Camden's Redemption (Gloves Off #4)(57)

Mason finally came back into the waiting room and pocketed his cell phone. I stood there with my arms crossed over my chest. “Took you long enough didn’t it? You’ve been gone for hours. I’m going out of my mind in here.”

He sat down and ran his hands over his face. “There were a lot of calls to make. I called Ryley first and told him. He should be here in the next hour, and so will Gabby and Pax.

“Ryley’s coming?” I gasped.

He nodded. “Yep. I just hope he knows what he’s doing. Camden deserves his wrath, but not right now.”

“How long do you think this is going to take? I hate not knowing what’s going on.”

Mason lifted his head and nodded toward the door. “It looks like we’re about to find out.” He got to his feet just as the doctor waltzed in. Dr. Russell was a middle aged man, with salt and pepper hair and a kind smile. That smile gave me hope.

“Good news. Mr. Jameson’s going to be just fine. We removed the bullet and cleaned out the wound. Of course, there was some muscle damage which could limit the ability in his arm. The recovery is all up to him now.”

“Can we see him?” I asked impatiently.

He nodded at us both. “Of course. Follow me and I’ll take you to him.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I followed him out the door, but turned to find Mason rooted in his spot. “Are you not coming?”

“Nah, I think I’m going to hang out here and wait for everyone else.” He winked.

“Thank you,” I breathed.

I followed the doctor down the hall. The door was shut so he opened it and hung back while I walked inside. Once the door closed behind me, I tiptoed the rest of the way into the room. If he was asleep, I didn’t want to wake him.

“I can hear you,” he called out.

Smiling, I moved the curtain away and rushed to his side, the one that wasn’t bandaged up. He was still pale, but he greeted me with a smile. “I didn’t want to wake you if you were asleep,” I murmured. Leaning down, I kissed him gently and then took a seat. “How do you feel?”

He tried to move, but then stopped and winced. “Like hammered dog shit. But my main concern is how you are taking things.”

Swallowing hard, I grabbed his hand and brought it to my cheek; he squeezed it reassuringly. “Baby steps. The thing that helps is knowing I had to shoot him. There was no choice. It was either him or you. I chose you.”

“I’m just so glad it’s f*cking over. No more running.”

Leaning over, I ran my hands through his hair and smiled. “That’s right. You’re free now. You can do whatever you want.”

“And so can you. When are you planning on going home to get your things in order?”

“As soon as you’re feeling better,” I said. Then I remembered the phone call with my mother. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I talked to my mom earlier tonight.”

“How did that go?” he asked.

I grinned. “She apologized for everything, Cam. Her and my father want to come see me and my brother in a couple of weeks. If you’re up to the challenge, I’d love to have you with me.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want? I’m not exactly parent material.”

“And how would you know? Have you met many parents?”

He smirked. “Not exactly, but I’ll go with you. They’ll probably want to meet the guy you’ll be living with.”

“Hopefully, my dad won’t shoot you. I think you’ve had enough of that kind of stuff for a while. But at least we have another thing in common.” I lifted my shirt to the scar on my side. “Matching bullet wounds.”

He chuckled. “That’s for damn sure. Hopefully, karma’s done f*cking me in the ass.”

About that time, a knock came at the door and Mason strolled in. He looked a little hesitant, but tried to play it off by smiling. “How ya doing, slugger?”

“Could be better.”

He nodded. “I see that.”

“You look like you could too,” I cut in. “What’s wrong?”

He glanced at us both and then settled on Camden. “Your brother’s here. I didn’t know if you were ready to see him. He’s just outside.”

Camden clenched my hand, his expression uncertain.

“Hey,” I said, drawing his attention. “You can do this. You said it yourself that once everything was over you’d seek him out. But, now he is here for you. That’s a good sign.” I let go of his hand and got to my feet.

Closing his eyes, he sighed and leaned his head back on his pillow. “All right, let’s do this. If he wants to kill me, now would be the perfect time.”

“I’m not going to kill you, f*ckhead,” Ryley called out. As soon as he came into view, his gaze went straight to Camden. Both brothers stared at each other without a word, as if they were communicating through a special bond. I felt like an intruder. Mason nodded toward the door and walked out. I got up to follow suit.

Once Camden’s eyes met mine, Ryley turned to me as well. “I’m going to leave and give you guys some privacy. I’ll just be in the waiting room.”

“Thanks, Brooklyn,” Ryley murmured with a smile. “Good to see you again.”