39. Camille

Chapter 39

Camille

D ante, Kage, and I walked into the coffee shop where I’d arranged to meet Bianca. It was a cute little place two towns away from Crimsonvale.

Kage seemed on edge, like he was expecting something to happen at any moment. He glanced around as soon as we stepped inside, scoping the place out. Dante’s hand rested on the small of my back protectively as Bianca lifted her hand to wave us over.

Kage and I sat down, while Dante went to order us some drinks.

“I see you brought your entourage,” Bianca said. She reached for the coffee she’d already ordered and took a sip, eyeing Kage and Dante with open suspicion as Dante rejoined us at the table.

“I told you they were coming,” I reminded her, not liking her attitude.

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t mean I have to like it,” she grumbled.

What was up with her? Was she really annoyed that I’d confided in the guys, or was she worried that I might trust someone more than I did her? Whatever was bothering her, I wasn’t going to stand here and listen to her bad-mouth Dante and Kage.

“Actually, if you want to hear what we know, it does kind of mean you have to like it,” I retorted. It was a snarky comment, but if my sister was going to be a bitch about all of this, then so was I. “And I’m in a relationship with Dante and Kage. I fully trust them.”

“And I trust the conciliantis. If I think we should bring her into this, that should be enough for you.”

“You took off for weeks with some random guy, ended things with Silas because he was a lousy lay... Or was that all bullshit too?” I frowned at my sister, not sure what to believe anymore. “Was Silas part of your investigation too?”

“Silas was cheating on me with someone, only I didn't know it was Ava until I came back. Rather than admit that, I told you he was a lousy lay, which wasn't that far off from the truth. The random guy in California was just a cover in front of Dante, Camille. I thought you’d figure that out. My whole trip to California was about trying to find out why CU kids originally from there had disappeared. I was trying to help and make sure nothing happened to you too!"

Guilt pierced through me at the thought that I was being too hard on her. "But you went MIA. You didn't even know the danger I was in, or if you did, you never reached out. How was that protecting me?"

"I went MIA because... because..."

I narrowed my eyes. She looked upset. I reached out and touched her hand. "Because what?"

Her bottom lip quivered as she stared at me. Oh God, what had happened to Bianca in California?

"Bi..."

She shook her head, her features hardening. "I'm fine, Camille. Can we just start over? You and Elise are all I care about. But if you come with Dante and Kage or even Ty, I'll learn to trust them. And I won't tell the conciliantis anything if you don't want me to."

I took her hand. "Okay, thank you," I said, but this wasn’t over, I thought. Someday, I'd find out what really happened to Bianca in California.

I filled her in on the details she didn't know about Silas, including how he and his brother had oak tree tattoos, how Ava had the acorn tattoo, and what Troy had told Kage about enduring and being part of a cause. Then I took out my phone and scrolled through my photos until I found the one of the symbols. At first, she looked confused, but then her eyes widened.

“Holy shit,” she breathed. “I've seen this one before.” She pointed at a yurt tree symbol, her eyes clouded with frustration as she frowned. “Maybe it was a faculty member, maybe I saw it in their office or something?”

"A faculty member?" Dante prompted her, leaning forward. "Any idea who? If you can give me a name, I can figure out if you’re right..."

"I don’t know," she muttered, shaking her head. “I’ll think about it and get back to you when I remember. In the meantime, we have to keep digging.”

I told her about Drew Nelson going missing. About how Dante had asked around, and the party line was now that Drew had come out to his family, and bigots that they were, they’d threatened to disown him, so he’d quit school and left. This left me conflicted because it seemed Drew had revealed his secret, which made the story more credible. But I just couldn’t see Drew leaving of his own free will.

I’d tried finding out about his boyfriend, the one who’d broken up with him recently, but Drew had never told me more than his name, and there were no clues left behind after Drew left.

“So he’s the latest one,” Bianca said.

“I think so,” I said. “We all do.”

Bianca nodded and squeezed my hand. “We’re in this together.” Her gaze pinned the guys. “All of us, apparently. But first...” She narrowed her eyes at Kage and then Dante. “I want to know what your intentions are with my sister.”

