Chapter 28
CAMILE
The next day, I am excited to see Mackenzie, but worried about the guys. Ghost left around ten this morning, and Rook came and took his place. I haven’t seen Ace and really want to catch up with him. So, when early afternoon rolls around, I turn to Rook, who is scrolling social media on his phone.
“Do you know where Ace is?”
He glances up and nods. “I think he’s at the barn. He sent me a message to see if I was okay with staying with you a while longer.”
I hate feeling like a burden. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want, Rook. I know Jack has this thing that one of you four, or Big Mike, must always be with me, but it’s ridiculous when there are armed men outside my door.”
Rook puts his phone down and fixes me with an angry glare. “Camile, I like spending time with you. It’s the place I want to be the most, okay?”
I shrug, not quite believing him.
“Come here.” He pats the couch beside him, and I walk over. He immediately pulls me onto his lap. “What gives?”
“I don’t know. I feel as if Ace is avoiding me.” I examine my nails. “And everything’s off since we were taken.”
“Everyone is tense. That’s natural. We don’t want to face another raid, and we’ve got to try to figure out how Ledger’s family might react when they figure out he’s dead. Trust me, though, no one is upset with you.”
“But this is all my fault. If I hadn’t run here the night Ledger attacked me, I wouldn’t have drawn all of you into this mess.”
“No, but you might be dead, or married to that son of a bitch, and that would be so much worse.”
I realize I am all up in my own head because Rook went through so much shit, too.
“How are you?” I ask, my voice sounding small.
“I’m okay. You?”
“Okay.”
We glance at one another, and understanding passes between us. He pulls me closer and kisses the top of my head. I exhale a long breath, and my muscles relax a fraction.
“I wonder if Jack has found out anything more about my family,” I say.
“I want them here, with me, but I can’t see him letting that happen.
It would put the club in the crosshairs of the cartel, even more than it has already.
But they’re so vulnerable where they are.
Long term, they can’t stay in Mexico. They need to come to the US. ”
“I think Jack would take the moon out of the sky for you, to be honest, Camile. Talk with him.”
Talk with him, like Jack isn’t a scary force of nature. Even after what happened between us last night, I still find him intimidating as hell.
“Shall we get out of here? Take a walk and go find Ace?”
I nod. “I’d like that. I’m so glad you and he are cool with this setup we’ve got. I know it’s not usual.”
Rook chuckles. “Me and Ace go way back, and he’s my friend. I don’t mind sharing with him, and it means I don’t have to hurt the woman I love by making her choose.”
My breath stalls in my throat. I know we’ve kind of danced around our feelings and how they’re deepening but … did Rook just tell me he loves me?
“Come on.” He shifts me off his lap then stands and holds his hand out for me to take and helps me up off the couch. “Let’s go find that reprobate.”
We find Ace in the barn, just as Rook had said. I thought he’d be with the kittens, but he’s not. He’s got a rectangular glass box in front of him, and he’s placing plants and what looks like rotten vegetation inside it.
At the sound of our steps, he turns and flashes me a blinding grin. “Hey, Camile, how are you feeling?”
“Um, good. What’s going on?”
“Oh.” His face falls. “I fucking stepped on a group of four snails this morning. Four.” He looks at me with big, imploring eyes.
“Felt a crunch under my foot and lifted it immediately, but one was completely smooshed. Serious snail jam. Anyway, three of them weren’t too bad—I must have just knocked them with the side of my boot—so I scooped them up into a plastic tub, and then I went to buy the things they need.
Their shells can regrow if the damage isn’t too severe.
” He’s speaking fast as he gestures at the stuff around him.
“See? I’ve got the terrarium I need from the pet store.
And I went to the kitchen and got some veggies for them to eat.
You guys have great timing. I’m just about to put them into their hospital. ”
His gaze darts over me. “That’s why I haven’t been to see you yet, sorry. I’ll make it up to you later.”
“You… you made a hospital for snails?” I stare at him.
“Yeah, of course. I stood on them. I murdered their friend in cold blood, or at least cold snail goop. It’s the least I can do. You’re not mad, are you? I didn’t mean to put some snails first.”
This is the guy who fucked Ledger up the ass with a broom handle. I can’t wrap my head around it. A laugh bursts from my mouth. “No, Ace. I’m not mad. I think it’s sweet that you’re trying to save the snails. I think any gardeners around might question your loyalty, though.”
