Page 63 of In the Shadows

I move my eyes to Bishop, his own face ashen as he looks our girl up and down three times, as if reminding himself that she’s okay.

“Where the fuck were you?” I bellow.

Camilla flinches, her arms moving to cover her face defensively, and my chest seizes at the sight, at the fucking idea that she could be afraid of me.

How could she ever think I would hurt her?

Your reputation probably doesn’t help, I tell myself, but I force myself to stop a few feet away from them.

Bishop tucks her under his arm, and she folds herself into his arms, a rough sob cracking from her throat. “It’s okay, love. You’re okay.”

“What the hell happened?” I demand softly, forcing my voice to remain even despite how the monster inside me rattles the chains, begging to be released.

“I took Camilla out for ice cream. We took every precaution, but I just wanted to get her out of the house for a little while. On our way back, I noticed a guy following us, and he had to be dealt with.”

I glare at him before my eyes flick back to my little lamb in his arms. “You killed him?”

Bishop shakes his head slightly, and I stare at the back of the woman who has taken our lives by storm.

“I did,” she whispers.

“That’s why you’re upset?”

She shakes her head. “No. I don’t care about that,” she chokes. “It was the alley. Being cornered. It was like when Charles’s men trapped me, I couldn’t see past the flashbacks.”

My chest constricts at her admission, and I take careful steps toward them, desperate to feel her against me.

Once I’m within reach, Bishop turns her gently, and she immediately seeks comfort in my arms, her tears soaking through my T-shirt.

This is the first time she’s truly shown us her weakness. For weeks, she’s kept a brave face. She’s constantly shrugged off her trauma and made it seem like everything was okay. But not now.

I meet Bishop’s eyes over her shoulder, and he gives a gentle nod as if he can read my mind.

She trusts us. She wouldn’t be crying in our arms if she didn’t, and that thought makes the gaping hole in my chest feel a little more full.

If she trusts us, we might be able to convince her to stay. And then we’ll have it all.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

CAMILLA

In the arms of two of the most ruthless men in the city, I find my calm.

I don’t know how long we stand in the garage, Kovu’s arms wrapped around me so tight I can barely breathe, and Bishop brushing his fingers down any part of my body he can reach, but it’s the safest I think I’ve ever felt.

Objectively, I was safe at the manor I grew up in. There was a never-ending security presence, and my father would have gutted anyone who thought about harming me, but there was a part of me that always knew that could change at any moment.

But somehow, these two men have become my safe place. Hell, if I’m really honest with myself, I think I can safely include Crew in that category too. Not Kaos, though. He’d throw me to the wolves quicker than I could take my next breath.

The sound of the garage door lifting fills the space, and I freeze, my body turning rigid in their arms. Metal scrapes across itself, and a car engine grows closer to our three-way cuddle as I try to push them both away.

“Stay put, love,” Bishop whispers against my ear. “I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

“But—”

“But nothing,” Kovu rumbles. “Do as you’re told.”

My heart stutters in my chest at the command, but I immediately stop fighting them and allow their warmth to comfort me.

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