Page 98 of Theirs to Rule

“She called us. Both me and Kage.”

“She’s pissed at all of us,” Kage snarled. “You should have told her about you selling drugs to Devil’s Outcasts weeks ago."

“She would’ve hated me for it,” Dante muttered.

“She hates you more finding out this way,” I snapped, my own anger flaring. “And now you’ve pushed her away from all of us.”

“We need to find her, and we need to find her now," Kage said. "I'll start by calling around—Simone, Bianca, maybe even her dad."

"I’ll check the lookout and a few other places she might be," Dante said.

“I’ve got somewhere I can check too,” I said.

After I ended the call, I headed to where it began for us here in Crimsonvale—the same place that had ended Kage's sister and started this whole fucking mess. I jogged along the path to the river, keeping an eye out for Camille. There was nobody around. The silence was deafening, the cool air sending a chill through my body. I imagined Ava’s spirit hovering over me, drippingwet and dead-eyed like she’d been when I'd pulled her from the water. But all I cared about was finding Camille. I needed to know she was okay.

I stopped suddenly, staring at the dirt track beneath me. There were footprints, small enough to be Camille’s. But what worried me was the second set of footprints, which were much larger. With the rain last night, I knew both sets of prints had to be recent. Was someone following her? I sped up, jogging through the thick scrub, calling out her name. Just as I was starting to lose hope, I spotted her ahead of me, sitting by the river.

Relief crashed through me as I took her in. She was sitting with her back to me, near the water’s edge, in the exact spot where I’d tried to resuscitate Ava. I walked toward her, feeling her pain. There was no worse feeling than that of betrayal. It’s how I’d felt when I realized what kind of family I really came from—and probably how I’d made Camille feel when I ended things with her so suddenly two years ago. Not for the first time, doubt rippled through me that I’d done the right thing in pushing her away, but I couldn’t think about that now.

I’d almost reached her when, from the reeds surrounding the river, a man emerged. How long had he been there? He was dressed in dark pants and a hooded top covering his face, and I watched in horror as he plunged a syringe into Camille’s neck. Her body went limp in his arms as he lifted her over his shoulder and took off.

“Hey! Stop! Put her the fuck down,” I yelled at him. He turned to face me, Camille's arms knocking against his back as she lay limply over his shoulder.

Adrenaline pumped through me as I raced after him. The guy was fast, even carrying Camille, but too bad for him I was faster. I gained on him quickly, then jumped on his back, tackling him and knocking her from his grip. Camille rolled sideways as Idrew my fist back and slammed it into his jaw. His head spun to the side from the force of my blow, splitting his scalp open on a large rock on the side of the path. A gurgling sound escaped from his throat as blood seeped into the dirt around him. Within seconds, he was gone, staring up at me with lifeless eyes. I had never seen him before.

Well, shit. That didn’t go as planned. I had been hoping he’d stick around long enough for us to interrogate him, but the thick welts of blood pooling around his head said otherwise.

I wiped my hands on my pants, ignoring how hard they were shaking. I checked Camille’s pulse, fucking relieved when I felt it, thready as it was.

“Camille?” I said, gently shaking her. “Wake up, my sweet swan. I need you to look at me.”

She didn’t respond. I needed to get her help.

I raced back to her attacker, emptied his pockets, and found the syringe. I pocketed it, hoping it might help the hospital identify what she’d been shot up with since there was no sign of what he’d used. Pulling out my phone, I called Kage.

“I’ve found her,” I told him.

“Where?” Kage barked.

“By the river. Some guy attacked her. He’s dead. Send some of your guys to see if they can ID him while I take Camille to the hospital.”

“Hospital?”

“He injected her with something,” I gritted out. Anxiety ate at my stomach. “She’s unconscious but breathing. Look, I have to go. Get someone down here to take care of this guy now.”

I ended the call and shoved my phone back in my pocket, then scooped Camille into my arms. As I stepped over her attacker’s body, something caught my eye. It was a tattoo on the inside of his left wrist. I frowned, sure that I’d seen it somewhere before. I grabbed my phone from my pocket, snapped a photo,and then kept walking. All I could think about was how hard we’d fucked up. Dante, Kage, and me. We’d vowed to protect her, to keep her safe, and we failed.

Chapter 44

Dante

Istood at the lookout, feeling defeated. I’d really thought I’d find Camille here, which was stupid, in hindsight, considering how badly I’d betrayed her. Why the fuck would she come to the place that had been so special for the both of us?

My phone buzzed. I snatched it up and cursed when I saw Jane’s name on the screen. As much as I felt obligated to help her, I couldn’t deal with her right now. Not until I knew Camille was safe.

The first time I brought Camille here, she’d seemed so vulnerable, so lost. All I’d ever wanted to do was be there for her. I just hadn’t been able to work up the courage to tell her the truth about Jane and the drugs, and now she was out there thinking the worst.

My phone buzzed once more. I glanced at it, expecting Jane’s name again, but instead, it was Kage’s. “Have you found her?” I demanded, my heart racing.

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