Blood Money

17

Cameron is puzzled as they pull up to her apartment. From her lack of being impressed by his wealth he'd of thought she had more money than her living place would show.  

The place is as much a dump as the last place she lived. Danielle knows what he's thinking, "Money doesn't impress me, it's the person that either will or won't impress me. Money can buy you things, but things can't love you."

Cameron almost feels like she's slapped him with her statement. He looks over at her sharply and notices the deep sadness that has come onto her face.

"Someone you cared about deeply hurt you." He makes it a statement.

"Not by his choice. He was killed." With that she gets out of the car and takes herself inside her apartment.

It takes Cameron a moment to process just what Danielle said. Her lover or whatever he was to her was killed. He's competing against a ghost. Shit. Now at least he knows why she's so sad and he's sure that more than a little of his advances being rebuffed is because of her feelings for her late boyfriend.

He has some of his men stay at the apartment. They are to shadow Danielle if she should go anywhere. He wants to know what this enigmatic woman does. He's going to find a way to see her again. One that won't seem like he's following her. That's going to be the most difficult part.

Danielle goes into her room and goes to her bed. She starts crying again. Every time she thinks about Max she cries, she almost lost it in the car. She needs that information. She just hopes that Cameron is more hooked than repelled by her actions and words.

She's never felt her game be so off before. She just wants this to be over so that she can mourn in solitude.

After a bit of time she gets out her computer. After setting up a secure routing she sends an email, "You just about ruined everything with your love taps. Don't get in my way again, Trevor, you know who and what I am now. I won't be playing nice with you again. Your father did know who I was and loved me anyway. That should be enough for you. I did my best to stay out of your way, do the same for me." After sending that email Danielle curls up in her bed and falls asleep thinking about Max.

Danielle knows that she should go back to the club. She needs to reestablish contact with Cameron, but she just can't make herself do that. 

For the last three days she's been going to the botanical gardens there in the city and losing herself in memories and the smell of the flowers.

"From the look on your face, I'd say that you are having some pleasant thoughts." Cameron says coming up to the bench that she's resting on.

"Might I hope they are of me?"

Danielle, although irritated that her memories are being interrupted by Cameron, she is also pleased that he is hooked enough to search her out. 

Danielle shrugs to his words, "You can hope whatever you want. The thing about hope is it's such a slender thing and when it breaks you have nothing left." Her words are far more raw then she had intended.

"Will you tell me about him?" Cameron quickly understood that she was talking about her lost lover.

"I don't know you well enough to share my personal pain like that." She's not sure that there is anyone that she would be willing to share that with.

Cameron sighs, "Will you at least allow me to take you to lunch then? Perhaps you will start to trust me enough to share your heartache with."

"Like I said, hope is such a slender thing. But I do need to eat, so why not?" Danielle says and takes the proffered hand to help her up.

"How was he killed?" Cameron hesitantly asks.

"We were driving back from a work party and someone intentionally ran us off the road. He died, I lost my baby and almost died. It also made it so I'll never be able to have a child." Danielle stops, she can't talk anymore without crying again. She doesn't want to cry anymore.

"I'm sorry, you must have loved your boyfriend very much."

"Oh, I loved him more than you can believe, but he wasn't my boyfriend, he was my husband."

Cameron feels like he was sucker punched with that declaration. She was actually married. He already knew that she loved him, because no one cries like that over someone they didn't love. He had no idea that she was married though. That makes things even harder.

"Would you be willing to tell me about him?" Cameron asks gently as they are on their way to a restaurant.

"Only if you want me to be a blubbering mess while you eat. I won't be able to eat if I'm talking about him."

"Then perhaps afterwards we can go somewhere and you can tell me about him." Cameron urges her. He feels this insane urge to be hurt by her telling him what a wonderful man her late husband was.

"Why? Me telling you about my late husband isn't going to get you into my bed."

"I don't know why. He means a lot to you and you're hurting. You aren't with family, do you have friends that you can talk to?"

"Growing up, I moved around a lot so I never learned how to make friends. My family is dead with one exception." She can't help how cold her voice goes at that confession.

"Ah, I take it you aren't on speaking terms with that person?"

Danielle gives out a bitter laugh, "You could say that. You've seen his love taps."

Cameron grows still, "A family member did that to you?"

"Let it alone, Cameron. Like I said, I won't be seeing him again. Not if I have anything to say about it." But Danielle has a sinking sensation that she just might not have a say about it. She resolves to keep her gun near her at all times once more.

"I can take care of him for you, DW. All you have to do is tell me who he is and I'll take it from there."

"Look, Cameron, I know you mafia types like violence, but this is my problem to deal with and I will."

Cameron had frozen at her words. Danielle looks at him with concern, "Are you okay, Cameron? Or perhaps I should say Mr. Christian? I'm sorry."

"No, Cameron is fine. Why did you say that about mafia?"

"I'm not stupid. Why is it that all the men I run across think I'm stupid? You are carrying at least two guns on you right now. You have two men shadowing us, you really should let them come in and eat too. You've had men shadowing me ever since you brought me back to my apartment.

"I don't know how I keep drawing the attention of the mafia in whatever city I'm in, but I do."

At the end of her recital Cameron looks at her both with greater respect and now a touch wariness.

"Every city you are in you draw the attention of the mafia?"

"Completely unwilling I assure you."