Chapter 29
ACE
The mask is so dry, it feels like my skin is parched. I can’t see why this is good for me, and I must look like an idiot.
“I think it’s time to take it off,” I mumble, feeling my skin crack. I remove the cucumber from my eyes so I can see again. My vision is all blurry, and I blink a couple of times to clear it.
The prettiest girl in the world comes into focus.
“Okay.” Camile jumps up. “Let me take it off.”
She has a face cloth in her hand, and she runs to the kitchen and returns with it steaming from being run under hot water. She proceeds to wipe the mask off, her strokes gentle but firm.
“So, do I have the skin of a male model?” I turn my face one direction and then the next so she can see.
“It’s certainly glowing,” she says, a hint of uncertainty in her tone.
Mackenzie grimaces. “It’s kind of red.”
Red? I stand and walk to the bathroom, where I take a look in the mirror. My face really is red, and blotchy as well. Damn. I think I may be having an allergic reaction to the face mask.
“What should I do?” I ask Camile as I stare at my increasingly angry-looking face in dismay.
“It will be okay,” she reassures me. “We just need to put some soothing cream on your skin. That will help calm things down. I’m sorry.
I’ve used that mask before on myself and I’ve never had any problem with it.
” She presses her fingers to my cheek and smiles.
“You must just be such a sensitive baby.”
Honestly, I’d set my whole head on fire if it meant she kept touching me.
She takes a jar out of the bathroom cabinet and unscrews the lid.
She scoops the thick white cream out of the jar with two fingers and slowly spreads it over my face.
I will admit that it feels nice and cool against my skin.
I also like having her this up-close and personal.
Her breasts are mere inches from my chest. and her chin is upturned as she focuses on applying the cream.
I fight the urge to spin her around and pin her against the sink and wrap her lovely legs around my hips.
I wonder how long it will take to get rid of our guests.
“Hurry up, you guys. We’re doing nails next.” The shout comes from the living room, and I turn to Camile with a raised brow.
“Oh, no.” I shake my head. “I’m not having an allergic reaction to nail polish. Plus, the guys will give me such a hard time.”
They must be able to hear me in the living room because Mackenzie laughs and calls back.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got some dark goth colors in my kit, too, so you can just look like an emo kid.”
Sighing, I glance back to Camile, but when I see the light shining in her eyes, I can’t say no. She seems so happy in this moment with her friend here with us, and it warms my heart. I take her hand, lacing my fingers through hers, and walk back into the living room with her.
Mackenzie is sitting by Kirill, on the floor, with her legs drawn up, and she has one of his hands resting on her knee as she paints his nails a shocking pink.
“That suits you.” I smirk.
He shrugs lazily. “I like pink. It’s one of my favorite colors.”
Mackenzie nods as she carries on carefully painting his nails. “Kirill is very secure in his masculinity, and he doesn’t give a damn what other people think, do you?”
Kirill smirks. “No one matters but you, Kukla.”
“What does Kukla mean?” I ask, curious.
Mackenzie blushes, and Kirill’s smirk widens into a grin. “It means doll. My pretty, perfect doll.”
Well, fuck. I don’t quite know what to say to that. Luckily for me, I don’t have to reply, as Camile sidles up to me and pulls me to sit next to her on the rug.
“Your turn,” she says. “We’d better do this on the floor.
I don’t want to spill any nail polish on the couch.
” She rummages through the supplies Mackenzie brought with her until she finds a dark bottle and holds it up in front of me.
“Is this suitable, do you think? It’s almost black.
You’ll look like that singer, you know the famous one everybody lusts after. ”
I have no clue what singer she’s talking about, but I nod and give her the go-ahead to start painting my nails.
Christ, I really must be madly in love. I wonder when I can tell her. What will she say back? What if I scare her off? I know I can be too much for people.
She works away diligently, and her pink tongue pokes out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrates. I want to lean forward and kiss her and take that divine pink tip into my own mouth, but I don’t. I let her continue what she’s doing because it’s quite clear she’s loving every minute of this.
Once she’s finished, she sits back and admires her handiwork. “They look great, if I say so myself. I think the guys will dig this.”
“I’ll probably get beaten to a pulp, but it will be worth it. If it makes you happy.”
“Oh, look how much he cares about you.” Mackenzie is grinning at us.
The girls both pick colors and paint each other’s nails, chattering away as they do, and I’m mostly content to sit back and watch them.
