I hurry on, trying to fill the silence. “Forget I asked. I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation…”
“Of course I can come over, but I’ll tell you what I’ve already told Vani. You’re both important to me, and I’m not going to take sides. I want to knock your heads together and make you sort it out, but I won’t get in the middle. So… as long as you’re not going to tell me about how madly in love with Jack you are, then I can come see you.”
“I don’t want to talk about Jack. There’s nothing between me and him,” I lie. “I umm… I’ve kind of gotten myself involved with two other men, maybe three.”
“What?” Her squeal has me holding the phone awayfrom my ear. “Damn, Camile. I never had you down as the type.”
“What type?” I demand.
“Like me,” she says with a laugh. “Okay, now I really have to come. Will I be allowed?”
I haven’t asked, but I can’t see Jack saying no, not to my friend coming over for a few hours. And if he does, I’ll just cry or something. He can’t deal with that.
“Yes, of course. Is tomorrow night okay?”
“One minute.” She calls out to someone in the room, her voice slightly muffled as she turns her face from the cell phone. “Can I go to the biker compound to see Camile tomorrow?”
I recognize the deep voice that answers her as belonging to Dom. “Only if one of us goes with you.”
“I think I’ll be safe with Vani’s dad in charge,” Mackenzie argues.
“Non-negotiable,” Dom growls.
Mack lets out a huff. “Fine.” She must put her mouth back to the cell phone as her voice grows louder again. “I can come, but I’ve got to bring one of the men with me.”
“That will be great. Come over tomorrow. We can have a proper girl’s night.”
I end the call, and, with the knowledge that Ghost is asleep in the other room, and that I’m safe, I snuggle down into my bed. I’m no longer frightened of the nightmares that might come but comforted by the people in my life who care about me.
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 Iwalk 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.
