42. Kovu
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
KOVU
I ’m climbing over the back fence when I notice men in ski masks circling the house, and I’m immediately on high alert.
Camilla was meant to be going home with the guys tonight, but after a change of plans, I dropped what I was doing to come here, and it’s fucking lucky I did.
I sneak through the trees I chased Camilla through just a few days ago, but this time my gun is in my hands as I slip through the darkness without being seen.
From the edge of the tree line, I see there are four guys, but there are probably more around the front. I’d like to say I didn’t know who was here for her, but it’s obvious the threat Charles and Caleb made earlier in the week was not idle.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I slink back into the brush of trees before checking it.
Camilla: Did you just get to the estate?
A moment of panic flares in my chest a moment before reason clicks into place. I will kill every fucking asshole who thinks about hurting my little lamb, but I can’t do that if I don’t know she’s safe.
Kovu: Panic room. Right now!
I flick to the message thread I share with the guys and quickly type out a message to them as well to let them know we need backup. They can organize a team, but right now I need to make sure Camilla has the time to get to her father’s office and into the panic room.
Kovu: De Marco estate is being ambushed. Get here right now.
Once I’ve slipped my phone back into my pocket, I move toward the back of the house, keeping my footsteps light and dodging branches as I go.
When I reach the edge of the lawn, there are only two men visible, and I force down the voice that tells me they could have Camilla, that they could hurt her.
I’ve never cared about much of anything. Not since I was a kid. But the idea of my little lamb being hurt, or worse, killed, has my chest squeezing uncomfortably.
Is this what it means to have a heart?
I swallow thickly and take a quick look around to make sure they haven’t circled back before taking off across the grass as quickly as I can.
Usually I’d keep my footsteps light, but they have to know one of us is here, and I’d almost go as far as saying they’re betting on it.
They know that the Mafia princess everyone has always underestimated has made us fall to our knees, and if it means we get to keep her, I’ll kneel for the rest of my goddamn life.
I reach the edge of the building and press my back to the old stone, taking a second to look from side to side. I’m leaning against the wing Camilla’s room is in, but she should well and truly be in the panic room by now, unless something has gone wrong.
I force down the thought as I move quietly around the side of the house, trying my best to dodge the flowers planted around the edge of the building but doing a terrible job of it. I’ll have to ask Camilla to apologize to the gardeners on my behalf.
There’s a rustling in front of me, and I quickly slam my back against the wall, making myself seem as small as I can. Which to be fair, isn’t very small, seeing as I’m six foot two and built like I spend my whole life lifting weights.
But I’m so focused on the sound in front of me that I all but miss the one behind me until it’s too late.
The sound of the safety clicking off a gun a moment before cool steel presses to my skull makes me pause in place, but it’s their voice that has cold dread washing over me for the first time since I escaped my parents’ house covered in their blood all those years ago.
“Long time, no see, Joseph. Or should I call you Kovu?”
The sound of my old name on my tormentor’s lips has that scared kid that took every beating and never told anyone rising to the surface.
“Joel,” I force through gritted teeth, but remain perfectly still. He may be an asshole, but I’m not stupid enough to underestimate anyone holding a gun. “I thought for sure the drugs would have killed you by now.”
A rattling chuckle fills the quiet night. “It’s a shame you never grew out of that smart mouth.”
I don’t get a chance to respond before the butt of the gun slams into the back of my head and the darkness that lives in my soul engulfs me.