Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ryker
S omething feels wrong.
Ever since the second inning, Camille has been missing. Then Jasmine left minutes ago and when she returned, Cami wasn’t with her. I’m already pissed the fuck off because we’re losing. I’m personally having a great game, but I’m about to ruin it if I can’t get my mind off my girl.
Where is she?
Rationally, I think to myself that she’s probably doing something for social media, but a deeper part of me feels like something’s not right.
I curse as we jog out to the field to play defense, my eyes scanning the stadium again in the hopes of seeing her, with no luck.
Yanking my ball cap down, I force myself to focus back on the play at hand. The captain for the opposing team is up, and he’s arguably the best hitter on their team. From my peripheral, I see Cuddy jogging backward, preparing for this guy to bomb it outfield.
Our pitcher winds up, whipping a fast ball down to the plate, and the batter swings, hitting a foul ball right past me. I groan in frustration because I should’ve caught it and got us an easy out. If my focus were where it needed to be, I would have dove toward it and attempted to make the play.
To make matters worse, he crushes the next pitch, hitting a home run. The desire to whip my glove on the dirt is strong, but I hold it together, knowing I’m being watched at all times with the draft coming up.
We manage to end the inning without letting anyone else score, and I jog to the dugout with my head hanging low. Not only are we losing, but I can’t focus and I’m stressed the fuck out about Camille.
“Have you seen Cami?” I ask Noah as he downs some water.
He shakes his head. “Nope. Isn’t she in the stands?”
“No, she’s been missing for a while now,” I tell him, fear itching its way up my spine.
“I’m sure she’s around here somewhere. You know how busy she is during games,” he reasons, but his words don’t help.
What if she’s just like him ? Leaving me with no goodbye or intention to see me again. Anxiety creeps in, thousands of what-ifs swimming in my head until I feel like I’m drowning.
My hand shakes as I find my coffee cup, a smile finding my lips when I look at the tongue design in my coffee. She told me it was because she came on my tongue three times last night.
My smile fades when I remember that I have no idea where she is right now.
Fuck this.
I jog out of the dugout with my glove still on and hop the fence, right into the stands. Fans are staring, cheering and making a commotion of it, but I don’t pay them any attention.
I beeline right for Jasmine and Theo, needing to get to the bottom of this. Jasmine stands up once I reach them, and it’s then I notice how red and puffy her eyes are. My stomach bottoms out.
Something bad happened. I fucking knew it .
If someone even breathed on Camille the wrong way, there’s going to be hell to pay.
“Where is she?” I seethe, my chest heaving up and down erratically.
Theo stands up between us, a solemn look on his face, which is highly unusual for him. It only makes me that much more pissed off.
“Let’s talk somewhere more private,” he says, motioning for us to head outside the gate to the parking lot.
I’m about to make the move when a hand is placed on my shoulder. I turn around to see Coach Warren staring at me. “What in the hell are you doing, son?”
“Cami’s gone…I need to find out where she is,” I answer honestly, feeling like my skin is crawling with dread.
Coach looks between the three of us, and I’m not sure what makes him comply, but he does. “Go, Lewis. But your ass better be at our game tomorrow,” he orders, clapping me on the shoulder before returning to the dugout.
Once we’re outside the stadium, I turn to Jasmine, needing answers. “Talk,” I bite out, much harsher than I want.
Theo places a hand on my chest, drawing my attention to him. “Look, I know you’re pissed, but you need to watch how you talk to her.”
I take a deep breath, then nod. “I’m sorry, Jasmine. I’m freaking the fuck out, and you don’t deserve that.”
“It’s okay, Ryker.” She gives me a small smile, but it’s gone just as fast. “Before I talk, I’d like to say Theo is aware of the situation because I couldn’t stop crying when I got back to my seat.”
“I won’t say a word,” Theo swears, a hand over his heart.
“Jasmine, spill it. I’m losing it,” I urge her.
With a deep breath, she peers up at me with an apologetic look on her face. “Her dad called her during the game, and she was gone for a bit but then texted me to meet her in the concession area. When I did, she was in tears,” she explains. “She told me that her dad is forcing her back home to be married in two days in order to save their country. If she doesn’t go, he’d ensure you never stepped foot on a baseball field again. She lied to her bodyguard, Idris, who told her to wait so they could look into how legit this is, but she didn’t want to risk anything happening to you. She already left.”
What. The. Fuck.
Married?
My heart stings in my chest, an ache so forceful it nearly sends me to the ground at the image of her in a white dress for some fucking guy who isn’t me . I know she thinks she’s protecting me, but hell, I’d rather never play a baseball game again than lose her.
The thought is shocking, yet somehow makes perfect sense. There is no happy ending without her.
Jasmine’s full-on crying now, her voice shaky. “She told me to tell you this. She hopes she can make it back here to you and that she lo—”
“Don’t.” I hold up my gloved hand for her to stop. I don’t want the first time Camille tells me she loves me to be through her friend. I plan on hearing it from her, because that girl is fucking mine and I’ll do anything to make sure of it.
“What are we going to do?” Jasmine cries, just as Elio comes running up to us, concern etched on his face.
“ Dolcezza ,” he calls out, and Jasmine runs toward him, burying herself in his chest as he runs a hand up and down her back.
“I texted him. I knew she’d need him,” Theo explains.
I debate on texting Camille, but everything is raw right now. I need to figure out what the hell is happening before I do that.
