30. Camile
CAMILE
I plump up a new couch cushion in Jack’s house, then stand back to admire my handiwork.
I’m trying to make his house a bit nicer for when he returns home.
It’s so bare and basic. The man has no homely touches, and I’ve been trying to fix that.
Rook and Ace took me shopping for some homeware accessories, and I came back armed with lamps and cushions and throws.
It’s been almost a week since the rescue of Ghost and Shelley’s sister. An entire week, but it feels both longer and shorter.
Shorter because it’s been amazing in so many ways.
I’ve been spoiled and cared for by my men.
I slept at Ghost’s place the first night back.
I couldn’t leave him alone with the bruises on his body and his battered face.
Thankfully, his eye has healed since then, and the swelling has gone down.
The next day, we all went to see Jack in the hospital.
After that, Ace and Rook spent a couple of nights with me. I didn’t get much sleep then!
The fourth night, all three men gave me hours of orgasms, before leaving Ghost with me, to sleep over again.
And last night, all four of us stayed at what I now think of as my house.
It was a chilled night, we watched a movie, and then I fell asleep on the couch, only to be carried to bed and to wake up with Ghost behind me, his arms around me, and Ace on my other side, clinging stubbornly to the edge of the mattress.
When I got up to pee, I went looking and found that Rook had fallen asleep on the bed in the spare room, so I put a blanket over him and kissed his forehead.
I am surrounded by love, and very spoiled indeed. But two things are stopping it from being perfect. My family and Jack.
I miss Jack so much and want him to be with us, back here where he belongs. Luckily for me, that day is coming, and he’ll be released from the hospital tomorrow.
As for my family, Saul, Ghost, Phoenix, and Jack have been looking at ways to bring them to the United States that will be safe for them.
My mom has citizenship here, but it’s the journey that will endanger them. Even though Hector is dead, and we’ve cut the head off the snake, his cartel was huge, and some of his family remain alive. We have no idea if there will be anyone watching out for their names on flight manifests.
In the end, help has come from an unlikely source, Vani’s men. Lex and Saint’s family has a private jet, and they’ve offered to let my mom and brother use it to get here. Who would have thought a couple of years ago that the Vipers would be coming to the rescue of me and my family?
The details need to be discussed and nailed down, but at least I can see light at the end of the tunnel.
As I rearrange the throw I’ve tried to artfully drape over the back of Jack’s very plain leather couch, the front door opens.
I jump at the sound. What the hell? Is Jack home early?
Footsteps pound down the stairs as Ace runs down to join me to make sure it’s not anyone meaning me harm. He’s still paranoid, as is Jack, and so I always have a shadow with me.
We walk through to the hallway in time to see Vani walk in, brandishing a key.
Of course, she’d have a key to her father’s house.
She glances up and stops dead in her tracks, causing Saint to bump into her from behind. I can tell it’s him from the way he dresses differently and doesn’t have a mole, unlike his twin, Lex.
Fuck, she would have Saint with her. While he can appear as if he’s the life and soul of the party, I know only too well that Saint is basically crazy. If only she’d brought Zane with her instead.
“Camile.” Her tone is a little flat and she bites her lip.
“Hey, Vani.” I keep my voice bright and force a smile. “I just… um…”
“We bought some things for Jack,” Ace supplies. “His house is like a monk’s cell.”
Vani looks beyond me into the living room, and spying the soft throw cushions and vase on the table with flowers, offers me a smile.
“Pretty.” Holding up a bag, she grins. “I figured the place could use some womanly touches. It seems great minds think alike.”
“And fools seldom differ.” Saint smirks.
“Hey.” Vani elbows him in the side and turns back to me. “I bought some food, too, and drinks. I figured his fridge would be full of beer and not much else.”
“Americans and their love for beer.” Saint rolls his eyes. “We French drink fine wine, Champagne, dine on oysters and the finest cheeses, and here everywhere I look it’s fast food, snacks, and beer.”
Ace is staring at Saint as if he’s grown a second head.
“Dude,” he says indignantly, “what’s wrong with fast food?”
“Everything.” Saint’s reply is droll.
He really carries himself as if he’s a royal from Versailles, transported to modern America and forced to suffer such indignities as burgers and fries.
“Um… shall we go into the kitchen, and I can show you what I bought?” Vani’s suggestion takes me by surprise.
“Sure, that would be great.”
We head that way, and Saint goes to follow us. “Give us a minute?” Vani asks him.
He frowns but shrugs. “Okay, I will be in the living room. With the biker,” he adds, sending Ace a side-eye.
Before Vani shuts the kitchen door behind us, I hear Ace ask Saint if he’s ever been stabbed by a porcupine quill and can’t help but giggle, especially when Saint cursing in French follows.
“You look good, Camile,” Vani says, setting down her bags. “Glowing, even.”
