Page 65 of Freeing Camila

In the meandering queue for the thrilling rollercoaster ride, Jeeves stood directly behind her, his arms encircling her in a warm embrace, offering a reassuring and steadying presence as she rested against him.

To take her mind off of the impending ride on the steel demon and the trepidation that was twisting her stomach into knots, she asked, “Are we meeting everyone at Hooch and Harmony later?”

“Yeah. All except Voodoo.”

“Where’s Voodoo?”

“He’s been assigned to a protection detail in Paris.”

“Really? Lucky duck. I always wanted to go there.”

“I’ll take you someday.”

“I’d like that,” she smiled.

The roar of the rollercoaster brought her back to the task at hand. The metal beast loomed ahead, its tracks twisting like a dare across the sky. Cammie stared up at it, eyes wide as the cars climbed to the highest peak and then plummeted with a shriek of laughter and terror from the riders. Her stomach fluttered—not from the ride itself, but from the sheerideaof being on it. Of trusting it. Of letting go.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other in the snaking line, her hands clasped tightly in Jeeves’ larger ones. His thumb brushed slow circles over her knuckles, grounding her with a quiet control he always carried. She could feel the vibration of his laughter on her back as he teased her gently about the white-knuckled grip she had on his hands, which rested on her stomach.

“Still time to bail,” he murmured, leaning in close, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.

Cammie shot him a glance over her shoulder, heart thudding for reasons that had nothing to do with the towering metal ride looming ahead of them. “You wouldn’t let me.”

“Nope,” he said with a grin that still managed to knock the wind out of her, even after everything.

Even after the rescue, after the gunfire and betrayals, after facing down the woman who’d destroyed so many people’s lives—and nearly stolen hers, too.

“Seriously, sprite. You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

Cammie looked up at him—at the man who’d walked through fire for her, who’d held her after the nightmare ended, who never once asked her to be anything but herself. “I want to,” she said. “It just feels . . . new. A little scary.”

His eyes softened, and he reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’ve faced worse. You’re stronger than you think.”

She leaned into his touch, comforted by the warmth in his voice. The fair buzzed around them, neon lights dancing off the curve of his jaw, the echo of distant laughter spinning through the cool night air. It felt surreal—standing here, in this place filled with joy, after everything they’d survived.

She turned fully to face him, sliding her hands up his chest, over the solid beat of the heart that had fought so hard for hers. “I never thought I’d get to do things like this . . . things normal people do. Fairs. Rollercoasters. Standing in line with the man I love.”

His face softened. “You are normal, Cammie. Brave. Beautiful. And very real.”

A lump caught in her throat. “You saved me.”

He shook his head, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “You saved me first. I didn’t even know I was waiting for you.”

“We were waiting for each other.”

She looked up at him then, truly looked. He still carried the shadows of the man he’d once been—the weight of betrayal, of loss, of the friend he couldn’t save. But he also carriedher. He’d walked into the line of fire to save her, to put an end to the woman who’d nearly destroyed both their lives.

And somehow, out of all that pain, they’d found this moment. The fair. The lights. Laughter. A rollercoaster.

“You know,” she said quietly, pressing closer, “I used to think rollercoasters were reckless. Pointless. Scary. But maybe . . . they’re not so bad. Maybe, if you hold on tight enough, they’re kind of fun.”

Jeeves smiled, that slow, crooked smile that made her chest ache in the best way. “Then we’ll hold on. Together.”

Lost in thought, her gaze flitted about, momentarily captivated by the everyday normalcy surrounding her. Families with overly energetic children enjoying what the fair had to offer. Groups of friends, laughing as they wandered the grounds. Lovers as they waited in lines in each other’s arms. “Is this what normal feels like?” she whispered.

He tilted his head. “Normal?”

“Being scared of stupid things instead of real ones.” She tried to laugh, but it caught in her throat.

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