Gone

Chapter Four

It felt slightly cheeky walking up to her front door and ringing the bell, but cheeky was his middle name.

He grinned sheepishly.

The door opened to reveal the same woman who had kicked him and ran away, all in the same day, as well. Certainly a low day for his ego.

Her face paled as she appeared to struggle for words.

He decided on being as cordial and curt as possible.

"Miss Dawson, I fear we got off on the wrong start, and before you proceed to erm... injure me again, I would like to say, I meant you no harm. And I will keep your secret, for whatever reason you may be keeping it." He cocked a brow, hoping she'd take the hint and perhaps give him some clue as to why her identity had to remain a secret.

He was good, but not that good.

His current investigation for a lawyer in a civil case (who was determined to prove that the vehicle accident she was in hadn't been her fault, despite his findings) had so far been nothing but frustrating this past week, so he decided to focus a little on locating her again.

It wasn't too difficult, considering she called him yesterday and gave him her address.

When she finally found her words, she cleared her throat, "Mr. McKay." She began, hesitating and then clearing her throat again, "I had been meaning to contact you again with a meeting proposal, but it seems you have taken the liberty to come meet me face to face."

She pushed the door forward a little, as if his presence made her nervous.

"I promise you, I mean you no harm."

She gave a slight nod, "I-I think I believe you."

He nodded, and an awkward silence hung over them, before she broke it with a sigh.

"Are you perhaps still able to continue with the case I presented you, while keeping my identity a secret of course?" Her hopeful hazel eyes, which had more green in them than anything, made him catch his breath.

He had to look away for a second, "Yes."

She had called him, but he wasn't able to answer at the time, so she left a voicemail with the same question in it, which he didn't reply to, hence her repeating the question.

She smiled, a bit of color coming back into her face as she swung the door open, "Can you come in? I'll explain everything."

He did, and sat politely down on her couch, which was the same yellow as the outside.

All in all, the house seemed very cheery, and uplifting. He wondered if there was a reason for that.

"I'm in witness protection." She said.

He raised both brows, surprised. "Really?" Was all he managed to get out of his mouth.

She nodded.

"Well, that would explain the initials. Witnesses under protection are advised to keep the same initials as their original name, yes?"

"And our original first name, to help us adjust easier and not find ourselves accidentally signing a piece of paper with the wrong name or saying our real name."

He nodded, "Makes sense."

"I chose not to keep my first because I was too scared."

"Scared of what?"

Her eyes glazed over for a moment, as if she was remembering something, but then she jerked back to the present and shook her head.

"You don't want to know."

She was silent for a few moments, and then began again, "Is there anything else you need to know before you start the search for my parents?"

"Yes, why did you originally say you wanted to search for only your mother?"

"Because that backstory was a hell of a lot easier to explain. 'My mother left us, and my father died' is so much more believable than 'my siblings.. passed away and my parents disappeared.' Besides, it's uncommon, and uncommon draws unwanted attention. And once I find her, I'm certain she'll help me find my father. If they are even-" Her voice caught, and she stopped. "Well, how soon do you need the down payment?"

He cleared his throat, his heart throbbing uncomfortably at the mention of her deceased family members. "As soon as possible, if feasible."

She nodded. "It is."

He nodded, and pulled out his phone. "I just messaged you."

She frowned, "You have my number?"

He chuckled, "You called me, remember?"

She blinked, thoughts racing behind her brilliant eyes before realization almost made them pale with embarrassment, "Oh.. I forgot about callers ID."

"Forgot about caller's ID? Miss Dawson, how long ago did you get out of the time machine?"

She rolled her eyes. "Time travel is impossible. Also, I must request that you instead call me by my cover name at all times, Everleigh Dixon."

He nodded, "Of course."

After some more discussion about the case, he bid her farewell to start work on it, and informed her that he would call her with any questions or updates.

She went to get the door for him, and they parted ways.

Camden couldn't help but grin triumphantly, and by the time he got home, his cheeks were sore.

***
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