Page 5 of From the Ashes

“You mean the one that just burned down on the same night he came back from the dead?” Kovu snaps. “Yeah, I think it’s pretty safe to say.”

“We don’t know that,” Kaos argues. “We should reserve judgment until we’re absolutely sure.”

“Reserve judgment when he’s already taken responsibility for hurting Camilla?”

“She could be remembering it wrong. She’d just woken up from a head injury and a traumatic experience.” The woman in question stiffens in my arms, but I hold her tighter, not giving her the chance to run from me.

“Enough,” Bishop barks. He pushes himself to his feet at the same time he downs the rest of his drink, depositing the glass on the table. “I understand this is difficult to accept. We’re all just as shocked as each other. But this is what he wants. He wants to tear us apart. That’s why he would have gone after Camilla in the first place, because she’s our vulnerability, the thing that would hurt us most.”

I want to believe my brother would never hurt us just the same way Kaos does, but I’m a realist. I’ve had to be to get us where we are today. It wasn’t sunshine and rainbows that helped us climb to the top, it was blood and determination and sacrifice.

I hold Camilla against me tighter, ignoring the pain that tugs at my chest as the reality of the situation washes over me.

Not only is my brother alive, but he’s trying to destroy everything he helped build.

CHAPTER FOUR

CAMILLA

Truthfully, I’m not sure who needs me most right now. Every time I comfort one of them, another begins to crack, and I’m just as close to the edge as they are.

I knew his eyes were familiar because they’re so much like Kaos’s. The inky black darkness that seems almost otherworldly. How could I not put the pieces together?

Maybe because you thought he was dead, just like everyone else, I reason with myself, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. If I’d put the pieces together earlier, maybe we could have been saved from some of this pain.

My heart has been lodged in my throat since Kaos and I came face-to-face with the man I now know as Caleb, and I can’t see it unlodging itself anytime soon.

I peel myself away from Crew and move to Kaos, perching on his knee as soon as he makes room for me.

“So we think it’s safe to assume that it was Caleb who put the hit out on Cami?” Kovu asks, and Kaos immediately tenses.

I run my hand down his thick arm in comforting passes, but I doubt it’ll be enough to soothe him right now. I don’t think there’s anything that could.

“I think so,” Crew says as he rejoins us, collapsing into his seat and immediately burying his face in his hands. “It makes sense. He would know Scott and Michael are too dumb to keep their mouths shut about his return, so he uses them to do the dirty work while simultaneously keeping his identity a secret.”

“And the casino and fight club? We’ve been watching the footage for weeks, wouldn’t we have noticed my dad if he were there?” Kaos asks, holding me tight against his chest, and I drop my head to his shoulder, soaking in his warmth.

“It explains Eric at the fight club,” Kovu muses. “Caleb knew him for just as long as you did. He must have a similar in at the casino.”

Bishop groans and refills his glass before swallowing it in a few quick gulps. I’ve never seen any of them drink like this, but even I feel like I could use another shot or five after what happened tonight.

“Our entire operation is compromised. Every single part of our business, he knows. Every single person who works for us knows him. Every member of the five families knows him. Without clearing house, we’re fucked.”

“Just so we’re clear, you think my dad has purposely been trying to sabotage us? What reason would he have to try to tear something down that he helped to build?” Kaos forces the question out through gritted teeth as the tension in his body grows by the second. I don’t think he’d ever hurt me on purpose, but I can already tell by the way he’s holding onto me that he’s going to leave bruises.

Silence falls over the room for long seconds, and my heart lodges itself in my throat as I wait for someone, anyone, to respond, but no one seems to have an answer.

“Until we can prove otherwise, I think we need to assume Caleb has something to do with issues we’ve been having over the last few months. Perhaps he’s not the ringleader, but there are too many coincidences for my liking,” Crew says. “I also will not risk Camilla by writing the things he’s said to her off as anything other than a threat.”

Kaos surges to his feet, and I barely catch myself on my heels before I fall, but Bishop is there, grasping me around the shoulders to hold me steady.

“Kaos,” he snaps.

“No, this is fucking bullshit, and you all know it. You’re accusing my father of intentionally hurting our girl. You’re accusing him of setting the fucking fight club on fire and stealing from the casino. I’m not going to just sit here and listen to this.” He moves toward the door, his body wound so tight I have little doubt he’s heading straight to the gym to take out his frustrations on the punching bags.

“We’re not done here,” Crew growls.

“I am.” He’s gone before any of us can get another word out, and I slump against Bishop, exhaustion seeping into my bones.

---