25. Twenty-Five Cam
Twenty-Five: Cam
I watched Lakey, her fingers dancing over that damn photo like it was made of glass. Her eyes, usually sharp as knives, had gone soft and dreamy. It made my skin crawl. Not in a good way either.
Was I… upset that she was attached to someone other than me? What did it mean? Why do I care so much? If that girl was indeed Lakey’s daughter, who was the father? I was in prison when all this supposedly happened, so who the fuck raped my girl?
"You gonna stare at that all day, sweetheart?" I drawled, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.
Lakey didn't even look up. "Hmm?"
Fuck. I'd seen that look before, right before she'd go on one of her little "adventures." Usually ended with me having to clean up a mess of blood and body parts. Not that I minded the gore, but we had bigger fish to fry.
I leaned in close, breathing into her ear. "Earth to Lakey. We've got a problem, remember? Big, bad Chimera breathing down our necks?"
She blinked, those baby blues finally focusing on me. "What? Oh, right. Chimera."
"Yeah, Chimera. The folks who want us dead? Ring any bells?"
Lakey's lips curled into that sweet smile that usually preceded someone's violent demise. "Don't worry, Cam. I haven't forgotten."
I wasn't buying it. "Really? 'Cause it looks like you're more interested in playing house with a picture than getting what we want."
Her eyes flashed, that familiar darkness swirling to the surface. Good. I needed her mean, not moony. She put the photo down on top of my stack of information.
"I can multitask," she purred, running a finger down my chest. "Or don't you trust me?"
I caught her wrist, my grip just shy of bruising. "Trust isn't the issue, darlin'. Focus is. And right now, you're about as focused as a kitten with a laser pointer."
Lakey's laugh was sharp enough to cut glass. "Oh, Cam. Always so dramatic. Fine, you have my undivided attention. What was so damn pressing I needed to drop everything to hear?"
I released her, fighting the urge to snatch that photo and rip it to shreds. One battle at a time , I reminded myself. First Chimera, then I'd deal with Lakey's growing obsession. It made me feel weird.
"The plan," I said, forcing a grin, "is to head to the orphanage about half an hour out from here and see what’s there. Might have deets on who the fuck Chimera is."
Lakey's eyes lit up with that familiar bloodlust. "Now you're speaking my language."
I relaxed a fraction. This was the Lakey I knew, the one I could work with. As long as I kept her distracted, kept her focused on the hunt, maybe I could keep her from spiraling down whatever rabbit hole that photo represented. Why did she even care if she had a daughter? Sure, we’d wanted to have a kid, but OUR kid. Not one by some asshole who raped her. Fuck. This was starting to eat away at me, and unleashing my inner demons was never a good thing.
I’d long learned how to keep ‘em locked tight in a box and only let them out under controlled circumstances. It’s how I kept us safe.
But as her gaze drifted back to the picture, a cold dread settled in my gut. She’d never stop because if there was anything ingrained in Lakes, it was that deep seated drive to do whatever her beautiful, black heart had gotten set on.
I leaned back, drumming my fingers on the laptop balanced precariously on my knee. "Speaking of languages, I've been decoding some of Skeeter's files. Turns out our favorite techno-weasel had quite the treasure trove of dirt. I’m not just talking about operative names… places too. So much shit in here and he played the part of a good village idiot. I’m impressed. I almost miss the guy."
Lakey's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing. "Spill it, Axley. What'd you find?"
I savored the moment, watching her squirm. It was rare to have information she didn't, and I'd be damned if I didn't milk it for all it was worth. "Oh, just a little connection between that orphanage we’re gonna go see and a certain nunnery we both know and loathe."
"Bullshit," Lakey breathed, but I could see the wheels turning behind those baby blues.
"Cross my innocent lil’ heart, sugar," I drawled, tapping my chest where her name was inked. "Seems Sister Sadist and her merry band of psychos had their fingers in more pies than we thought. Skeets wasn’t lying when he said they were everywhere. I’ve connected them through a list of places. Some are close to us. Many are dotted all around the states. We can’t hit those up, but we can do whatever is closest. Orphanages, social work offices. There’s even a cop shop on there. But my all-time favorite, is that giant Catholic church that sits atop that mountain as you drive into town. Head office, it appears."
Lakey was on her feet in an instant, the photo forgotten as she stalked towards me. "Show me," she demanded, her voice a dangerous whisper.
I turned the screen, revealing a web of connections that would make a conspiracy theorist cream their pants. Lakey's eyes devoured the information, her lips moving silently as she pieced it all together. Seems St. Agnes had been quite busy, but they all pointed to that specific nunnery as ground zero. Makes sense why they burnt it down.
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 my favorite 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?"
Lakey's eyes snapped back to mine, that razor-sharp focus back and ready to play. "Always," she whispered, and I felt that familiar pull, like gravity drawing me into her orbit.
I grinned, pushing away the doubts. "Then let's go raise some hell."
She nodded, her lips curving into that wicked smile. "Raising hell's our specialty, darling." But even as she spoke, her fingers drifted to the photograph sitting on top of the stack of papers. She didn't pick it up, just traced the edge, like she was afraid it might vanish if she touched it too much.
"Right so, what else do we need," I said, trying to keep her mind on the job. "Surveillance gear if we wanna watch what goes in and out first, maybe some of that fancy tech Skeeter has listed in his recon file."
"Mhm," Lakey hummed, her eyes still fixed on that damn picture. "And weapons. Can't go in unprepared."
I watched her, feeling that familiar mix of fascination and unease. The way her shoulders tensed, the slight furrow between her brows – I knew every inch of her, could read her moods like a book. And right now? She was a cunt hair away from exploding.
"Lakey," I said softly, leaning in. "You with me?"
She blinked, looking up at me with those big blue eyes that could go from innocent to ice-cold in a heartbeat. "Yes, of course. Always got your back, babes."
But I could see the weight settling on her, her shoulders tensing ever so slightly as her back straightened, pushing her chest out a fraction. The past was a bitch, and it had its claws in her deep. I'd seen Lakey tear men apart without breaking a sweat, but this? This was threatening to tear her apart from the inside.
I was afraid of what I’d find if she fell apart. What monsters were still locked in Pandora’s Box, just waiting for a weakness in her armor. Would they rip her apart, or would they take vengeance on the world who did us so dirty?
"You on board with all this?" I asked, studying her face. She was with me, mostly. It would have to be enough.
"Oh, absolutely," she chirped, but her gaze drifted back to the photo. "We'll find what we need there. Information about Chimera, and..." she hesitated, then added softly, "...and maybe about her."
I felt my jaw tighten. This obsession of hers was dangerous, for both of us. But pushing too hard would only make her dig her heels in deeper.
"One step at a time, sweetheart," I said, keeping my tone light. "Let's focus on not getting our asses shot off first, yeah?"
Lakey's laugh was like bells tinkling over broken glass. "Yes, sir," she purred. "Always looking out for my fine ass."
She turned and started rummaging through our chest of fun. Explosives, vests, guns… You name it we had it. Almost everything, anyway. We should grab night sight, and some other top tech items. Skeeter had a whole list of ways to recon at night and we didn’t have any of it. Problems for another day, I suppose.
"Hey, sugar tits," I called out, whistling to get her attention. "Don't forget the C4. Never know when we might need to make a big boom."
She flashed me that million-watt smile, all sweetness and light. "Already packed, darling. Right next to the chloroform and zip ties. Dunno why you want all this. We never bring this shit."
I chuckled, “You never know what we’re gonna find. I have a feeling this is gonna be epic.”