He puts the lid on the terrarium so they can’t escape. “Every living creature deserves to eat.” Then he seems to think about what he’s just said. “Actually, scratch that. Spiders don’t deserve to eat anything. They can all starve to death, for all I care.”
Rook joins in. “Spiders are nature’s pest control. We’d all be eaten alive by mosquitos without them, and we need them to protect agriculture.”
Laughter erupts from me again, and I find myself bent double as I try to speak. “Why do I feel like I’ve ended up in a nature documentary?”
Ace starts bopping around, humming a song. His head nods side to side and his hips swivel.
“What the hell are you doing now?” Rook asks.
“It’s like how that song goes…” He hums a little more, then breaks out with a famous line from a song from the 90’s about doing it like animals.
I giggle. “You’re certifiably nuts.”
Maybe I was wrong to say Ace was well adjusted to Ghost, because he is kind of certifiable, but at least he can communicate his feelings.
He picks me up, so my legs automatically hook around his waist, my arms around his strong neck.
“I mean, let’s fuck like animals.” He grins, displaying his dimples.
I ruffle his mop of curls. “Not right now, we’re not. I’ve got a friend and one of her guys coming to the compound to hang out. I do not want to look or smell like I’ve been banging two men in a barn.”
He puts me back down, and maybe a little part of me is disappointed.
From the look on Rook’s face, he feels the same.
I didn’t mean to let them down, but I need to figure out a way to exist with all these men without constantly thinking about sex.
I’m worried that I’ll end up using it as a crutch instead of processing everything that’s happened, and numbing the fear of what still lies ahead.
Even though I feel safe now, especially with these men, it doesn’t change the fact that my life as I’d known it has been blown to smithereens.
I have no idea if I’m going to be able to graduate or what will become of me after I do.
I don’t know for sure that my family is still safe, or what they’ll do or where they’ll go once the heat has died down.
I don’t want to think about what the cartel will do when they realize Ledger isn’t coming home.
“I can’t hang out this evening,” Rook says, jutting out his lower lip. “Jack’s got me on a job.”
My heart patters, and he must have seen my alarm because he adds, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing dangerous. Just moving some shit around. He’s going to have me doing all the worst jobs for some time to come.”
Feeling guilty now, I nibble at the skin on my lower lip. “I can have a word with him, if you want. See if he’ll let you off.”
“That’s sweet, Camile, but this is my shit, not yours. It’s club business, and I need to take my punishment if I’m ever going to be fully patched in. Having my girlfriend run to the club President because I don’t want to do something isn’t going to look good for me.”
A little thrill goes through me. He just called me his girlfriend! I can’t stop the smile tugging my cheeks. “I understand.”
Ace has gone back to his snails but looks up. “I can be there. I’d like to meet your friends. Have you told them about us yet?”
I arch my brow. “Us?”
He motions between me, Rook and himself. “Yeah, us.”
My smile grows wider. So, we are a thing. Maybe I should feel a little insulted that they’re both just assuming without asking me if I want to make things official, but I’m just too happy to care.
“Do you want me to tell them?” I’m testing the waters.
“Hell, yes.” Ace grabs me again and swings me around until I squeal. “I’d put it on a fucking loudspeaker and announce it to the world if I could.”
He sets me down again and kisses me. I glance over at Rook, who’s grinning.
“Okay. I will, if you’re both all right with it.”
Both guys nod their agreement, and I take turns kissing them.
That evening, I’ve tried to make the house seem as homey as I can, wanting to show it off to Mackenzie, which is dumb, because it’s not like it’s actually my house.
It’s just a stopgap until I figure out what the hell my future looks like.
One thing I’m feeling more certain of now is my future will have at least a couple of men in it—namely Ace and Rook.
Ace is here now, helping me get things ready.
He’s brought his snails with him, and the terrarium is now sitting on the sideboard in the living room.
“You know they’re not staying,” I warn him with a shudder.
They better not get out of their glass house.
“Why not? It’s good to have a pet.”
“Yeah, something cute and fluffy, not slimy and gooey.”
He brightens. “Like one of the kittens, once they’re ready to leave their mama?”
“Ace, my life is nowhere near stable enough to take on the responsibility of having a pet. Especially not one that could live for fifteen years. I’m not sure where I’m going to be in fifteen days, never mind that long.”
A frown tugs at his brow, but he doesn’t say anything.
I stare at the snails again. “Why do you like to save things so much, Ace?”