Page 18

Camille

Darkness presses against me. My head throbs like someone’s pounding a hammer against my skull, and my limbs ache with a sharp, persistent pain. I try to move, but my body feels foreign—bound, stiff, trapped. A faint metallic taste lingers in my mouth, and when I try to swallow, my throat protests, dry and raw.

Where am I?

I force my eyes open, blinking against the dim light filtering through the cracks of what looks like an old, grimy warehouse. The air smells of rust and oil, thick and nauseating. I’m seated on a chair, my wrists tied tightly behind my back, the coarse rope biting into my skin. Panic starts to creep in as I struggle, the bindings cutting deeper with every futile movement.

A sound. Footsteps.

They’re slow and deliberate, echoing off the concrete walls. My breath catches in my throat as a figure steps out of the shadows. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, with dark eyes that glint coldly in the faint light.

“Ah, you’re awake.” His voice is smooth, almost amused, but there’s an edge to it that makes my skin crawl.

I tug at my restraints and stare at the man before me. He stares at me with his black eyes that penetrate all the way into my soul. There is something…reptilian about his gaze.

“Oh, where are my manners? We haven’t met, my name is Felix. I am a friend of Diego’s.” He holds his hand out to me. “Oh I forgot, you’re restrained. Please forgive me but I didn’t know if you were a runner or not.”

“What do you want?” My voice comes out hoarse, barely above a whisper, but I force myself to meet his gaze.

He chuckles, a low, unsettling sound. “What do I want? Now, that’s a loaded question, isn’t it? I want many things, cara. I want to fuck a model, I want a million dollars in my account in the next 10 minutes. Oh and I want that little flash drive your brother hid.” He steps closer, his boots crunching against the dusty floor. “You’re a lot like him, you know. Stubborn. Reckless. Always sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

étienne. The mention of my brother sends a jolt through me, anger momentarily overriding my fear. “Don’t talk about my brother,” I snap, my voice stronger now, defiant despite the pounding in my head.

Felix tilts his head, his smile sharp and predatory. “Touchy, aren’t we? But you should want to hear this, Camille. You’ve been searching for answers, haven’t you? Digging where you shouldn’t. I know all about it.”

My blood runs cold. How much does he know?

“You’ve been fascinating to watch,” he continues, circling me like a predator stalking its prey. “So determined, so resilient. But you're way over your head, little Dupont. Just like your brother was with Maria.”

I still. “Who?”

“Oh, no one told you about Maria? She is the one that started all of this. She is the reason your brother was even on this suicide mission to begin with.”

I stare at him, waiting for him to continue his story. I can sense that this man is someone who likes to play games. But that name—my brother spoke about a Ria. Could this be the same person?

I glare at him, refusing to let him see the fear bubbling under the surface. “What are you talking about?”

“Your brother, étienne, fell in love with a Capo’s sister. She was betrothed to be married off on the condition that she remain a virgin. But obviously with her being in love with your brother, she fucked him and then her brother found out and then well…she was killed for stupidity. Your brother didn’t take it well of course, the love of his life dead all of a sudden. It’s why he is after Maranelli and them. He wants to take down the whole cartel.

“You women have a knack for making a man go delirious with love. Look what you did to our poor Diego. The poor sap is tortured. I have never seen that man break since we started working together but one mention of you and his panties are all wound up.”

The name Diego slams into me like a knife twisting in an open wound. My jaw clenches, the rage bubbling just beneath my skin.

“Don’t talk about him,” I demand, my voice shaking now.

Someone sparks in Felix’s eyes. “What’s this now? A lovers tiff? Oh how depressing. Did you finally find out that he killed your brother? Oh dear, how did that pan out? You hate him? End of your little love affair?”

I struggle against my restraints. “Fuck you!”

Felix waves his hand off. “Sorry, not my type, I’m afraid. That must’ve hurt, learning the truth about your knight in bloody armor.”

Felix’s words dig deeper into the wound. I hate that he’s right. I hate that Diego has been living in my head since the moment I found out—his face, his voice, the way he’d made me feel like I could trust him, even after what he’d done.

“I don’t need your commentary,” I spit, refusing to let Felix see how much this is tearing me apart. “What do you even want from me?”

Felix chuckles darkly, taking a step closer. “What I want is simple, Camille. You have something that belongs to me—something your brother left behind when he thought he could outsmart the cartel. I’m here to collect.”

The flash drive.

My pulse quickens, but I force my expression to stay neutral. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Felix leans in, his face mere inches from mine, his breath hot against my skin. “Don’t play dumb with me,” he says, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “I know étienne gave it to you. I know you’ve been digging through it, trying to piece together a puzzle you’ll never understand.”

I swallow hard, my mind racing. He can’t know about the necklace, can he? étienne had been so careful. He’d hidden it for a reason, and I wasn’t about to let Felix take the last piece of him away from me.

“I don’t have it,” I say, my voice steady despite the fear clawing at my chest.

Felix’s eyes narrow, and for a moment, I think he’s going to hit me. Instead, he laughs—a low, cruel sound that sends a shiver down my spine.