“Bianca,” I snapped, embarrassed.

What the heck was she doing?

Both Kage and Dante exchanged amused looks, like they thought it was cute my big sister wanted to protect me.

I thought back to last night, and the look in Kage’s eyes as he watched Dante suck on my clit. This was not a conversation I wanted to have with my sister right now. At least, not with Kage and Dante sitting right there, listening.

“The only person I need to answer to is Camille,” Kage told her. “She knows where we stand and what my intentions are. She also knows what I have to give her.”

“I think we all know what you have to ‘give’ her,” Bianca drawled, air quoting the word "give." “And I’m sure it will be great—until it isn’t. And it will be me left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart once you decide to move on.”

“Bianca,” I hissed. This was hitting a new level of embarrassment. “Shut up.”

Bianca shrugged, her hands splayed. “Hey, if they can’t handle a few simple questions?—”

“The point is, you have no right to ask them anything. It’s my life, and I know what I’m doing, okay?”

“Really?” Bianca raised her eyebrows. “Just like you knew what you were doing in Italy with Ty? How did that work out for you?”

Wow, that was a low blow. And she wasn’t done yet. She turned her attention over to Dante, her eyes narrowed. “And what about you? Are you willing to risk your whole career over a fling?”

“It’s far from a fling, and I think you know that,” Dante replied, his voice low and even. “And I’d quit tomorrow if I had to choose between Camille and my job.”

Hearing that made my heart swell. Dante had already made it clear that, unlike Kage, he had no intention of going anywhere for the foreseeable future. But he also thought at some point I'd want to leave him. And when that time came, he'd let me go. If he truly cared for me, even loved me, why wouldn't he fix that? Or vow to never let me go, even if going was my idea.

“I’m just trying to look out for you, Cami.”

“And I appreciate it. But you need to let me live my own life. I need to make my own mistakes and learn from them. If you can’t be nice to Dante and Kage, then?—”

“I’ll be nice,” Bianca interrupted. “So long as they understand I’ll castrate them if they hurt you.” She hesitated, then stood while pulling me to my feet, too. She hugged me tight. "I love you, Cami."

I sighed, sinking into my sister's embrace. Things were still tense between us, but I remembered the look on her face when she'd been about to tell me why she'd gone MIA on me in California. I think in my heart I’ve always known it had nothing to do with some boy. Something had happened to change my sister. To damage her, when I'd always thought of her as indestructible. Even worse, it obviously had something to do with her looking into the missing CU kids. I needed her to know that just as she was always trying to protect me, I was here for her, too. "I love you, Bianca. Always. And when you're ready to talk about what really happened in California, we can talk. Really talk.”

Bianca squeezed me tighter, then pulled back. For a moment, she looked haunted. But then her expression cleared. She winked at me, then turned on her heel and strolled out of the café.

Dante

After leaving Camille, I pulled up to my house. Something felt off. At first, I thought it was just lingering tension from the meeting with Bianca, but then I spotted it. The front door, slightly ajar, was a clear sign that trouble had paid a visit in my absence. My gut tightened, a mix of anger and concern swirling as I killed the engine on my bike. The quiet of the neighborhood felt oppressive, like the calm before a storm.

Slipping the switchblade from my pocket, I flipped it open, the familiar click a small comfort as the metal glinted in the corner of my eye. I approached the door slowly, every sense on high alert. Whoever decided to break into my place had either a death wish or something damn important to look for.

Pushing the door open with the toe of my boot, I slipped inside, my eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. The silence of the house was unnerving, every small creak and whisper amplified. I moved quietly, the blade in my hand ready.

The living room looked untouched. No signs of a struggle or hurried search, which was odd. If someone broke in, what the hell were they looking for? I moved on, my footsteps muffled against the carpet.

Then Jane appeared, stepping out of my bedroom.

