37. Camille

Chapter 37

Camille

I woke up to the sight of Kage's back, his muscles shifting as he stretched. The lines of his body were etched in the soft morning light, each movement graceful and strong, a reminder of how easily he carried himself, even with the weight of everything we were dealing with. A pang stung in my chest. After graduation, I wouldn’t get to wake up next to him. Now, more than ever after our conversation last night, I was all too aware of how limited our time together was. I reached out to trace his skin. I didn’t know how I could go back to a life without him...

He turned to face me and smiled. "Morning. How about I take you out for breakfast?"

I propped myself up on one elbow. "Is that your way of saying you're feeling too lazy to make me something?" I teased.

He leaned in for a quick kiss. His lips were soft against mine, a brief, comforting touch that sent warmth through me. "Maybe. But first, I've got something for you. And no, it's not another vibrator egg, though we still haven't used the first one."

"I can see you're really attached to that idea. But you were going to name the time and place. Or did you forget?”

Kage's smile widened. His eyes glinted with that playful edge that, compared to his usual intensity, always made my heart race. "Oh, I remember.” He nodded toward the nightstand. "Open the drawer."

I reached into his nightstand drawer, my eyes widening when I pulled out a sleek, black weapon.

It was heavier than I expected, cold and solid in my hands. Holy shit, he got me a gun. Of all the things I thought it might be, a gun was not on the list. I'd shot guns before, of course, in CU night class weapons training. But unlike my sister Bianca, I was a horrible shot.

"I want you to be able to protect yourself," he explained. "I want you to carry this with you at all times."

The idea of carrying it around made my stomach churn. I winced. "Trust me, you don’t want that."

"Because you can’t shoot for shit?"

"How do you know that?"

He shrugged, like it was no big deal. "Ava told me. And three or four other people. The whole school knows how bad a shot you are?—"

"Then why are you giving it to me?" I snapped, putting it back in the drawer. Even holding it spooked me, though I hated to admit it. I didn’t want him to see me as weak, but I hated the thought of carrying a gun around, let alone having to use one.

"Because with the shit that's going on, the banner you found, the tattoos, Troy's talk of enduring for a cause, I’m going to teach you," he said simply. "You'll learn how to shoot accurately in no time."

"Great, can't wait to be the next Annie Oakley," I muttered, but I knew he was right. Danger was swirling around us, just waiting to strike, and I should learn how to protect myself in as many ways as possible.

We showered and got ready then headed out of the bedroom but not before Kage grabbed the gun from the drawer. “Just a sec,” I said to Kage. I knocked on Ty’s door. "Ty?" Nothing. I pushed open his door, finding the room empty. "Ty didn't come home last night. Maybe I should put trackers on all your phones after all.”

Kage didn't respond, and I didn't push it.

We had breakfast at a cozy little diner one town over from Crimsonvale. The place was buzzing with early morning energy, the smell of coffee and bacon heavy in the air. As we sat down, Kage started flipping through the menu. "You're going to love the pancakes here."

I tried to focus on the menu, but my mind kept drifting to the gun, to Ty, to everything that was happening around us. "Good thing you have the gun, or I’d accidentally shoot myself reaching for the syrup," I quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

"Not likely since it’s not loaded yet." Kage reached over, squeezing my hand reassuringly. His touch pulled me back from the edge of my spiraling thoughts. "You'll be fine. I've got you."

The waitress came over, a bright smile on her face. "What can I get you two lovebirds this morning?"

Lovebirds?

I scowled at the woman, not because Kage and I didn't love each other, but because the casual way she said it was just that—casual—when what I felt for Kage and our inevitable ending was anything but that. Every moment with him felt too precious, too fragile, to be reduced to something so simple.

We placed our orders, Kage insisting I try the diner's special pancakes with all the toppings. As she walked away, I leaned in. "So, when are we going to this gun range? I need to mentally prepare myself to be humiliated."

"After breakfast. And you're not going to be humiliated. You're going to learn, and I'll be right there with you," Kage said, his tone firm but encouraging.

"Right. Learning. Can't be worse than humiliating myself at CU's weapons training."

After breakfast, I asked Kage to take me to get the Morning After pill. I could tell by his clenched jaw that he still didn’t like the idea, if only because we might have made a different choice if things were different. To be honest, I’m not sure that was true. We were both so young, our lives too complicated. I didn’t want to be a mother yet.

If I was pregnant, would he stay with me?

I immediately pushed that thought out of my mind. A baby wasn’t something to use as a tool or manipulation. When I did have a baby someday, if I had one, it would be one I’d planned to have with my partner, not a means to keep the mafia man I loved.

After our trip to the pharmacy, our drive to the gun range was a mix of silence and nervous anticipation. My palms were slick with sweat, and my stomach twisted with every bump in the road.

"We're here," Kage announced, pulling into the parking lot of a nondescript building that screamed 'gun range' with its barred windows and the faint sound of gunfire from inside. The sound sent a chill down my spine, reminding me how real this was about to get. My stomach did a flip.

"Ready to become a badass?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I muttered, following him inside.

The interior was exactly what you'd expect: a counter with a guy who looked like he'd been born with a gun in his hand, walls lined with targets and gear, and the tangy smell of gun smoke drifting from the back. Kage handled the formalities, renting us a lane and getting me some ear protection and goggles.

"Alright, let's start with the basics," Kage began, his tone shifting to something more serious as we approached our lane.

My first few shots were... let's just say they wouldn't have hit the broad side of a barn. Each miss was a blow to my confidence, making me grit my teeth in frustration. I wanted to toss the gun aside and forget about this whole thing. Yet Kage’s patience never wavered. "Relax your shoulders," he advised. "You're tensing up too much."

Easier said than done, I thought, trying to follow his instructions. The gun felt foreign in my hands, a tool I was still far from mastering.

"Focus on your breathing," Kage said, standing close behind me, his voice low in my ear. "Exhale slowly as you squeeze the trigger."

I did as he said, letting out a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding as I pulled the trigger. The shot rang out, echoing in the confined space, and I braced myself for another miss.

But when I looked at the target, I saw that I'd hit the outer ring. Not a bullseye, but a hit, nonetheless. "Holy shit, I hit it!" I exclaimed. The surprise and excitement surged through me, momentarily pushing aside my nerves.

Kage's laugh was warm, his pride in my achievement clear. "See? All you needed was a little focus."

The rest of the session passed in a blur of concentration and gradual improvement. With each shot, my confidence grew. I wasn't going to win any sharpshooting competitions, but by the end, I was hitting the target often.

"Looks like you're not such a hopeless case after all," Kage teased as we packed up to leave.

"Yeah, well, I had a good teacher," I shot back, bumping his shoulder with mine.

My improvement after Kage’s lesson wasn’t much, but it was something. I wasn't about to become an international assassin, but I felt more confident in my ability to defend myself. And right now, that felt like a massive victory.