I brace myself for it, the moment she tells me I need to leave her father alone and be happy with what I already have.
It never comes. Instead, she puts her hands on her hips and sighs. “Camile, I owe you a massive apology. I’m really sorry for how I treated you.”
Nothing she said could have surprised me more. I stare at her for a moment then run to her and pull her in for a big hug.
“Do you mean that?” I ask.
She nods against me. “I really do. I’ve been doing some soul searching, especially after Dad got hurt, and what he said to me in the hospital. It was totally selfish of me, acting the way I did. You’re an incredible person and an amazing friend, and my dad is lucky to have you. To have all of you.”
“Vani, I’ve missed you,” I say into her hair as tears fill my eyes.
“Same,” she says with a sniffle, gently pushing me away so she can look me in the eye. “Just promise me one thing. Don’t go any further with this, unless you’re sure. My father doesn’t fall easy, but when he does, he falls hard. You must know one hundred percent that he’s what you want.”
“He really is,” I state simply. “I love him, Vani. With all my heart.”
She bites at her lower lip. “Is it possible that we could make up? Do you think you could ever bring yourself to forgive me for the awful things I’ve said to you?
” Her voice cracks with emotion. “I’ve been torturing myself with them, going over and over them in my head, and wondering how I could possibly have spoken to you that way when you were going through so much.
I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s like I lost my mind for a while there.
I’ve been a complete bitch, Camile. I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Of course, I can,” I say. “I understand. I do.”
She smiles and wipes away tears of her own. “Friends again, then?”
“Friends,” I confirm.
We grin at each other and then hug and laugh. I swear my heart feels a million times lighter. I hadn’t realized how much Vani’s disapproval had been hanging over me. It finally feels like everything is falling into place. All we need now is Jack home.
Vani empties all her bags, and we oooh and aaah over the purchases, unwrapping things and discussing where in the house they’ll look best. Ace and Saint watch sports on the television and leave us in peace to work our magic.
“Dad is going to hate all this stuff,” Vani chuckles.
I join her laughter. “Isn’t he just!”
Upstairs in Jack’s bedroom, I help Vani make the bed. I pause, wanting to ask her something but not sure if it will upset her. In the end, I put it out there.
“Vani, how come there aren’t many pictures of your mom around?”
Her face falls and her mouth tightens. “Dad never got over it, you know? It was traumatic. A horrific accident, and he blames himself.” She rubs her nose as if it’s itching.
“Still, I guess, in some ways, that’s easier for you, right?
” Then she slaps her hand over her mouth dramatically.
“Oh, God, that sounded bitchy, and I genuinely didn’t mean it that way.
Just that it would be weird with pics of Mom all over the place. ”
I consider her words for a long moment. “Actually, no. I don’t think it’s healthy he doesn’t have some up, and I’d never, ever want him to forget your mother. Maybe you could pick out two or three pictures of the three of you, and I can get them framed?”
Her eyes widen. “You’d do that?”
“Yes, of course. I don’t want to erase his past, Vani.”
She pulls me into her arms for another hug, and we squeeze one another tight.
“Let’s never fall out like that again,” I say.
We head into the living room, and I laugh as I see Saint perched on the couch, watching the game with his nose wrinkled and lip curled, as if he’s in hell.
There’s a pounding at the door. Jesus, they don’t need to break it down!
I go to answer it. Phoenix is waiting on the porch, in jeans and a tight, faded t-shirt, cut in a way that shows off his bulging biceps.
“Hey, what’s up?” I ask.
“I brought over some pain stuff that might help Jack. It’s natural things like tiger balm and magnesium.” He shrugs. “I get pain sometimes, and they can help on the days when it’s not so bad that I need to crack open the hard meds.”
Vani and Saint wander into the hallway.
“We’re going to get going,” Vani says. She lifts her gaze beyond me, and her eyes light up.
“Phoenix!” she cries.
She knows him from growing up in her father’s first chapter, which Phoenix was a big part of.
“Hey, there, Vani.” He grins at her.
They hug, and Saint gives Phoenix a once over. “Merde, what did you do? You have all these muscles now.”
“He’s always had muscles,” Vani says, looking puzzled.
“Yes, but with also some fat, no?”
I bite back my shocked gasp. If Saint didn’t have that French accent, I swear he’d get punched way more than he does. It somehow lends his insults a kind of charming air.
“Nice to see you too, Saint.” Phoenix just rolls his eyes. “I upped the gym sessions, after I got too soft. Need to be able to take fuckers like you down.”
Saint clicks his tongue against his teeth. “Ah, my friend, I am a lover, not a fighter.”
“On that note, you cheesy bastard, let’s go.” Vani tugs on Saint’s sleeve.
She pauses at the door and hugs me again, and I feel the old warmth there.
Maybe things really will be okay after all.