“I’m not saying for always. But just for now, can you just,” he growled in frustration, “it’s not about controlling you, it’s about keeping you safe.”
Elena pulled back. “I can keep myself safe.”
Camden sighed. “Then do it for them, all right?”
For them?“I don’t know how being friends with Cici is a security problem.”
“Please, just trust me?” His eyes pleaded with her.
“I won’t do anything stupid like open my mouth and share state secrets or whatever, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. It’s not you.” He stroked her cheek. “You know what? I’m doing it again. I’m putting things on you that I shouldn’t. I’m sorry.”
This was going to be hard. No, at times, it might be impossible. Elena had to accept that there were parts of Camden’s life that would be closed to her. Not by his choice, but that’s how it was. Maybe she needed to stop putting her guard up every time she felt uncomfortable. Maybe she did need to trust him more.
Elena smiled and stroked his cheek. “I forgive you, as long as you trust me.”
“I do.”
She kissed him. “Then I’ll trust you. Now, let’s go find out what sort of trouble my daughter’s gotten into.”
Camden lifted her to her feet. He lightly slapped his cheeks and blew out a breath. “Probably not as much as we’ve gotten ourselves into. Jake’s gonna wonder where I’ve been and I need to talk to Gina.” Then he turned Elena around and helped her pin her hair back up. “But getting in trouble was totally worth it.”
Nine
As they surreptitiously made their way out of the library and back to the party, Camden mentally kicked himself for being such a fuck-up. First, he should have stuck closer to Cici, not Roger. Gina was supposed to be on her, but of course that prick Anderson had messed everything up. From the moment they apprehended him, Roger and Cici acted on-edge, not the relaxed, happy couple he’d met a few days before. They should have brushed off the incident like the other guests used to the paparazzi’s antics had. Instead, he watched Cici make a beeline for the bar. She’d had too much to drink and he should have seen it as a warning sign instead of assuming she was trying to relax. Camden needed to look deeper into Cici’s life and how she really felt about her husband’s political aspirations. Maybe she was the reason Roger turned down full-time security. If so, after today, she might change her mind.
He also worried that if Elena started a friendship with Cici, she’d be putting herself in danger without knowing it. Roger Bennett was being targeted by both foreign interests and an American who was close to him. Those interests wouldn’t hesitate to look into any and all family, friends, and acquaintances for a weak link to be exploited. Was that link Cici, and would it spill over onto Elena? Camden wasn’t willing to take that chance. But how to convince Elena that Cici was a person to avoid—at least for now—without compromising the job, and without coming across as a complete and utter control freak? He felt as though he’d skirted the edge already in the library.
“Oh my God,Tina, no!” Camden was pulled out of his head and his heart screeched to a stop as Elena left his side and dashed into another room. Had the little girl fainted? Was she hurt? Camden tore off after Elena only to see her standing in front of Tina who was sprawled out on the floor. Near-panic seized Camden, followed by a deadly calm, a feeling of inevitability. He’d missed some crucial clue and failed to protect the little girl as history repeated itself.
But if so, then why was Elena standing there with her hands on her hips if Tina was…
…Not anywhere near dying unless Elena chose to take her out herself. Which looked like a possibility. As Camden took in the entire situation, he stifled a laugh. Tina had decided to play with her dolls, but it looked like Wedding Barbie had ditched her fiancé Ken for a fourteen-carat upgrade.
One of Bette’s Oscars was gone from its normal place on the mantel and stood proudly beside Barbie on the floor, complete with a toy top hat on its shiny bald head.
Elena stamped her foot. “Tina! I cannot even speak right now. Where did you get…you put that back before you break it.”
“Mama, it’s okay. And he’s too heavy and it’s too high for me to put him back up there, see?” Tina lifted the Oscar about a foot off the floor and then it slipped through her fingers and hit the hardwood with a healthy bang.
Elena shrieked. “Oh my God, stop. How did you even get that down off the mantel?”
“I didn’t get him down. We were playing.”
Elena squinted. “Oh, no. Is it scratched up?” She dropped to her knees. “Oh, God, it’s scratched up.”
Camden swept past Elena and picked up the statue. “You’re not kidding, Mermaid, this thing has to weigh somewhere north of six or seven pounds.”
“Eight pounds, eight ounces, actually,” Bette said from behind them.
Elena jumped up and turned, her face beet-red and her eyes wild. “Mrs. Collins, I am so, so, unbelievably sorry.”
Then her forehead scrunched up as her brain must have registered what lay in Bette’s lap.
Oh, classic Bette, Camden thought as it registered with him, too. A worn vinyl case with a faded graphic of Barbie printed on the top.
“Call me Bette, remember? What are you sorry for, dear? I’m the culprit,” Bette said. “When Tina told me she forgot her Ken doll, I improvised. Oscar’s taller than Ken, anyway, and I think bald men are very handsome. And then I remembered that my daughter Samantha might still have some Barbie clothes packed away so I went to look for them.” She patted the case. “I was right.”
