Page 68 of Wicked Little Nightmare

I’d created a web of sorts, linking places and people together, but it was becoming more complex as I discovered more things. I could spend a decade in these files and not hit the bottom.

There was only one glaring piece of information missing.

Who the fuck Chimera was, or where it started.

"Well, fuck me sideways," she muttered, a grin spreading across her face that would've sent saner men running. "Looks like we've got ourselves a two-for-one special, Cam. Chimera and answers. All we gotta do is hit all these spots up. Starting with the orphanage."

I couldn't help but mirror her grin. Distracted Lakey was gone, and in her place, villainous Lakey stood. This was the one I lived for – all fire and fury, ready to burn the world down just to watch it smolder. Not that I didn’t love all of her. Just… this was myfavorite version. The one that hurt the least. "What d'you say, darlin'? Ready to crash a nun party?"

Lakey's laugh was pure, unhinged joy. "Oh, Cam," she purred, straddling my lap and pressing a kiss to my neck that was more teeth than lips. "I thought you'd never ask. The deeper we get, the more I know that this list is 100% the best birthday gift you have ever gotten me. It’s like we really are the pirates we dreamed of being. Pillaging, plundering and destroying those who take our treasure."

As she pulled back, her eyes glinting with that manic excitement, a knot formed in my gut. Sure, I'd gotten what I wanted – her focus was back on our mission. But did I just stifle something that she needed? Closure? Healing? Something?

I watched her, my mind a tangled mess of pride and fear. Lakey was a force of nature when she got like this, beautiful and deadly as a hurricane. But that little girl's photo was still there, taunting me from the corner of my eye. This wasn't just about Chimera anymore, at least for her, and that scared the shit out of me.

"Hey, slow your roll there, sugar," I said, grabbing her wrists as she started unbuttoning my shirt. "We need to talk about this."

Lakey's eyes narrowed, her smile turning sharp. "What's there to talk about, Cam? We've got a lead. Let's follow it. After I impale myself on your cock, that is."

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. I could just leave it. Drop the subject and ride the storm, but… I couldn’t. She was masking and as sexy as it was, I hated when she fronted around me. "It's not that simple, and you know it. This isn't just about Chimera anymore, is it? You're getting too wrapped up in this kid."

The temperature in the room dropped about ten degrees as Lakey's smile disappeared. "Don't," she hissed, trying to pull away.

I held on tight, refusing to let her retreat. "No, we're doing this now. You're obsessing, Lakey. It's dangerous."

She laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. "Dangerous? That's rich coming from you, Mr. 'Let's-piss-off-every-crime-lord-in-the-city'. Since when do you care about danger?"

"Since it started clouding your judgment," I shot back. "You're losing focus, getting emotional. That's how people end up dead."

Lakey's eyes flashed, and for a moment, I thought she might actually hit me. "You don't get it, do you?" she snarled. "This isn't just some random kid. She's—"

I cut her off, my voice low and intense. "She's what, Lakey? Your ticket to redemption? A chance to play mommy? Wake up, sweetheart. We're not the kind of people who get happy endings."

The silence that followed was deafening. Lakey stared at me, her face a mask of fury and pain. I'd struck a nerve, and part of me hated myself for it. But it was better she fucking hated me than get herself killed chasing ghosts.

Lakey's eyes blazed with that familiar mix of crazy and determination. "I'm finding her, Cam," she said, her voice steady but thrumming with an undercurrent that made my skin prickle. "With or without you. She's out there, and I need to know why. What? Now you don’t want a kid with me. Is it cuz she's nine and not a cute little baby? Better she isn’t, cuz you know, a stripper and a criminal don’t make the best parents to babies, but I CAN help her now. Or what Cam? You mad cuz she isn’t yours? That she didn’t come from your spunk? Sorry to tell you, shitty things happened to me, and this is a result of that. I don’t know what the fuck you want me to say."

“You done?” I let out a long breath, feeling the fight drain out of me. Fuck. When Lakey got like this, there was no talking her down. It was like trying to reason with a tornado – you either got out of the way or got swept up in the chaos.

She nodded, her lips a thin line as she waited for what I had to say next.

"Alright, alright," I conceded, running a hand through my hair. "Fuck. I hate this, but fine. We go to the orphanage first. Then if we get what we need, we can chase this golden egg of yours. ‘Ight?"

A ghost of a smile flickered across Lakey's face. "’ight."

I snorted. "You want that list alphabetically or chronologically?"

Her smile widened, her hands clapping loudly once before she squealed. It was moments like these that reminded me why I couldn't quit her, even if I wanted to. We were two halves of one seriously fucked-up whole and it didn’t matter how fucking angry we got with each other; we made it out the other end.

I leaned back, mind already churning. "Okay, so the orphanage. Last known intel puts it as operational thirty years back. That's ancient history in our world. Older than we are. Dunno what we’ll find, but knowing these fucks, they’ve probably still got info in there. They seem to cut and run when needed. Talk about adaptability."

"Could be abandoned," Lakey mused, her fingers tapping an erratic rhythm on the table. "Or repurposed."

"Either way, we're going in blind," I said, feeling the familiar thrill of planning a job. "We'll need to case it first, maybe set up some long-distance surveillance. If it's still running, we might be able to..."

I trailed off, noticing the glazed over look in Lakey's eyes. She was with me, but part of her was already there, chasing ghosts and what-ifs. I pushed down the nagging worry in my gut. This was a powder keg waiting to blow, but for now, at least I had her pointed in a direction I could control.

"Hey," I said softly, reaching out to trace the 'C.A.' on her wrist. "We'll figure this out, yeah? You and me against the world, remember?"

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