Cam, however, needed to be sure she understood the gravity of the situation and the full scope of his ask. I need you to have his back, Lauren.
On it.
That’s what he wanted to hear.
And then because she was Lauren . . . Well, not on it, on it. That’s more your job, she added with a winky-face.
Cam laughed for the first time in hours.
Five
Cam’s nieces and nephews were waiting for him at the hospital doors, charging him with shouts of “Uncle Cam!” For a few blissful seconds, Cam forgot the frustrating hours it had taken to get here, forgot that he’d been a continent away when his family needed him, and just reveled in having his family in his arms again. The reunions continued upstairs in ICU, Quinn and Bobby greeting them in the hallway with back-slapping hugs.
“Was hoping you’d show up with a girlfriend,” Quinn said to him.
“Hey!” Jamie mock protested. “What am I, chopped liver?”
“We knew you’d be here,” Bobby said. “You’re family.”
Cam wondered if his brothers would say the same about Nic eventually.
Once they got over the shock of him bringing home a man. As far as they knew, he was straight. He hadn’t told his family he was bisexual. He’d only dated girls in grade school, and he’d kept his college conquests contained to campus, not bringing anyone home. He’d let the years pass without correcting his family’s assumptions. It had never seemed like the right time, and now definitely wasn’t it. That’s why he’d turned down Nic’s offer to accompany him. If Cam had had what he really wanted, it would be Nic by his side, hand on his back, keeping him steady like he’d done early this morning. Meeting his family, especially?—
“Where’s Keith?”
“In with Mom and Dad,” Bobby said, leading them into a nearby lounge. “He’s due back at base tomorrow. Supposed to ship out sometime next week.”
His younger brother was an active-duty Marine stationed at Lejeune, though he’d spent more days deployed than on base during his service so far. “Can he get his leave extended?”
“Tried,” Quinn answered. “Not looking good.”
Unless you knew someone with juice. Like a former SEAL sniper, JAG Corps captain, and federal prosecutor. Granted Nic was Navy, but USMC technically fell under the Navy’s umbrella. He bet Nic knew some higher-ups there too. “I’ve got a friend with connections.”
Phone in hand, Jamie, following his train of thought, was already heading back into the hall. “I’ll call Price.”
“The former special forces prosecutor?” Bobby said.
Cam nodded. He’d mentioned Nic to Bobby when he’d called his brother for a gut check on last spring’s undercover assignment. That case had required him to tap into the less-than-legal past he and Bobby had shared and worked so hard to put behind them. They’d lost their sister because of it, Cam and Bobby out on a job the day Erin went missing while walking home alone from the library. She’d been presumed dead for two decades now, but the wound they’d inflicted on their family had never fully healed, especially Keith’s. He and Erin had been born only nine months apart, five years after Cam.
Behind the rest of them in age, Keith had latched on to his mother after losing Erin. Cam didn’t want to think what losing her would do to him.
“How’s Mom?” Cam asked.
“In and out,” Bobby said.
Cam’s heart soared, buoyed by the first bit of hopeful news in hours. “She’s been awake?”
“Wouldn’t miss an opportunity to remind Dad to take his meds,” Bobby said.
“Or tell me how to run our fishing boats,” Quinn added. “Like I haven’t already been doing that since Dad retired.”
That sounded even better. His mom was awake and aware enough to nag. “Don’t get too excited yet,” Bobby cautioned, motioning him to sit.
He filled him in on their mother’s status, bringing Cam back down to reality. She was conscious and stabilized but it was a temporary reprieve. She was being scheduled for surgery—no, surgeries, plural—starting with a double bypass. Cam propped his elbows on his knees, spinning head held in his hands. There would be risk at every step of the way, keeping them on pins and needles for at least the next week, then after, during her recovery.
When he’d be back on the opposite coast.
Fuck.
