Page 85 of We Will Rise

“I’m not going to make it,” she murmurs. “I’m dying. I can feel it.”

“You’re not dying, Camilla. You’re not dying.” My voice breaks, and I drop my face into her hair. “You’re not dying.”

“I am,” she whispers. “But that’s okay. Maybe it wouldn’t have been a few months ago. I had so much to do, so much to accomplish. But I didn’t realize that the thing I needed more than anything was to be loved. And I got that times four. I got everything I never knew I needed when I woke up inside the compound. And that makes this okay.” She nods against my chest as tears drip from her chin.

“It’s not okay.” I choke on the emotion wrapped around my throat. “I need you to hold on, Cami. I can get you out of here. I can get you to safety. To a doctor.”

“It’s too late.”

“It’s not,” I argue.

She takes an unsteady breath and winces as air fills her lungs. “It is, Crew. But I need you to do something for me. I need you to tell the others how much I love them. I need you to tell them that I wish we had more time, that I wish we could have had babies and a long life together, but that it’s okay that we can’t. Tell them I want them to be happy, and make sure they are. Keep them going. Keep Kovu from falling back into his old ways, and Kaos from shutting himself off, and Bishop from becoming cold and unfeeling. Please, Crew.”

Tears roll down my own cheeks as I hold her so tight I’m sure it hurts, but I can’t help it. If this is the last time I hold the woman who owns me mind, body and fucking soul, I’m going to make it count. “Okay,” I whisper. “I promise.”

“And help Luca. He never wanted the De Marco legacy, but it’s his now. He’ll keep it going, I know he will. I know he’ll do me and my dad proud.”

I nod. “He will. He’ll do a great job.”

“And I want you to live, Crew. Stop working yourself to the grave. Leave your office. See the world. Do something with all that money you’ve amassed over the years. Once the new generation takes over.” She coughs, and blood drips down her cheek. She presses her eyes closed before the dull gray meets mine again. “Once they take over, the Syndicate won’t have the same place it does now, so enjoy it. Enjoy life. For me.”

“Okay,” I choke even though I know it’ll be impossible. Once her heart stops beating, so will mine. I may continue to live. May continue to walk the earth. But I’ll be empty, devoid of anything good. But I’ll do the things I’m promising her. I’ll keep the others together, and I’ll make sure the De Marco legacy lives on. I’ll even travel and give up the Syndicate. But living will be out of the question once she’s gone.

Tears roll down her cheeks thick and fast as a sob escapes her and pain tugs at her features. “It hurts, Crew.”

“I know, Little Menace. I know it does.”

I tug her closer, lapping up what will be the last moments of her life and the last of mine as I know it. But then headlights bathe us in light, and I blink up at the group of vans that drive into the area.

It’s not until one of them is close enough for me to see the driver that I realize they’re ours.

Elias catches sight of us, and his face falls as he slams the van into park, and people start filing out of all four of them, but I drop my attention back to Camilla, who’s too still in my arms.

“You’ll get the chance to say goodbye yourself, Little Menace,” I choke as I hear three sets of footsteps sprinting toward us.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

BISHOP

My heart lodges in my throat when I see Crew holding a bleeding Camilla in his lap, tears rolling down his cheeks as he stares down at her, but then I see her chest rise.

I drop to my knees in front of them, and her gray eyes flick to mine, causing my entire body to relax a moment before I notice just how pale she is, how cold her skin is, and how much blood they’re both covered in.

“We need to get her to a hospital,” I rush out.

“It’s too late,” Camilla whispers.

“No, it’s not,” I snap as I try to pry her out of my father’s arms, but his hold on her is too tight.

“Bishop,” he croaks. “She’s lost too much blood.”

“No!” I shake my head. “We can save her. We have to save her.”

Kovu and Kaos drop down on either side of us, our bodies surrounding the woman who brought us back to life in so many ways, but I can’t tear my eyes off the two bleeding wounds in her torso. One looks like an older knife wound, while the other is definitely a gunshot.

“We need to go,” Kaos says, his voice eerily calm. “We need to try to save her.”

Camilla shakes her head. “I don’t want my final moments to be in a hospital. I want them to be surrounded by the four of you. I want you to be the last thing I see before I go.”

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