63. Crew
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
CREW
H ope flickers from Camilla’s gray eyes, and my stomach clenches.
She’s scared, but hasn’t she been this whole time? She’s spent days hanging from chains, her body contorted uncomfortably. She’s lost blood and killed men without blinking. But this is the moment she loses hope?
Her eyes fall closed as tears drip from her long lashes, but it’s the way Charles holds her that has my hackles rising.
The possessive hold is too similar to the way me and the guys hold our woman, and it doesn’t take a genius to work out he’s trying to get a rise out of me.
“Let her go, Charles,” I growl as I try to get a clean shot, but there isn’t one. He knows what he’s doing.
“No,” he says calmly, his dark eyes meeting mine over her shoulder. “Everything went to shit because of her. She’s the reason you all cottoned on to what Caleb and I were doing before we wanted you to know. She’s the reason you’ve repeatedly derailed our plans. She should have died in that alley where my men left her, but you had to go and save her life, didn’t you?” He shakes his head and digs the gun into Camilla’s ribs, causing her to wince in pain.
“When that doctor of yours told us there was a woman brought in, we just assumed it was just some junkie whore, but it wasn’t until later when you uncovered it was Camilla that we realized our mistake, and then she was too protected. We couldn’t get to her without raising the alarm that someone knew how to get into your fortress.”
Fucking Rogers.
When I get my hands on him, he’s going to be wishing for death. No one betrays us without paying for their sins, and I’m going to make it hurt. A lot. And then when I’m done, when I’m bored with his screams, I’ll give him to Kovu to drag it out some more.
“Charles, we can talk about this.” I try to reason with him, but it only agitates him more. His body shifts backward, and the gun sinks into Camilla’s stomach, causing a yelp of pain to escape her throat.
“We’re past talking, Crew. You never fucking listened anyway, and because of that, I almost lost everything. Because of this little whore who couldn’t keep her legs shut, I’ve lost millions of dollars and months of time. I’m done waiting.”
Camilla’s gaze locks on mine, and she dips her head slightly, nodding toward the ground. It’s risky as hell, and that’s if she can throw him off balance to give me a clean shot, but I don’t see any other options right now.
“I love you,” she whispers so quietly I can’t hear the words, but I can make them out on her pale lips.
“I love you too, Little Menace,” I murmur a moment before she slams her head back into Charles’s.
He lets out a grunt of pain as Camilla throws herself toward the ground, giving me a clean shot of Charles.
But as I pull the trigger, there’s a second gunshot that fills the quiet night, and it’s not until Camilla’s cry follows it that I realize Charles shot her.
I rush toward them as they both drop to the ground. My instincts scream at me to get Camilla, but before I do, I kick both their guns away from Charles.
I drop to my knees beside her and drag her into my lap. She’s so fucking cold, her entire body trembling as pain overwhelms her.
“I’ve got you, Camilla,” I say softly. “I have you.”
“Crew,” she coughs, her eyes drooping closed for a moment before they flick back open and meet mine. “I love you.”
I press my eyes closed as my chest constricts so tight I can barely breathe through the pain. “I love you too, Cami. But you better not be trying to say goodbye to me right now.”
Tears fall against her cheeks, but I force myself to look down at the gunshot wound in her side. Blood pours from her, and I shift my hold on her, pressing both hands down on the small hole that’s caused so much damage.
“I’m not going to make it,” she murmurs. “I’m dying. I can feel it.”
“You’re not dying, Camilla. You’re not dying.” My voice breaks, and I drop my face into her hair. “You’re not dying.”
“I am,” she whispers. “But that’s okay. Maybe it wouldn’t have been a few months ago. I had so much to do, so much to accomplish. But I didn’t realize that the thing I needed more than anything was to be loved. And I got that times four. I got everything I never knew I needed when I woke up inside the compound. And that makes this okay.” She nods against my chest as tears drip from her chin.
“It’s not okay.” I choke on the emotion wrapped around my throat. “I need you to hold on, Cami. I can get you out of here. I can get you to safety. To a doctor.”
“It’s too late.”
“It’s not,” I argue.
She takes an unsteady breath and winces as air fills her lungs. “It is, Crew. But I need you to do something for me. I need you to tell the others how much I love them. I need you to tell them that I wish we had more time, that I wish we could have had babies and a long life together, but that it’s okay that we can’t. Tell them I want them to be happy, and make sure they are. Keep them going. Keep Kovu from falling back into his old ways, and Kaos from shutting himself off, and Bishop from becoming cold and unfeeling. Please, Crew.”
Tears roll down my own cheeks as I hold her so tight I’m sure it hurts, but I can’t help it. If this is the last time I hold the woman who owns me mind, body and fucking soul, I’m going to make it count. “Okay,” I whisper. “I promise.”
“And help Luca. He never wanted the De Marco legacy, but it’s his now. He’ll keep it going, I know he will. I know he’ll do me and my dad proud.”
I nod. “He will. He’ll do a great job.”
“And I want you to live, Crew. Stop working yourself to the grave. Leave your office. See the world. Do something with all that money you’ve amassed over the years. Once the new generation takes over.” She coughs, and blood drips down her cheek. She presses her eyes closed before the dull gray meets mine again. “Once they take over, the Syndicate won’t have the same place it does now, so enjoy it. Enjoy life. For me.”
“Okay,” I choke even though I know it’ll be impossible. Once her heart stops beating, so will mine. I may continue to live. May continue to walk the earth. But I’ll be empty, devoid of anything good. But I’ll do the things I’m promising her. I’ll keep the others together, and I’ll make sure the De Marco legacy lives on. I’ll even travel and give up the Syndicate. But living will be out of the question once she’s gone.
Tears roll down her cheeks thick and fast as a sob escapes her and pain tugs at her features. “It hurts, Crew.”
“I know, Little Menace. I know it does.”
I tug her closer, lapping up what will be the last moments of her life and the last of mine as I know it. But then headlights bathe us in light, and I blink up at the group of vans that drive into the area.
It’s not until one of them is close enough for me to see the driver that I realize they’re ours.
Elias catches sight of us, and his face falls as he slams the van into park, and people start filing out of all four of them, but I drop my attention back to Camilla, who’s too still in my arms.
“You’ll get the chance to say goodbye yourself, Little Menace,” I choke as I hear three sets of footsteps sprinting toward us.