Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 574

When she picked up the call, Camila’s voice was urgent. “Dennis Williams, do you know where Lillian is? How is she? Is she okay?”

Dennis’s deep, reassuring voice came through, as calm and gentle as ever. “Hey, don’t worry. She’s still in the guest room. I told her to lock the door and not let the Smiths in. I’ve got someone on the way to her now. They’ll bring her to you later.”

Camila trusted Dennis—if he said he’d handle it, she believed him. But still, she pressed, “How did she sound when she called you? Did anything seem off? Did they… do anything to her?”

Dennis tried to reassure her, “She’s alright, I promise. She was scared—new place, a bunch of strangers, and the Smiths gave her a hard time, so she got upset and cried a little. But when she called me for help, I talked her through it. She’s okay now.”

He continued, “I told you guys to back off for now so the Smiths would drop their guard. Makes it easier for my people to get her out. If we made a big scene, Lillian could get spooked, or worse—someone could get hurt.”

Camila felt a wave of relief wash over her. At the same time, her heart ached for little Lillian.

“She must’ve been terrified, getting snatched up like that. I just can’t believe she called you first. No wonder I couldn’t get through to her earlier.” Camila let out a half-laugh, half-sigh.

Dennis chuckled. “She’s got good instincts. Maybe you should take a page out of her book—instead of always trying to handle things yourself. You never call me when you’re in trouble, Camila.”

His voice was so gentle that her heart skipped a beat. She hurried to explain, “It’s not on purpose! I just figured, you know, you’re all the way over in Texas. Didn’t want to bother you with things you can’t fix from that far away.”

Dennis cut in smoothly, “So you called Mr. Wilson instead? I had Aaron hack into the Smiths’ security cameras. Saw him looking out for you.”

Camila suddenly felt like a kid caught sneaking cookies before dinner. They hadn’t even talked about taking their relationship further, but somehow she felt…guilty?

She cleared her throat and said stiffly, “Walter’s a friend, and honestly, in Harrisburg, he’s about the only one I could turn to.”

Dennis didn’t argue. His voice had a hint of something deeper, “Right. Well, I’ll have to thank him personally sometime.”

Camila’s heart started pounding again, and she had no idea how to respond.

Sensing her discomfort, Dennis laughed softly. “Relax, I’m not upset. But next time something happens, I want you to call me first. Doesn’t matter if I’m across the country. I’ll always have your back.”

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