It seems that Kirill is, too. Every now and again, we chat about bikes and cars, but we don’t have a lot in common, so much of the time, we simply sit and watch our women. Still, he seems like a decent guy.
At some point, I grab us another beer, and the girls down more shots of vodka as their nails dry, and they start gossiping about what’s going on at the college, and who is talking about who.
Camile’s face suddenly grows serious, and she picks at some imaginary lint on her jeans as she looks up at her friend from under her lashes.
“What is everyone saying about me?”
Mackenzie glances at Kirill then back to Camile. “There have been lots of rumors, some of which are kind of wild. I even heard someone say you disappeared and will never be found. Someone else said that you’d been kidnapped by a gang of feral people who live in the woods.”
“Feral people who live in the woods?” Camile repeats, her eyes wide. “Well, I guess that’s not what I was expecting. But hey, thinking about it, can you try to spread those kinds of rumors?”
“What?” Mackenzie’s eyebrows draw together.
Actually, what Camile has said makes a lot of sense, and I hum in agreement.
“Yeah, if you guys could spread some false rumors around the college, that would be helpful. The fewer people who know where Camile is, the better. She could still be in danger.” I don’t go into any further details about exactly what kind of danger.
Still, Mackenzie is Camile’s best friend, and Kirill is one of her men, so I assume we can trust them.
“If they believe she’s been taken by some freaky wood dwelling people—”
“Like The Preachers,” Kirill interrupts with a smirk, and is delivered a swift elbow in the ribs from Mackenzie.
Unsure exactly what he means, I continue. “Or being held somewhere by a gang, or even that she’s been taken out of state or out of the country, that would actually be good.”
“You’re still in danger?” Mackenzie’s eyes grow wide, and she blinks rapidly as if trying to fight back tears.
“She’s with us, and we’re all looking out for her,” I reassure her friend.
“The security here at the compound has been overhauled, and she’s always got club members with her, but it would still be helpful if people didn’t know where she was.
Anything that can act as misdirection helps us while we’re trying to sort things out for Camile, that’s all.
There’s no need to worry, because we won’t let anyone touch a hair on her head. ”
Guilt hits me as I think about how we failed her before, and most certainly did let people touch a hair on her head. We let strange men touch her all over, and I will never be able to forgive myself for that.
The moment when we first found her, and the way she’d looked at us, all abject and cowed, will haunt my nightmares forever.
I’m pretty sure Jack and Ghost feel the same way.
As for Rook, he’s going to be dealing with the aftermath of this whole situation for the rest of his life.
You don’t just recover from something like that.
Not fully. You carry on, of course, and the scars slowly heal over time and the deep cuts to the soul knit together, but they’re still there, etched in your psyche.
“I’ll enjoy spreading some heinous rumors, don’t you worry.” Kirill takes a swig of his beer. “I live for that kind of mischief-making.”
“He really does.” Mackenzie sighs and rolls her eyes. She refocuses her attention on Camile. “What’s going to happen as far as you graduating?”
“Honestly, Zee, I don’t know. I can’t bring myself to think that far ahead. I’m not sure it’s safe for me to go back to the college.”
My stomach drops at the thought of her wanting to go back to the college and leave us, but then she adds, “Or that I want to.”
“You could do some classes online?” Mackenzie offers her a gentle smile. “You know I’ll speak to the dean on your behalf.”
Camile’s lips press together in a thin line. “With what’s happened with my family, I don’t even know if my dad had paid up until the end of the year. If he hasn’t…”
“Seriously, Camile.” Mack’s tone is stern. “Do not worry about that. You know Nataniele won’t fight me if I insist on you graduating, no matter what.”
I glance between the two women, unsure who they’re talking about or why Mackenzie has so much swag.
“Nataniele, the dean,” Camile explains, “is also Mack’s father-in-law.”
“Aah, handy to have friends in high places,” I say.
Kirill looks at his watch, an extremely expensive Rolex, the flash bastard.
“We ought to be getting back soon,” he says.
“But we didn’t even get to watch a movie,” Mackenzie protests.
“You’ll just have to come back again, and we can watch one next time.” Camile smiles at her friend, happy in her company. “I really hope you’ll come again soon. This has done me a world of good.”
“I’ll try to visit next week if I can.” Mackenzie looks to her man. “You’ll bring me over next week, right?”