Page 67 of We Will Rise

Crew takes Camilla’s hand and tugs her toward the tunnels we’ve never shown her. No one knows about them, not even Caleb. It wasn’t long after he died that we decided we needed an alternative route out of here, and I’m really fucking glad we made that decision.

Through the smoke, I see her tug against his hold, likely because she doesn’t want to leave us, but she has to. While she’s here, she’s a liability. We can’t think straight if she’s in danger, so our best bet is getting her out so we can do what we do best.

I watch for a moment as Crew drags her further from us, and even though I know she’ll be safer outside these walls, I can’t stand the idea of not being able to see her.

Kovu nudges me, and I tear my eyes away from the direction they went, not wanting to alert anyone to the secret passage that looks like something straight out of a spy novel.

A figure appears through the smoke a few feet in front of me, and I don’t hesitate to lift my gun and pop off two shots into their chest. I don’t give a fuck who I’m killing so long as they’re no longer a threat to my family.

“I don’t like this,” Bishop murmurs from behind me.

“Let’s make a break for it,” Kovu says.

I nod. It’s unlikely they’ll keep looking for Camilla and Crew if they’re chasing us, but the smoke is already clearing, which means our window is limited.

Before I can second guess myself, I lead us toward the side door of the garage, popping off shots whenever I see a threat, the same way Kovu and Bishop do.

My first gun runs out of ammo too quickly, and I change over to the other one I have tucked into the back of my sweatpants while Kovu covers me.

The smoke finally fades as we approach the door, and when we turn around, there are no less than fifteen guys that we’ve taken down along our way, but the satisfaction I normally get from the kill is absent. I can’t think about how much I love the carnage when Camilla and Crew are separated from us, and we won’t know if they’re okay until we can reach the rendezvous point on the other side of the city.

There are no men left in the garage, meaning they’ve either moved further into the compound, or they’re waiting outside, so we take a second to check our guns, and when I get the all clear from both of them, I fling the door open.

There are three men on the other side, all of whom are dead before they can think to lift their own weapons, and then we’re sprinting in the opposite direction to where the tunnel exits at the back of a nearby laundromat we bought with the sole intention of it being the other end of the secret passage.

We run for a few blocks before we finally slow down, taking a moment to check our surroundings for anyone following us, but there’s no one.

“Let’s get to the safe house,” Bishop says, and I nod.

The sooner we get there, the sooner I’ll be sure our girl is okay.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

CAMILLA

Crew’s hand in mine is tight as he pulls me down a set of stairs and through a door I’ve never noticed before, but admittedly, I haven’t spent that much time down here apart from to torture people.

Another two doors and a set of stairs later, and we’re in what appears to be a tunnel. Thick concrete surrounds us, but from how many steps we’ve taken down, I assume we’re somewhere underground.

Crew doesn’t pause, always pulling me along with one hand and his gun trained in front of him with the other.

Panic claws at my chest, but I try to swallow it down.

We’re going to be okay.

Everything is going to be okay.

Everyone will be okay.

I repeat the same words over and over again, but it doesn’t seem to matter how many times they run through my mind, the panic never fades.

This is what my dad was talking about. Love makes you weak. He knew because his love for my mother almost destroyed him when he died. Their marriage wasn’t arranged the way his parents would have liked, and that meant there were real feelings involved, and when she died, his emotions died with her.

But when I think about what my life would be like without the love of the four men who have stolen my heart, all I see is darkness. In just a few months, they’ve become the sun that lights me up from the inside out, and I can’t even think of them not being by my side.

“It’s going to be okay,” Crew assures me, but I don’t miss the tension in his voice. He doesn’t know that. In fact, if recent history is anything to go by, we probably aren’t going to be okay at all, but I push that to the back of my mind and allow him to guide me down the dark tunnel.

I can barely see five feet in front of me, and it’s a pretty tight space, so I thank my lucky stars I’m not scared of the dark or claustrophobic because this would be really painful if I was.

---