother, your adoring audience awaits." Stuart smiled and pushed Griffin forward, leaving him with no choice but to go with the flow. He smiled and posed for the cameras before sitting down for the interview Riley had arranged.

Griffin seethed as he answered the reporter's questions as honestly as he could. There was only one way to lie convincingly, and that was to ensure you were telling a story as close as possible to the truth with only some key elements changed. Or at least that was what Dyson had always said, and he was the best liar Griffin knew.

Why was it so difficult for Stuart to stay out of his business? Griffin knew without a doubt that Stuart would dig something up and go running back to Riley with it. Between them they would pass judgement and make assumptions based on half-truths and hearsay.

It would ruin whatever little bit of trust he had managed to build up with Cami. Trust was definitely the wrong word; she had, after all, just come over to blackmail him. But Griffin couldn't blame her; whatever she was keeping from him was just as deadly as the situation that he'd managed to drag her into.

It was up to him to get her out of it, even if she didn't want his help.

C
ami sat
in the car and gripped the steering wheel tight enough that her knuckles turned white. She'd made a foolish mistake in going over there and now the press had taken a picture of her with Griffin.

A picture she had no doubt would end up on the front page of some tabloid, and if that happened…

Parking the car in front of her house, Cami buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

What the hell had she been thinking? Going to see Griffin had been a huge risk. Spending any time with him was a huge risk, and yet she'd marched right into the lion’s den.

Cami felt nauseous at the thought of her picture appearing on the Net and in the papers. If he saw it, he would know where they were; he would find them and then everything would have been for nothing. All the running, the pain, and the sacrifice destroyed… and for what?

It wasn't as though Griffin wanted her, not in the way she wanted him.

Climbing out of the car, Cami hurried up the path to her house and through the front door.

She'd screwed up and now there was only one thing she could do to set it all straight. They were just going to have to leave, get as far away as they could from Griffin and the complications that came from knowing him.

Cami knew Sophie wasn't going to be happy, but what choice did she have?

Cami raced up the stairs and tore open her closet door, dragging out clothes and dumping them onto the bed. She would only be able to bring with her what she could fit inside the car, and Cami knew it wouldn't be much.

The front door slammed and Cami jumped.

"Cami, are you home?" Sophie's voice echoed through the house and Cami released the breath she'd been holding.

"Yeah, I'm up here. There's something we need to talk about," Cami answered. She was dreading the conversation with Sophie, but there was nothing else she could do other than face it. Now was as good a time as any. Especially since they would need to leave as soon as possible.

The sound of Sophie's footsteps as she pounded up the stairs matched Cami's heartbeat.

"What's up…" Sophie began, reaching the door and pausing as she looked around the room.

The look on her face was enough to tell Cami that the conversation was going to be far worse than she could have ever anticipated. Cami's heart sank and she dropped onto the side of her bed as Sophie's eyes welled with tears.

"Cami, I don't understand. Why are you packing?"

"Sophie, you know there was always a chance we'd have to move on, that we might not be able to stay here…"

"Nope, you're lying! We can't go anywhere. School isn't even done yet and we have this big talent contest coming up and I'm going to sing in it and…" She trailed off as the first of her tears started flowing down her cheeks. "Is it me? Is it something I've done?"

Cami stood and crossed the room, dragging Sophie into a tight bear hug.

"Sophie, you've done nothing wrong. You've been amazing. This isn't your fault; it's mine."

Cami knew she'd screwed up the second the words left her mouth. She felt Sophie's body stiffen against hers and she jerked out of Cami's grip, an accusatory look on her face.

"You? This is your fault? How can it be your fault? You told me we didn't have to worry anymore, that you would always keep us safe. How can you be doing that and still be making mistakes?" Sophie’s voice climbed higher and higher with each word.

"Sophie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, but sometimes things are just outside of our control…"

"You didn't mean for it to happen? Jeez, Cami, that's a pretty lame excuse for completely ruining my life! I thought you cared about me."

"Of course I care about you! Everything I've ever done has been for you, to protect you, to look after you…"

"But not this time? God, you're so selfish, Cami. I can't believe you'd do this to me after everything that happened…" Sophie trailed off, her face growing pale, and Cami knew she was remembering the life they had before building a new one here.

"Sophie, it's fine. We'll be fine. We'll move somewhere better, somewhere warmer, and I promise everything will be much better than it is here."

Sophie shook her head and jerked away from Cami as she tried to reach out to her.

"I don't want better, Cami. I want here. I like it here. I like my friends; I like my teachers. I don't want to go anywhere but here, and you can't make me."

Cami shook her head and gazed down at the floor.

"Sophie, I can make you, and I will if I have to, but I'd much rather you make this easier and come with me. I need you to pack a bag. We have to get out of here as soon as possible." Cami lifted her gaze and stared into her sister's large, expressive eyes.

They were filled with unshed tears, and it tore at Cami's heart to see Sophie so upset. But what choice did she have? If they didn't go now, it would be too late. And there was no way she was going to risk hanging around for him to find them.

"I hate you!" Sophie screamed and ran for the stairs.

Cami tried to follow her but Sophie was faster and dodged out of Cami's grip every time she tried to grab her.

Sophie reached the front door and ripped it open, the force of it causing the door to slam back into the wall and crack the plaster.

"Sophie!" Cami called to her, but it was no use; she was already halfway down the street, her long legs carrying her away from Cami and the inevitable.

Cami dropped down onto the front porch and buried her face in her hands. It was all starting to come undone, and she had no idea how she was supposed to keep everything together.

