Page 39 of From the Ashes

She approaches Caleb, her hands out, as she appears to try to calm him down. Never have I wished we had sound on these damn cameras than right now. Maybe I’ll speak to Wyatt about getting them installed.

He’s angry, but not at her, which makes me question what it is that he’d be mad about. There was nothing going on around that time within the Syndicate, not that I know of at least, and from my recollection, there was no tension between us in the days leading up to his death.

When he wraps his arms around her and drags her against his chest, kissing her passionately, I swear we all stop breathing.

As far as I knew, Bianca wasn’t involved with Caleb, only with the four of us. He never had the same interest in sharing that we did, and he said he wasn’t interested in the woman he brought into our lives.

But that seems suspicious now. Why would he be the one to introduce a woman to us when he wanted no involvement in our relationships?

“Motherfucker,” Bishop curses as he leans forward, dropping his elbows to his knees. “Were they together?”

“Not that I knew of,” I tell him before flicking my eyes at Kaos and Kovu, who look equally as surprised as we are.

When they finally break apart, she looks up at him with something I know for a fact she never looked at us with.

Love.

Which begs the question: just how long has Caleb been trying to take us down?

I assumed it was only since the issues started at the fight club and the casino, but does it date back to before he died?

Caleb turns and picks something up from the bedside table before handing it to Bianca.

She shakes her head, tears falling against her cheeks as she steps away from the gun he’s holding out to her.

The longer we watch the scene unfold, the more certain I get that everything we’ve believed for the last three years has been a lie.

There’s a scuffle, and I hold my breath as Bianca desperately tries to drop the gun, but Caleb won’t let her. He’s yelling something, but the footage is too grainy to read his lips.

“What’s he saying?” Kovu asks no one in particular, but I just shake my head, unable to drag my attention from the screen.

Seconds tick by, and I can’t help but wonder how long it is before I rush in. Surely I would have heard them fighting, but the offices are on the other side of that floor, so maybe I wouldn’t have. Maybe I don’t hear them until the gun goes off. Most of that day is a blur now, and I can’t quite grasp on to the memory of how things played out immediately before I rushed in.

Bianca steps back with the gun gripped loosely in her hands as she shakes her head. Her tears are falling so hard I doubt she can see through them, and her entire body trembles.

She looks over her shoulder to the door, but he shouts something at her that has her attention snapping back to him.

I lean forward, trying desperately to read his lips, but he’s talking too fast as he paces back and forth before turning to face her.

And that’s when I can finally make out what he’s saying.

Do it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

BISHOP

I’m way too fucking tired to be watching the scene that’s unfolding in front of me, and yet I can’t tear my eyes off the screen.

Caleb shouts at Bianca again, and even though there’s no sound on the video, his words come through just as loud as if there were.

Do it.

He’s demanding she shoot him, which means everything we’ve known, everything we thought, was all a lie.

And more than that, it was a lie constructed by the man we mourned. This was all part of his plan, and we’re about ten steps behind him because we had no fucking clue any of this was happening.

Bianca tries to drop the gun again, but he lunges forward and repositions it in her hands. He holds it in place, and they remain like that for long seconds. Him shouting at her, and her shaking her head. She doesn’t want to do it, but she doesn’t think she has a choice.

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