Page 20 of Shadow

“Let me talk to Fernando in person at least. Just the two of us. I’ll make him understand that my place is here with you,” she finally said.

Shadow didn’t like the idea. From what little Camilla had told him about her brother, it sounded like he was a control freak, and who knew what lies Jake had fed him about them?

Camilla must have sensed his skepticism because she touched his arm.

“I know I painted my brother as unreasonable and demanding, but I know there’s some good left in him. I’ll convince him that I won’t be a liability to him because I’ll be safe here with you,” she said.

Shadow couldn’t shake off the unease that settled in his gut. The thought of Camilla facing her brother alone, especially after everything they had just gone through, made him anxious. His first thought was to outright refuse, to convince her this was a crazy idea. Camilla wasn’t thinking straight if she really thought this would work.

Then he remembered that she lived most of her life with someone constantly hovering over her shoulder and telling her what she could and couldn’t do. If Shadow told her no, that he’d handle this on his own, he’d be no better than her brother.

Camilla decided to stay in Hanging Grove in the first place, because she wanted to experience the freedom to make her own choices for the first time in the life. He wasn’t going to deny her this, even it meant risking her life.

“Are you sure about this?” Shadow asked. “I don’t like the idea of you meeting him alone.”

Camilla grasped his hand. “I understand your worries, but I need to do this,” she insisted. “Fernando is my brother, and I owe him this much. I’ll make him see reason, I promise.”

Reluctantly, he nodded. “All right,” he said. “But I can’t just let you waltz in there. We need a secondary plan, in case things go south.”

****

Shadow watched the rhythmic rise and fall of Camilla’s chest as she slept peacefully. After their conversation, she had drifted off. He was just about to follow suit when an urgent knock jolted him awake.

“Coming,” he whispered, not wanting to disturb Camilla.

Gently untangling himself from her, he quietly slipped out of bed. After putting his jeans and shirt on, he opened the door to find Rooster standing there, his expression troubled.

Shadow closed the door behind him. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Trouble?”

“Breaker wants to see you in his office. He didn’t seem happy,” Rooster responded. “Shadow, did you do something to anger him?”

“It’s probably about Camilla,” Shadow replied, his mind racing with possibilities.

Rooster’s confusion was evident. “Camilla?” he questioned. “What about her?”

Shadow placed a comforting hand on Rooster’s shoulder. Though he trusted him, he wasn’t ready to involve him in this mess if it wasn’t necessary.

“I’ll explain later,” Shadow assured him.

After taking a deep breath, he made his way to Breaker’s office. Standing in front of the boss’s door, he took a deep breath before knocking.

Shadow entered the room, closing the door behind him. Breaker’s scowl deepened as he eyed Shadow, clearly not in the mood for pleasantries.

Without offering him a seat, Breaker got straight to the point. “I just received an interesting call from Fernando Hernandez,” Breaker said. Shadow’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Fernando’s name.

“What does he want?” Shadow asked, attempting to play it cool. In hindsight, he realized it was a bad idea.

Breaker’s gaze bore into him. “He demands we release his sister. Says he’ll go to war with us if she isn’t returned,” Breaker stated.

Shadow realized he owed Breaker and the MC an explanation. They were his family and they deserved to know about his and Camilla’s situation.

“He’s talking about Camilla,” Shadow said. “I didn’t mean to keep this information from you. I only found out the truth today.”

Breaker’s eyes narrowed, but he remained silent. Shadow couldn’t discern whether this was a good or bad sign.

“Start from the beginning,” Breaker instructed, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk. Shadow took a seat and told Breaker all he knew.

“Do you know why Fernando’s right-hand man was in town today? He was a potential client,” Breaker stated.

---