Chapter 46

Shay-Lee

After spending the rest of the day at the beach with Camilo, talking about Iván, we went to get some food in our system. We bought dinner at a taco food truck, then strolled to the pier, where we sat, eating together and watching the sunset. It gave us a bit of a break after twenty-four hours of hell, but the calmness of this moment ended once I told Camilo my plan.

"You better be joking." Rolling his taco wrap into a ball, he tossed it into the garbage bin and turned to me. "Tell me you're joking."

"It's a good plan, Camilo."

He huffed as he took the cigarette he had tucked behind his ear and put it between his lips. He was about to light it when he pulled it out and pointed at me. "Ain't no fucking way I'm going to allow it."

Jumping from the rail I sat on, I stood in front of him. "Why not? It's a good fucking plan."

"It's a suicide mission," he hissed, and I laughed.

"Says the one who was talking about shooting Dion between the eyes just a few hours ago."

He tilted his head at me. "You made me drop that idea, didn't you?"

I did, but it didn't mean he should do the same. My plan was a fucking masterpiece.

I smiled and put my hand on his shoulder as he lit his cigarette. "You just don't get it. We have two devils on our back. What better way than to send them after each other?"

"With you in the middle?" He blew the smoke out. "There's no fucking way."

I snorted. "I'm just the bait, babe. Nothing will happen to me."

Turning around, Camilo leaned his arms on the rail while smoking. The sounds of the waves crashing against the pier filled the silence as I came to rest beside him.

"You need to understand something about my father. He's a possessive, jealous narcissist who sees me as his possession." I took the cigarette from Camilo, brought it to my lips, and took a deep drag. Blowing the smoke out, I passed it back to him. "No offense, but to my father, you're nothing but a small obstacle in his way. He doesn't see you as a threat, and I bet my money he's positive I'll go running back to him any day now."

"Fucker," Camilo hissed.

"Dion is not the same. He's a rival. Someone to watch out for. Someone who can take away his control." When my father felt out of control, it was unsettling for him, and he acted on it. "Like you said, there are no coincidences in life, and my father visiting you at the club was intentional. Knowing him the way I do, he was there to check the grounds and to see who Dion was. I bet what he discovered pissed him off." Camilo said nothing as I went on. "All we need to do is make my father believe I'm done with you and moved on to Dion, and that's it. He'll find a way to get rid of him while Dion does the same. And as they burn each other to the ground, so will the chains binding us to them."

Camilo sighed and shifted his weight from one leg to the other before stretching his neck. "What if it doesn't work?"

Stealing his smoke once again, I took the last drag, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and pulled him into a shotgun kiss. When he opened his mouth to me, I blew the thick smoke between his parted lips and waited until he slowly exhaled before deepening the kiss.

I broke the kiss and locked eyes with him. "It will. All you need is to trust me."

Camilo held my stare for another moment before he nodded. "Fine." He cupped the back of my neck and pulled me close. "But you better promise me you'll keep yourself safe when I'm not there to do it myself."

I smiled. "You know I will."