Chapter 32
KAYLA
I can’t believe he wants to come back as Chris. It’s the worst idea known to man, but he’s stubborn as hell and changing his mind was impossible. He’s gonna do whatever he wants, and I’ll be there paying for the consequences.
My gut churns at the thought of Michael killing him. He won’t care that they’re brothers. Adriel will be considered the enemy. His deceit alone will make him a target, but when Michael finds out what he did to Fernanda and the bomb he set to Raph’s car, he’ll annihilate him.
It doesn’t matter how many weapons A brings. He’ll be all alone with no one fighting beside him. If I could, I would. Maybe that makes me a horrible friend to Elsie, but he means everything to me. I can’t allow him to die.
Maybe I can talk to Elsie. If she knew everything, she wouldn’t want this either. She wouldn’t want Michael hurt.
Shaking my head in frustration, I enter the lecture hall, finding my seat beside Prince. He grins, inclining his head in greeting.
“Hey. Just the girl I wanted to see.”
“Oh, yeah?” I reach inside my backpack and retrieve my laptop. “Why’s that?”
“Well, me and my friend Tim, the one you met that night, we’re hitting up a bar tonight. A local rock band is playing, and we wanted to invite you girls.”
“You mean you want Eriu there.” I snicker.
“That obvious?”
I laugh. “Yeah. You might as well be blushing.”
“Well, she’s cute. Put in a good word for me, will you?”
“I’ll see what I can do. But just so you know, she has a crazy older sister, so if you hurt her, she will kill you.”
He chuckles.
I give him a deadpan stare. “I’m not kidding.”
His face tightens. “Noted. But still…” He’s back to grinning. “I want a shot. She may be worth dying for.”
I shake my head just as the professor walks in.
“Alright, class,” he calls for attention while I start my laptop.
Prince has no idea who he’s interested in. Dating the youngest daughter of the Mob is definitely not something to be taken lightly. Not that I can warn him. But Iseult would have his balls. I’d be more afraid of her than Eriu’s three older brothers.
Once the lesson begins, I focus on it, trying to put everything else out of mind. Acing all my classes is a priority to me. I want to make the honor roll this semester like the last one, and I know I can. My grades have been exceptional so far, and I won’t allow anything to get in the way of that.
As I type more of what the professor is saying, my cell vibrates in my pocket. I ignore it. Whoever it is can wait. But it goes on again and again, even as I shut it off with the press of a button.
Frustrated, I remove it when the phone vibrates for the fourth time, and once I see Cammie’s name, my body grows ice cold. Four missed calls. All from her. Something is wrong. She hurt herself. She must’ve.
Gathering my belongings, I start to get up.
“What happened?” Prince asks.
“An emergency. I’ve gotta go. Please take good notes.”
“Yeah, sure. Let me know if you’re okay.” His expression grows with concern as I nod and hurry off.
Once I’m out the door, I call her back. “Cammie?”
Silence.
Except the heavy breathing. A man’s breathing.
And I know exactly who it is.
Chills quake across my skin, and panic tightens my throat. “Hello? Who’s there?”
The man’s cold laughter pummels through my bones.
“Don’t you fucking touch her!” I rush for my car. “Tell me where you are! Tell me what you want.”
It’s then I hear her crying.
Oh, God! What is he doing to her?
I start the engine, not sure where to go.
Fuck!
“Just tell me where you are! You can have me instead! Just let her go!”
When she sobs, pain lodges in my throat. He’s gonna kill her. No…
“You’ll get a text,” he says. “Come alone.”
The phone goes dead.
My hands tremble, and the cell slips from my fingers, landing right against my feet just as a beep informs me of an unread message.
Panting, I grab it and read the text.
Cammie
Parking lot. Your strip club.
Dropping the phone in the cup holder, I rush down the street, hoping I can get to her in time. Hoping I’m not too late.
When I arrive at the club, there are only a couple of cars there. No one but management is here during daylight hours, and I doubt they were checking the lot for suspicious activity. They’re usually in the basement of the club, going through finances or whatever else they have to do.
As I get out of my car, I don’t see anyone. My whole body shivers.
I already texted A, telling him what’s going on. He told me to wait for him, but I couldn’t risk something happening to her while I did.
My legs are weak, my footfalls drudging across the concrete as I glance all around me, wondering where the killer is. Where Cammie is. Whoever hurt her could be hiding. Unless he took her already.
No. I can’t be too late.
I keep walking toward the large dumpster where Ivy was once attacked. And at first, I don’t see Cammie. But once I round the corner, my shaky hand cups my mouth. Cammie lies facedown, ankles and wrists tied with zip ties, her mouth gagged.
