58. Cam
“Please don’t leave me. I’m scared,”
Kyla whispers, clutching my arm like a lifeline.
I want to say I have no time for fear.
But it’s not her fault the world broke her.
There will come a day when Kyla has to stand on her own feet, chin high, spine straight—but tonight, I’ll be what she needs. I owe her that. I owe her the protection I failed to give before.
“I’ll stay until you fall asleep,”
I promise quietly.
But my thoughts aren’t here.
They’re with Nell. That sly, triumphant smile she wore like a trophy, presenting me the bloodied corpse of a man who once haunted her—like a predator offering proof she’s not prey anymore.
She’s fire.
She’s everything.
But now I’ve got to be smarter and a hell of a lot sharper.
Someone found her. That means my alias could be compromised. If it is, we’re looking at a bloodbath, not a clean operation.
“Cam?”
“Yeah?”
She curls into me on the bed, her grip tightening, her presence heavy. But it’s not the closeness I crave. I’m here out of duty. Loyalty. Not desire.
I still love Kyla, in a faded, distant way.
But I’m brutally and irrevocably in love with Nell.
“I thought about you every day while I was gone. I never stopped loving you.”
Her words slice straight through my chest. I’ve explained this before. It kills me to repeat it, but I can’t let her live on borrowed hope.
“I searched for you for years, Kyla. I didn’t stop. I made a promise to bring you home, and I kept that promise. But we’ve both changed. You’ll always have a place here. But I can’t give you more than that. I’m sorry if that’s not what you want to hear—but we owe each other honesty.”
Silence.
She lets it hang in the air, then her fingers inch forward, curling around the holster on my chest. A reflex. Desperation maybe.
I have to be gentle. She’s shattered; she needs truth, but not cruelty.
“You once told me you’d always love me. That I was everything you could ever want.”
“Kyla… we both know the truth. Before you vanished, we were falling apart. We were teetering on divorce, pretending everything was fine when it wasn’t. I’ll never turn you away. I’ll always care about you. But I can’t be with you.”
“Because of her?”
The pain in her voice is raw.
And I respect that.
But sugar-coating this will only hurt her more in the long run.
“It’s not because of Nell. It’s because of us—how toxic we became. But saying that… me and Nell are together.”
Not officially, maybe. But it’s done. There’s no universe where I let her go. She’s mine. She’s out of the dating pool for good.
“How could you do this to me? After everything? Do I mean nothing now?”
Her tears soak into my shirt, but I can’t meet her eyes.
We were toxic.
We were inches from collapse.
Has she really forgotten that—or did the monsters she met during captivity make our broken love look like salvation?
Either way, the truth is set; I belong to Nell. No grey areas.
She is my obsession. My catalyst. My ruin.
“You’ll always mean something to me, Kyla. But I’m not in love with you anymore. And deep down, you’re not in love with me either. Not really. Just get some sleep—we’ll talk more when you’ve had rest.”
She doesn’t respond. Just breathes. Still clinging to me.
But eventually, her breathing steadies.
I gently unravel her fingers from my chest and slip away, quiet as the guilt pressing into my spine.
Nell’s waiting on the sofa, curled up with Boomerang, stroking his fur like she didn’t just maim a man into oblivion.
I study her face, the way she watches the TV so peacefully.
God, I hope this doesn’t haunt her.
I wanted to shield her from death. From all the trauma.
But she seems… startlingly okay.
“Sorry, trouble,”
I murmur, sliding beside her, nuzzling into the hollow between her collarbone and jaw.
“That’s okay,”
she exhales. Her smile is soft, full of warmth that melts straight into me.
“If you need help clearing up, I’m available.”
“I think you’ve done enough damage for one day,”
I chuckle, cupping her cheek.
“Me and Talia will handle it. I just need to make sure you’re okay before I head back out.”
She leans into me, her head against my shoulder. Her eyes flutter closed for a brief moment.
“I’m fine.”
God, she’s my little fighter.
My trouble.
Between the two of us, we heave the mangled corpse into the trailer—limbs twisted, bloodied flesh clinging to bone in places where skin used to be. The body thuds against the metal floor with a grim finality.
Talia had already swept the area like the seasoned phantom she is—tire tracks smeared, footprints brushed away, blood pooled and buried beneath layers of moss. The only remnants left to deal with are him… and the stick Nell used to carve her justice, still crusted with hair, bits of flesh stubbornly clinging to the grain.
I swear, this woman has an affinity for wood.
It’s unnerving, yet borderline poetic.
But I’ll give her credit. What she does with a broken branch is more precise than most men could manage with a blade.
“If he knew who she was,”
Talia says, voice cold and clipped.
“we’re out of time.”
I nod. No need to echo what’s already carved into my brain.
