31. Camille

Chapter 31

Camille

I ’d been staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed and face Kage. Things between us felt awkward after last night - he told me he wanted to be with me, but I was back to doubting how much of that was true. He was Kage O'Hare. He made things happen. He had the power of the Irish mob behind him. If he wanted something, truly wanted it, he should be able to find a way to make it happen.

A half hour later, after I was sure Kage had left for class, I finally dragged myself out of bed and got showered and dressed. I trudged downstairs and made myself a coffee, hoping the caffeine hit would help lift me out of the funk I was in.

My phone beeped. I reached for it, half-expecting it to be Kage, but it was a calendar reminder that I was late for my tutoring session with Drew. I sighed. The last thing I felt like doing was studying math. Then again, maybe a distraction was exactly what I needed. I headed to the library and to the table where Drew and I always met.

I waited. Then waited some more.

Frowning, I checked my phone again. It was nearly an hour after the time I had arranged to meet Drew, and he still wasn’t here. He also wasn’t answering his phone or replying to my texts. It was totally out of character for him. Something was wrong. I could feel it. I stood up and headed to Drew's dorm room, where we'd had sessions a couple of times.

I rapped lightly on the door, glancing down the hallway while I waited for Drew to answer. After a minute, the door cracked open, and a guy with scruffy dark hair and wire rimmed glasses peered out at me. He looked like he was either half asleep or high. Considering it was almost noon, the latter was probably more likely.

He frowned at me. “Where’s the pizza?”

“What?” I shook my head. “No, I’m not a delivery person. I’m looking for Drew. We had a tutoring session, and he didn’t show.”

The guy frowned at me. “That’s because he left.”

I stared at him, confused. Drew had literally texted me two days ago, confirming our session.

“Left?” I repeated. “When? Why?”

“What am I, his mother? I don’t know. I literally came back from class, and he was gone, all moved out.”

“And you didn’t think that was odd?” I asked.

If my roommate had suddenly left, I’d have had questions. It made me think of Ava and the way we had left things, and a shudder ran down my spine. I’d gone after her to get answers and look how that had turned out.

“Not really,” the guy looked bored with the conversation. “He kept to himself. Can I go now? I’ve got some important work to get back to.”

I almost rolled my eyes. “Sure, thanks for your help,” I muttered, even though he was no help at all.

Maybe Drew and his boyfriend had made up? Ran away together?

Or maybe this had something to do with the kids that were going missing from campus.

My stomach twisted into knots. I left the dorm and headed across campus to the administration building hoping to get some answers. I waited in line for fifteen minutes only to be told they were unable to give out personal information about other students.

“Privacy reasons,” the lady said, flashing me a fake smile. “I’m sure you understand.”

The only thing I understood was how none of this made any fucking sense. Drew and I weren’t besties or anything, but we’d become friends over the last few months. He had been serious about his studies and his commitments. There was no way he would leave me hanging like that, not without at least a text. An uneasy feeling brewed in my stomach as I left the admin building. Outside, I called Dante.

“Something weird is going on,” I began.

“Let me guess,” Dante said. “Kage has been singing in the shower. No, wait! Ty cracked a smile for once.”

I was too distressed to even smile. “No, I’m being serious. My math tutor, Drew Nelson, just up and left. Nobody but me seems to think it’s strange.”

“Nelson, huh?” Dante murmured. “Super smart kid, dark hair, always follows the rules?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” I confirmed. “He once texted me because he was going to be five minutes late for a session. There’s no way he’d just leave without letting me know.”

“I’ll look into it.”

“Thanks,” I told him, feeling better already.

I shoved my phone into my pocket and headed to my next class. On the way, I half expected Kage to walk up to me to hash things out about last night, but he didn't. I sighed, relieved. I had somehow managed to avoid running into Kage all day and I planned to keep it that way.

Turns out, fate had other ideas. Kage was waiting for me when I left class. I stiffened, unprepared for a confrontation with him, especially in public. "Hey, sorry I can't talk. I need to get somewhere." I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at him.

“I don’t like how things ended last night,” he told me, his voice soft. “I think we should talk about it.”

