“Nick’s here to try and help us from the inside, and he has a plan,” Camille says, still holding onto my hand and not letting go.
“Let’s hear it,” I say.
Nick shakes his head and chuckles. “You’re gonna hate it, boss. But I think it’s our only shot. The plan is to put Camille in charge of the Grecoborgata.”
“What? That won’t work. They’ll never follow her. Plus, she might get hurt or even killed if my brother finds out what she’s up to. And besides, she’s stuck inside here just like we are.” The idea is a crazy one—bold, but still crazy. And I don’t like plans that put Camille in the line of fire. I’d rather come up with a plan that lays the risk on my head and not hers.
“Told you he wouldn’t like it,” Nick says as he pokes Camille in the arm.
“I’ll be careful,” she says to me, ignoring Nick’s tease. “Gabriel, it’s the only plan we have. If the two of you can find a way to distract the men stationed at one of the exterior doors and get me out of the warehouse, I’ll go back to Hell’s Kitchen and try to get the Grecos to consider it.”
“No. You aren’t going to do that all by yourself. You’ll get yourself killed,” I say sternly.
“But if we don’t do something soon then—”
“I’m not saying we won’t do the plan, crazy as it is. But if we’re going to attempt it, we attempt it together.”
“How do you propose getting the both of you out of this warehouse?” Nick asks. “It’s hard enough trying to just sneak her out, but the two of you would be near impossible.”
“Three,” I correct him. “No one gets left behind. You’re coming too.”
Nick rolls his eyes and I know that this could very easily turn into a suicide mission. But anyone who stays behind will be at the receiving end of my brother’s wrath, and since he doesn’t really have a reason to keep Nick alive, he won’t. I can’t leave him here, and I won’t let Camille go attempt this insane idea without me. So, we all go together.
There’s a noise outside the room and Nick peeks through the small window to see what it is. “Leo’s back early,” he says as he takes the key to the door back out of his pocket.
“How did you get him to give you a key?” I ask.
Nick grins. “I’m a good liar and the fool trusts me. Here,” he says as he hands me the key. “We’ll attempt the escape later tonight during a guard shift change when everyone else is asleep. I’ll go distract Leo so that Camille can get back to her room without being seen here.” He waits for the right moment and then slips out of the room, leaving Camille and me with precious seconds before this all starts to roll into action.
“Wait in your room,” I say. “Nick and I will come get you later.”
“Okay,” she nods. I can tell that she’s nervous. We’ve both dealt with all sorts of things in the past, but this one definitely has a more sinister vibe to it—even for mafia business.
I look out the window and see Nick talking with Leo and a couple of the other men, but they’re still too close to make it safe for Camille to sneak out yet. “Gabriel,” she asks as her fingers wrap tighter around my hand. “Why have you risked your life so many times to protect mine?”
It surprises me that she doesn’t know the answer to that, but then I realize that she’s asked me that question before and I’ve never answered it. Now I’m finally ready to give her that answer. “Because I’ve fallen in love with you, Camille.”
Her eyes stare up into mine as she leans up to kiss me. Her soft lips feel like ecstasy on my mouth as I trace my tongue around hers. If only we could stay in this utopian moment and let the rest of the world burn down around us. But then I hear footsteps and break away to look through the window again. Nick is leading Leo and the guards to another part of the warehouse to show them something. He truly is a master at playing these games.
“I love you too,” Camille says quickly, knowing she has to leave now. It feels like an eruption of warmth coating the inside of my chest, and it pains me to let go of her hand. But if she’s caught in here with me, our escape tonight will be impossible. Leo will put her under lock and key, and it’ll be over.
Quickly, Camille sneaks out of the room and back toward her own. As soon as she’s gone, I start to worry about her again. It’s such a strange feeling for me to care about someone else’s well-being more than my own. Camille has unearthed parts of me that have never been excavated before now. I pace the inside of the room until the wee hours, waiting with pressing impatience. Then, when it looks like there’s only one drowsy guard standing at his post near my door, I slide the key into the lock and open it from the inside.
Leo and I used to have scholarly debates about double-sided locks on doors. He always said they were necessary in case you were ever outsmarted and locked inside your own prison. I always said they were stupid because if the key fell into the wrong hands, your prisoner could escape from the inside out. Ironically, I now agree with my brother about how handy they are, just for different reasons than his position had argued.
Once the lock is opened, I push open the door with a quick force that knocks the guard in the head. He’s only startled, and it takes a hit to the pressure point on the side of his neck to drop him quickly unconscious. I keep to the shadows at the edge of the warehouse and slink around, avoiding the guards my brother has stationed. He’s clever, stationing more men than I ever had. Unfortunately for him, the men aren’t quite as on point as I’m sure he’d hoped. They’re talking and falling asleep and otherwise distracted.
I manage to find Nick, who’s also creeping around unnoticed, and the two of us go to get Camille. But when we reach her room, the door is open and she isn’t inside. I yank Nick into a corner of the hallway when I hear a couple of soldiers passing nearby. “I don’t see why we need to guard an empty room,” one of the men complains. “We should take the rest of the night off.”
“She’ll be back, and we’ll get in trouble if we aren’t here to stand watch,” the other says.
“Nah, that woman isn’t coming back here tonight, not if Leo’s taken her into his bedroom with him. Ten bucks says we hear moaning and heavy breathing from his room tonight.”
The other guard laughs. “I doubt it. She seems to hate his guts.”
“Doesn’t matter. A man can only wait so long and take so many hits to his ego before he asserts his will. Mark my words, Camille Greco will be sacked tonight.”
Rage starts to boil over inside me as I ball my hands into fists and get ready to take down everyone in my path in order to get to Camille. The thought of my brother dragging her into his bedroom and trying to lay his puny hands on her is enough to make me see red. I’ll take these two guards out and then find my brother and kill him. But when I start to step away from the shadows, Nick grabs my shirt and pulls me back. “You can’t,” he whispers.
