Page 18 of From the Ashes

Another figure appears in the scene, and my breath hitches.

The first person rounds my dad’s desk, dragging what appears to be a knife over the dark mahogany I spent so many hours at while he taught me everything there was to know about running a Mafia family.

It’s not until they reach his chair that they finally look toward the camera, and my entire world goes quiet. The sounds of the city outside the windows drifts away, and my breath stutters in my chest.

“Say hi to the devil for me.” Kovu grins manically as he slides what I’ve learned to be his favorite knife across my father’s throat.

I can’t breathe.

Panic beats down on me as the video ends, and I’m left staring at a blank screen.

Kovu killed my dad.

I force my eyes closed and take a deep breath into my lungs. I can fall apart later, but right now, I need to get out of here.

They played me for a fool, and I have no one to blame but myself.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CREW

The apartment is still quiet when I roll over and almost fall off the damn couch I spent the night curled up on. Every single one of us is too big to sleep on this damn thing, but when Camilla fell asleep against Kovu’s chest at the table last night, he and Bishop took off for the bedroom like their asses were on fire.

Lucky assholes. Even if that mattress is full of sharp springs and they could probably feel the slats beneath, they still got to cuddle up with Camilla all night.

The air mattress on the other side of the room groans as Kaos moves. Seeing him get on that thing last night almost made up for the fact we’ve been forced out of our home and not one piece of real estate we own is safe for us right now. Almost.

The bedroom door clicks open, and Kovu stumbles out, wearing nothing but a pair of low-hanging sweatpants. He never used to walk around shirtless, always preferring to keep the scars on his chest covered, but now I’m hard-pressed to get a shirt on the guy.

The Camilla effect.

He looks around and frowns on a yawn before turning to the bathroom which is dark, and the door is wide open.

“Where’s Cami?” he asks, an edge of worry in his voice.

“She was in with you guys,” I say as I sit up on the edge of the couch and stretch my shoulders back. I’m going to need a chiropractor if I have to spend another night on this thing. Or maybe I’ll snag the bed and our girl tonight.

“No, she’s not.” He shakes his head, his wild blue eyes darting around the small space as if there’s anywhere else she could be. The place was small when the five of us lived here, and it’s still small as fuck now.

A bolt of worry strikes through my chest, but I try to shove it down. There’s probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for where she could be. Perhaps she’s taking a call in the hallway or she ran down to the corner shop for something for breakfast. Either of those things will result in her over my knee getting a spanking for not taking one of us with her, but still, both are very reasonable options.

Kovu stalks across the apartment until he reaches the kitchen, and he stills, his gaze focused on something on the bench.

“What is it?” Kaos yawns as he rubs at his eyes.

“She’s gone,” he whispers.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” I snap, shoving myself out of my seat and closing the distance between us in quick, measured steps.

It’s not until my eyes fall on what Kovu’s are locked on. It’s Camilla’s phone, and there appears to be a video playing on loop.

“Is that what I think it is?” I force through gritted teeth.

He doesn’t respond immediately, but when a dark figure steps into John De Marco’s office with a knife in his hand, I have my answer.

“This footage was deleted,” I growl.

Kovu swallows as he opens his mouth to say something, but Kaos’s cursing distracts us both from the security footage I know Wyatt deleted an hour after Kaos and Kovu left the De Marco mansion.

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