Page 17 of In the Shadows

I cross my arms across my chest and lean back against the pillows. At least I have the luxury of sitting up now. For the first few days, the only time I was allowed to sit up was when I was eating, but Kovu conceded yesterday that lying flat on my back all day every day was doing nothing for my recovery. That’s about all I’ve worked out about them. If I want something, Kovu is most likely to give it to me. I wouldn’t say he’s easy to sway by any means, but he seems to care the most about what I want. Bishop does too, to a certain extent, at least, but he likes the fight. I don’t need to know the man to know that. He enjoys riling me up. He enjoys seeing me get frustrated with him. And he’s going to enjoy the shit out of me whenever I detonate like a goddamn atomic bomb.

A body by the door drags my attention away from the handsome man who has barely left my bedside, and I sigh in irritation. Great. Kaos is here to glare at me for a few hours.

“Don’t look so happy to see me, Princess,” he says, the contempt in his dark eyes matching my own.

“I’m just super excited for you to glare at me and then storm off in a huff. Can’t you tell?”

Bishop chuckles beside me, but I refuse to break eye contact with Kaos. He’s used to people looking away. He’s brutal. The way he looks, the way he acts, his personality. He lives his life with brutality, and the way he treats me isn’t any different. But I refuse to bow down to him. If he thinks I’m some weak little Mafia princess, he’s sorely mistaken.

“Didn’t get enough beauty sleep, Princess?” The nickname falling from his lips is condescending, and it makes me want to launch myself from this bed and wipe the smug look off his handsome face. That’s the worst part about Kaos, is that although he’s terrifying and imposing, he’s so damn good-looking it almost hurts. They all are in their own way, but there’s something about him that’s called to me from the moment I locked eyes with him. And I fucking hate it.

“I’d almost say I’ve had too much,” I snap.

“She’s getting a bit of cabin fever, I’m afraid,” Bishop interjects. “Rogers said she should start getting up for walks every few hours.”

“Absolutely not,” Kaos barks.

“Crew said he wanted her to have a clean bill of health, and Rogers said the only way he’s giving that is if she can start walking around more than this small room.”

“Wait a minute. You’re telling me that you assholes are still insisting on carrying me to the fucking toilet when the doctor said I should be walking myself?” Do they not understand how mortifying it is to have someone physically sit you on the toilet? Of course they don’t. Men like the Legion have never allowed anyone to do anything for them. That’s why they are the way they are. Assholes.

“She’s not ready,” Kaos argues.

I fold my arms over my chest and huff out a sigh. “You’re not a doctor.”

“As much fun as watching the two of you bicker is, I have to get going.” Bishop pushes himself to his feet and closes the distance to the bed. “Be good for Kaos, love.” He leans down and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead. It’s not the first time he’s done it, but each time it has butterflies fluttering in my belly despite itself. I shouldn’t like it when he touches me, when any of them touch me, but I do, and as much as I hate to admit it, I’m beginning to crave their touch.

Wait a minute, what did he just say? “You’re leaving me with him?”

“Sorry to be such a disappointment, Princess,” Kaos grumbles.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t need a babysitter. I can barely walk, I’m hardly a flight risk right now.”

Bishop sighs and scrubs his hands down his face. “We know you’re not a flight risk, love, but Rogers said it’s best we continue to monitor you until you can get around on your own.” He steps around the bed and stops beside Kaos. “Be nice to her. She’s still injured, and I don’t want her riled up when I get back.”

“She is right here,” I snap.

Bishop looks over his shoulder with a smirk. “Something tells me I should have been telling her to go easy on you.” And without another word, he strolls from the room, leaving me alone with a man who so clearly despises me. Awesome.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CREW

It’s not often I accompany Bishop on this kind of business, but today I had to make an exception. Kovu had to take care of something at the fight club, and someone had to stay with Camilla, which left me to go to the meet with him.

It wasn’t always like this. We used to do a lot of business together, but things changed when my brother died. The entire operation fell on my shoulders, and I had no choice but to take the brunt of it.

“What did he say he wants this time?” I ask. Davenport is causing us a lot more issues than I would like, and much more than I would normally allow.

“He’s contesting the De Marco territory. He thinks it’s rightfully his because he was due to marry Camilla. It doesn’t seem to matter to him that she never actually walked down the aisle, and therefore he doesn’t have any actual claim on it.”

The way he says her name makes me pause. I haven’t seen him much since the altercation in the hallway, mainly because he’s always with our little houseguest, and I’m doing everything in my power to stay as far away from her as I can manage. The feelings she dredges up are unfamiliar, and I can’t allow myself to succumb to them. Not when we’re already balancing our interests and holding on to our position in the city by a thread. Things have been shifting for the last few years. Where the families were fine to have someone have their back a few years ago, to have us around to ensure the deals they made through went seamlessly and to take care of their enemies if they stepped out of line, that’s been changing, and with each day that passes, we get closer to losing our role as gatekeepers of the underworld. So, my fascination with Camilla De Marco can’t be allowed to get in the way, and the only way to avoid that is to stay as far away from her as I can manage.

“Who has taken possession in Camilla’s absence?”

“Her uncle. He’s a fucking idiot, and without Cami in the picture, he’s going to run the territory into the ground. All the things that worked when his brother was in power, he’s completely stepped away from in favor of shit he has no business messing with.”

There’s a lot to unpack in what he’s just told me, a lot of issues on the horizon if the De Marco territory isn’t led properly. But that’s not what my mind homes in on. “Cami?” I raise my brows. Bishop has done nothing to hide his obvious affections for the girl, but it’s clear his feelings are deeper than I anticipated.

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