“She okay?” Ace asks, bounding into view like a maniacal, overgrown puppy.
I snap my thoughts away from the past.
“Yeah, I think so. I’m going to get Shelley to look at her, just to be sure. She wants herbal tea, as well.”
I catch myself. What are we running, a fucking bed and breakfast?
“I’ll take the tea to her,” Ace offers, and he seems far too keen.
“No, you won’t. Shelley can do it. I need you on security.”
Pouting, Ace shrugs, but he knows better than to give me an argument.
“We’re going to kill the fucker who did that to her, aren’t we?” he asks, his tone jovial, like I’ve suggested we go hang out at a country fair for the day.
I growl. “I want to cut off his hands for touching her, his lips for kissing her, and then feed him each body part one by one.”
Ace bounces on his toes, a bundle of energy, and claps. “Sounds like a plan, Prez.”
“But,” I interject, “we have to play by the rules this time.”
“Whose rules? The college rules? Why? It didn’thappen on Verona Fall’s grounds, and she came to us for help.”
Me,I want to correct him. She came tomefor help.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to cause trouble for her or my daughter. You know Ivani would fucking kill me if I did that.” I can’t help but chuckle at the thought of her reaction. “She loves that place, and she loves Camile, too. I don’t want to screw anything up for her.”
Ace stares at me expectantly, waiting for my next command.
“You can fuck off now, Ace,” I tell him.
He throws me a salute. “Yes, Prez.” And he turns and leaves.
My teeth worry inside of my lower lip. Would the guy who hurt Camile be stupid enough to go back to Verona Falls? If so, my daughter is there. What if he knows Vani and Camile are friends and decides to use Vani to get revenge, or some other stupid shit like that? He might even have seen Camile come into the compound. Will he be expecting us to come find him?
I realize I don’t even know the fucker’s surname. These are all questions I should have asked Camile. I would have asked her, too, if my head was screwed on right.
First things first, though. The most important thing is to ensure my daughter is safe.
I take my cell phone from my pocket, scroll the screen, and hesitate over Vani’s name. As much as I know my daughter can handle herself, if I tell her directly what’s happened, she’ll want to do something about it. She’ll want to track down this asshole herself, or worse, will come to the compound to check on Camile. I want her to stay home and well away from the man who hurther friend. There’s also a dark part of me that doesn’t want her coming here and taking Camile away.
Instead, my finger lands on the name of one of her three men, Lex. I’m not happy about the fact my daughter is in a relationship with three men, but they all seem completely committed and to genuinely love one another. I have the most in common with Zane, but since he’s mute, I can hardly call him. Saint is Lex’s twin, and is bat-shit crazy half the time, though I never doubt his devotion to my daughter. Lex is the most sensible one, so his is the number I swipe.
“Jack, hey, what’s up?” I hear his French accent and the caution in his tone. He’s probably wondering why the fuck his father-in-law-to-be is calling. If you can call their weird shit a proper engagement. They swapped rings. Each of the men wears a big silver snake ring, and Vani a smaller one, but she can’t officially marry all of them, so I guess they’ll have to figure that out.
“Is Vani anywhere near?” I don’t want her to overhear.
“Err, no, she’s just gone down to the bar to meet Mackenzie and Ophelia for a drink. What’s going on?”
There’s a reassuring urgency to his voice, that shows me he isn’t fucking around when it comes to my daughter’s safety.
I explain to him what’s happened.
“Oh,merde,” he curses. “I know the guy. Well, I don’t know him, but I knowofhim. He’s not been at Verona Falls for long. He clearly doesn’t know the code of conduct. Is Camile okay?”
“A little shaken and bruised, but she’s okay. I’m keeping her here tonight to make sure she’s safe, and I want you to do the same for Vani and the other girls. Keep them safe, I mean.”
“Yeah, sure, Jack. No problem. I’ll let the others know, too. I’ll go bring Vani home now, and we won’t let her out of our sight. I know the other men will do the same for their women, too.”