“Like I said last night, there’s nothing to talk about,” I replied evenly.

I wasn’t necessarily angry or upset with him. It was a shitty situation that neither of us could do anything about. But he needed to give me time to work out my feelings and protect myself. He owed me that much.

“Rebel—"

“I get it, Kage. I really do,” I assured him. I even smiled to show him I wasn’t angry. “It is how it is, but you need to give me space when I need it so I can process my feelings.”

“I will—so long as you come back to me,” he murmured, searching my face.

"You don’t just get to tell me what I’m going to do," I fired back.

His eyes narrowed. "I’m not telling you.”

A few people glanced over, and I was sure my cheeks were bright red. "Yes, you are, Kage.” Couldn’t he see it? Or was he just that used to getting his way?

His grip tightened on my arm. "Promise me you’ll come back to me after school. Promise me we'll talk then.”

It was as much a command as it was a question–-he never would have begged, but this was as close as he’d come to it. Something in my chest softened.

"You know I can’t stay away, Kage," I muttered. He should have known that by now. His engagement, the danger, none of it had been enough to push me away from him completely. If that hadn’t done it, what would?

His shoulders relaxed. “Good,” he nodded, satisfied. “Now tell me what else is bothering you.”

"How do you--"

"Just tell me, Camille."

“Drew left.”

“Drew. Your tutor.”

“Yes. We had a tutoring session today, but he was a no show. His roommate said he left school. No text or anything. I’m worried, Kage."

His expression grew serious. "He probably just had to deal with something last-minute," he replied, sliding his hand to mine and giving it a squeeze.

“He cleared out his room. His roommate has no idea why. Dante said he would look into it."

"See, that's good. Dante has connections with the registrar. He'll figure out what's going on."

I nodded. "You're right."

“Come on,” Kage said, taking my hand. “Let’s go home and get some lunch.”

* * *

The moment we walked inside the chateau, my senses were overloaded with the mouthwatering aroma of Ty’s famous sandwiches. My stomach rumbled loud enough for Kage to raise his eyebrows at me.

“Hungry for Ty's sandwiches, are you? You’re lucky my girl always gets what she wants.”

“Yeah, good luck getting Ty to make one for us.”

“Watch and learn,” Kage said.

Ty didn’t even look up as we walked into the kitchen. I took a seat at the table and watched as Kage walked over to the fridge and grabbed some eggs, the leftover rice from the night before, a jar of hot sauce and some pickles. He dumped them on the counter and pulled out a bowl.

Ty raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

Kage’s eyes darted up to meet Ty’s for a moment, and I saw a flash of the anger he’d shown yesterday when he had seen the marks on my neck. But he pushed it down.

“Fuck if I know,” Kage shrugged. “But I’m sure if I throw it all together it will taste amazing. Or at the very least, edible.” He glanced at me. “You good with edible?”

Ty sighed and rolled his eyes, his lip curling up in disgust. “Fine. I’ll make you guys a sandwich but don’t get used to it. I’m not your fucking cook.”

“Really? Wow, thanks, man,” Kage said, winking at me as he put the ingredients back. “It’s almost like we’re friends.”

“I’m not here to make friends,” Ty retorted.

"Well, thanks for making us sandwiches, Ty. Oh, speaking of friends, that reminds me," I said. "Don't be shocked if Dante tries to befriend each of you."

“And why the fuck would he do that?” Kage asked.

“Because if you three are friends, it will be less suspicious that he’s over here a lot,” I pointed out.

Kage shook his head and laughed. “If someone told me a year ago that I’d be friends with Dante Morillo, I’d have laughed my ass off.” He slapped Ty on the back. “You, on the other hand. I can see our friendship going somewhere. Besties, even.”

Ty stiffened a moment, his expression flickering before he shrugged off Kage's touch. "Good luck with that," Ty muttered, and I couldn’t help but snort with amusement. Ty shot me a look, his eyes shooting daggers in my direction, as Kage turned his attention back to the food.

I offered Ty a smile, and, for the barest moment, his expression softened. His mouth seemed to curl at the ends just the tiniest bit, but then even that was gone, as if he wanted to pretend it had never happened in the first place.