She was a mess. Her face was bruised and bloodied, both with new and old injuries. Her clothes hung off her tiny frame. She looked like she hadn’t eaten in weeks—and smelled like she hadn’t seen a bath in even longer. Despite that, her gaze was defiant as she looked back at me, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Jesus, Jane,” I muttered, doing my best to ignore the stench. “What happened to you?”

"I’ve been waiting for hours, Dante," she snapped back at me, tossing her hair over her shoulder and shaking her head. "Where have you been? I have shit I need to take care of."

I gritted my teeth. Her attitude was always like this. But I was too guilty about everything that had happened to tell her to get the fuck out.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"You're not going to offer me a drink?" she asked.

"Looks like you’ve had enough of the hard stuff already," I fired back. Her jaw tightened. She knew I was right. She didn’t deny that she was using—she couldn’t, not when she was in this state. God knows what she was on right now.

How many times had she come crawling to me, telling me it was going to be the last time she touched this shit? I couldn’t even count. I should have turned her away a long time ago, but the guilt I harbored over what had happened to Rihanna kept me locked in place.

"I just need a little something to get me through till tomorrow.”

"You're not getting anything from me."

"I miss her so much, Dante. You don’t get it. This guy I’ve been buying from, Rick, he’s been having some trouble…"

That was code for her not being able to pay.

"And he isn’t going to be able to get me anything till next week. I need something. Just to kick withdrawals down the line a little..."

"You need to get clean, Jane. I’m not giving you anything. You’re getting help. Real help this time."

Jane shook her head, a mix of defiance and despair in her eyes. "I've tried, Dante. I've tried so many times."

"I know," I replied softly. "But you have to keep trying. For you and for Marco."

"Marco needs to know the truth about you. And if you won't give me what I need..."

It was the same threat she'd always used on me before, but this time, I was done. I'd tried to help her time and again, but it always came back to this. As much as I didn't want to, I had to tell Marco the truth. That I’d slept with his mother when we were both drunk years ago. And about what had happened to Rhianna. Maybe then, together, we could accomplish what I couldn't by myself.

"I'm telling Marco everything, Jane."

Her eyes bugged out of her head.

For a moment, there was silence between us, broken only by the sound of Jane’s hitching breath. I couldn't imagine the depth of her pain, the loss of a child, but Marco deserved to come back to a mother who was fighting to heal, not one who had given up. It pained me, the thought of facing him, admitting my role in Rhianna’s death. The guilt had been a constant shadow, and the thought of seeing the disappointment and possibly hate in Marco's eyes ate at me. But it was time; he needed to know the truth.

“Don't tell Marco," Jane said. "Please, Dante. I won't come back again. Maybe just some pot. A few hits, please. Then I'll get help. Because I don't want Marco to know. He—he can't know." I knew she wasn’t talking about the fact that we’d fucked once, but about the truth about how Rhianna had died. Right now, Marco thought Rhianna had gotten those drugs on her own, not through Jane. And guilt-ridden bastard that I am, I’d never told him the truth.

I closed my eyes. As much as I feared that Marco would hate me for my part in Rhianna's death, Jane feared the same for her part in it. But that didn't mean I was going to change my mind. No more lies. I'd give her some time to see if she could clean herself up some. I didn't expect her to go cold turkey, but if she could at least get better than where she was right now... "I'll give you some pot then we'll see how you are in a week, okay? You still have a son who needs you."

Her eyes filled with tears, but there was a flicker of determination in them, one I hadn't seen before. "I promise, Dante, I'll turn things around."

I nodded, though I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. I went to my room and grabbed several joints. After she smoked one and eventually passed out, I sat there watching her, lost in thought.

If Camille knew any of this and what I’d been doing in Crimsonvale, she'd be disgusted. The truth was, I couldn't keep hiding this part of my life from her. She deserved to know everything, even if it meant risking our relationship. I decided then, I’d spend one more day with her, a day without shadows or secrets, and then I'd come clean. About everything. About Jane, about Rhianna, about the guilt that had been eating at me for years.

I stood up, feeling the weight of my decisions pressing down on me. Tomorrow would be a day for making memories, for laughter and love, a brief respite before the storm. And after that, I'd face whatever came.