Page 37 of In the Shadows

I open my mouth to respond, but before I can, Bishop walks into the room, his eyes downcast on his phone as he mutters something to himself.

“Son,” Crew greets him, and Bishop looks up with surprise.

His eyes move over his father and then me, where he pauses with a knowing smile. If the warmth moving through my whole body is anything to go by, I’m pretty sure I’m as red as a fucking tomato right now.

“Hey, Dad. What are you doing in here?”

“Just visiting with Camilla.” He smirks down at me, and my eyes widen at how playful he seems right now. “She’s looking a lot better.”

Bishop moves to stand beside me, his fingers brushing down my arm in a familiar touch. Ever since the day he allowed me to sit in the living room, he’s been allowing himself more touches, and I’ve come to crave them. “She is.” He pushes a dark lock from my face. “Almost as good as new.”

The reminder that my days here are numbered is like a bucket of ice water, and I immediately push myself from the stool, putting some distance between me and the two men who seem to captivate my every waking thought.

I can’t allow myself to lose sight of what’s important.

Getting out of here alive.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CREW

She’s under my skin.

But what’s worse?

I don’t hate it.

It’s dangerous as hell, and my affections for the girl could be our downfall, but it doesn’t seem to matter how much distance I force between us, I’m still drawn to her, even if I’ll only allow myself to get as close as to watch her on the cameras.

I lean back in my desk chair and bring my glass of whiskey to my lips, relishing in the burn as it moves through my body. I don’t drink to get drunk, I never did, but right now the burn is keeping me from marching into Camilla’s room and taking her the way I crave.

One taste wasn’t enough, but it’s more than I should have afforded myself.

I never should have touched her. It wasn’t part of the plan.

But it’s too late now.

Kovu wanders into my office without pausing to knock, but at this point all three of these assholes think they own every room and just waltz in wherever the hell they want.

“Morning, Daddy Crew,” he chimes, and my eye twitches at the nickname. I’ve always hated it, but never more than I have the last few weeks, as if the reminder that I’m old enough to be Camilla’s father is going to squash all the images that run through my mind when I think of her.

“Kovu,” I grind out, throwing back the rest of the amber liquid to give me strength to make it through this conversation.

“You’re in a particularly bad mood this evening.”

“It’s getting worse by the second,” I mutter, refilling my drink without bothering to offer him one. Kovu has never been much of a drinker, perhaps a beer here and there, but he already feels out of control more often than not, and he doesn’t like that alcohol amplifies that.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist. I come with some interesting information from Noah.”

“Thorne?” I ask, leaning forward and propping my elbows on my solid oak desk.

He nods. “The very one. He said that when Charles called his father to try to set up a meeting and was hung up on, he then called Noah. He seemed to think he may be able to appeal to the younger generation when the old were turning him down.”

I rub my hand down my face and groan. I shouldn’t be surprised. Charles is smack dab in the middle of the age range of bosses we have in the city. We have the older generation, which are the current leaders, all over fifty and set in their ways. Then there are the leaders in training. Ranging from thirty to eighteen, Camilla being the youngest. And then there’s Charles, who’s my age. Thirty-eight and the biggest fucking pain in my ass.

The issue is that he has no obvious heirs to give his throne to when we wipe him off the face of the planet. No siblings that we’re aware of, only an illegitimate cousin. So the line of succession may end with him, and that’s never a pretty sight because the other families will want the territory.

His cousin is his right-hand man and isn’t a complete asshole, so he’s probably going to be our best bet despite his shaky legitimacy, but we’ll have to vet him to make sure he’s not as loyal to his cousin as Davenport probably likes to think he is.

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