Page 3 of They Will Burn

The moment I stand and her warmth is no longer pressed against me, regret begins seeping in. What the fuck am I doing?

Knox clears his throat. The man of little words isn’t someone I deal with a lot in our respective roles in our organizations, but if I’m honest, I don’t think he’s spoken more than a total of ten words to me in all these years.

He begins walking toward the door, and I follow him, but every step away from Camilla is harder to take. I’ve made a mistake, but there’s nothing I can do now. It’s done, and nothing I do or say can take it back.

Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for this family.

But what if what I’ve done is the thing that will bring us to our knees in the end?

CHAPTER TWO

KOVU

The brakes let out a protesting squeal as I bring the car to an abrupt halt, panic beating heavy in my chest. In the time it took Crew and I to get back across town, the security system has come back up, but there’s no sign of Camilla.

It’s likely a waste of time coming here at all, but I have to make sure. I have to know.

Crew barks orders into his phone, but the tension in his shoulders is so tight that I’m beginning to worry he’s going to snap something.

“I don’t fucking care!” he shouts. “Get me the fucking footage. Now.”

He hangs up the phone, and we both climb from the car, not bothering to shut off the engine. There’s a good chance we’re not staying.

The garage is dark and quiet, but I don’t bother reaching for the light switch. When you’ve spent your life lurking in the shadows, you get good at navigating the dark.

Crew is on my heels as we move toward the door that leads to the main part of the complex, but a crunch beneath my foot makes me pause, and he slams straight into me.

“What is it?” he asks.

I reach up and flick on the switch, and what stares back at me makes my stomach revolt in disgust and panic.

An empty syringe is shattered beneath my foot, and all at once, the monster I desperately try to hide from the world rears his ugly head. An inhuman sound escapes my throat a moment before I slam my fist into the concrete wall. But I don’t feel pain. I don’t feel anything other than blinding panic.

Davenport has my little lamb, I know it in my fucking blackened soul that he has her.

“Kovu…” Crew starts, but my fist is already sailing toward the wall a second time.

“One of them took her to them,” I roar, blood dripping down my fingers as I move to punch the wall for a third time, only for Crew to tug me backward.

“We’ll get her back,” he promises. But we both know he has no right to make that promise, not when we have no fucking clue what happened.

All we know is she’s gone.

I knew I shouldn’t have left her tonight. I had a bad fucking feeling about the mission, but I went along with it. I agreed to go with them as an extra line of defense, but all I can think about is how if I’d been here, she never would have been taken. She’d still be here with me. She’d be in my arms, where she belongs.

“She’s gone,” I croak. Emotions I’ve never felt overwhelm me, and I let them take me. I allow them to wash over me, to ruin me, just like Camilla did.

Crew’s phone rings and one of his arms drops from around me, allowing my body to crumple to the ground. It’s been a long fucking time since I’ve felt like this.

Worthless.

Broken.

Alone.

But there’s one thing I know for sure. There’s nothing I won’t do to bring my little lamb home. I don’t care if I have to tear this fucking city to the ground, I’ll do it with a smile if it means I have her back in my arms.

CHAPTER THREE

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