This attack didn’t just rattle our nerves—it accelerated everything. We were working with weeks. Now? Days.
The next auction won’t be a recon mission. It’ll be an assault. Broker identified or not—we’re going in. Because I can’t risk Nell being found.
Not again. Not ever.
This one was a lone predator. Next time, we might be outnumbered. And when that day comes, I plan to be ready.
As for the intruder, he’s going exactly where he belongs—buried beneath the new garage foundations I’ve started laying. By tomorrow, a ton of cement will seal him under for good.
A permanent grave. Right under my nose. Easy to keep tabs on.
I make a mental note to call the contractors first thing. He’ll vanish like he never existed.
Talia’s already taken care of the other evidence—quiet and efficient, as always.
“We need to be careful,”
Talia says, flicking dirt from her gloves.
“If the girls hear gunfire at the auction, it’ll be chaos. One stray shot and we could lose them. We need either Nell or Kyla in there to help guide the girls out.”
She’s right. This can’t turn into a frenzy. We’re here to extract victims—not bury them.
Still, I wasn’t planning on involving Nell. She’s been through enough. Keeping her close but away from the front lines felt safer. But after tonight?
She’s ready.
And I think I’ve finally figured out how to use that fire inside her.
“I’ll talk to her first,”
I say, wiping sweat from my brow and setting my tools aside.
“But if we put her up as bait we need to make it look legit—we wait till everyone’s inside… then we drop the hammer. She keeps the girls safe. We make sure nobody walks out except us.”
Talia nods once, calculating.
“But there’s no guarantee the Broker will be there.”
“I know. I still don’t have a name, just whispers. But we don’t have time to keep playing it slow. If they’ve figured out Nell’s location, or that I’m not who I say I am… it’s over.”
I pace a few steps, visualising the play.
“In buyer gear, I blend in. You do the extraction. They won’t be able to tell us apart under cover. But I can’t lie low anymore. Not while Nell’s vulnerable. Most of the bastards we’re after will be there. That’s our shot and we need to take it.”
Talia’s already scanning the horizon, gears turning in that razor-sharp mind. We both know we’re out of time.
I’ll figure out how they tracked her, but it will have to come after.
Same goes for Kyla. If they find her? She won’t survive round two. I won’t let her get dragged back into the dark.
Once the intruder’s body is buried beneath a thin layer of soil, I make a direct line for Nell. Talia’s already shifting into planning mode—her focus is razor-sharp, her resolve locked in. Tomorrow’s operation needs every moving piece primed, but before anything else, I need to know where Nell stands.
She’s curled on the sofa like nothing’s happened, one hand wrapped around a steaming bowl of noodles, the other lazily flipping through channels.
My gaze flicks to the kitchen counter and I instantly regret it. I swear, it’s like a food tornado hit. Crumbs, sauce splatters, seasoning packets everywhere. It’s chaos.
And weirdly enough? It doesn’t bother me anymore.
The mess is hers. It means she’s here. Safe.
That’s something I can live with.
“Hungry?”
I drop into the seat beside her, flexing my fists subtly to hide the dirt still clinging to my knuckles.
“You want some?”
she asks, gesturing with her fork. When I don’t immediately respond, she starts to rise, all ready to make me a bowl.
“No, I’m good,”
I say quickly. Too quickly. Her eyes narrow with suspicion.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Just not hungry. But… I do need to talk to you about something.”
She leans back, curls her legs beneath her, and slurps up a mouthful of noodles.
“Okay… shoot.”
“How would you feel about helping us extract a group of girls from Manticore tomorrow night?”
I brace for her reaction—expect her to stiffen, maybe shut down at the name.
But she doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t freeze.
Instead, she lights up—actually lights up.
“Seriously? Hell yes! Count me in. That prick from today? He’s just the warm-up.”
She’s practically vibrating with energy, already crafting violent daydreams in her head.
“Alright, slow down,”
I say, resting a hand on her thigh to ground her—and maybe myself.
Her skin’s so soft and warm beneath my palm. And damn, the way she looks at me… my dick jerks instantly.
Focus.
“Me, Talia, and the team will handle the extraction. But I need you inside. I need someone who can speak to the girls—earn their trust. Help them understand what’s coming so they don’t panic or blow our cover. When the time comes, you’ll be the one to lead them to safety.”
She’s listening carefully now, eyes alert and serious.
“There’s one condition,”
I continue.
“You’ll have to go in posing as a lot item. We can’t risk raising suspicion. But I swear to you, no one will touch you. It’ll be for show—just until we move.”
She doesn’t question me, she’s just nodding wildly.
“I trust you,”
she says simply.
“Besides… they won’t know what hit them.”
Her clumsy smile reminds me just how lucky I am that girl came bulldozing into my life.
I love her so fucking much.