Page 18 of Forged in Peril

“It’s not your fault,” Bristol said, the sick feeling of guilt worsening in an instant. “You could never have expected it, and it isn’t like FBS wasn’t taking security precautions.”

“Either way, we’re going to figure this out, Bristol,” he said, reaching over and touching the top of her fingers ever so slightly. She let him linger there, wanting to flee from his touch and wanting him to stay, all at once. After a moment, he pulled away, leaning back in his chair. “I promise.”

She hoped he was right, though she knew that her refusal to cooperate would make things more difficult.

Still, her own questions continued to linger in her mind.

Why would Warrington be taking such risks when she’d already given up and left D&P? Hadn’t he already done enough to protect himself from the consequences of his behavior?

Maybe she was wrong.

Maybe it wasn’t Warrington at all, or maybe it was, but there was more to it than just that night.

For what must have been the hundredth time, she thought back over the past two years, trying to piece together anything she might have seen, anything that might have told a deeper story, but she came up empty.

For the moment, she was too tired to think, anyway.

It would be better to revisit this in the morning, and maybe Cam and his brothers could help, even with the limited information she was ready to give.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” Bristol said quietly, finishing the final dregs of her tea.

“No, I’m sorry for pushing,” Cameron said. “You’ve had a rough night. You didn’t need me giving you the third degree. But I do want you to know that you can trust me. If you think of anything else that can help, I’m here to listen. No judgment.”

She let his words hang in the air, wanting with all of her heart to believe that they were true.

He meant them, that much she was sure of, but holding back judgment wouldn’t be as easy as he thought.

Not if he found out what had been done to her.

CAMERON

Cameron drove as carefully as he could, taking a leisurely pace down the familiar roads that led toward Bristol’s mother’s home. She was falling asleep, her head resting against the window, and he couldn’t help but to steal a quick glance in her direction every few minutes.

Her brown hair had gone frizzy, and he could see a small tea stain on her white top that he doubted she’d noticed. He smiled to himself as he took another turn, his headlights illuminating the quiet streets of Silver Grove.

Despite her attempts at prickliness, it was clear that she trusted him, at least a little. She had let her guard down enough to let him buy her a pie, and for the moment, it felt like a victory.

The only problem was that he needed to be keeping his guard up.

Aside from the small fact that she clearly wasn’t interested in him anymore, the last time he’d fallen for Bristol Chaplin, he’d ended up broken. And even after all of these years, he still struggled to let himself heal.

Too soon, he reached the trailer park and eased his way past the tidy chain-link fence, following the outer round toward the back lot where her mother’s trailer lay.

She and Bristol had lived there since Bristol was in elementary school, ever since Gary Chaplin had run out on the both of them.

It was an older style of double-wide, and it could use a new coat of white paint, but the front porch table was always filled with fresh-cut flowers from the modest garden and the grass was always immaculately trimmed. Everything about the little house had always made him feel welcome and comfortable, for as long as he could remember.

He got out of the car quietly, not letting the driver’s side door slam. He opened Bristol’s door, hoping not to startle her, but she woke with a jolt, looking around wildly for a moment before figuring out that she was home.

“Thank you,” she said, allowing him to close the door behind her after she climbed out. “For the ride, and for dessert.”

Cameron glanced around the area near the trailer, not seeing any sign of Moira Chaplin’s car. “Your mom is working tonight, I take it?”

Bristol nodded and reached into her bag for her keys, raising no objection as he walked her up the creaking porch steps and toward the door. “Yeah, she’s usually gone by now. She won’t be back until I’m getting ready for work in the morning.”

He nodded as she turned the key in the lock and pulled the door open.

“If you need a day off, take one.”

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