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It was utterly silent one moment, and then it was hell the next. I was cocooned by two doors, but I still covered my ears and lay flat on the floor. I worried these walls wouldn’t be enough to stop the bullets that might hit me by mistake.
The gunfire continued. There would be moments of silence in between the noise, but then the shots would fire again. It seemed to stretch for an eternity, but in reality, it was probably less than two minutes.
Then it was quiet. And it stayed quiet.
I wanted to burst out of the closet and run for Cauldron, but I knew better than to blindly reveal myself.
Then I heard his voice. “Camille! It’s safe!”
I continued to lie at the bottom of the closet, breathing through the relief. For a moment, I’d thought I was going to end up on a gurney, paralyzed by drugs so my organs could be harvested. But Cauldron had come for me…and so did Grave.
“Camille!” Now it was Grave. “Come out!”
I left the closet and the bedroom and stepped into the hallway. When I rounded the corner, I found Cauldron in the room where I’d been tied up, the ropes at his feet. I saw him before he saw me, saw the anguish on his face even though all our enemies were dead. The cords in his neck were so tight they were about to snap. Then he turned my way, and when his eyes settled on me, he looked paralyzed. “Baby.”
I rushed to him, sprinting into his arms.
He caught me and squeezed me hard against his chest. His grip was so tight it seemed like he would never let me go. Not in a million years. His forehead rested on my head, and he cupped the back of my neck, his chest pushing against my face with every deep breath he took. He dropped his lips and kissed me on the forehead. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Cauldron.”
He pulled away, his eyes focused on mine. “I’m sorry that I fucked this up…”
* * *
We stood outside the bar, the cold night air like death’s fingers through my hair. Winter had been brutal this year, freezing cold and full of heartbreak. I approached Bartholomew, leaving the guys behind so we could speak in private. “Thank you for everything. Cauldron tells me you’re the only reason they were able to find me.”
With his hands in the pockets of his jeans and his limber body leaning against the lamppost, he looked at me with that subtle smile on his lips. “Don’t thank me just yet. I only stuck out my neck for something in return.”
“Which is?”
“You.” He leaned forward slightly, pointing at me with his body. Then he leaned back. “Me. Back to our former arrangement.”
“As in…Cauldron’s contract is over?”
“No. More of an à la carte situation. When I need a wingman, I’ll call you. Based on what Cauldron’s told me, it sounds like you’ve missed me. The feeling is mutual because not every woman can pull off this sort of thing.”
I should be thrilled, but I was somewhat disappointed.
He picked up on it. “I was under the impression you enjoyed the work.”
“I enjoyed having duties outside of my usual work.”
“I’d pay you for your time. Consider it a side hustle.”
“Do I have a choice?” I asked.
He stared at me long and hard.
“I guess that’s a no…”
“I’m not a fan of coercion. You should know that by now. But I think it’s a small favor to ask in exchange for everything I risked to get you out of there. This is the moment where you decide who you want to be. Are you loyal to your allies? Or are you out for only yourself?”
“That’s what we are?” I asked. “Allies? Friends?”
“Whoa. Wouldn’t take it that far.”
“Are Cauldron and Grave friends?”