Telling Sophie that they had to go was all well and good, but how could she leave when they had no money and nowhere to go? The only thing Cami was certain of was that they could no longer stay here; to do that would be a huge mistake, and as far as Cami was concerned she'd already made enough of them to last her a lifetime.

S
tuart shot
Griffin an odd look as the last of the reporters filtered out of the room. He'd watched his brother carefully before he'd disappeared and reappeared an hour later, a dark expression on his face.

Griffin knew before Stuart ever opened his mouth that he'd been poking his nose in where it didn't belong. He just didn't know what had happened to put such an intense expression on his face.

But Griffin didn't have to wait too long; Stuart was far too predictable.

"Where did you meet Camille?" Stuart asked the second the reporters had emptied out of the room.

"Who's Camille?" Riley asked from across the room, straightening up in his seat.

"The woman Griffin has gotten himself involved with, the one who was blackmailing him before the reporters arrived," Stuart said, the triumph in his voice grating on Griffin's last nerve.

"You don't know anything about her. She wasn't blackmailing me, but in your head everyone is a bad guy. Working as a glorified security guard has warped your mind, Stuart," Griffin said, pushing himself to his feet and crossing to the mini-bar that sat next to Riley's chair.

"Griffin, how do you find these women to get tangled up with? I've agreed to help you with your Elijah Scott problem, but this woman and whatever she thinks she has on you is your business. The only thing I won't tolerate is having all of my hard work undone because you couldn't keep it in your pants." Riley’s tone was weary, as though he'd heard the same story a million times and was finally bored of it.

And maybe he had heard the same story over and over, but this time it was completely different. Cami wasn’t the same as those other women. She meant something to him.

What that was, Griffin wasn't sure of yet; he'd never felt this way about someone else before and it was all completely new territory for him. Terrifying territory, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing to explore it and get to the bottom of what his feelings really meant.

"No, this one is different. She’s way more complicated, even by Griffin's standards," Stuart said, a smile spreading across his face.

"And what the hell does that mean?" Griffin asked, swinging around to face his brother. The glass of scotch he'd poured for himself was gripped so tightly in his hand he had to make a conscious effort to loosen his hold or it would have shattered against his palm.

"I called a friend of mine to look into the background of Camille Thompson, and what he found out was pretty eye-opening."

Griffin groaned and flopped back against the edge of the bar.

"Stuart, spit it out and stop with all the drama," Griffin said, his voice taking on the same bored tone Riley's had just moments before.

"She's wanted for kidnapping."

"Kidnapping?" Griffin repeated the word. It didn't quite make sense the first time he heard it.

"Yeah, now, it's not completely official because there was never an AMBER Alert set up for it, which I thought was pretty odd. But a report was filed with the sheriff's office in a town west of here called Keene. Nothing more happened with the report and no charges were brought, which I also thought was pretty strange."

"So you're telling me this why? Basically, you've got nothing and you're grasping at straws, Stuart. Reports were filed but no charges were ever pressed, so it's not really kidnapping."

Stuart shook his head and shrugged. "Look, it's not my place to pass judgement. My only point in all of this is that Camille is bad news and for some reason you seem to be buried up to your neck in it with her."

"So you did all of this because you were worried about me?" Griffin asked, his tone betraying his complete disbelief over his brother’s concern.

Stuart had never done anything to help him; he'd only ever been too happy to land him in even more trouble at every given opportunity, so what had changed now?

"Of course I'm worried about you, you idiot. We don't always get along…"

Griffin snorted. "Understatement of the century."

Stuart shot him a look before he continued. "But at the end of the day you're my brother and I saw something in your face when you looked at Camille, something I recognised."

Griffin downed the rest of his drink, the shock of his brother's sudden confession rendering him speechless.

"What did you recognise?" Griffin asked when he finally found his voice once more.

"I had that same look when I first found Ellie. I couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with me or what I was feeling. I just knew that, no matter what, I had to hold on to her somehow, protect her… Only if she'd let me, though. Ellie isn't exactly a damsel in distress." Stuart grinned.

The way he spoke about Ellie changed everything about Stuart, softened him somehow in a way Griffin had never expected to see from his hard ass older brother.

Griffin sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure what you mean when you’re talking about my feelings for Cami…"

Stuart smiled, but it was more of a secretive grin than anything else, and it left Griffin feeling a little bit like an outsider when he realised Stuart was sharing the look with Riley.

"I know you don't know what your feelings are, Griffin, which is why I'm giving you this information. You don't really know this girl and yet there's something about her that you're clinging to.

"You need to go and have a proper conversation with her, an honest one. And if she's still the person you think she is, then maybe the complications she's bringing to the table will be worth it. But that's something you're going to have to figure out for yourself."

Stuart's advice made perfect sense; he was right when he said Griffin didn't really know Cami. He hardly knew anything about her at all, but for some reason he'd blurted out to her earlier that he would protect her.

"Fine, who did she kidnap… allegedly?" Griffin asked, standing a little taller.

"Her little sister. Their mom died in a robbery gone wrong; she was shot. That left Camille and her sister living with her sister's dad, Cami's stepdad."

“Her sister?" Griffin asked, the pieces of the puzzle slowly beginning to fall into place.

"Yeah, a Sophie Brand. When Camille's mom remarried, Camille didn't take her stepdad's name," Stuart said.

Griffin nodded and headed for the door.

"Where are you off to?" Riley asked, turning in his seat. He'd remained silent throughout the entire conversation and Griffin wished that he'd stayed that way.

"I'm going to see her. Like Stuart said," Griffin added as he pulled open the door.

"Fine, but just remember we have that meeting tomorrow with Elijah Scott. I want you there for it," Riley said in a warning tone, but Griffin couldn't help but smile at his brother's unspoken words.