Page 36 of The Saint

His order was called. He pocketed his phone and picked up their food. As the rain beat down, he jogged to the driver’s side, wondering when—or even if—he would find a good time to bring up Beth. “Here you go. Twelve-inch turkey, toasted with extra cheese.” He handed over her bag and placed the drinks on the center console. “And a lemonade.”

“Oh, you’re a saint.”

Camden snorted. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but that’s a first.” He unwrapped his Italian sub and folded the paper along the bottom half. The rain drilled over the roof and windshield. He gestured to the convenience store across the parking lot. “Anything else before we go?”

“No. Thanks.” Her nervous gaze darted about the rainy night. “If we’re not in a rush, you don’t have to eat while you drive.”

“I’m your chauffeur. We go wherever, whenever you want.”

“A chauffeur, huh?” Amelia played with the cap of her lemonade bottle. “Who knew life’s luxuries were earned with a little bit of prison time?”

“I think you’ve earned that and a lot more after the government’s little stunt. You can probably put your attorney to work on damages and restitution.”

Amelia cocked her head and, after a long moment, put the lemonade back in the cup holder as though doing so took all her mental energy. She stared into her lap then finally tilted her head toward him. “What do you mean? What stunt?”

He stopped chewing then swallowed hard. “What do you mean, what do I mean?”

“Why would the government owe me—I mean,Ithink they should. But why would anyone else?”

The sub paper crinkled in his hand. The rain smacked. Every little noise stood out as silence rolled between them. His mind jumped back to earlier. She’d hugged him—she’d beensurprisedby him. “Your lawyer didn’t talk to you?”

“I haven’t talked to my lawyer in days.”

His mouth went dry. His mind drafted several new text messages to Beth that were infinitely less friendly. “You mean… no one talked to you about this?”

“The guards had me shower and change out of my jumpsuit, and then they walked me out to you. No one saida word.” Her eyes widened. “I thought my attorney bailed me out or something. And you… I don’t know… just magically appeared.”

“God. No.” Camden pinched the bridge of his nose. “Amelia. You’re out of there. Done. As if it never happened.”

“But…”

“I’m positive there’s an army of CIA tech dudes scouring the internet to erase any trace that this ever happened.”

Eyes wide, her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. Dead serious. This isn’t even like a presidential pardon. This is erasing the past.” He threaded a hand into his hair, completely unsure where to begin. He didn’t have specifics, only his marching orders after unleashing Jared Westin on Beth’s bosses. “I can’t believe no one told you.” Camden laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

He thought she might smile or celebrate, but Amelia collapsed as though she didn’t have to hold up the weight of the world. She twisted her fingers together and watched the raindrops splatter onto the windshield and roll away. “I don’t know what to say.” She turned to him again, uncertain, and quietly offered, “Thanks.”

“I didn’t do it.”

The corners of her eyes tightened. Her forehead tensed as she studied him. After a long moment of scrutiny, her lips quirked. “I think you’d say that even if you arranged the whole thing with the president.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.”

“Doubtful.”

She dropped her head back and drew in a deep breath as though catching her footing in life once again. But then she froze, and the relief drained from her expression. “Did they find my sister?”

He didn’t want to deliver bad news. Part of him hated that she still held out hope. Part of him admired her tenacious, albeit semi-delusional, faith that Hailey was waiting for rescue. After all, a majority of his assignments involved rescuing people whose chances of survival were low to nonexistent. Without question, he would find Hailey for Amelia. He just wished he had some idea how to do that.

“Not that I know of.”

She nodded and sank in on herself. The inside of the vehicle felt dark and lonely as she processed that. Finally, Amelia picked up her sub and took another bite. They polished off their subs without talking. The engine and heater lowly hummed. The rain blurred the outside world. He didn’t know what else to say and broke the quiet by turning the windshield wipers back on.

“Do you care if I doze off while you drive?” she asked.

“Of course not.” Camden balled up his trash and took a long drink of his Coke before pulling back onto the road. Two minutes later, Amelia was asleep, breathing softly as he cruised down the highway.

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