58. Camille

Chapter 58

Camille

A cold wave of shock washed over me, leaving me reeling. Dante's grip on my shoulder tightened as he read the text.

"Simone?" he echoed, his voice a mix of disbelief and anger.

I nodded, unable to form words, my mind spinning with the implications. The thought of Simone in danger, potentially about to be killed, was too much to bear.

"They have her, Dante. We have to do something."

He nodded, his jaw tightening in a way that told me he was already shifting into action mode. "We will. We're going to find her, Camille. I promise."

But promises felt thin in the face of such overwhelming odds. The enemy had Simone, and Ty had just risked everything to get us that information. He was going to risk even more by trying to rescue Kage and the others. The gravity of the situation weighed heavily on me, anchoring me to the spot even as my mind screamed to sprint into action.

"We can't trust the cops, Dante," I said, feeling the frustration bubble up inside me. "After everything with Davis, how can we? What if we call them and it just leads them straight to her? To Ty? To all of them?"

"Then we don't call them. Not yet. We need more to go on. Something concrete."

"But where?" The campus sprawled out like a labyrinth, each building, each room a potential hiding place for our friend. It felt like searching for a whisper in a hurricane.

“If the president is involved, I say we start at the admin building.”

It was a shot in the dark, but it was all we had. “Okay.”

His gaze shifted to the bikers who had gathered in the hospital. “I need a bike.”

Talon threw Dante a set of keys.

"Can I convince you to stay here?" Dante asked me.

I thought of Elise but shook my head. "I'm not leaving your side,” I said.

He didn’t argue with me and his faith in me, his willingness to let me make my own decision, even if it was one that would endanger me, made me more resolved that we were going to get through this. That we all were.

“Wait.” Talon handed each of us a gun. "Just in case," he urged, his voice low and serious.

I took the weapon, feeling its weight in my hand, a reminder of the gun I’d held when I killed my father. My eyes found Elise, her wide gaze fixed on the gun now in my grasp.

"What about Elise?" I asked. Bianca was in danger – I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Talon glanced at Elise, then back to me, his expression softening. "She can stay with us. We won’t let anything happen to her."

The reassurance was a balm, but it couldn't soothe all my fears. I approached Elise, pulling her into a tight hug, the kind that tried to convey every ounce of love and regret I felt. "Be careful, okay? Listen to Talon."

Elise nodded against my shoulder, her arms tightening around me, like she didn’t want to let go. "Come back to me.”

Pulling back, I gave her a brave smile, one I didn't feel. "I will. Always.”

Dante and I stepped outside, the night air cold against my skin, a stark contrast to the storm of emotions raging inside me. Dante led the way to the bike Talon had lent us. Mounting it, Dante gestured for me to get on behind him. As I did, wrapping my arms around his waist, he turned to me, the bike's engine a low rumble beneath us. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I replied, the reality of our situation settling in. We were about to head into unknown danger, with only each other and a couple of guns for protection.

Dante kicked the bike into gear, and we were off, speeding into the night with a singular focus—to find Simone. The city blurred past us, a mix of shadow and light, mirroring the turmoil in my thoughts.

I couldn't shake the cold dread that settled over me as Dante navigated the streets, the bike's engine a steady hum beneath us. Clinging to him, I found little comfort in the familiarity of the ride, my thoughts a whirlwind of fear and determination. It wasn't the first time I'd been on the back of Dante's bike, pressed close to him, feeling the thrum of the engine mixed with the beat of his heart. But tonight, the thrill was absent, replaced by a palpable terror for what lay ahead.

As we neared the campus, the bike slowed, Dante's body tensing as we approached with caution. The campus was eerily quiet, the usual nighttime bustle subdued, as if it too was holding its breath, waiting for the storm to break.

And then it hit me—the basement in the admin building. The one that was off limits to all CU students. If the university president was involved in all this, it would be the perfect place to keep someone hidden, especially if you didn't want them found.

“The basement in the admin building," I said into the mic in my helmet.

Dante nodded. “Of course.”

Dante pulled the bike into a shadowy spot near the building, the engine's growl dying into silence. We dismounted and the building loomed before us, its facade a mask of shadows and moonlight. My heart raced, a frantic drumbeat in my chest. As expected, the back door to the admin building was locked. Dante produced a slim piece of metal from his jacket and set to work. The lock gave way with a soft click.

We slipped inside, the familiar corridors of the admin building stretching out before us. My heart hammered in my chest, each beat a loud echo in the quiet. We’d just passed by the main office when an idea came to me.

"Wait," I said, halting Dante with a hand on his arm. Darting into the office, I rummaged through the drawers until I found what I was looking for—sharpies. Returning to Dante, I said, "Your hip. It needs a tattoo.”

Realization dawned on his face. “You’re a genius, Peaches.”

I got to work quickly, drawing a reasonable facsimile of the tree symbol I’d seen on the university president’s gates. I doubted he’d be here himself getting his hands dirty, but if we were confronted by someone working for him…

My hands worked with a frantic energy, the marker's tip dancing over his skin. It wasn't perfect, far from it, but in the dim light and under pressure, it might just pass for the real thing.

“I’m your captive,” I said, and he nodded.

We continued our descent toward the basement. Each step took us deeper into the heart of the building, and closer to whatever awaited us in the shadows below. The air grew cooler, the silence more profound, as if the building itself was holding its breath.

"We're almost there," I breathed, more to myself than to Dante, my voice barely above a whisper.

As we picked our way cautiously down the stairs, the basement doors loomed ahead. We stayed in the shadows, tensing when we heard the sound of keys, metal against metal. The doors creaked open, spilling a sliver of light into our dim hideout. Two men emerged, their voices low but carrying in the still air. One of them had a limp form slung over his shoulder.

Simone.

My heart stuttered, then hammered painfully against my ribs.

Dante's hand found mine in the dark, a squeeze that was as much reassurance as it was a warning to keep my voice down. We listened, frozen, as the men spoke.

"Now that we have the O’Hare kid, we just need to take this one somewhere far out, make sure the body doesn’t get found," one of them said, a casualness in his voice that made my skin crawl.

The other chimed in, a vile suggestion hanging in the air between them, "Yeah, but first, maybe we could have a bit of fun with her body. I never did get to bang the bitch before she ‘dumped’ me."

Nausea twisted in my gut, rage simmering just beneath. This must have been the biker Simone had cut things off with. Jasper.

The thought of them touching Simone, even in death, was too much. I started to stand only to feel Dante touch my arm, a silent plea for caution. Trusting him, I waited, waited, waited, until the men had opened some outer doors. That’s when Dante stood, grabbed my arm, and yanked me off my feet.