“Oh, God!” I drop to my knees and lift her off the ground while simultaneously slipping off my jacket to put around her back.
Her chin tremors, and she starts to weep as I pull down the black material he tied her mouth with. I don’t know how to get these damn ties off of her!
“Who did this to you? Did you see him? Is he hiding?” My heart races, needing answers.
“P-p-please,” she chokes out. “Please, don’t make me. Please!”
She buries her face in my shoulder, cotton soaking up the tears.
“It’s okay.” I release a shallow sigh, stroking her back, and as I do, I feel something wet on my stomach.
What the hell? I push her back a little, catching the blood seeping into my shirt from her stomach, her pink t-shirt setting with a dark red stain.
“You’re bleeding!” I gasp for air, starting to remove my shirt so I can use it to put pressure on the wound. “He cut you?”
“It’s a star,” A’s voice rings behind me, and as our eyes connect, we both know who did it.
He removes his own shirt and hands it to me.
“I f-f-fought him off.” Tears leak down Cammie’s cheeks. “Then he ran when he heard a car. I—I think?” Her voice trembles, and I fight like hell not to cry.
“You did good.” A nods, removing a pocketknife as he kneels and cuts the zip ties off. “We have to get her to a doctor.”
Her eyes widen. “No! Please. I—I can’t go. I don’t want to. I don’t like hospitals.”
“Can you do something about the wound?” I ask him, pressing his shirt into her wound.
I don’t want to put more stress on her. It doesn’t appear she has injuries anywhere else. We can take care of this.
“Okay. We’ll take her to the hotel.”
He brings his attention to Cammie. “Can you walk?”
She nods, and we help her to her feet while I continue to press the t-shirt around her midsection.
“I’ll take her to the penthouse,” he tells me. “And you drive your car. We stay together, okay? I will follow you.”
“Okay, let’s go. But I think you’re gonna need another shirt,” I tell him with a faint smile.
“Got a few in the car.”
He safely places Cammie in the front and secures the seat belt around her while I rush toward my vehicle.
Together, we head back to our temporary home, hoping Cammie has a lead for us to go on.
Once we’re in the hotel and Cammie has been bandaged and given pain meds, we wait for her to finish the tea I made her.
I don’t want to push her to talk, but we have to know if she saw anything. It could mean life or death. He’s gonna be hungry for another kill. I can’t let that happen.
“Cammie?”
She looks up, her eyes streaked with red.
“Please, you have to tell us.”
Fear clings to her pupils as her gaze jumps to A.
“He’s safe,” I tell her, knowing exactly what she’s thinking. “He’s a friend. He helped me when…”
I have to tell her. She has to know that I too was attacked by the killer. It’ll make her feel like she can open up to us.
“You what?” She places her cup down.
“It’s better if I show you.”
A places his hand on top of mine and gives it a reassuring squeeze. As I look back at him, my heart warms. Those green eyes feel like safety and home for once since my world was stolen.
Getting up slowly, I lift my shirt and show her the star on my abdomen, no longer needing to be bandaged, but raw and angry.
“Wh-what? I—I don’t understand. Why do you have that? Who did that to us?”
Tightening my mouth, I sit back down and take her hand in mine. “There’s something you need to know. The murderer from the news, the one killing all those women, he brands them with a star on their stomach.”
Her eyes pop. “Oh my God…”
I nod. “When I was attacked recently, there were two of them. They drugged me and did that. Andy found me.”
I give her the name A uses for the ones he doesn’t trust, though she could very well identify him as Chris. But we can cross that bridge when we get there.
“So…so the person who came after me was the killer? Oh my God. I’m gonna be sick.” She clutches her stomach. “Ow, shit.”
I grimace. “You okay?”
“It hurts like hell.”
“I’m sorry.” My face falls.
“Was there only one person you saw?” A asks her.
“Yeah, I didn’t see two people.”
“I wonder if they both do it and take turns,” he muses.
That does sound plausible. It’d make so much sense.
Cammie grabs my hand, hers trembling as she leans into my ear.
“Are you sure we can trust him?” she whispers.
“Yes, I swear,” I breathe.
She perches back, and fresh tears pool in her eyes. “I…” Her attention jumps between us. “I saw him. Just as I kicked him, I… I hit his mask and I s-saw him. I know who it was.”
This is it.
My adrenaline kicks in. This is how we get him.
“Who was it, Cammie?” A’s tone grows with urgency. “Who’s the killer?”