53. Camilla
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
CAMILLA
H is fist slams into my stomach, and this time I can’t hide the effect it has on me. A rough cough escapes before I can swallow it, followed by another when he strikes me in the same place again.
I knew winding him up was going to hurt, but fuck, he’s got a good right hook on him, perhaps I should have been prepared for that.
A grunt tears from me when his fist hits me in the rib, but I never close my eyes, never back down from the man who expects exactly that.
“Caleb, for fuck’s sake, stop!” Crew shouts, but I’m too focused on not giving Caleb the satisfaction he demands with each hit.
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you, Camilla?” Caleb growls, his teeth bared as he glares at me. “But you’re not. You’re just a silly little girl that thinks she can play with the big boys.”
I stare him straight in the eye as copper touches my tastebuds. “It’s men like you that allowed me to slip under the radar all those years.” A smile tugs at my lips as he steps closer to me, so close that his overbearing cologne assaults my senses. I spit the blood pooling in my mouth at him and revel in the shock that immediately tugs at his features as my blood slips down his cheek. “All those years everyone was worried about the boys training to take over for their parents, and no one ever blinked at me. We never even had to hide my training.” A laugh tumbles from my lips as I slip into the persona I haven’t used in a long time. There’s a point where pain and fear morph into insanity, and I’m far from that point, but Caleb doesn’t know that, and I’m going to use that to my advantage.
“Camilla!” Crew barks as Caleb grasps me around the throat so tight I can barely drag in a breath, but I never allow the smile to slip from my lips.
“Didn’t Bianca tell you? My guys have a penance for choking, and so do I,” I croak out, pushing him to choke me harder.
“Camilla! Stop!” Fear bleeds into Crew’s tone, but I force myself to stay on course. He can’t kill me yet. If he could, he would have done it by now. But he’s keeping me alive for something, and if that’s the case, I’m going to do everything in my power to work out what exactly that reason is.
“Why don’t you listen to him, Camilla?” Caleb growls.
“I thought you were going to kill me anyway,” I challenge. Black spots dance in my vision at the lack of oxygen.
He stares at me for long seconds, his fingers tightening to the point where I can’t speak, can’t breathe, and I feel myself beginning to slip away, but right as I’m about to allow the darkness to overwhelm me, his hands disappear from my throat, and he stalks away, brushing past Crew without another word.
The heavy door slams, and I press my eyes closed as I brace for Crew’s anger. Our relationship has faced many obstacles in the short time we’ve been together, but I have a feeling this is going to be the hardest yet.
He stares at me with anger pulsing through his gaze, but I don’t back down. As much as he may want me to be the damsel in distress who can’t hold her own, that’s not who I am and not who I’m ever going to be.
“What the fuck was that?” he forces through gritted teeth.
“That was a test,” I explain without giving him any actual information.
“A test?” He shakes his head. “That was a fucking suicide mission.”
I roll my eyes and drop my head back, stretching out the sore muscles in my neck from where Caleb’s hands were a few moments ago. “Don’t treat me like I don’t know what I’m doing, Crew. This isn’t my first rodeo, as I’m sure it’s not yours.” The coldness in my tone surprises me, but I need to shut down my emotions. They have a time and a place, and this is not it.
He stares at me for long seconds, his jaw clenched as he wars with himself. He just wants to take care of me, and I love him for it, but right now the only thing that matters is us both walking out of here alive, and to do that we need to trust our guts.
“How did you know he would stop?”
“An educated guess,” I admit. “They’ve gone to too much effort to kill us quickly. They’re going to drag this out, and killing me during our first interaction would mean they don’t have a bargaining chip to make you behave.”
He looks like he’s about to reprimand me for being so reckless, and I wouldn’t blame him despite the fact I stand by my choices, but instead he sighs. “You’re right. I just don’t like seeing you hurt.”
“I know.” I nod solemnly.
“We’re going to get out of here,” he swears. “And then I’m going to punish you for everything you’ve done to provoke him.”
A laugh escapes my throat, and I wince at the pain. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”