I tucked a wayward lock behind her ear. “As far as I see it, we’ve got two options. One, we try to pretend this didn’t happen and go back to the way things were when we woke up this morning. Or two, we make the most of the time we have left by spending a lot more of it in this bed. I’m firmly voting for option two. Choice is yours, though.”
“I like option two as well.” She dropped her forehead to my chest to conceal her shy smile. I don’t know why that embarrassed her. I was one hundred percent onboard with getting familiar with every inch of her.
I trailed my hands down to her ass and pulled her against me. “Excellent decision.” I glanced at her swollen lips before kissing them.
Fuck, I couldn’t believe she wanted that, too. Deep down, I thought she’d come to her senses and realize it was a mistake. Maybe she still would.
“It’s going to make things harder when I have to leave. At least for me it will.” She pressed her lips to my chest, then looked up at me through shining eyes. “I don’t care how complicated things are, I’d still choose to have this time with you.”
I guessed we were both fools, then. From the moment I decided to help Cam, I knew I was playing with fire. Didn’t expect it to be a fucking flame thrower.
Getting to have her, knowing how good it could be, brought us even closer. Giving Cam up would be bittersweet. She needed to get out of here to be safe, but she’d leave a gaping hole when she got on that plane. This place wouldn’t be the same without her.
And dammit, it made me see red that she had to do any of this. Fucking Franky and his revenge-seeking ego. He was the vilest kind of asshole. It didn’t help that he had a bunch of cops in his back pocket, and the rest were too scared to go against him for fear of retribution. Franky’s direct competition—the other gangs or wannabe mafioso families—were too weak to take on the Wolf Street crew. Somewhere along the line, they’d become so powerful there was no one to stand in their way.
Or was there? Cam would never ask for this, but maybe there was something more I could do.
“What if there was a way you could stay? What if I could make it like none of this ever happened?”
“What are you talking about?” She pushed herself a few inches from my chest and stiffened. “What about Franky? The Mafia? My hit contract?”
“Has anyone ever told you, you ask a lot of questions?”
“You’re not the first.” She pinched my ear lobe. “Stop trying to change the subject.”
I stroked my hand along the smooth skin of her back. “Franky’s upset me a lot. I’m thinking he should stop upsetting people—permanently.”
Cam’s brow creased. “Sweet Jesus, you’re talking about killing him?”
“The guy’s a menace. It needs to be done. Once you’re in Australia and safe, Franky’s fucking dead.”
Cam groaned as she rolled off the bed, grabbed my shirt from the floor, and slipped it over her head. “No, Shep. I don’t want you to put yourself in danger because of me.”
I sat up with the sheets bunched around my waist. “Think about it, Cam. If he’s dead, all your problems go away.”
I wanted that for her so badly. The same way I craved peace and solitude, Cam wished for her simple life back. I wouldn’t have told her any of these plans, but if her ticket to Australia was return instead of one-way, it might give her some hope that everything would turn out all right. It would make this whole situation less stressful for her. Although, judging by her narrowed eyes and hands jammed against her hips, I could be mistaken.
“No, all my problems won’t go away.” She paced the room. “When a Philly scumbag gets killed, it’s most often by you. So, they’re going to know or at least suspect it’s you that did it. Then every single one of them will be after you, and I amnotokay with that.” Cam paused her pacing to glare at me. “What happens then? How are you going to prevent a war with the entire Wolf Street Mob?”
She wouldn’t like this part. “I wasn’t planning on preventing it. Franky will be the first to go. Others will follow.”
She rubbed her eyes. “Holy hell. You’re talking about killing them all?” When her hands dropped to her side, she let out an exasperated sigh. “You don’t have to solve every problem with violence. I don’t want that for you anymore, and I don’t want to be the cause of it. What if something happens to you?”
I had to lie because I didn’t want Cam worrying about me, but taking on the Wolf Street Mafia solo might not be my brightest idea. The odds were against me because of the sheer numbers Franky had at his disposal. I still thought it was worth the risk, thatshewas worth it.
“Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’ll be fine. This is the only way to deal with Franky. I can’t just call him up and have a chat about backing the fuck off. He’ll never stand down.” I reached for her hand. “I want you to have your life back. Your brother would be safe, you’d be able to see your friends again, you wouldn’t have to lose your house or your car.”
She sat beside me without letting go of my hand. “I don’t like the way you’re talking, Shep. It’s scaring me. You versus the entire Wolf Street Mafia? And anybody else they pull in for support? Are you tracking how crazy this plan sounds?”
I soothed my free hand along Cam’s arm. “Would it make you feel any better if I told you it might not be the craziest thing I’ve done?”
She blinked a bunch of times. “No, it doesn’t. Do I even want to know what you’re referring to?”
“Probably not.”
She paused and held my stare. “Wait, is this something to do with the Army?”
“Sort of.”