Page 33 of The Fix

She looked over at him and studied his strong profile, the masculine lines of his face—her gaze moved down to his throat, over one broad shoulder to his bicep, and then landed on his long-boned fingers, casually resting on the steering wheel, commanding the vehicle with ease.

Yes, he did look like a hero, as she’d thought before, but Cami now knew it wasn’t a false facade.

In less than forty-eight hours, Rex Lowe had more than earned that title.

His heroic tendencies went bone deep. He’d stepped up, for her—but, she knew, mostly for Cyrus, an innocent child locked behind bars.

She was tempted to thank him again, but she’d done so much of that; she didn’t want it to start sounding false.

She didn’t want her expressions of gratitude to lose meaning.

But I am. Oh, I am. So very, very grateful to the man next to me.

That he was able to help her, but more so that he was willing.

“Speaking of being well placed,” she said. “Where do you actually live?” She let out a small laugh. It seemed ridiculous that she’d just hopped on a plane with the guy, and she had no idea where he called home now. There hadn’t been time to think about it.

“I’ve been nowhere and everywhere for the last five years, working in the field with special units.

But I recently took a new job for the NSA, working in a cryptologic center in Colorado, which begins in a couple of months.

It’s why I had the extra time off to come deal with my grandfather’s house. ”

“Colorado. That’s quite a ways away.”

He nodded. And she didn’t want to think about why that knowledge caused a small catch in her chest, but it did.

She checked back on Cyrus, and a very slight movement caught her attention. She leaned in, observing him. “It looks like he’s working on something with his hand,” she murmured.

“What?” Rex took his eyes off the road for a moment to glance where she was pointing. “I can’t tell.”

Cami lifted the computer and brought it closer to her. “He’s being subtle. But ... I don’t know. It’s like he’s doing something between the bed and the wall.”

“What could be on the wall? It’s all wooden planks.”

“Maybe one is loose, and he’s planning on using it somehow.”

“As a weapon?”

Cami chewed at her lip, suddenly anxious.

She brought her eyes to Cyrus’s face. He looked so focused.

Yes, he was up to something. And it caused fear to rocket through her.

You can’t fight that man, Cyrus. He’s more than twice your size.

The boy’s hand appeared to have stopped fiddling with whatever he had against the wall, though.

For now, at least. “I don’t know,” she said to Rex.

“Maybe he’s just fidgeting.” She kept her eyes on his face for a moment, as though she might be able to read his intentions if she stared hard enough.

“That expression reminds me of Hollis,” she muttered.

“Each time I see it, it convinces me more that he’s mine .

.. ours. I see myself in him. But I also see his father. ”

“Wait, Hollis is his father?”

She nodded. She understood the surprise in his voice. He, like so many others in town, and the nation probably, assumed that her rapist was the father of the baby she’d given up. “I took a positive pregnancy test in the hospital.”

Rex gave his head a small shake. “So, wait, then why did Hollis assume you’d become pregnant during your attack? Did you not tell him about the timing?”

She glanced out the window at the gray, rocky shore that stretched below the cliffs.

“I told him. I believe he did know the baby was his but used the attack as an out. He claimed I was confused or lying about the timing as a way to cope with the reality. I offered to take a paternity test, but once he left for college without a word, and once I’d decided to give the baby up, it didn’t seem necessary to push the issue.

And so I didn’t list a father on the forms. I said I didn’t know who it was.

My father knew the truth. And I let everyone else assume what they wanted. ”

“Shit, Cami. I’m so sorry.” He gave his head another small shake as if trying to realign his assumptions with the reality she’d just shared. “I see his ads on TV. I was kinda happy for the guy, even though he was always kind of a dick in high school.”

She breathed out a laugh. “He was, wasn’t he? I wish I’d seen it sooner. It was just so seductive to be taken in by that crowd.”

“You would have grown beyond them,” he said. “I saw it then, and I’m sure of it now.”

She smiled over at him. “You give me more credit than I deserve, but again, thank you. I feel like I can’t say that enough to you.”

They both glanced at the computer to ensure Cyrus was in the same spot, and then Cami looked out the window again, watching as the gray water churned below, her stomach tightening at the knowledge that somewhere close by, her little boy sat alone in a cabin in the woods.

Can you hear the same waves that I’m listening to now?

I’m trying to find you, Cyrus. I’m on my way.

She only prayed she would arrive in time, if she arrived at all.