Page 130 of Theirs to Rule

I ducked behind Kage's car just as all hell broke loose. Bullets rained down from all sides. Screams of pain and roars of anger were barely audible as the car was riddled with bullets.

A shout of pain screamed out next to me. My heart hammered against my ribs, each beat a loud echo in the sudden quiet that followed the storm of bullets.

The rival club—they had come out of nowhere, engines roaring like beasts hungry for blood. And just as quickly as they had descended upon us, they left, the night swallowing the sound of their departure.

“They took Kage!” I heard Dante choke out. I followed the sound of his voice. "Dante!" I crawled to where he lay motionless, a dark stain spreading beneath him. "Shit, Dante, talk to me."

But he must have passed out because he didn’t answer. Panic clawed at my throat, raw and fierce. Camille couldn’t lose him or Kage. It would kill her.

Nearby, I saw Vance, a grimace of pain etched deep into his features as he clutched his side. Talon was next to him, already on his phone, his voice steady as he called for help. "Hang in there," he was telling Vance, but his eyes met mine and I could see the worry in his expression.

I studied Dante’s wounds more closely. It looked like he’d been shot in the shoulder. I wasn’t sure why he was passed out but…

"I've got to go after Kage," I said, the words ripped from somewhere deep inside me.

Talon nodded, understanding immediately. "We'll handle things here." He reached toward his back, pulled out a gun, and held it out to me. I took it, then sprinted to where Dante's bike was parked, the keys still in the ignition as if he'd known I'd need it. Swinging my leg over, I fired it up, the engine roaring to life under me. For a moment, I allowed myself to feel it—the raw power between my legs, the wind that promised speed, escape, pursuit.

Then I was tearing down the street, following the fading echoes of the rival club's departure. My mind raced, trying to piece together their likely route, where they might be taking Kage. Anger boiled inside me, hot and fierce, a burning desire for retribution fueling my ride.

As the city lights blurred past, the reality of our situation hit me. We were in deep, way over our heads in a game that was played for keeps. Dante injured, possibly critically, Vance wounded, Kage kidnapped by a fucking rival club for an unknown reason, but the only thing that made sense was that the rival MC had to be tied to the missing kids.

To Camille’s father. To Silas and Troy and my parents.

Fuck, what the hell was going on? And would we survive to find out?

Chapter 57

Camille

Ibarely registered the phone buzzing on the table next to me, lost in a book I was pretending to read while Elise doodled on her sketchpad as the TV blared an episode of The Office. Glancing at the phone screen, I didn't recognize the number but felt a ripple of unease—calls from unknown numbers had never been the bearers of good news lately.

I answered, my voice as steady as I could make it. "Hello?"

"It's Talon," came the reply, his voice like gravel. "There was a shootout, Dante's hurt, taken to the hospital. Kage was taken by the shooters. Ty went after him."

I shot to my feet. The room spun, and I grabbed at the couch to steady myself. “Dante?—”

“We don’t know how bad it is yet.”

I closed my eyes, feeling sick. I thought of Dante, his blue eyes, his smile, his words of love. God, please don’t do this to me. Please don’t let me lose him.

"Were Ty and Kage hurt?" I managed to choke out, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Alive when I last saw them," he replied.

Elise was by my side now, her small hand slipping into mine, a silent show of support. She knew how much I cared about these guys. I couldn’t lose them, I couldn’t...

"Why would they take Kage?" I demanded, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

"If they know who he is—head of the Irish mafia—he'd be worth a lot to them.”

"And you're going after them?" I pressed, my grip on the phone tightening.

"My men are down, Camille. I've got to see to them. Can't send reinforcements just yet.”

Panic fluttered in my chest, wild and uncontrollable. "Then how are we going to find them?"

I remembered then, a conversation not long ago, when we'd agreed that if the guys could track me, I wanted the ability to track them too. Dante had fiddled with my phone, but had he implemented the trackers on their phones yet?

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