Page 27 of We Will Rise

It’s been in the works for a while, but every time we make any progress on it, our entire lives implode.

I slip the hand truck beneath the chest of drawers and check Bishop’s map of the room to see where it’s meant to be going before pushing it to the opposite side of the room and putting it in place.

I repeat the same process with the other three identical pieces of furniture before I consult the plans again. This was his idea, so he’s been extremely anal about how it’s being executed. If it wasn’t for how much he loves our girl, I’d probably mock him for it, but when I think about how happy this is going to make her, I push the need to make fun of Bishop to the back of my mind.

“Kovu?” Camilla’s voice carries down the hallway, and I stop in place.

Fuck.

She can’t come in here. Not yet.

But why would she? She’s never been in here before, so why would she think to come in here now?

I swallow heavily and quietly allow the hand truck to stand upright before I move toward the door.

“Kovu? Are you down here somewhere?” she calls again, worry etched into her tone, and guilt washes over me immediately.

She’s worried about me, which is only natural seeing as she thought she lost me just a few days ago. Of course, she’s concerned when she can’t find me.

“I’m sure he’s down in the gym, love,” Bishop placates.

“I checked there already. I’ve already checked everywhere.” Her voice wavers, and I can’t stand the sound. I can go toe to toe with every tough motherfucker on this godforsaken planet, but hearing my woman’s voice wobble with worry almost brings me to my knees.

I sigh and slip out of the room, quietly closing the door behind me in the hope she won’t hear it, but when I look up and I’m staring straight into her gray eyes, I know I’ve been caught red-handed.

“There you are,” she says, her eyes darting to the door behind me and back again. “What were you doing?”

I open my mouth to respond but quickly snap it shut again as I look to Bishop for assistance. “I was just cleaning up some of our old junk,” I say.

“Oh.” She flicks her eyes up to Bishop, who suddenly looks just as nervous as I do. If there’s anyone who can see through our lies, it’s Camilla.

“Come on, love. Let’s head into the office for a debrief. You know Crew’s going to tear me a new one for fucking up the mission.”

She purses her lips. “It wasn’t your fault. I wanted to kill Caleb just as badly as you did, and I’m sure Crew did as well.”

“I know better than to let my emotions get the best of me, love.”

“What the hell happened?” I ask, my brows pulling together in confusion. I fucking hate being left out of missions. I can’t wait not to be dead anymore.

“Bishop almost killed Caleb,” Crew answers as he joins us in the hallway, his gaze flicking to the closed door behind me before he pulls Camilla into his arms and breathes her in.

“Oh, you’re definitely in trouble,” I tell him. “When can I stop being dead?”

“Soon,” Crew promises. “I think I have an idea, but it has the potential of going to shit.”

“Oh goody, that’s what we need more of right now,” Camilla deadpans.

He chuckles and drops a kiss to her cheek. “Keep it up, Little Menace, I can always add to your punishment if you’d like.”

She glances over her shoulder at him. “You keep talking about this punishment, but I’m yet to see any indication you’re going to make good on it.”

A laugh escapes my throat. “Oh, Little Lamb, didn’t anyone ever tell you not to poke the bear?”

She smirks at me. “I thought that was only if you didn’t want to get bitten.”

“Brat,” Crew murmurs. “Come on, let’s go to my office and make a plan for how we’re going to end this.” He steers her down the hallway toward the offices, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I lean against the door.

“What the fuck were you thinking coming out of there when she was around?” he snaps.

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