“You really are just like your brother,” he says. “So stubborn. So willing to fight for people who don’t deserve it. Tell me, Camille, how does it feel knowing Diego killed étienne? Knowing the man you let get so close to you is the same one who pulled the trigger?”

My vision blurs with angry tears, but I blink them away.

“It feels like all of you are exactly the same,” I say, my voice shaking with fury. “You, Diego, the cartel—you’re all just cowards hiding behind violence and lies.”

Felix’s expression hardens, the amusement draining from his face. “Careful,” he warns, his voice sharp and cold. “You’re not in a position to insult me, little Dupont.”

“And you’re not in a position to lecture me,” I snap back, my anger giving me a momentary surge of courage. “You’re just another piece of this disgusting game.You think you’re in control, but you’re nothing.”

The words barely leave my mouth before Felix’s hand strikes my cheek, the force of it snapping my head to the side. Pain blossoms across my face, sharp and stinging, but I refuse to cry out.

“You really don’t know when to shut up, do you?” Felix growls, his voice low and dangerous.

I glare at him through the haze of pain, my chest heaving with defiance. “Do whatever you want,” I say, my voice hoarse. “I’m not giving you anything.”

Felix’s eyes narrow, his lips curling into a snarl. “Then you’re going to regret this,” he says, turning away as if to compose himself.

I sit there, my face burning, my mind racing. I don’t know how I’m going to get out of this, but one thing is clear: I can’t rely on Diego to save me this time. Not after everything he’s done.

Felix paces the room, his boots scuffing against the grimy concrete floor. His stillness is unnerving, and each passing second feels like an eternity. My cheek throbs from his strike, but the physical pain pales in comparison to the storm raging inside me.

Diego. The thought of him stirs something raw and unforgiving. He was supposed to protect étienne, not... not pull the trigger. The betrayal is a wound that refuses to close, and Felix is twisting the knife every chance he gets.

“I’ll give you one last chance, Camille,” Felix says, breaking the lull. He stops in front of me, his towering presence casting a long shadow. “Where’s the hard drive?”

“Go to hell,” I say again, my voice like steel.

Felix’s jaw tightens, and I can see the flicker of impatience in his cold, dark eyes. “You’re wasting my time,” he snaps.

He steps closer, reaching into his coat pocket. My stomach twists as he pulls out a sleek, silver knife, its edge gleaming in the dim light.

“You don’t want to talk? Fine.” Felix’s voice drops, low and menacing. “We’ll see how long your defiance lasts.”

Fear floods through me, sharp and unrelenting. My pulse pounds in my ears, and I force myself to keep breathing, to think. He raises the knife, the blade catching the light as he brings it closer to my face.

And then it happens.

A deafening explosion rocks the building, the force of it rattling the walls and sending dust and debris raining down from above. Felix stumbles back, his knife clattering to the floor as the shockwave knocks him off balance.

I freeze, my heart hammering in my chest as the room fills with a haze of smoke and chaos. The sound of shouting echoes through the building, followed by heavy, hurried footsteps.

Felix recovers quickly, his head snapping toward the door. He curses under his breath, then grabs me by the arm, yanking me up from the chair.

“Looks like your knight in bloody armor decided to crash the party,” he sneers, pulling me close. “Let’s see how far he’s willing to go to get you back.”

The door bursts open, slamming against the wall with enough force to splinter the wood. Through the haze of smoke, I see him.

Diego.

He steps into the room like a force of nature, his dark eyes locked on Felix, his jaw tight with fury. He doesn’t say a word, but his presence is enough to shift the air.

Felix reacts quickly, he unties my restraints and pulls me in front of him like a shield. His arm snakes around my neck, the cold barrel of a gun pressing against my temple.

“Not another step,” Felix growls, his voice steady despite the chaos around us. “Or she dies.”

Diego stops, his gaze fixed on me. His expression is unreadable, but there’s something in his eyes—a flicker of regret, of guilt, of something I can’t name.

My breath catches as I meet his stare, my heart pounding against my ribs. This is the man who killed my brother. The man who destroyed my family. And yet, as I stand here with a gun to my head, he’s the only one I have left.

“Drop the gun,” Felix commands, his voice sharp and unwavering. “Do it now, or I’ll paint these walls with her blood.”

Diego doesn’t move, his hands hovering near his sides. “Let her go, Felix,” he says, his voice low and steady. “This is between you and me.”

Felix laughs, the sound cold and mocking. “You really think I’m going to let her go? She’s the only leverage I have. Besides...” He leans closer, his breath hot against my ear. “I think I’ll enjoy watching you squirm for a change.”

My body tenses, every nerve on edge as the standoff stretches on. I can feel the weight of Diego’s stare, the unspoken tension between us like a thread pulled taut.

And then Felix tightens his grip, his voice a low growl. “Make your choice, Navarro. Her life or the hard drive.”

The room falls deathly silent, save for the sound of my shallow breathing. I can see the conflict in Diego’s eyes, the war waging within him as he takes a step forward.

“Don’t do it,” I whisper, the words slipping out before I can stop them.

Diego’s eyes meet mine. Everything else fades.

Then Felix’s grip tightens, his finger hovering over the trigger.

Then shit goes crazy.