𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 || a dark romance ✔️

chapter twenty

COLE

The warehouse Camilla and Richard are trapped in looms on the screen like a cursed thing.

It's a large building. Grey, covered in moss and dirt.

I stare at the satellite feed, jaw clenched, arms folded over my chest like they're the only thing keeping me from exploding.

"She's in there." I say it like a fact, not a theory. My voice is steady, but my blood is on fire.

I haven't ate, slept or done anything since Camilla has been kidnapped. Other than searching for her, non-stop.

Xavier nods from beside me. "I traced the signal from her tracker. The one you slipped into her necklace. Smart move by the way." He smirks.

I don't feel smart. I feel like a fucking monster for letting her get taken in the first place.

Why didn't I do anything in my power to save her when she was right there.

The guilt is never ending.

The Soul-Eaters' meeting room is buzzing. Screens everywhere. Blueprints. Comms. Guns. People. My team.

And every one of them is just waiting on me to give the word then we'll attack the fuck out of The Corrupts.

"The building has two floors," Mike says from across the table. He's our tactician. Lean, quiet, brutal. "Four guards outside. Possibly more inside. There's a back entrance—locked but hackable."

"I want all the security down. Fast. Quiet. No hostages," I say, voice low. "This isn't a negotiation."

Mike nods. "What about Dorian?"

"If I see him, I put a bullet in his skull."

Xavier looks at me, hesitant. "Camilla might be with him. You have to be prepared to witness the worst... including rape."

I feel sick.

That makes something awful coil in my gut. The idea of her near that man, the things he might say to her, do to her—

I shove the thought away before I lose it.

"She's strong," I say instead. "But we don't give him a second more than he deserves. We go in, get her and Richard, and end this."

There's a quiet beat. Then my crew gets moving. Weapons are checked. Radios crackle. Armor is zipped and strapped on. It's not the first raid we've done, but this one is personal.

This time factors in the people we love.

I feel Xavier at my side again. "You good, man?" He's changed. I can tell. In a good way.

"No." I holster my Glock and grab my knife. "But I will be when my girl's in my arms again."

—

The drive to the warehouse is a complete blur.

I ride in silence with Xavier beside me, his body tense in anticipation. After he told me he loves Richard—I just knew he felt the same way I'm feeling about Camilla right now.

Mike is in the truck behind us. We don't blast through streets like maniacs, instead, we stroll like shadows, I'm desperate to get there as soon as possible, but we need to but logic before panic.

We've done this a hundred times. But tonight? It feels different.

Tonight, there's no justice.

Just plain old revenge.

The warehouse appears at the end of the road like a tombstone. Holding the future dead bodies of the people who hurt my girl.

My boots hit the gravel. The cold night air cuts through me, but I barely feel it. I can't feel anything other than the aching wound in my chest, needing Camilla back.