“What’s going on?” Elio asks, looking at the two of us .
Theo gives Elio the rundown, while he continues soothing Jasmine the best he can.
“Jesus fuck, does her brother know?” Elio asks.
“I’m not sure,” I answer.
“I’m going to call him. Either he knows or we need to tell him,” Elio says, pulling out his phone.
Elio speaks to Quentin in French, leaving us out of the loop.
Once he hangs up, I’m on him instantly. “What did he say?”
“He’s back at Cami’s place with the security team, trying to hack into her dad’s system, but it’s taking longer than usual. King De Beaumont must’ve caught on to them and upped his firewall,” he says. “And Q wants you to go there, Ryker. Wait till they find out more before anyone does anything.”
“That could take too long. I’m not letting her marry whoever her father wants her to marry,” I scoff, feeling myself grow impatient with the reminder that she’s boarding a plane back home.
Theo claps his hands together. “I have an idea.”
“Well, let’s hear it,” I snap.
“Millie Moo can’t get married if she’s already married, right?” His lips twist, smirking as if he’s a genius.
“She’s not, though,” I point out.
“What I think he’s saying is that we should take my jet to Lorsica so that you can marry Camille before they make her. But only if you’re ready for that kind of commitment and to face the possibility of her dad fucking with your career after ruining his plans,” Elio interjects.
“Do you hear yourself right now? I’m only twenty-two and who in her country would even marry us?” I ramble, feeling all sorts of emotions. Fear, nerves…and excitement all merging into one at the prospect of truly making her mine forever.
“Ryker.” Elio’s calm voice draws me to him. “Do you love her?”
“Yes. ”
“Do you want someone else to marry her?”
“No,” I growl, pissed off at the fucking images he’s painting.
“Then if she’s it for you, and I know that girl is wild about you, what’s holding you back? Go get your girl,” he encourages, wrapping his arm around Jasmine, who’s looking at him with pure admiration.
“I doubt there would be any minister or town hall official that would marry the princess of their country to someone else and face the wrath of their king,” I tell them.
Theo steps forward, a cocky smirk on his face. “Didn’t I ever tell you I’m an ordained minister? I could marry y’all.”
We’re all speechless for a moment, deciphering what he said. It doesn’t surprise me, but it does at the same time.
“How did you become an ordained minister?” Jasmine asks with a puzzled look on her face.
“I always wanted a situation like this to happen, so I got it just in case. Thank God I did. I’m so hyped I get to marry Ry guy and my Millie Moo!” he exclaims, all too happy.
“That’s if he says yes,” Elio chimes in, and suddenly, they’re all looking at me for an answer.
“What if she says no?” My voice is barely above a whisper.
“She’s gone for you, Ryker. I don’t see her saying no,” Jasmine says softly. “But if she does, at least you can say you tried. It’s always better to know than to wonder about what-ifs.”
My gut churns with nerves at the prospect of asking her to marry me and her saying no. We’re young and we’ve never talked about becoming more, always skating around the truth because we agreed to just be friends.
And hell, I don’t blame Camille for never telling me if she has feelings because I’m such a grumpy asshole who’s always said he doesn’t have space for love in his life .
But now? She’s filled my entire world with possibilities I’ve never seen before.
Love. Family. More .
She’s it for me. I can go without baseball if I have to, but I won’t go without my girl.
“How fast can we get there?”
Theo’s, Jasmine’s, and Elio’s faces light up at my words, smiles on their lips at the confirmation that we are going to get our girl back.
“Let’s fucking go get my besties married!” Theo’s hand clamps down my shoulders, shaking me.
I laugh and shrug him off just as Noah and Cuddy jog out the gate.
“Ryker, are you coming back to play the game?” Cuddy asks, and Noah slaps him on the back of the neck.
“What he means to say is, is Camille okay?” Noah corrects him, looking at me with genuine concern. I love that she’s got my entire team wrapped around her finger, that they care and love her like she’s one of us.
I can’t tell them everything, not without asking Camille if it’s okay.
“We need to go get her. She went back home and it’s a messy situation,” I somewhat lie, concealing her secrets without fully lying. “But we have to leave now, so no. I won’t be back for the game. Tell Coach I’m sorry, but this is important.”
Noah smiles, pulling me into a hug. “I told you there was more to life than baseball. Proud of you, Ry.”
“Thanks, man.” I hug him back.
“Go bring our girl home. I need to keep my fans happy and she helps with that.” Cuddy chuckles, fist-bumping me before jogging back to the stadium with Noah .
I turn to face my friends, ready to get on the road. “I need my passport…” I trail off, suddenly feeling unprepared for this.
“Get in my car. We’re going to get everyone’s passports. We’re leaving in two hours. My jet will be ready by then. I know it’s a bit long, but it’s the best choice we have at entering the country undetected by avoiding the mainland airport,” Elio informs us as we walk to his car.
“Why is it going to take so long? Theo asks.
“For a domestic flight, it’d be shorter, but my crew needs more time to prep to fly over water into a different continent,” Elio explains while opening the car door for Jasmine.
Once we’re in, it hits me that I don’t have a ring for her. Nothing about this wedding will be traditional, but I need to have something to put on her finger from me.
I pick at the seam on my weathered glove as I think it over, trying to come up with an idea. My fingers tug on the black leather laces while memories of teaching Cami how to throw and catch a baseball come to my mind.
Let’s just hope she says yes.